Manning 'willing to take less' money to do deal, assist Colts

The Indianapolis Colts have made it known that they want to make Peyton Manning the NFL's highest-paid player when they complete a new contract with him. However, the quarterback is more concerned about winning than being atop the NFL's salary food chain.

"While I appreciate (Colts owner) Jim Irsay offering to make me the highest-paid player," Manning told The Indianapolis Star on Friday. "I told him I'd rather he save that money and keep whoever it is ... (running back) Joe Addai, (left tackle) Charlie Johnson, whoever that may be.

"I'm willing to take less than they've offered if they are going to take that money to keep players we need to keep and go get other players. All I want is for them to have the cap and the cash to keep the players they want to keep and to sign other players."

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady currently is the highest-paid player after agreeing to a record annual average salary of $18 million ($72 million over four years) in September.

At this point, Manning wants to end the speculation about any demands he might have and get a deal done.

"Today, tomorrow, definitely by Sunday," Manning said of when he wants to complete the contract.

Irsay has promised to make Manning the highest-paid player in league history, but even he acknowledges that's a very high price with a salary cap slated at $120.3 million. The Colts hope that by lowering Manning's salary-cap number, they will be able to sign more of their free agents.

"We've been in a lockout, and when you think about that, it's very difficult to get that (Manning's deal) done in two, three days," Colts coach Jim Caldwell said. "It's going to take a couple days, and it will be done at some point in time. When it is, we'll be ready to go."

In February, the Colts tagged Manning as their exclusive franchise player, meaning he would make about $23 million this season if he signed the one-year offer.

Contract aside, the pain in Manning's neck will keep him off the practice field early next week.

The Colts still aren't sure how long it will take to get the four-time league MVP back.

Caldwell said Friday that the Colts will be cautious with Manning, who had neck surgery in May, and will not push him too hard. Camp opens Monday at Anderson University.

"Obviously, he's not ready right now, but nobody works harder and is more dedicated than him," Caldwell said. "When he's ready, we'll turn him loose."

Caldwell didn't provide a timetable for Manning's return.

It's the second time in four years the Colts will open camp without Manning.

In 2008, Manning missed all of camp with an infected bursa sac in his left knee, which required two surgeries. He struggled during the first half of the season, but he led the Colts to nine consecutive wins to make it back into the playoffs.

Manning also had neck surgery in March 2010 but recovered and didn't miss any practices at camp.

The only other time Manning has missed even a portion of training camp was in 1998, when he was one week late before signing his first contract.

Teammates said they aren't concerned that Manning won't be throwing right away.

"I've told him to be as cautious as he needs to be because the last time I checked, we don't count preseason games," Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday said. "I can tell you this, there's not a player that works harder than he does."

The questions about Manning's health have been increasing ever since he had the surgery.

In June, Archie Manning, Peyton's father, said his son's rehab wasn't going as quickly as expected. A month later, at the family's annual passing academy, Peyton Manning barely threw and said he was being cautious with his rehab because lockout rules prevented him from working out with Colts team trainers.

Last week, Irsay acknowledged Manning might not be ready when practices begin Monday, a position he reiterated just hours after the lockout ended.

"You don't want him doing too much too soon and you don't know on recoveries," Irsay said. "A lot of times eight weeks is enough. But to get a full recovery, it's going to be a little longer in this case."

Caldwell said the coaches haven't had a chance to see where Manning is yet, and he's not sure when they will.

Manning isn't the only player the Colts have been getting medical checks on.

The NFL free agency cycle is in full effect, with teams and players agreeing to terms fast as training camps open. Get the latest on all the news right here.

Pro Bowl tight end Dallas Clark has been cleared for full participation and will wear a splint on the wrist he injured last fall, the team said. Other key players cleared to practice are wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez (knee), tight end Brody Eldridge (knee), cornerback Kelvin Hayden (neck) and cornerbacks Jerraud Powers (foot, arm) and Kevin Thomas (knee).

