Reggie Wayne May Sit Out Training Camp
It pays to be great and sometimes you must pay to stay great. That’s exactly what the Indianapolis Colts must do this season in order to retain the core of their team.
The Colts may be the NFL’s team of the decade, at least regular season-wise. They have won at least 12 games in the last seven seasons, have won the AFC South six times in that span, and claimed victory in Super Bowl XLI. However, pretty soon, all that success catches up to your payroll.
The Colts have made their priorities clear for the upcoming season. First, they must re-sign quarterback (QB) Peyton Manning before his contract expires at the end of the season. The Colts then must direct their attention toward extending the contracts of wide receiver (WR) Reggie Wayne and defensive end (DE) Robert Mathis.
This presents a pretty tough situation for Wayne, Mathis and the organization. The Colts already will have to hand out perhaps the biggest contract in NFL history to Manning and the uncertainty of the labor dispute regarding the CBA agreement makes things difficult.
The two Pro-Bowlers have been told by Colts general manager Bill Polian not to expect new deals anytime soon. As a result, Mathis sat out offseason organized team activities (OTAs) and Wayne sat out a mandatory mini-camp in June.
Wayne was recently seen back in Indianapolis to organize a charity basketball game. With the Colts’ training camp opening soon, Wayne couldn’t duck questions regarding his plans.
"I guess it's like LeBron James, like 'The Decision.' I guess we gotta see," he told reporters.
Now Wayne is pondering the possibility of sitting out training camp. So, what are his plans?
"We're just gonna take it day by day," he said. "I would love to see Anderson (the new site of camp). I've never been there. And when that day comes, we'll see what's up."
No one knew how to take his answers as many NFL players are unhappy with their contracts and have sat out many offseason team activities already.
"We've been talking," added Wayne. "I guess you can say that. We're just gonna let them do their thing. I'm just gonna come and play football, that's all I can do. And whenever that phone rings with the good news, I'll be excited."
Wayne is a vital part to the Colts passing game. It obviously helps when you have Peyton Manning as your quarterback. The receiver has two years remaining on his current contract, which will pay him under $6 million each season. He has proven his value to the team over his career, as he has posted a 1000 yard season six seasons in a row.
Holding out for longer, higher paying contracts seems to be the story of this NFL offseason. Darrelle Revis of the Jets has expressed his desire for a new deal. Chris Johnson reached a short term compromise with the Tennessee Titans, but negotiations for a long-term contract will have to pick up again after the season.
There have been discussions as to whether or not players should be granted extensions and skip offseason activities if they aren’t given one, or if they should honor their contracts and wait until their current deal expires. It really is just tough this year because players are seeking a pay-raise in the event that there is no 2011 NFL season. It’s a tough year for both sides and in any other sport, these contracts may have very well been worked out by now.
In this case, losing Wayne may put a dent in the Colts offensive production, but the bottom line is that Manning is the team's priority and rightfully so. It will be interesting to see how these deals end up working out.
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