NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

NFL Players Association president Kevin Mawae says his group is ‘not tied’ to a Thursday deadline for getting a deal done to end the league’s lockout

Via: Pro Football Weekly

Player representatives voted to forward the Brady antitrust settlement to the plaintiffs, but did not vote to approve a new Collective Bargaining Agreement on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.

Sports Illustrated’s Jim Trotter first reported that the players conditionally voted the settlement to the plaintiffs, “pending resolution of some outstanding issues.” According to Trotter, one of the issues may be the $320 million that players reportedly claim to have lost in benefits in the 2010 league year, which was played without a salary cap.

A source told FoxSports.com’s Alex Marvez that the player reps need to review the CBA material before they can vote on it.

Earlier Wednesday, PFW’s Eric Edholm reported there was some tension between player reps and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith on a conference call.

CBSSports.com’s Mike Freeman reported Wednesday that lawyers representing Chargers WR Vincent Jackson(notes) and Patriots OG Logan Mankins(notes) were requesting $10 million for each player, which was one of the snags from the CBA talks on the NFLPA side from being completed, Freeman said. Trotter, who noted that Jackson wrote on Twitter Tuesday that he had “made no demands,” reported on SportsIllustrated.com that a source told him that “Jackson’s camp indeed is seeking to have his situation addressed.”

Jackson and Freeman are plantiffs in the Brady case. Each received the franchise tag in 2010 and again this offseason.

The league’s labor committee met in Atlanta Wednesday to go over the details of a new labor agreement. All 32 owners are set to meet in Atlanta on Thursday. If the players ratify a new CBA early in the day, the owners conceivably could approve later on Thursday.

Veteran nose tackle Kris Jenkins plans to announce his retirement, Larry Hardesty of ESPN NY 1050 reports, via Adam Schefter.

Jenkins posted the following statement on Facebook.

“Wanted to let you all know that I have loved the support and respect that you all have given me throughout my career. But it is time for the torch to be passed to the younger players. I am going to hang up the cleats! The mind is always willing to play but my body deserves the rest. Thank you for the opportunities to play Carolina and New York.”

Jenkins, who turns 32 in August, is coming a pair of torn ACLs in his left knee during an 11-month span. Scheduled to earn $525 million in total compensation in 2011, the Jets released Jenkins in February.

A second-round pick (44th overall) out of Maryland by the Carolina Panthers in 2001, Jenkins totaled 279 tackles and 24 quarterback sacks in 108 games during his 10-year career with the Panthers (2001-07) and Jets (2008-10). Jenkins earned Pro Bowl honors in 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2008, and was an All-Pro in 2002, 2003, and 2008.

Sports Gab Network editor Matt Loede spent Monday morning talking to the Pulse Network about the latest in free agency and what else is going on in the NFL.

Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora is one of the plaintiffs in the Tom Brady antitrust suit against the NFL. Although he has the power to block the settlement of the deal he isn’t.

“He assumes they’ll throw some cash at him or something,” a source told Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. “But do you really think he’s not going to sign off on a deal? No.”

He wants GM Jerry Reese to fulfill the “promise” to rip up the remainder of the six-year, $41 million contract extension he signed in December of 2005 and pay him like one of the top five defensive ends in the league or trade him to a team that will. The source said Umenyiora is more likely to consider a training-camp holdout.

The Cowboys are anticipating the end of the lockout in the next few days. With that in mind, the Cowboys coaching staff has returned to Valley Ranch to prepare for when football returns. Since the lockout began the Cowboys coaches, seven of which are new, have had little-to-no contact with the players. The only exception was when the lockout was temporarily lifted due to a court injunction.

Head Coach Jason Garrett brought in seven new assistant coaches: Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan, Jimmy Robinson, Matt Eberflus, Brian Baker, Mike Woicik, Ben Bloom, and assistant strength and conditioning coach Walt Williams. The more preparation the coaches can have the better the transition it will be for the new coaches.

Many people are optimistic that the lockout will end in the next couple of days which will allow the NFL to save the preseason and training camps.

Offensive tackle Ryan Harris will be an unrestricted free agent when the 2011 league year opens. The Broncos are unlikely to bring Harris back, and Rich Campbell of The Washington Times reports the former third-round pick out of Notre Dame is open to playing again for his first NFL coach, Mike Shanahan.

“Yeah, I had a great experience with Mike Shanahan,” Harris said during an appearance on Denver’s 102.3 The Ticket. “(He) drafted me into the league, gave me my first opportunity. We had the No. 1 pass offensive line (in sacks per pass) and the No. 3 rushing offensive line (in yards per carry) so I know he's got a system that works. He knows how to put players together.”

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Myra Kraft, the wife of Patriots owner Robert Kraft died Wednesday morning following a battle with cancer.

The Patriots issued the following statement on Wednesday:

“Words cannot express the deep sorrow that we feel in learning of the passing of Myra Hiatt Kraft,” the club’s statement read. “Myra passed away early this morning after a courageous battle with cancer. We are all heartbroken. The global philanthropic community and the New England Patriots family have suffered a great loss.”

Myra served as president of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation.

"What she came to love about her family's role as owners of the Patriots was making a difference in the lives of others," said ESPNBoston's Mike Reiss, who covers the Patriots.

Patriots past and present took to Twitter to express their condolences early Wednesday.

Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork called Myra Kraft "a wonderful woman who my wife and I loved dearly," in a tweet.

Former Titans coach Jeff Fisher appeared on NFL Network’s NFL Total Access on Monday night, and after 17 years at the helm of the Oilers/Titans, Fisher appears ready to take on his next challenge

“I’m enjoying my time (off but) certainly not done with what I set out to do, and that was to win a championship. So looking forward to another opportunity to try to do so,” he said.

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For the past few weeks, NFL owners have circled their July 21 meeting in Atlanta as a date they would vote to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association.

With that deadline one day away, and several issues remaining to be resolved before a CBA is complete, NFLPA President Kevin Mawae says the players are not tied to a July 21 deadline, The Associated Press reports.

“We want to go back to work, but we will not agree to a deal unless it’s the best deal for the players.”

Legal teams for the NFL and NFLPA have been working on the document in Manhattan, with the hope that it can be presented to the NFL Management Council Executive Committee (CEC), which is meeting in Atlanta, and the NFLPA’s Executive Committee in Washington, D.C., who would decide on recommending the agreement to the rest of the owners and player representatives for all 32 teams.

If a document is completed and recommended by the CEC, the owners are expected to vote on it on Thursday before holding a labor seminar for team executives that night and Friday. A players’ vote is expected to be on both the CBA and a decision to re-certify the union.

Once agreed upon, teams and agents are also expected to have 72 hours to review the document before opening up a 72-hour window where teams can process and evaluate returning players, sign undrafted rookie free agents and negotiate with their own free agents before the unrestricted free agent signing period begins.