Rams : In a Bull Market, Price of Evans Goes Higher
Donald Evans, the Rams’ second-round draft choice and leader of the team’s holdout draft pack, said Wednesday that it will now take more money to get him into camp than it did last Friday, when it appeared he was close to signing a four-year deal.
The new demands are directly related to the market prices for second-round draft choices these days.
Evans, one of seven remaining unsigned Ram draft picks, almost signed a four-year, $800,000 contract last week, the deal apparently lacking only incentive clauses for the third and fourth years.
Since, however, six National Football League second-round picks have signed for more money than the Rams offered the defensive end.
“I guess the Rams should have signed me last week,” Evans said via phone hook-up from his home in North Carolina.
Of particular interest to Evans and his agent, Steve Weinberg, are two second-round Tampa Bay Buccaneer selections (Winston Moss and Don Smith) who were drafted after Evans, but signed this week for more money than the Rams offered.
“I don’t want guys below me making more money than me,” Evans said. “I think it’s that simple. Last week, I was on the verge of signing for about $200,000 a year. The guys behind me are averaging $231,000 a year.”
So Evans has vowed to wait as Weinberg bravely asks the Rams for more money, which history has proven to be an unfruitful endeavor.
“I don’t think we have any choice but to ask for more,” Weinberg said.
Ram general counsel Jay Zygmunt is handling negotiations with Evans, but he had no comment regarding the latest development Wednesday. It is the Rams’ policy not to discuss contract negotiations with the press.
Evans, meanwhile, insists that his absence from training camp is not as career-threatening as Ram Coach John Robinson would like you to believe.
Robinson has said repeatedly that Evans’ rookie season would be a waste if he misses more than a week of camp.
Evans doesn’t think it’s all that complicated.
“The Rams want me to sack the quarterback,” he said. “It’s not like I’m playing offensive guard or tackle, where I have to know the whole scheme of the offense. They want me to sack the quarterback. What’s so hard about that? It’s not like I’m playing quarterback.”
Robinson, though, is holding firm with his prediction.
“I like Don Evans,” he said, “but what he says is not going to be chiseled in stone around here. We’ll wait two years after he’s gone up against (Pro Bowl tackle) Jackie Slater.”
Ram Notes Eric Dickerson on Wednesday was granted a two-week continuance for his paternity suit hearing, which will allow him to join the team in time for its London exhibition game against the Denver Broncos on Aug. 9. Dickerson, who is being sued by former girlfriend Rea Ann Silva, was originally scheduled to appear in court Aug. 4, when the Rams will be overseas. Attorneys for Dickerson and Silva met Wednesday and afterward released a statement, which read in part, “Ms. Silva does not want to interfere with Mr. Dickerson’s obligation to play in an exhibition game in London.”
Add Donald Evans: His agent, Steve Weinberg, is angered that word apparently got back to Coach John Robinson that a deal was completed with Evans last Friday but was killed under pressure from the NFL Players Assn., which allegedly advised Weinberg to hold out for more money. “It never happened,” Weinberg said. “I’m very upset, I told Jay (Zygmunt, Ram general counsel) last night (Tuesday) that he was wrong in thinking we ever had a deal.”. . . . Said Robinson, in reference to the large number of holdout draft choices: “There’s some sort of organized thing going on.” . . . Speaking of agents, receiver Michael Young, as expected, signed a two-year contract with the Rams Wednesday without one.
Safety Vince Newsome is close to signing a new contract, which would pare the unsigned veteran total to six. . . . Robinson met Wednesday with receiver Tony Hill, released last week by the Dallas Cowboys because of a weight problem. A decision to sign Hill will be made by Sunday. Hill, 31, told Robinson he weighed 214 pounds, about 12 pounds more than Hill’s listed playing weight a season ago. He had 49 receptions for 770 yards and 3 touchdowns in 1986. “If a new environment can help him, and create enthusiasm, then there’s definitely a need from our standpoint,” Robinson said. . . . Tackle Hank Goebel is expected to be out a week with a twisted right knee.
