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| Glenn |
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Erstwhile wide receiver Terry Glenn remained a no-show
from the New England Patriots training camp Thursday morning but, despite
gaining another fairly significant bargaining chip in the ongoing leverage
game, the team took no official action against the AWOL five-year veteran.
Glenn, 27, has not been seen -- or for that matter, heard from, at least by
the Patriots -- since the league announced last Friday that he is suspended
for the first four games of the regular season for a repeat violation of the
NFL's substance abuse policy.
The club last week issued a so-called five-day letter, which, in essence,
demands that a player under contract report to the team. Since Glenn failed
to report within the five days, the Patriots now have the option of
suspending him without pay for the balance of the 2001 regular season.
Team officials, though, seem in no hurry to exercise that right. Glenn is
being fined at the rate of $1,000 per day during his absence. The initial
speculation was that perhaps he left the team to grieve for former Ohio
State teammate Korey Stringer, but it is believed that he did not attend the
Monday funeral of the Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle.
"We could press the issue and, in some ways, we've already taken steps to do
that," one high-ranking club official said Wednesday morning. "But the way
we see it, we really don't have to do anything. What's the hurry? The guy is
suspended for the first four games anyway. The money is going out, not
coming in, for him. We can sit on him for a while because, let's face it,
the next move ought to come from him."
League sources confirmed the Patriots have followed the letter of the law in
dealing with the Glenn situation and that all procedural matters undertaken
to this point leave New England with the upper hand. Even one NFL Players
Association official conceded that Glenn has backed himself into a dicey
position.
"We feel we're in a good position," said Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who
declined to go into any detail about his team's plans for dealing with
Glenn.
Glenn's agent, Jim Gould, suggested on Tuesday that his client might
consider retiring from football and "faced a difficult decision." But not
even Glenn's closest friends on the team feel that quitting is an option for
the speedy wide receiver.
Patriots officials were adamant Wednesday that Glenn will not be traded. And
they also emphasized that the team holds his rights through the 2007 season,
because of a contract extension he signed last year, and at very palatable
base salaries. Glenn's salary for 2001, for instance, is just $480,000. Even
in '07, his base salary is only $3.04 million, although a escalator could
raise the value.
There is also the possibility that New England might not have to award Glenn
any more of the deferred signing bonus payments due him in the future, and
could actually seek to recover some of the bonus already paid him.
Glenn's contract, ESPN.com reported last week, includes a stipulation that
expressly cites the team's rights if the player is suspended by the NFL. If
New England invokes the clause, it could cost Glenn about $9.5 million. How
the suspension will eventually affect the ongoing issue of Glenn's deferred
signing bonus, $1 million of which was withheld by the team earlier this
spring, remains to be seen.
The money was one in a series of 23 deferred payments agreed to by Glenn and
the Patriots when he signed a contract extension last fall that included an
$11.5 million signing bonus.
The contract also includes so-called "morals clauses" which permit the
Patriots to recover at least a portion of the signing bonus if Glenn is
arrested for anything more serious than a DUI. Glenn was arrested May 16 in
an alleged incident of domestic abuse involving the mother of his 5-year-old
son. He was charged with assault, battery and intimidating a witness.
Despite contentions at a pretrial hearing last month that he did not strike
his female friend, a judge declined to dismiss the case.
Glenn holds the league record for most catches as a rookie, 90, in 1996 and
clearly is the Pats' best big-play threat. But the Patriots signed four
veteran free agent receivers in the offseason and, along with returning
starter Troy Brown, feel they can play with those onhand.
Asked if he had "skewed" his offensive design in any way to compensate for
Glenn's absence, an exasperated coach Bill Belichick said: "No, we pretty
much put the offense in during the spring and he wasn't here for that,
either."
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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