Derrick Harvey Ends Holdout With Jags
August 27, 2008 by David Kindervater
Filed under Jacksonville Jaguars
National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Rookie defensive end Derrick Harvey ended his 33-day holdout and signed a five-year, $33.4 million contract with the Jacksonville Jags today. The deal includes $17.177 million guaranteed. Derrick is the last first-round Draft pick to sign a contract. The whole process frustrated Jags head coach Jack Del Rio, who just a few days ago was ultimately blaming Derrick’s agent for his client’s absence. He wasn’t thrilled with the system either:
“What’s happened at the very top of the first round is ridiculous. When you’re paying the guys who have never done anything more than star football players in this league that have played for years and established themselves at this level what they’re capable of, it can be a little frustrating.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell plans to address this rookie pay scale issue in the near future. But as it turns out, Derrick didn’t get the money he was holding out for. The Jags traded up 18 spots to get him with the No. 8 pick. Meanwhile, Vernon Gholston, selected with the sixth pick by the New York Jets, signed a five-year deal worth $50 million, with $21 million guaranteed. And New Orleans gave the No. 7 pick, defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, a five-year deal that reportedly included $19.5 million guaranteed. Derrick’s agent wanted a similar deal but finally settled and compensated by negotiating for easier-to-achieve incentives. I think both sides are just happy the deal has been sealed and Derrick can concentrate on football.
Obviously, Derrick has missed a lot of time and reps with the Jags defense. Just how quickly he’ll be able to catch up is yet to be seen. He did go through OTAs and minicamps, so it’s not like he’s unfamiliar with the system. But his primary objective won’t require a ton of study anyway. He’ll put his hand in the dirt off the edge of the defensive line and rush the quarterback. Derrick had 20.5 career sacks with the Florida Gators and was the defensive most valuable player of the 2007 BCS national title game against Ohio State. He’ll get the job done in Jacksonville, too.
Source: Jaguars.com, Photo: Newscom
