R. Manning

Manning Jr's pick stole the 2 OT '03 playoff game from the Rams and Lovie remembers that shit, lol.

 

this was on Chicago Tribune's site yesterday....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-060420bears,1,1305141.story?coll=chi-sportsnew-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true


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chicagotribune.com >> Sports >> Football >> Bears Bears' free-agent finagling to begin

Team expects to keep Hillenmeyer, snatch Manning from Carolina

By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 20, 2006, 11:48 PM CDT

Friday marks the deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets, meaning Hunter Hillenmeyer will remain a Bear and Ricky Manning still could become one.

Hillenmeyer had yet to sign an offer sheet as of Thursday. Even if the linebacker unexpectedly received one Friday, the Bears are prepared to match it. The Bears previously tendered Hillenmeyer a qualifying offer of $712,000.

That's the same tender offer the Carolina Panthers made to Manning, a three-year veteran who would fill the Bears' need for a nickel back after the retirement of Jerry Azumah.

Manning visited Halas Hall on April 12 and had what both his camp and the Bears termed a productive free-agent visit.

Shortly after the visit, the Bears were leaning toward making Manning an offer, wanting to do so closer to the deadline to make it more difficult for Carolina to match. The Panthers would have seven days to do so.

The Panthers possess about $3 million in salary-cap space, the bulk of which is earmarked for draft picks. If the Bears signed Manning, they would forfeit this year's third-round pick to Carolina.

That would mark the second straight year the Bears would have only first- and second-round picks on the first day of the NFL draft.

Last year's third-round pick went to Miami in the Adewale Ogunleye trade.

Defensive backfield depth is an area the Bears have stated they must address.

Signing Manning also would allow the Bears to address other areas earmarked for improvement—specifically tight end and linebacker—with their first-round pick.

Carolina isn't expected to match any offer Manning receives.

 

That was a thing of beauty. I still can't believe he wrestled that ball away from Holt.

 

we'd have the 88 pick and the 89 pick. And the difference between the rook and manning in pay grade would be a 500k net in our favor.

A lot of people like the whole thing with using that pick to trade up; I might use a later pick to move up in the 2nd but I like the idea of having consecutive picks.

 

Ball will be in Panthers court to match or not. Manning says he's gonna sign the offer sheet.

 

would we still get a 3rd if we didn't match?

 

that's the only way we would

 

I don't know a ton about the RFA comp process. I wasn't sure if Chicago made a lower offer that would prevent us from receiving 3rd round compensation.

 

But, that was before the rule change.

 

RFA works this way:

later round pick no contract, has but 3 years experience, so he can't be a UFA. The team that posesses him (doesn't have to be the team that drafted him) has the option of the minimum tender (which is what we did), a first round tender, or a first-and-third round tender. Each is based on what the player made the year before.

The minimum tender's compensation is set based on where the player was drafted (if not drafted, no compensation). Another team would have to sign the player to an offer sheet for any amount agreed upon with the player, the original team has 7 days to match, and if they don't, they get the compensation.