For a backup quarterback who probably won’t play in the Super Bowl, Steve Beuerlein of the Cowboys is in an unusually enviable position.
He will be a free agent by March 1 along with five Dallas teammates and 11 Buffalo Bills, lending a new angle to the drone of Super Bowl week.
Beuerlein, kick returner-receiver Kelvin Martin and safety Ray Horton are among the Dallas free agents who may try to make an extra impression on Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt, moonlighting this week as Cowboys defensive coordinator.
Among the Bills’ free agents are linebacker Shane Conlan, offensive tackle Will Wolford and nose tackle Jeff Wright. Their resumes will be on display Sunday for 100 million people and 27 other NFL teams.
The impact of free agency under the limitations of a probable salary cap by 1994 remains to be seen. But the possibilities for the 1993 off-season unleash free agency of the imagination.
Jim Harbaugh in Minnesota?
Beuerlein in Chicago?
Jim McMahon anywhere but Philadelphia?
When free agency hits, quarterbacks are the quarry. Twenty-four will be free March 1 to make deals until July 15, according to NFL Players Association contract records.
That accounts for every five-year quarterback whose contract expires. Some already may have cut unannounced new deals with their old teams.
The nuances of the collective-bargaining settlement remain in the interpretation stage. Seminars are slated Monday in Atlanta, Tuesday in Chicago and Wednesday in Los Angeles to walk NFL executives through a system that is being shaped and changed on the fly.
The four teams that played in the conference championship games are restricted to signing only as many free agents as they lose. So if the Cowboys want to pursue a Reggie White, they will need to lose someone of comparable value. Beuerlein’s salary would have to increase considerably to match White’s, for example.
The Eagles are unable to protect White, and the Cowboys can’t protect Beuerlein with a “franchise exception” or “transitional exception” because those players are two of the approximately 20 plaintiffs in lawsuits that cannot be exempted under terms of the settlement.
Although about 300 players will fit the category of free agent next month, quarterbacks always are the primary targets. Many, including Harbaugh, have been starters.
For Harbaugh, it is important to hear words of encouragement from Wannstedt before he tests the waters. The Bears could prevent Harbaugh from leaving by designating him a “franchise exception” or a “transition exception.”
In the former category, he would get a contract from the Bears worth the average of the top five at his position. Since that would nearly triple his current $1.35 million salary, the Bears may prefer to opt for the first-refusal right to protect a “transition” player and match any offer.
The Vikings are reported to be interested in Harbaugh because they are desperate to improve on last year’s twin disappointments, Rich Gannon and Sean Salisbury. Pursuing Harbaugh would add another element to what will undoubtedly become the busiest off-season in NFL history.
“Take someone from your division and you score a double hit,” said Bill Tobin, Bears personnel chief.
The possibilities will keep NFL general managers working harder than GMs of fantasy football leagues. Many of the details of the new agreement are being ironed out “as we speak,” said Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, whose decision to decertify as a labor union three years ago paved the way to the new agreement by removing the league’s antitrust protection.
“Every time we think we’ve got something figured out, we think of something else.”
Obviously, not every free agent is going to be targeted and not every player is going to benefit. With a salary cap, agents figure the “average” player will be squeezed out as teams field combinations of superstars and young, low-paid supporting casts.
Upshaw said the NFLPA had not yet projected what free agency might do to the average salary of $496,000 or the median base of $275,000.
“It’s hard to tell, because a cap is not in place for 1993,” Upshaw said. “And if they get stingy, a cap won’t be in place in 1994. They have to spend 67 percent of revenue before a cap kicks in.”
The most attractive free agents include defensive linemen White, Neil Smith of Kansas City, Leslie O’Neal of San Diego and Pierce Holt of San Francisco; linebackers Wilber Marshall of Washington, Tim Harris of San Francisco, Sam Mills of New Orleans and Al Smith of Houston; offensive linemen Wolford of Buffalo, Lomas Brown of Detroit, Gerald Perry of the Rams, Gary Zimmerman of Minnesota, Paul Gruber of Tampa Bay, Guy McIntyre of San Francisco and Jim Dombrowski of New Orleans.
But quarterbacks are the headliners who will provide football with the same kind of “hot stove league” that baseball has enjoyed for years.
McMahon, Beuerlein, the Giants’ Phil Simms and Houston’s Cody Carlson are four backups who have the most impressive credentials to take over teams.
McMahon is a logical candidate to end up in Minnesota. Vikings coach Dennis Green likes him. McMahon’s agent, Steve Zucker, has predicted that his client will end up in the NFC Central, where he would face the Bears twice a year. Talk about a double hit.
McMahon, Simms and Giants teammate Jeff Hostetler are free agents who have won Super Bowls. Assuming the Giants protect Hostetler, Simms is attractive to a team that thinks it is a quarterback away, even if he is 37.
New Orleans’ Bobby Hebert is another intriguing prospect. The Saints are not allowed to protect him because he was a plaintiff. He was so upset with the Saints two years ago that he sat out an entire season and sued. Has he worn out his welcome in New Orleans? Is Al Davis ready to take a chance on another quarterback for his Raiders?
San Francisco’s Steve Young is one of the free agents who won’t be freed. At 31, Young remains the 49ers’ future, and they will protect him. However, third-stringer Steve Bono, who had success in the 49ers’ system in 1991, is free and says he already has talked with Joe Montana about going somewhere as a package deal. Montana is not a free agent, but will the 49ers finagle a way to make him one in order to bid for White?
Will Green Bay’s Don Majkowski get anybody to take a chance on a bum shoulder after his recent second surgery?
Does anybody think Tampa Bay’s Vinny Testaverde still has not reached his potential? In the new NFL world, there are more questions than answers.
To those who feared dominance by the rich in a free market, the salary cap already has put a lid on free-spending teams like the 49ers and Redskins, who may have to cut back their high payrolls. But what if teams beef up in 1993, when no cap is in effect? Will they be forced to reduce payrolls, or will the 1993 contracts be grandfathered?
To prevent chicanery like under-the-table personal-services contracts to circumvent the cap, the league is pondering the possibilities of having players sign affidavits allowing subpoenas of tax returns, said Detroit General Manager Chuck Schmidt.
One thing for sure: With no salary cap the first year and the top teams limited in their ability to sign, this is no time for the timid. Teams like the Bears, who stayed away from Plan B signings, say they will be aggressive in this system. They may have no choice.
