April 28, 2010

Mawae Says Teams Don't Want NFLPA Prez On Their Roster

The limited number of phone calls that free agent center Kevin Mawae received before the draft have come to a complete halt.

Mawae, the president of the NFL Players Association, said it probably has something to do with his status in the union, not his abilities on the field.

''I think my position with the Union is a problem for a lot of management people, but at the end of the day I would hope they would overlook that for making their team better,'' Mawae said. ''It's a position that I chose and one that I accepted and I knew going into it that this could be the case. If that is [the reason] then so be it. My goal is to help the other players in the NFL make the right decision and do what's best for them. If I lose my job because of that it is what it is and I can move forward knowing that I did my best.''

Teams such as the Denver Broncos expressed interest in Mawae at the start of free agency, but Denver drafted three linemen last weekend to secure its interior front. Other than Denver, the Redskins initially contacted Mawae's agent back in February. He's also received the occasional call from Tennessee, but nothing more  than that.

Because of the potential for a lockout next March, some teams may try to avoid signing one of the most active players involved in the labor issues. For Mawae, a 16-year NFL veteran, it's a situation that has been tough to accept because of his body of work on the field.

''I just came off my eighth Pro Bowl and a 16-game season and I can't get one phone call. Alan Faneca gets cut two days ago and yesterday he signs a contract with another team. ...something tells me that there is something going on besides me just being 39 years old. I hope that management and the owners can look past the fact that I'm President of the NFLPA, but right now it's not looking that way."

With 241 career games, including 238 starts, Mawae ranks first among active offensive linemen in career games played. Agent Mark Bartelstein represents both Mawae and Faneca and said the fact that teams have not inquired about the veteran's status could be connected to Mawae's league-wide status with the Player's Association.

''It's shocking to me that a guy who is probably a Hall of Fame center and who was a Pro Bowler again last year that no one's calling,'' Bartelstein said. ''No one has called. No one is calling. People can draw their own conclusions as to why that is.''

If he returns to the Titans, Mawae will sign as a back up. The team re-signed guard Eugene Amano and has named Leroy Harris as the starter at either guard or center. Knowing that at this point it would be no more than a one-year contract, Mawae said he would prefer to stay in Nashville unless the perfect situation presented itself.

''I've made it no secret that I would like to be back with Tennessee, but I have yet to receive a call from anybody.''

posted by Jonathan Hutton on 4/28/2010 2:50:23 PM