Allen wants traded!
Allen wants trade from Chiefs
Contract conflict leads to request
By ELIZABETH MERRILL and RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
“It doesn’t look like my future is going to be (in Kansas City). … I wanted to finish my career there.”
| Chiefs end Jared Allen
Less than two months ago, Jared Allen was poised to buy a ranch in Liberty, become the face of the Chiefs’ defense, and settle into a town he’s embraced as his own.
Now Allen wants out of Kansas City.
Allen told The Star on Saturday that he formally requested a trade when a meeting between his agent and members of the Chiefs’ front office produced no contract proposal. The Chiefs denied Allen’s request, and president/general manager Carl Peterson said the club plans to tender Allen on March 1, the deadline for teams to submit qualifying offers to restricted free agents.
Allen led the NFL with six fumble recoveries in 2006 and has produced 27 1/2 sacks in his first three years with the Chiefs. But after more than a year of conversations and weeks of numbers being bandied about, Allen’s agent, Ken Harris, said the sides were still “far apart” from a long-term deal.
Allen’s three-year contract expires this week.
Harris said the club plans to high tender Allen, which means that if another team signed him to an offer sheet, the Chiefs could match it or receive a first- and third-round draft pick.
Allen, who would earn $2.35 million as a high tender in 2007, said he isn’t optimistic about future negotiations with the Chiefs.
“For me, personally, it’s beyond that point,” Allen said.
“I feel shocked and hurt. Requesting a trade was probably the toughest thing I’ve had to do. It’s nothing personal against the town of Kansas City and the fans. It’s been great. (But) it doesn’t look like my future is going to be there, and I have to accept that. That’s why this is so hard. All the hard work I’ve put in, the blood, sweat and tears … I wanted to finish my career there. I was led to believe I was going to.”
Hours after the meeting took place in Indianapolis, Peterson said he still wants Allen on the team and that they’ve been discussing a long-term contract, but “he wants too much money,” Peterson said.
Allen was one of the biggest surprises of the 2004 draft, far exceeding the expectations of a fourth-round pick from Idaho State. He cracked the starting lineup as a rookie at defensive end, led the team with nine sacks, and quickly became a fan favorite.
He improved his all-round game in 2006, with 64 solo tackles, 7 1/2 sacks and three forced fumbles. He earned a base salary of just $425,000, and Allen said he was led to believe he would be rewarded with a long-term deal.
“My teammates are awesome, and my coaches are awesome,” Allen said. “But it’s just not an environment that I want to be in right now. I feel like I’ve been misrepresented by the powers-that-be that certain things were going to happen.”
One factor in the contract process, Peterson said, is the fact that Allen just served a jail sentence for his second DUI arrest. But Peterson wants him on the team, and that’s why he won’t trade him.
“There’s always a risk,” he said. “And we haven’t found out yet from the National Football League how much of a suspension they’re going to give him (in 2007).
“He’s a very good football player. But he’s also a young man at risk, and we know that, and so does the National Football League. We’re trying to work out something that makes sense, and hopefully that will be done.”
Harris declined to comment on specifics of the negotiations. At the end of Saturday’s meeting, Harris asked one last time whether there was a proposal the Chiefs wanted to put on the table.
“The reply was no,” Harris said. “And we all shook hands, and I left.”
Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said he was confident the sides would strike a fair deal. He said he wanted Allen on the team. “The first offer is not always the last offer,” Edwards said. “It’s a process. When you want to get things done, sometimes you get a little frustrated, and that’s why players hire agents and why there are negotiations.”
The Star’s Adam Teicher contributed to this report.
he`s good but till he grows up its hard to justify the money he wants. but its just the first round of talks, noth`n happens the first round._krdDartInc++;document.write('');
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Originally Posted by kenny1937
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