Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee unhappy over franchise tag, aims for long-term deal-NFL News
Jacksonville Jaguars’ kicker, Josh Scobee, is apparently not pleased with receiving the franchise tag and instead wants a long-term deal to fulfil his aims of playing more football with the team.
Scobee was confirmed to have been assigned the non-exclusive tag on Monday, March 05, 2012, the last day of the tagging week, which had started on the same day in the previous week.
Under the arrangement, the player is free for negotiations with any other team from the National Football League (NFL) but can be retained if Jaguars match the offered price.
Otherwise, the team will stand an opportunity for two first-round draft selections in exchange for the player.
The management is excited after retaining the player for another season and aims to utilise the time to work out a long-term deal for the player.
Gene Smith, the general manager, said:
"It is our goal to reach a long-term deal with him."
He added:
The player "is someone that I have great respect for as a player and as a person."
Despite the general manager’s statement, Scobee has avoided signing the franchise tender, insisting that he wants a better solution.
His agent, Ken Harris, said that the player was determined to win a contract extension and therefore will not sign the tender.
Harris added:
"Josh is obviously disappointed in the choice to use the franchise tender. While we have no plans of signing the tender at this point, we'll see if the long-term contract Josh deserves can eventually be reached."
Scobee could have hit the free agency after the NFL trade deadline of March 13, 2012, but will have to wait now for either reaching an agreement with the team on a revised deal or else exploring an opportunity of moving elsewhere.
He is the only player from Jaguars to have been assigned the tag and a number of his colleagues are already on the free agency.
The player is probably not thinking beyond the contract issue as neither him nor the agent has spoken of the player’s plan of moving to another team.
It still remains an option in case he does not get an extension from Jaguars.
The management has not hinted at bringing the player back to the side and match the tender price offer if any other team expresses interest in signing Scobee.
This could be due to the fact that the general manager of the team has already spoken in favour of the player and a long-term deal prospects seem to be on the cards.
Yet he aims to get the confirmation of deal extension, probably well before the trade deadline of March 13, 2012. In case he does not sign the tender, the free agency will be his next destination.
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