news from OTAs

[muskiesfan]

(05-30-2021, 11:44 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Maybe I'm nuts, but I always took that move as them wanting see what they had in Ryan Finley so they would know to proceed in the offseason.

I think at that point they knew Andy Dalton wasn't going to be back for 2020.  He carried no dead weight and presented 18 million in savings.  And remember, they just traded up to draft Finley in the 4th round.

It made perfect sense to me.  The season was all but over and it's understandable they'd want to get a good look at Finley so they could figure out how they wanted to go about replacing Dalton in the offseason.

I really don't think it's was trying to create a spark or something like trying to lose or anything like that.  I think it was as simple as "what do we have to lose" and "why not get a good look at the new kid" before they commit to drafting another QB or signing a high dollar free agent.

I agree that this was probably the thought process. Zac traded up to grab Finley. I think he wanted to see if he had something there or were they going to need to get another QB. All in all, it's not bad logic.

While it probably was not Zac's fault or at least not all his fault, if that was the route he wanted to go and knowing Dalton wasn't the QB going forward it should have been done sooner so they could get something for Dalton. I don't have the link anymore, but it was said the Bears were willing to trade for him. The #1OA PLUS additional draft picks PLUS the cap savings is what a competent front office would have pulled off. Instead we waited way too long to make the announcement preventing a real chance of a trade. Then everyone knew they were drafting Burrow so no one needed to trade for Dalton. The front office completely misplayed the entire thing.