Redskins officials "are considering going to court to seek an injunction" related to the NFL’s March '12 salary cap sanctions that would "hold up the start of free agency or threatening that move in a bid to bolster their negotiating leverage with the league," according to sources cited by Maske & Jones of the WASHINGTON POST. Sources said that the Redskins have "put contract negotiations with some of their players on hold, telling agents and players they remain hopeful they can recoup some of the salary cap space that was cut by the NFL last year." Redskins officials have told those agents and players that they "cannot negotiate in earnest until the salary cap matter is resolved." The team said that it "hopes to reach a resolution by late this week," as free agency begins March 12. The Redskins this season are "scheduled to absorb" the remaining $18M of a $36M reduction over two years. A federal judge has "twice rejected a collusion complaint by the players’ union that accuses the NFL and teams of operating with a secret salary cap in the uncapped year." Players and agents are "skeptical of the Redskins’ ability to win back cap space." Sources said that it is "highly unlikely that the team can succeed in having salary cap space restored" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/25). ESPN.com's Dan Graziano wrote, "It seems pretty unlikely that the Redskins can get any satisfaction here." Giants President & CEO and NFL Competition Committee Chair John Mara last year said that the Redskins and Cowboys "were lucky they only lost cap space and not draft picks over this." Graziano: "It's big-money corporate scheming at its worst, and the Redskins are right to be angry about the way they were treated. Common sense would dictate that they could get some of the cap money back" (ESPN.com, 2/25).
