There's a potentially intriguing story developing at the top end of the draft. On Tuesday, we reported that the Raiders are negotiating with quarterback JaMarcus Russell, receiver Calvin Johnson, and quarterback Brady Quinn at the top of the draft.
As we reported roughly an hour ago on an unexpected (but much appreciated) appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, a league source tells us that the Raiders have made a "lowball" offer to Quinn.
The question, from Quinn's perspective, is whether the "lowball" is more than the "highball" he'd get at a lower draft position. In the NFL, the players are paid based on the slot in which they are drafted. At the top of round one, the drop from No. 1 to, say, No. 7 is steep.
The second problem is that, if Quinn doesn't go No. 1, the key spot for him will be No. 3, where the Browns are believed to be debating whether to take Quinn or running back Adrian Peterson. So if Quinn turns down a "lowball" offer at No. 1, he'll be counting on landing at No. 3, where he'd possibly get paid almost as much via the slotting process as he would get under a "lowball" offer from the Raiders.
But Condon's firm, CAA, also represents Peterson. We've previously commented on the potential conflict of interest resulting from this arrangement; if Quinn isn't the guy at No. 1, the conflict at No. 3 comes into much sharper focus.