The team also said that wide receiver Austin Collie hasn't shown any lingering symptoms of the two concussions that forced him to finish last season on injured reserve. He is expected to be a full participant in practice next week.

"I feel good, I'm excited to get back into it," Collie said. "At this point, everything is great."

Except, of course, the status of Manning.

"Whenever he's ready, he'll come back," Caldwell said. "He gets himself ready faster than most people."

The team confirmed Friday that it had agreed to new deals with kicker Adam Vinatieri and safety Melvin Bullitt. On Thursday, the Colts also lost linebacker Clint Session to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who signed him to a five-year deal worth more than $29 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Titans' Johnson has big money in mind, prepared to hold out

The Tennessee Titans were able to effectively placate star running back Chris Johnson last year and entice him to report for the 2010 season by adding an additional $1.5 million to his $500,000 base salary.

The situation will come to a head again this summer whenever the NFL lockout ends, and the solution is bound to be more complex.

Johnson, set to receive just $800,000 in 2011, is preparing for a much more prolonged holdout if need be and remains committed to joining the game's highest-paid running backs, according to those who have been in contact with him.

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The idea of another "band-aid" deal, after three highly productive seasons, isn't appealing to Johnson, and a contract in the range of the $5 million per season extension that Jamaal Charles signed with the Kansas City Chiefs last season isn't what he's thinking, either.

Johnson has talked in the past about wanting to join the ranks of those garnering $30 million in guaranteed money, and if the free-agent cash begins flying around in a furious manner post-lockout, don't expect his desire to wane.

Johnson is signed through 2012 on his rookie contract, and although that deal doesn't provide fiscal leverage, his presence is imperative to the Titans' offense. Tennessee is in a tricky spot, with quarterback Vince Young departing and rookie Jake Locker perhaps in line to start right away despite losing all offseason to the lockout. And top wide receiver Kenny Britt has had off-the-field trouble throughout the offseason, making Mike Munchak's first year as coach already more unusual than anyone would expect as he steps in for the departed Jeff Fisher.

All those subplots could hang over the Titans entering training camp, but Johnson's situation would be paramount among them. This impasse has the potential to rival cornerback Darrelle Revis' protracted standoff with the New York Jets last summer unless the sides can agree to a compromise soon after the lockout. It's difficult to envision a running back of Johnson's stature playing for less than $1 million per season.

Eventually, the sides will have to find common ground on more than a year-by-year basis. Perhaps they can find a two- or three-year solution, with guaranteed money on the front end, to bridge the gap. Regardless, whenever the lockout ends, expect this dance between Johnson and his employers to be renewed.

Follow Jason La Canfora on Twitter @JasonLaCanfora

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Skins DE Holliday: Haslett's Haynesworth remarks on the money

Vonnie Holliday thinks defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has a point about his teammate, Albert Haynesworth.

Speaking on the "LaVar Arrington Show with Chad Dukes," on Washington's 106.7 the Fan Monday, Holliday said Haslett's depiction of Haynesworth's behavior was on the money. But Holliday, a defensive end who started two games for the Redskins last season, also said the team's coaches could have done more to discourage Haynesworth's antics at meetings.

The Washington Redskins have been looking for more from defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth since they signed him to a $100 million contract in 2009. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

In an interview with a St. Louis radio station last week, Haslett described Haynesworth as a lazy player who either has trouble listening to -- or just plain ignores -- his coaches .

"He can do almost anything he wants. He doesn’t want to do anything. To me that’s the issue," Haslett said. "He’s one of those guys you walk in a meeting and you tell him, ‘Put down the phone.’ The next day you have to tell him to put down the phone. The next day, you tell him to put down the phone.

"You tell him, 'Don’t read the newspaper in meetings.' The next day you have to tell him the same thing. It doesn’t stick; it’s an every-day thing."

Holliday said Haynesworth's behavior frustrated the Redskins' veterans.

