(Where does the B.J. Raji situation stand?)
Ongoing. Frustrating for everybody I'm sure. Certainly for us and I'm sure for B.J. and his representatives. It's continual dialogue, and it's ongoing.
(Where do you stand on doing something about a rookie pay scale and changing the system?)
Well, I think it's OK for a person in my position to have an opinion, and when it comes to it, if Mark wants to know my opinion, ... but to try to bring B.J. into this whole thing, it's probably not a fair thing. So I don't want to get somebody mad at me. But there are obviously concerns from a lot of people, current players and the NFL people about the current system. The problem is it gets so complicated because you just interpret numbers, as opposed to what a market is, and then you project and you do all this, and everybody's projections and everybody's computations there can be different even though people can be well-meaning and trying to do the right thing. I know I didn't answer your question, but I'd probably better stay away from big picture questions.
(When you say ongoing, can you say there's been progress made since last week?)
I think any kind of discussion is progress, and we're working at it. I don't know how to predict in terms of when something might get done or anything like that. But both sides are working very hard, and it's a difficult thing for both sides.
(You have a lot invested in Justin Harrell, but how long can you wait for a guy to produce when injuries continue to crop up?)
This game is about accountability and durability and all of that, and that has to factor in. Certainly we think a lot of Justin and we think he has a bright future as an NFL player. He has had his share of bad-luck injuries and he's going to battle though something now, and he has battled through. We'll see, but at the end of the day you have to be able to line up and do your part, and he's giving it a go.
(Is this more troublesome because it's the same thing he had last year?)
It's frustrating, and it's frustrating to Justin more than anybody else. I know it's easy to criticize him. It's not his fault. He's trying and trying to do the best he can and he's had some bad luck in that area.
(Last week you were asked about Michael Vick. Are you continuing to explore anything with that?)
No, we talked about going through the process that we always go through. That's what we have done. There is nothing new to report.
(How do you think that would fly in the community, if Michael Vick were to sign here?)
We're answering a question based on speculation and conjecture that maybe would happen and what do you think. It would be my opinion of what might happen...that's chasing ghosts.
(Do you take that into account when evaluating anybody?)
Generally we evaluate all the aspects of acquiring players. Sure we do, whether it be draft, trades, whatever.
