FanHouse DerrickHarvey

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were arguably the biggest disappointment in 2008 (the Lions were worse, obvs, but such an enjoyably watchable train wreck that they don't count). Plenty of people had them going to the Super Bowl, and nearly everyone, after their run in the playoffs last season, thought they would be back in the postseason.

Well, um, they weren't.

Generally speaking, the longest holdout in team history doesn't promote good chemistry between the player holding out, his teammates and his coaches. But the Jaguars seem pretty intent on not making Derrick Harvey's long lasting absence a big deal.

[...]the defensive end from the University of Florida created what he called "perfect timing" in making his Jaguars debut against the Washington Redskins on Thursday, just a few miles from his hometown of Greenbelt, Md.

[...] Harvey, who estimated he had about 30 friends and family at FedEx Field, said getting live action for the first time since he played for the Gators last year "felt very good."

"Now I can practice, get into the film room and get back to football," he said about ending his 33-day holdout.

[...]"Derrick was doing double days [during the holdout]," coach Jack Del Rio said. "He was being responsible."

Awwwww. What a great feel good story for Harvey and the Jaguars. It's that kind of dedication to your profession that really makes you want to root for a guy, huh? (/rolls eyes)

The longest rookie holdout in team history has finally ended, and Derrick Harvey is officially a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, at least if you believe what John Clayton is reporting at the WWL (via PFT).

A month of stalled negotiations came to an end when Harvey and the Jaguars found creative ways to get around the differences between the seventh pick and the ninth picks in the draft. According to a source, Harvey will receive guarantees of $17,177,500.

His base package will be $23.8 million over the five years. The key tradeoff that ended the holdout was the ability to get $6.2 million of incentives and escalators based on playing time. A source said those escalators and incentives have less of a trigger than the picks above and below him.

Ironic isn't it? Sitting out to get bigger incentives? Or maybe it's not ironic, I can't even really tell anymore. What it is is "too little too late" in terms of Harvey making a timely appearance on the team. He'll still play some, but Paul Spicer is clearly locked and Reggie Hayward has been playing well.

Bear in mind though that Clayton is saying Harvey's contract can get as high as $ 33.4 mil if he makes the Pro Bowl, which means that he should at the very least push the veteran for playing time, assuming he can get caught up. Still, though, missing all of camp and enraging a pretty tranquil fan base just in the name of boosting incentives seems a little ridiculous.

There's one rookie holdout left in the NFL, and at least one of his veteran teammates is sick of hearing that the first-round draft pick wants more money.

The holdout is Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Derrick Harvey, and the veteran is defensive end Paul Spicer. This is what Spicer had to say about Harvey's negotiations:

"From what I heard, they're a million away," Spicer said, referring to media reports. "If you're a million away, the only guy who benefits is the agent.

"Take that," Spicer advised Harvey. "Tell your agent I'm tired of sitting at home. It's time to put the toys away, be a man and get down to business."

I don't have enough information to know if the deal the Jaguars have offered Harvey is fair or not, and so I won't express an opinion about whether Spicer is right or wrong. But I will say that this is another reminder that the NFL and the players' union need to re-think the way rookies' contracts are structured. If Spicer doesn't like hearing that a rookie teammate is holding out for more money, he should tell his union to re-work the collective bargaining agreement with the owners so that rookie salaries are predetermined the way they are in the NBA. Until the veteran players insist on re-doing the collective bargaining agreement, we'll hear stories like this every summer.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: David Garrard threw all of three interceptions last year. Three. Three. Despite his questionable pedigree from the Eastern part of my fair state, his incredibly efficient performance earned him a pimped out $60 million deal. If the Jags new-old wideouts can ever get healthy, Garrard might actually live up to the lofty expectations he'll be staring down this season. Heat Index: 8

Running Back: When will Fred Taylor stop? Ever? And will Maurice Jones-Drew be ready for a full time gig when he does? Why is Greg Jones getting paid so much to be a glorified quasi goalline fullback? Why do I have so many friggin' questions about a team that finished second in the NFL in rushing yards per game last year at 149.4? Heat Index: 10

Receivers: Guh. The Jags went out and got Jerry Porter in the offseason to give Garrard a "legit" first option and he immediately got hurt. They also added Troy Williamson who has shown a penchant for dropping the ball, but like Mittens in Carolina, we probably have to reserve judgment until we find out if his greasy mitts in Minny were a result of Tavaris Jackson cooties. Heat Index: 3

The signing of defensive end Bo Schobel by the Jaguars might pass as inauspicious under normal circumstances, simply being the by product of James Wyche going down for the season in the middle of training camp (Achilles).

