I'm not going to be too hard on Earl for skipping camp--at least not as part of his current deal. But here's the thing. He's aging, right? And presumably, he wants years AND a raise. You're not just paying for a good football player at that point, and to me, here's where he mishandled the situation--I don't hear anyone talking about it. This is the only franchise he's ever known and he's asking them to protect him. I get that, but if you're going to pay a long-tenured player who is about to start his decline, he has to equally protect the franchise. He has to be 110% IN for me to re-up him at that point. He has to be a battle-tested field general, a locker room God, and a poster child for how to succeed on his team. His antics took away from the role-model style of leader that should get the contract he was seeking. I feel like he listened to Sherman and other negative influences and it sent him down a path away from any deal he was seeking from us. Just one take on it.
Yes, he's earned every penny he's made from us--no question.