"Short of getting into a fight with Big Al (Haynesworth), you can’t tell him what to do," Holliday said. "As frank as coach Haslett was on the radio station about what transpired throughout the course of last year with Albert I thought there was a missed opportunity there for coaches.

"Maybe this is something that was just instilled in me early in my career -- you just don’t take your phone to a meeting. If a phone rings in a meeting it is an issue. It is a problem. You are going to get cursed out, fussed out and fined. Any number of things are going to happen to you by your coach. I’m terrified.

"These younger guys it is not the same. It’s not looked at as the same. Unfortunately Albert ... some of the stuff that coach Haslett is talking about, having a phone in the meeting, it was just not addressed. Coming up, you’re telling a guy, 'Hey don’t bring your phone to a meeting. You can’t do that.' I mean, the way we get through to these guys is to fine them and that just never happened throughout the year."

Holliday said Haynesworth's ability to dominate on the field, which rarely has manifest itself in Washington since he set an NFL record with $41 million guaranteed as part of a seven-year, $100 contract in 2009, makes his actions even more frustrating.

"First of all, I’m not in it to be an Albert Haynesworth basher," Holliday said. "Yes, some of the on-the-field antics, some of the stuff in the meeting rooms have been disappointing ... (If ) You’ve been a dominating player that we all know that this guy could be. We have no issues.

Holliday said that was not the case with Haynesworth.

"I know that can be frustrating for a new defensive line coach coming in. A new defensive coordinator. Seeing what this guy is capable of doing and then it just not playing out on the field. It was certainly frustrating for me.

"To be honest, this is a guy that if he plays at the level that we know he can play at, will raise the level of play for everybody around him. It’s unfortunate that it has not played out. I don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward but after these comments made by coach (Haslett), you’ve got to think how this guy is going to go back into that locker room and listen to coach and do anything short of what happened last year."

Haynesworth fell out of favor with new coach Mike Shanahan in 2010 and repeatedly clashed over workout routines and playing time. The Redskins suspended Haynesworth for the final four games of the season for "conduct detrimental to the team."

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Group wants Bednarik statue at Penn, if money can be raised

"Concrete Charlie" might be cast in bronze one day.

Civic leaders, NFL figures and fans have been pushing for a statue of Chuck Bednarik to be erected at Franklin Field, where he played with both the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the Philadelphia Daily News reported Saturday, raising money for the project, which would be the centerpiece of a sports museum honoring Penn and the Eagles, has been a problem.

"From what I gathered in talking to Steve (Bilsky, Penn's athletic director), we gave a monetary figure (to be raised) to the people who came to us with the idea of doing the Bednarik statue," Mike Mahoney, the school's director of athletic communications, told the newspaper. "The sense I get is we're nowhere near that number at this point."

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According to the Daily News, NFL Films president Steve Sabol, former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil, ex-U.S. vice president John Chaney and Upton Bell, son of the late NFL commissioner Bert Bell, are among those who support the Bednarik statue. Bednarik himself also would like to see it.

"Fantastic. Fantastic. Unbelievable," the 86-year-old Hall of Famer told the newspaper from his Coopersburg, Pa., home. "I hope I live long enough to see it."

Brian P. Hanlon, a New Jersey-based artist, said he has done sketches for the statue, and "I am prepared to start the 7-foot clay model as soon as I am contracted by the University of Pennsylvania to proceed."

When that will happen is anyone's guess, but there's strong sentiment to honor Bednarik, who played center and linebacker for the Eagles from 1949 to 1962 and is considered one of the NFL's "last 60-minute men." He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, and the Eagles retired his jersey No. 60.

Eagles president Joe Banner told the Daily News that the team isn't "anti-statues" and pointed out that its practice facility features big pictures of Hall of Fame players, including Bednarik.

"The group that wanted to do the Bednarik statue, we had talked to them about our idea of taking one player from each decade and kind of doing a group of statues," Banner said. "They wanted to honor Chuck separately, in a time frame sooner than we were prepared to do."

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