| 04 August 2011
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UPDATE: 12:23 PM August 5th
It seems that Braylon Edwards contract isn't as nice as previously thought. I reported yesterday that I thought Braylon Edwards was worth little more than the veteran league minimum. I was shocked when it was reported that Edwards signed a 3.5 million dollar deal with the 49ners yet I ate crow and updated my post (see below). However, today I've been vindicated as NBC Sports is reporting that Edwards contract has a 1 million dollar base salary with ZERO guaranteed money! The 3.5 million originally reported is what Braylon will receive if he reaches ALL of his incentive benchmarks. Sounds about right and Boom goes the dynamite!
UPDATE: 9:38 PM August 4th
Braylon Edwards agreed to a deal with the San Francisco 49ners for a one year 3.5 million deal. The 49ners announce the deal about an hour after I orginially posted this article. It seems that the 49ners are willing to overlook Braylon's possible down falls as they have gotten his services for half of what he was paid last year. In our opinion they over paid.
Original Post:
Braylon Edwards is arguably the NFL’s best remaining free agent but his off the field issues may result in a prolonged search for employment.
On Monday, Edwards was involved in a bar fight in Birmingham, Michigan which resulted in his two cousins being arrested for felony assault. Reports are surfacing that the fight escalated into a full-blown riot that left two bouncers
injured from stab wounds. Granted, the stab wounds weren’t severe as one bouncer was stabbed with a fork and the other with a pocketknife. Never the less, sources have reported that Edwards was directly involved with the scrum and this doesn’t bode well for a player who is currently on probation for multiple DUI charges.
Issue #1: Edwards made $6.1 million in 2010 and based on his continued search for employment one can assume that he isn’t looking to take a pay cut in 2011. With the NFL’s new cap most teams don’t have $6 million to spare.
Issue #2: Edwards likely faces a suspension for his involvement in the bar fight whether he’s formally charged or not. Remember, Roger Goodell can suspend players based solely on how players actions damage the NFL’s brand (See Ben Roethlisberger circa 2010 for the most recent example.) Edwards has DUI charges stemming from his days in Cleveland and New York and now has a bar fight to top it off. Intuition tells me that three strikes and Goodell slaps you down.
So is Braylon worth the trouble? Not at his current asking price. In our opinion, he isn’t worth the 6.1 million even without the off the field issues. Dubbed inconsistent since his stint with the Browns and faced with a likely suspension he just isn’t worth the money he's asking for. His former employer Rex Ryan summed it up best, "If Braylon wants to come back for what we can pay, come on back, Braylon."
Whether intended or not, Rex Ryan's comments speak volumes into whether Braylon is worth signing at all. Think about it, they signed Plaxico Burress who hasn’t seen a football field in two years rather than sign Edwards who knows the system already. If you ask me, you can expect Edwards to possibly sign a deal for a league veteran minimum salary with a ton of incentives.
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