Simms or Griese, Griese or Simms?

This story broke yesterday but I didn't know what to make of it then and I still don't know what to make of it now. Obviously the Bucs would like to keep both Simms and Griese, but then again I would like a monkey with five asses. I don't think either is going to be happening.

Griese is owed a $2.6 M roster bonus next week which would increase Griese's cap hit from $1.398 M to $7.1 M. The Bucs need to continue to facade of keeping Griese so that they can negotiate for a lower contract with Simms. Which conviently brings us to the next story.

Tom Condon now represents many of the key free agents for the Bucs. Simeon Rice, Michael Pittman, Chris Hovan, Kenyatta Walker and now Chris Simms all have Condon negotiating for them. Did Simms fire his old agent and hire Condon because of the slow pace of the new contract negotiations (as reported by the Times)? I don't know for sure but that story seems highly unlikely since it is to Simms advantage to extend the contract negotiations. More likely is that Condon stole Simms from his old agent Jeremy-Piven-from-Entourage style.

Of course the monkey wrench in all of this are the current CBA negotiations. If the CBA is not extended Simms would not become an unrestricted free agent until 2009 (although I doubt a new CBA would not have been negotiated by then). Instead, Simms faces the possibility of being a restricted free agent each season until 2009, which could prevent Simms from having the big payday he is hoping for.