Cornerback Deion Sanders said last night he thinks the Washington Redskins and Coach Marty Schottenheimer are "playing a waiting game" with him by saying they are considering keeping him.
"I know they are going to have to release me and when that happens, I'll jump up in the air and click my heels twice," said Sanders last night in Cincinnati before the Reds' game against St. Louis. "They'll be paying me . . . for doing nothing. Marty Schottenheimer doesn't want me. He doesn't want me at all.
"They are playing a waiting game. That's exactly what they are doing. They know Ken Griffey Jr. is coming back [from the Reds' disabled list] soon and they are waiting to see what the Reds do with me then. They also won't release me right now because that would give a lot of other [NFL] teams time to make room for me in their salary structures. That's all they're doing. He doesn't want me. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him."
Sanders, an outfielder who bats leadoff, is hitting .176 for the Reds.
Schottenheimer said earlier yesterday that the Redskins would be able to find ways to clear the salary cap space they need without releasing Sanders. Schottenheimer also indicated that he is prepared to wait weeks, if necessary, to decide whether to retain Sanders or release him to create more than $3.6 million of room beneath the $67.4 million salary cap.
"We have a number of options," Schottenheimer said. "We have means by which we can do that with Deion still here. . . . We've had any number of scenarios as it relates to the cap situation and cap compliance."
If the Redskins keep Sanders, they probably would get the salary cap space they need by releasing one or more veteran players and reworking several players' contracts, either by restructuring deals or negotiating pay cuts.
Safeties Mark Carrier and Sam Shade could be in danger of being released. There was speculation earlier in the offseason about cornerback Darrell Green and defensive lineman Kenard Lang being released. Schottenheimer has said he does not envision releasing Green, and Lang is working with the starting defense at tackle. Shade, Green and tailback Stephen Davis could be among the candidates for contract reworkings.
"What we'll do, both through the economic mechanics and the competitive mechanics, is whatever is necessary to put the best 53 players on the field," Schottenheimer said. "That's the only way you can win."
The Redskins have been assigned a rookie pool of $2.7 million by the NFL, essentially a salary cap within the overall salary cap for a team to sign its draft picks. The Redskins apparently are close to a deal with free agent running back Greg Hill and could re-sign free agent guard Jay Leeuwenburg. Schottenheimer also has talked about the possibility of signing a safety, another linebacker, a reserve tackle and perhaps a veteran backup quarterback.
Sanders's contract with the Redskins allows him to miss football practices and games if he is playing baseball. But if he is released by the Reds and is not signed by another major league team, his seven-year, $56 million football contract would compel him to report to training camp with the Redskins or risk having the team attempt to force him to return a portion of his $8 million signing bonus.
The Redskins have Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey and Green. They used their second-round draft choice on cornerback Fred Smoot and signed free agent cornerback Donovan Greer. Schottenheimer said he could find roles for everyone.
Schottenheimer said he has no deadline for resolving the matter but reiterated that he would expect Sanders to be on hand for the opening of training camp in July if Sanders is going to play for the Redskins next season.
"There's nothing that we have to do" now, Schottenheimer said. "There's a long way between now and the opener."