02-16-2024, 12:48 AM
(02-15-2024, 01:17 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Franchise Tag: Expensive. Tee could negotiate with other teams for a contract but they'd have to give the Bengals two 1st round picks to sign him (will never happen for Tee).
Transition Tag: A little less expensive (still expensive). Tee could negotiate with other teams for a contract but the Bengals would have a chance to match the contract and retain Tee. Unlike the FT, there's no draft compensation attached to it. So if a team offers 4yr/$100m to Tee and the Bengals don't match it, Tee just leaves us for that team and we get nothing.
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He's theoretically tradeable under both of them, but he'd have to sign the tag before the Bengals could trade him. So not only would the Bengals then have to hold onto ~$20m of cap space for Tee that they couldn't spend in FA while there's still FAs worth it, it could also stretch to the draft which means the Bengals wouldn't be able to trade him for 2024 draft picks.
The Transition Tag really only makes sense if you don't think any other team is going to offer him a decent contract and he'll be happy to come back and play with essentially a 1-year prove-it deal that's less money than the Franchise Tag.
So I don't think it really makes sense here as I think it just the same end result as letting him walk, but with an extra step in between. Unless they're really entertaining paying him and think that his market won't be as high as he and his agent think it is so they'll match a contract.
Yeah the transition tag would be a bad risk. It takes one desperate team to make too long or to high of a guaranteed deal. The worst part is they likely won't get a comp pick this year since we will be signing one or two larger deals at other positions like DT for example. Even if they keep Reader and Jonah and no pick offset happens, you lose one year of Tee's chemistry and ability, for a 3rd or 4th next year.
I think we try these simulators and remember playing Madden and think we can sponsor the 21M better than tagging Tee. That simulator the gym in the Hobspin thread ran was realistic up until banking on Madubuike being there on the 2nd wave and taking 13M/yr. I just don't see risking losing Tee for nothing.
