He swore he'd never play here again. The classic principled holdout. Then he not only showed up he showed up before the deadline and was ready to go and there was no grousing or benching or paying him for nothing. Won't be this time either. Not showing up at all while tying up the cap or showing up and half assing it is the only leverage a tagged player has. Woodson kept landing on IR in Oakland... Corey Simon scared the Eagles to the point they yanked his tag in June (and Polian made a mistake he regrets to this day). Sometimes teams are forced to make promises to try and reel that player in, as we did with Asante. The team has already let Bauer know they won't take the tag off the table going forward in exchange for that. They know they don't have to. He won't show up out of shape or try to fracture their clubhouse. They can plug the gaps short term if they have to, as they would if he were pupped. His holdouts are symbolic, and when they are over they are over. With over half a million per game on the line I doubt he holds out this year beyond the pre season...and that just gives them time to get the backup guards more practice reps.
Last year he rolled the dice at 28 with $3.5M on the line and took a financial hit though he ended up the toast of the pro bowl. This year he's 29 and the dice are worth $10.2M. If there is a protracted lockout there may be no camps or OTA's or preseason to hold out of, but there may also be no FA period before a 2011 season. Don't be surprised if he signs the tag like the rest of them for that reason. That's what he and Frank are left mulling for the next 5 days...which is all the time they have left to make their decision. $10.2M guaranteed vs. ??? And while ??? could eventually include FA that still might see him tagged and unable to market himself freely, worse yet it could also include some formula (like the one owners have already outlined based on 2010 salary + a premium) the NFLPA agrees to in lieu of FA chaos due to timing and a flooded market at the 11th hour before a 2011 season commences.