DEFENSE has no leader and thats

[THE PISTONS]

(09-18-2019, 10:56 AM)Jakeypoo Wrote: Especially when they could have just franchises him; what really pisses me off to this day was what they did with Zeitler. 
Remember Hobson quote " They let there Guards Graduate" wtf is that about?

I get letting Whitworth go at age 35 as Tackles generally don't play well beyond that.

But, yes Zeitler...especially after you draft him with a 1st Round pick and he develops. We all remember how this played out. But, had they offered him a reasonable contract, he may have signed BEFORE free agency:

This was before Zeitler hit free agency:

“I don’t see it, I mean cause Kevin Zeitler turned down good money, turned down an offer that was something like $5.5 million per year average. But, you know, when you look at it, (Kelechi) Osemele got like $12 million bucks a year from the Oakland Raiders last year, as a guard. So Zeitler’s like, hmm. Osemele made the Pro Bowl team, Zeitler is second team. So Kevin Zeitler is thinking, I’ve gotta be eight, nine, 10, seven (million) worst case scenario. And not just Kevin, Kevin and his agents. But I don’t see the Bengals paying that kind of dollars to a guard when they have other guys they feel they can plug in and play,” Lapham said.

https://www.cincyjungle.com/2017/1/3/14157272/dave-lapham-doesnt-see-bengals-re-signing-both-kevin-zeitler-and-andrew-whitworth

Then once he was a free agent:

And, they don't pay guards big money. Zeitler is at the top of his game. He was rated the best guard on the market after not missing a snap in 2017. That translated to $12 million per year, but the Bengals don't believe guards win enough games on their own to warrant top of the market money. The Bengals didn't offer a contract but told his agent, "If you don't get what you want, come back."

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Facelift/6f86968a-e26b-4fa0-95c3-75c043ecf393

Then they went out and gave Andre Smith $3.25 million to stay.