Tony Carter (may have) filed a grievance against Broncos

[VonDoom]

Found this nugget today. It's likely that Carter filed a grievance, saying he should have been placed on IR, thereby guaranteeing his salary this year:



Earlier today, Jason Fitzgerald at Over The Cap notified me of a salary cap charge that the Broncos incurred today. In doing the math and looking at some team history that I’ll explain beyond the fold, the best guess as to what this cap charge is all about is that former Bronco Tony Carter may have filed a grievance against the team.

The amount of cap dollars that the Broncos were charged today was $616,800. According to Art. 13, §5(e) of the CBA, once a grievance is filed, 40% of the salary in dispute is charged against the team until the grievance is resolved. $616,800 of 40% is $1.542 million—a number that matches perfectly with the lowest tender for restricted free agents in 2015. That offseason, the Broncos only had three players eligible for restricted free agency. One, Aaron Brewer, was extended by the Broncos. Another, Steven Johnson, was not offered an RFA tender, and is now with the Titans.

As you can probably guess by now given the title and the RFA tender list I linked to, that only leaves Tony Carter. He, of course, somewhat unexpectedly received an RFA tender despite falling out of favor with the team and stuck behind impressive talent at cornerback in Chris Harris, Jr., Aqib Talib, and Bradley Roby. Many observers speculated that the reason the Broncos tendered Carter was so that they could try to trade him to interested suitors. But trying to convince another team to take on a $1.542 million contract for someone buried in the depth chart looked like a tough sell, and ultimately Carter was among those cut at the end of the preseason.

Typically, a player filing a grievance in Carter’s case will do so on the basis of injury, arguing that his team should have placed him on injured reserve (and thus guaranteeing his salary for the year) instead of cutting him. Looking back at some previous reports, Carter was held out of practice on August 27, and again on August 31, with a hamstring injury that also kept him out of the last preseason game on September 3. Since he was cut, Carter has had only one known workout, and that was for the Ravens on September 22.

Assuming that this guess of a grievance is correct, it of course remains to be seen as to which side will prevail, or whether an injury settlement will be reached between Carter and the Broncos. But with salary cap challenges ahead of the Broncos for 2016, having to eat an additional $1.542 million for a player no longer on the team would be unfortunate.

http://in-thinair.com/2015/10/15/did-tony-carter-file-a-grievance-against-the-broncos/

I can understand why he would have done this, if that's indeed what happened. But it would suck from a team perspective to have that cap hit for a guy they cut.

[BroncoWave]

**** you Tony Carter. You got cut because you suck, not because you were hurt. Denver should not be obligated to IR him because of a hamstring pull. To me, it seems like this is his last desperate move since no one is interested in signing him. Not enough for him to screw over the Broncos with his shitty play on the field, he now has to do it off the field as well.

[TXBRONC]

**** you Tony Carter. You got cut because you suck, not because you were hurt. Denver should not be obligated to IR him because of a hamstring pull. To me, it seems like this is his last desperate move since no one is interested in signing him. Not enough for him to screw over the Broncos with his shitty play on the field, he now has to do it off the field as well.

Go kick his butt Wave. :viking:

[Dapper Dan]

**** you Tony Carter. You got cut because you suck, not because you were hurt. Denver should not be obligated to IR him because of a hamstring pull. To me, it seems like this is his last desperate move since no one is interested in signing him. Not enough for him to screw over the Broncos with his shitty play on the field, he now has to do it off the field as well.

Yea . But. Rules.

[BroncoWave]

Yea . But. Rules.

I guess I'm unclear on what rule Denver broke? If someone has a minor injury at the end of camp are you required to IR them instead of release them?

[tomjonesrocks]

I don't understand it either. If he worked out for the Ravens on Sept 22 is he hurt at all?

[BroncoWave]

I don't understand it either. If he worked out for the Ravens on Sept 22 is he hurt at all?

Great point. I don't see how he can claim Denver should have put him on IR if he is trying to workout for other teams.

[Slick]

I think I'm one of the very few who didn't hate Tony Carter. He is an athletic freak. His mistakes were more mental than due to his physical ability. He sure caught a lot of shit on these forums.

[BroncoWave]

I think I'm one of the very few who didn't hate Tony Carter. He is an athletic freak. His mistakes were more mental than due to his physical ability. He sure caught a lot of shit on these forums.

You have to eventually learn from and correct those mental mistakes, though. He never did.

[Davii]

He should lose in this case. You don't get IR for a pulled hammy, you get IR for an injury that will not sufficiently heal in time to play the season. I'm not sure how he can have a tryout and then go back and claim he was too injured to play for the entire season. Makes no sense. If he's too injured now I would like to see him prove that it was from the Broncos and not from his workouts or tryouts after he left the team.

[BroncoJoe]

He should lose in this case. You don't get IR for a pulled hammy, you get IR for an injury that will not sufficiently heal in time to play the season. I'm not sure how he can have a tryout and then go back and claim he was too injured to play for the entire season. Makes no sense. If he's too injured now I would like to see him prove that it was from the Broncos and not from his workouts or tryouts after he left the team.

Yep. As the article explained, once a grievance is filed, the team is required to put 40% aside and take the cap hit until resolved. I can't imagine Carter winning.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

So far, nothing locally is being reported on this

[Slick]

You have to eventually learn from and correct those mental mistakes, though. He never did.

