Ramsey, McCray among Saints' final cuts

Football Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Metairie, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quarterback Patrick Ramsey and defensive end Bobby McCray were among the highest-profile players released by the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, as the defending Super Bowl champions reduced their roster to the NFL maximum of 53.

Ramsey, who was signed in July, had been widely expected to assume the No. 2 quarterback role behind starter Drew Brees. But the former Tulane star, who completed 28-of-45 passes for 400 yards with one touchdown and an interception in the preseason, was beaten out by ex-Missouri standout Chase Daniel.

McCray, who appeared in every game with New Orleans over the last two years and won a ring with the 2009 team, was released by the Saints for the second time this year. The team initially released the six-year veteran in June before bringing him back in July, only to cut McCray again following the preseason.

McCray has 29.5 sacks since breaking into the league as a seventh-round pick in 2004.

Also released on Saturday were running back Ladell Betts, wide receiver Montez Billings, offensive lineman Brandon Carter, defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy, linebacker Harry Coleman, offensive lineman Na'Shan Goddard, cornerback Reggie Jones, fullback Zak Keasey, offensive lineman Nick Leckey, tight end Tyler Lorenzen, fullback Jason McKie, offensive lineman Terrence Metcalf, offensive lineman Jermey Parnell, defensive lineman DeMario Pressley, defensive lineman Jay Ross, safety Chip Vaughn and defensive lineman Al Woods.

Notables among that group include Betts, an eight-year veteran with the Redskins (2002-09); Clancy, Leckey and Pressley, all of whom appeared in games with New Orleans a year ago; and Woods, the team's fourth-round 2010 pick out of LSU.

New Orleans will open its 2010 regular season slate on Thursday night, when it hosts the Minnesota Vikings in a NFC Championship rematch to kick off the NFL season.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

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