Bills would be wise to shop Clements

By Connor Byrne  |   Wednesday, February 22, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Buffalo Bills
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With Thursday's 4 PM franchise and transition tag deadline looming large, many NFL teams - including the Buffalo Bills - are currently pondering what to do with their star players whose contracts have expired. Applying the franchise tag to a player would mean paying him the average of the top five salaries at his position on a one-year deal. Any team wishing to acquire that player by paying more than the franchise tag would have to give up two first-round draft picks to the team that franchised the player.

There are two types of franchise tags: exclusive and non-exclusive.

For an exclusive tag, a club would have to offer its player a minimum average of the top five players at his position as of April 16th, or 120 percent of his previous year's salary. Whichever amount is greater is what the player would receive. Also, under that particular type of tag, the player would not have the right to negotiate a possible sign-and-trade with another team.

The non-exclusive tag contains the same details as the exclusive, except the player is free to negotiate a deal and an eventual trade with another team.

As for the transition tag, that is a much less constraining spot for the player to be in. It gives him a salary which averages out the top ten highest-paid players at his position for one year, but if a team wants that player, they can simply outbid his current team. If that team wants retain their player, they would have the right to match any offer from the opposition.

With all of the legalities out of the way, it's time to ponder cornerback Nate Clements' situation with the Buffalo Bills. One of the game's better cornerbacks, Clements, 26, is expected to be franchised by the Bills sometime before the approaching deadline. Essentially, that would lock him up for one more season in Buffalo. By tagging Clements, Bills GM Marv Levy would have the ability to negotiate a long-term contract with his agent, or shop Clements around to other NFL teams.

"The franchise tag is an option and Clements is the likely person we'd use it on. I hope that we can do a contract that goes beyond that but sometimes you have to put the franchise tag on and then work on the contract part of it. It is definitely an option," said Levy in an interview earlier this month.

In his five-year career, Clements, a former first-round pick from Ohio State, has come up with an impressive 20 interceptions. However, he has had some issues come up in which is character has come into question; for example, the Bills' opening game loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2004, as Clements cost his team by going for an interception on a fourth-and-16 play, rather than knocking the ball down. Jags receiver Jimmy Smith came down with an improbable catch and Jacksonville went on to win the game.

Also not helping Clements' cause was his poor showing this past season. He intercepted a career-low two passes and was consistently torched by opposing receivers on a weekly basis. Of course, picking on Clements for last year's effort may be somewhat unfair since the entire Bills defense disappointed.

The best solution for this whole situation would be for the Bills to apply the non-exclusive franchise tag on Clements. He would be free to work out a trade, and if no accords can be reached, Levy and the Bills would have a solid corner for $5.89 million--the price for cornerbacks under the franchise tag--in 2006. After tagging him, the Bills would have all offseason to negotiate a possible contract extension with Clements and his agent, Todd France.

However, a long-term deal for Clements may not be the best thing for the Bills' organization. After placing the tag on him, they would be wise to seek a trading partner willing to give up a mid to late first-round pick in April's draft. For instance, the St. Louis Rams, currently with the 15th pick, may be willing to give that up for Clements. Obviously, if he worked out a deal with the Rams and they agreed to move that pick, everything would come up roses for the Bills. They would have two first-round picks to help rebuild their struggling franchise.

Other possible trading partners for the Bills could be the San Diego Chargers (19th pick), Kansas City Chiefs (20th), New York Giants (25th), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (32nd).

One thing that could help sweeten the deal for a trade would be the Buffalo Bills' extra third-round pick. For instance, if they struck a deal with the Giants, they could send Clements and one of their two early third-round picks for the 25th overall selection. That is definitely a fair deal that would work well for both sides.

At this point in time, all of this Clements trade talk is pure speculation. Still, it would certainly be prudent for the Bills to shop the 1-time Pro Bowler. The aforementioned teams are desperate for help at the cornerback position, and Clements - who is highly regarded throughout the league - could solidify their secondary. As for Buffalo, an extra first-round pick would give them the opportunity to build their depleted lines.

-Connor Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com.
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