NFL: 3 Players Who Will Take Advantage of Holdouts

NFL teams and their fans detest player holdouts, but for the guys throwing, carrying, catching and chasing after the football, holding out is sometimes a necessary evil.

While front offices attempt to not concede to a player's demands, usually, the most valuable individuals eventually receive the money they initially desired, even if holdouts become lengthy and threaten to stretch into the regular season.

Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, a player with two years left on his contract, skipped training camp due to a demand for a more lucrative deal and was rewarded with a four-year, $53 million extension on September 1st.  

Let's take a look at this year's crop of guys who'll take advantage of their holdouts. 

Ray Rice

Ray Rice is the offensive heartbeat of the Baltimore Ravens, that's glaringly obvious. 

Although the team drafted running back Bernard Pierce in the third round of this year's draft, everyone recognizes Rice's significance to Baltimore's offensive attack and the team as a whole. 

He's the team's franchise player, set to make $7.7 million on a one-year contract in 2012, but a long-term deal should be imminent. 

The Ravens are ready to make another Super Bowl run and need the youthful exuberance of Rice for years to come. 

He led the NFL in yards from scrimmage in 2011 and has plenty of fine football left. 

Drew Brees

Who knows what the New Orleans Saints are doing with Drew Brees. Their franchise quarterback led the team to a Super Bowl title in 2010, and shattered the single-season passing yards record last year. 

He's been clear about his displeasure with the franchise tag, not because it'll pay him $14.4 million in 2012, but because the New Orleans front office wasn't providing him the financial security of a multi-year deal (according to WIST-AM in New Orleans, via CBS Sports).

With no real steady quarterback behind Brees, and second-stringer Chase Daniel breaking his thumb during minicamp earlier this week, the Saints must sign Brees to long-term deal (h/t NFL.com).

After a tumultuous offseason that included the public relations nightmare that was the bounty scandal, the Saints could finally be in the news for the right reasons by signing their signal-caller.  

Maurice Jones-Drew

Compared to Brees and Rice, Jones-Drew is in a terrific situation, as he wasn't designated as his team's franchise player this offseason. 

Due to that, there's no deadline for the Jaguars to sign him to a multi-year deal, allowing MJD to keep a great deal of leverage. 

After leading the NFL with 1,606 rushing yards in 2012 and as the team's only accomplished offensive player, the Jaguars essentially have to give their franchise back the money he's after. 

And really, don't you think he deserves more than $4.5 million in base salary?