However, it's kind of tough to ignore the large pink alligator in the room on this one, meaning that first round draft pick defensive end Derrick Harvey is still holding out of camp.

Now, the Jags aren't completely finished by Wyche's injury in terms of personnel, but as RCR at BCC notes, it was a nice point of leverage in the whole Harvey situation.

James, as you might have heard, was having a fantastic camp. His performance is one of the many factors that makes the Jaguars hold such a strong position over Derrick Harvey as the DE corps was holding its own. Wyche would have probably been the 5th DE on the depth chart behind Spicer, Hayward, Groves, and Harvey, but his performance was starting to turn some heads.

And now the only heads that GMs awkwardly watching him fall past them on the waiver list. Oh, and Harvey's as he shakes it back and forth in jubilant, millionaire glee, given that the Jaguars now have nearly zero leverage to hold over him in contract negotiations.

Until last night, speculation in Jacksonville was that Reggie Hayward and Paul Spicer, the Jaguars' veteran defensive ends, would be battling ghosts for their jobs -- kind of like Pacman, except, y'know, not like that Pacman.

As of this morning, there's only one ghost left. The Jaguars' second-round pick, Quentin Groves, signed a four-year deal last night, just in time for the start of training camp today. That leaves former Florida star Derrick Harvey as the team's last remaining unsigned rookie.

I imagine Harvey's agent is continuing to remind the Jaguars that they gave up almost half of their draft to get their paws on Harvey, who was picked 8th overall and is expected to add some youth to their pass rush. However, the signings of 6th-overall pick Vernon Gholston and 10th-overall pick Jerrod Mayo might speed up the process of getting Harvey signed and in camp.

Harvey has given no indication of an extended holdout here, so don't expect one. He could easily be signed and ready to go by tomorrow's first practice. Then Hayward and Spicer can really start worrying about their jobs.

We alluded to the Vikings Jared Allen gamble looking good on draft day, but Mike Florio has added another reason why the Allen trade is not nearly as crazy as some people believed it was.

To fill the team's biggest need, the Vikings traded a first-round pick and two third-rounders for Allen, while the Jaguars traded a first-round pick, two third-round picks and a fourth-round for rookie defensive end Derrick Harvey.
Now the first-rounder the Jags traded was the 26th pick, while the Vikings was pick No. 17, but overall the two trades were pretty comparable as far as what was given up.

Now there is a chance that Harvey will make a Jevon Kearse/Dwight Freeney-like impact as a rookie (although it's unlikely), and there's a chance that Allen will go on a four-day bender that leads to a long suspension, but it's much more likely that Allen will continue to be one of the NFL's best defensive ends, while Harvey will be the typical NFL rookie who shows flashes of greatness and flashes of being lost.

And given the choice, you'd rather have the vet.

The Jacksonville Jaguars came into this draft thinking they needed just a few key players to overcome the Indianapolis Colts. They got their receiver and their cornerback in free agency. They needed a pass rusher in the draft. They certainly got that in Derrick Harvey, but did they give up too much to get him?

Maybe. According to NFL Network, the Jaguars gave the Baltimore Ravens their 1st round pick, two 3rd-round picks and a 4th-round pick to get Harvey. Forget about the point-value chart, which says that the Ravens gave up a lot of value. The Jaguars spent four picks to get one guy.

On the other hand, this is a team that doesn't really need to build in the draft right now. The Jaguars are ready to make a push for the AFC South title this year. They don't need depth from this draft. They need impact players now, and they weren't going to get a real impact player at a key position with the 26th pick.

Jack Del Rio and Shack Harris picked another Florida player last year in Reggie Nelson, and he proved to be a winner. Still, they had better be right about Harvey, because they spent four picks on him. They only spent one on Nelson.