The first few days of free agency tested his patience. Rock Cartwright didn’t anticipate spending the first week or so on his couch. He hoped to be jetting somewhere to sign a contract.
But no offers have poured, or even trickled,in for Cartwright.
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“There’s nothing going on,” he said. “I’m just sitting back, chillin’. My agent said you have to be patient. I told him it doesn’t look good; I’m not getting a lot of calls. He said to just be patient.”
Cartwright has not yet visited any teams since free agency started on Feb. 29. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is reportedly is asking for $2 million in guaranteed money, but, thus far, teams have balked at that figure. Cartwright said the Redskins already have rejected an offer from Rosenhaus.
“We’re not asking for a ton of money,” Cartwright said. “I’m not greedy; I just want something that’s fair.”
Baltimore signed special teams specialist, and nickel linebacker, Brendon Ayanbadejo, to a four-year deal worth $4.9 million with a $1.9 million bonus. Ayanbadejo is a two-time Pro Bowler.
Teams view Cartwright as a return specialist while he sees himself as someone who could also play running back on a regular basis.
“I just need an opportunity,” Cartwright said. “It’ll take someone signing me as a returner and then giving me a chance.”
The Redskins have said they would like to re-sign Cartwright, who averaged 25.8 yards per kick return last season. However, he would have to accept much less money than his reported demands. And he would be a No. 3 running back. The other risk is this: If he waits too long, the Redskins could move forward without him.
“I would love to come back,” he said. “But it’s not up to me.”
Punter Derrick Frost and safety Pierson Prioleau also have not attracted a lot of interest thus far.
In other Redskins developments:
D.J. Hackett » The free agent receiver from Seattle is not high on the Redskins’ priority list right now. If he ever will be. The Redskins, according to a team source, appear to favor drafting a wideout rather than signing Hackett. The draft is filled with solid, if unspectacular, wideouts — which pretty much describes Hackett. If the Redskins go this route, it would mean a younger, cheaper but possibly equal — or maybe better — version.
Compensatory draft picks » The Redskins will find out later this month how many compensatory draft picks they will receive for free agents lost last offseason. It’s possible they could receive a mid-round pick for guard Derrick Dockery. They could also get late-round compensatory picks for Kenny Wright and linebacker Warrick Holdman. If that happens, the Redskins would have nine draft picks, their most since the 2002 season (10 picks).
