Jags Accused of Lowballing Harvey

Any deal with Bengals’ first-round pick LB Keith Rivers is apparently stalled until the guy just ahead of him, Jacksonville DE Derrick Harvey signs. In an interview with the Florida Times-Union, Harvey’s agent, Ken Kremer, says the problem is that the Jaguars are lowballing his client.

"Kremer said the Jaguars waited for the market to be set, and it turned out to be much higher than last year’s.For example, last year’s seventh pick, running back Adrian Peterson, received $17 million in guarantees, a base package of $18.5 million and a maximum package of $40.5 million from the Minnesota Vikings. This year, No. 7 pick Sedrick Ellis was given $19.5 million in guarantees, a base package of $32 million and a maximum package of $49 million by the New Orleans Saints.The maximum package includes all incentives and escalator clauses.Last year, eighth pick Jamaal Anderson received $15.3 million in guarantees, $19.2 million in base salaries and a maximum package of $30.9 million from the Atlanta Falcons. The Jaguars are offering increases of 11.8 percent, 10 percent and 6.8 percent from those numbers to Harvey, according to Kremer. By contrast, Ellis received increases of 15 percent, 75 percent and 21 percent from Peterson’s figures."

There are also some issues over some incentive clauses. One would require Harvey to play 80% of defensive snaps, which is more time than any Jags DE has spent on the field in the last three years due to the way they rotate their d-linemen. The Jags also want to continue their practice of not fully guaranteeing the contract for “skill and injury,” another sticking point.

This all sounds depressingly familiar. Bengals fans have heard similar things many, many times — and no doubt will hear them again if the Jaguars ultimately cave (and it says here they will) and give Harvey bigger increases. As per usual, the Bengals will have let the market set itself, then complain that it’s too high. Sigh…oh well, at least the reports on LB Brandon Johnson have been good.

Meanwhile, in Bengals news, the secondary may be the strongest strongest piece of the defense.

After the defense won the inrtasquad scrimmage 44-27 on Friday, the offense returned to take the annual Mock Game 44-22 on Saturday 44-27.

James Walker thinks that Stacy Andrews has all but secured the starting RT spot and “looks like a younger version of Willie Anderson.”