Steelers Alan Faneca said he was not happy to be at minicamp.
By Scott Brown
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Alan Faneca skipped a minicamp practice Saturday, adding another layer to the drama the Pro Bowl guard started the previous day when he blasted Steelers' management over his contract situation.
But Faneca returned to the field at the Steelers' South Side facility for the team's afternoon practice and later downplayed his earlier absence.
In essence, Faneca said, he simply needed to take a time out.
"Some things were said, and I just had to have a little cool off time," Faneca said. "I'm just going to leave it at that. I still stand by what I said (Friday)."
Whether what he said -- Faneca ripped the Steelers for not negotiating in good faith on a contact extension -- led to the nine-year veteran's meeting with management is unclear.
When asked if he wanted to talk to the Steelers yester morning or if they wanted to talk to him, Faneca said, "a little of both."
Faneca is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $4.4 million this season with his roster bonus factored in, and he said he has requested several times for the Steelers to trade or release him.
Coach Mike Tomlin said the team will deal with the issue "internally" but did not rule out the Steelers fining Faneca for skipping the practice.
Tomlin said some positives can be gleaned from the issue that hangs over the Steelers.
"More than anything else, it's got to be a lesson for us as a football team in that the season is not without its ups and downs," said Tomlin, whose team concludes minicamp today with one practice. "Adversity is part of it, distractions are part of it. But again, it's a very personal issue for Alan. I respect that element of it, and we'll move forward."
Faneca apparently wasn't quite ready to move forward yesterday, which is why he didn't practice in the morning.
A day earlier, he went public with his unhappiness over his contract situation but said he would play out his contract with the Steelers if the team didn't trade or release him.
But when asked how he could reconcile putting everything he has into football while still with an organization he no longer wants any part of, Faneca admitted that he was still working on it.
Faneca's teammates have been supportive of him and said his situation has not created a distraction.
"Alan is probably the most stand-up professional athlete I know," right tackle Max Starks said.
"I kind of consider Alan a brother, and I feel like I'm going through it with him," said right guard Kendall Simmons, whose locker at the Steelers' practice facility is right next to Faneca's. "It needs to be taken care of. That's about all I really have to say about it."
As for how the situation can be resolved Simmons said, "I don't know. Ask (management)."
The Steelers have a history of not giving big contract extensions based on past performance or paying top dollar to players because that is what the market is yielding.
Faneca, 30, has been to six consecutive Pro Bowls and seeks the kind of money that guards not nearly as accomplished as he is commanded during the offseason.
Their impasse can be traced to each side being able to make a legitimate argument that it is in the right.
But Faneca is under contract through 2007, leaving him little choice but to play next season in Pittsburgh if the Steelers don't trade or release him.
"It's something I've personally got to learn to deal with," Faneca said, "and I'll figure it out."
Scott Brown can be reached at sbrown@tribweb.com or 412-481-5432.
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