Sure. I think that's one of the reasons they kept him around for so long, hoping he's eventually get it. He just never did.

[Dapper Dan]

I guess I'm unclear on what rule Denver broke? If someone has a minor injury at the end of camp are you required to IR them instead of release them?

The Golden rule.

[Ravage!!!]

He's making a claim, but that doesn't mean his claim will be upheld. He'll have a hard time proving that the Broncos should have put him on IR for a pulled Hammy when the entire NFL has players with pulled hammies that are not on IR. He wants a paycheck.

[BroncoWave]

He's making a claim, but that doesn't mean his claim will be upheld. He'll have a hard time proving that the Broncos should have put him on IR for a pulled Hammy when the entire NFL has players with pulled hammies that are not on IR. He wants a paycheck.

I guess in a way I don't blame him. He saw that there was zero interest in him around the league and probably figured that this is his last chance at another paycheck.

[TXBRONC]

He's making a claim, but that doesn't mean his claim will be upheld. He'll have a hard time proving that the Broncos should have put him on IR for a pulled Hammy when the entire NFL has players with pulled hammies that are not on IR. He wants a paycheck.

I would think it would be very hard to make that claim stick since he did have tryout with the Ravens after Denver cut him.

[Joel]

He should lose in this case. You don't get IR for a pulled hammy, you get IR for an injury that will not sufficiently heal in time to play the season. I'm not sure how he can have a tryout and then go back and claim he was too injured to play for the entire season. Makes no sense. If he's too injured now I would like to see him prove that it was from the Broncos and not from his workouts or tryouts after he left the team.
Agreed. Muscle pulls don't mean SEASON-ENDING IR for two reasons: 1) The guy can't come back and play a week or two later when the muscle's healed; his season's over and 2) the CBA guarantees the full season salary for players on IR, so teams can't just leave players there earning NOTHING all year. I don't know how the Hell any team's OBLIGATED to put anyone on IR rather than cut them in the first place; the whole point of the rule is to protect players PLACED on IR, not mandate they be placed there FOR protection. Carter's showing the kind of "sharp" mind that got him cut.

[Joel]

I guess in a way I don't blame him. He saw that there was zero interest in him around the league and probably figured that this is his last chance at another paycheck.
He can't do his job, so he slanders his former employer to the tune of $1½ million? I totally blame him for that. The fact he's not good enough to make ANY roster is neither Denvers fault nor problem, and a filing a legal claim that a muscle pull entitles him to essentially a full year of workmans comp payments is borderline perjury. People like Carter are why so many people are often so dubious of VALID greivances.

[Simple Jaded]

I think I'm one of the very few who didn't hate Tony Carter. He is an athletic freak. His mistakes were more mental than due to his physical ability. He sure caught a lot of shit on these forums.

Dude was pretty good before the receiver caught the ball and pretty useless after he caught the pass, good cover skills but couldn't tackle.

[DenBronx]

I'm pretty sure Carol will get to the bottom of this before Adam Sheftner does.

[HORSEPOWER 56]

Players who are injured are protected from being just flat out cut. It's in the CBA. When a team decides to part ways with an injured player instead of placing them on IR to keep them around, there's usually some kind of injury settlement.

Carter would have to prove he was undergoing treatment for an injury when he was released. If the Broncos cut him while injured, technically they broke a rule. If the team doctors had cleared him to play, he has no case.

[Simple Jaded]

Players who are injured are protected from being just flat out cut. It's in the CBA. When a team decides to part ways with an injured player instead of placing them on IR to keep them around, there's usually some kind of injury settlement.

Carter would have to prove he was undergoing treatment for an injury when he was released. If the Broncos cut him while injured, technically they broke a rule. If the team doctors had cleared him to play, he has no case.

All they need is video of him practicing before he was released from what Alfred Williams has said in the past.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

....... from what Alfred Williams has said....

See what you did wrong there?

[Ravage!!!]

He can't do his job, so he slanders his former employer to the tune of $1½ million? I totally blame him for that. The fact he's not good enough to make ANY roster is neither Denvers fault nor problem, and a filing a legal claim that a muscle pull entitles him to essentially a full year of workmans comp payments is borderline perjury. People like Carter are why so many people are often so dubious of VALID greivances.

I 100% agree with this.

[Buff]

Two things:

1.) Carter fleeced the Broncos out of a couple years worth of salary while he exclusively got burned, missed tackles and took horrendous DPI penalties, so it's hard to take his side.

2.) That said, I thought Chris Kluwe's piece about the unscrupulous tactics by NFL teams was well done. So it's hard to blame Carter for trying to get one more check out of the NFL now that his career is likely over. http://www.si.com/cauldron/2015/09/15/nfl-injuries-week-1-preseason-chris-kluwe

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

I'd like to file a grievance against Tony Carter for giving Jacoby Jones a free release down try sideline.

[VonDoom]

Carter just signed with the Colts, so I'm guessing he's not winning a grievance

[TXBRONC]

I'd like to file a grievance against Tony Carter for giving Jacoby Jones a free release down try sideline.

I thought he fell down?

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

I thought he fell down?

No, he was in press, but didn't try to jamb him. He ran about 20 yards down the sideline with him and stopped and turned back towards the QB.