02-06-2016, 07:31 PM
(02-06-2016, 02:15 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Probably, but haven't we seen a revolving door of WR's lately?
Shipley
Simpson
Binns
Hawkins
Whalen
Sanzenbacher
Little
Moore
and so on. I just feel like we've put a lot of proverbial pokers in the fire and haven't seen as much consistency on the returns as I'd need to confidently say we are going to replace Jones without a hiccup. That doesn't mean we get in a bidding war to keep him out of Cleveland, but I won't be too pleased we saved cap room (we might not even use) if we're back to hoping Wright can do what we assumed Binns and Simpson would.
Of all the WRs in that list, only Simpson was brought in with intentions of (eventually) starting. Shipley was drafted to be a slot guy. The rest were roster fluff. Hawkins wound up working his way into a prominent role, but it's not like those were the intentions when he was brought in. I would hope that the Bengals would take the #2 WR position a bit more seriously than that if they decide to let MLJ walk.
I'm mostly against paying MLJ $7+ million based on his production. That said, if we let him walk and don't make a serious effort to replace him (i.e. using a quality pick and/or bringing in a vet such as Benjamin or Rishard Matthews), then I'd be pretty ticked. Sanu is stretched thin as a #2 and we have no one else of note.
To sum this up, I'd rather overpay MLJ than let him walk if the Bengals have no serious plans to adequately replace him. Now if they would spend a top pick on a replacement and use the money saved to shore up other positions, I'd be all for that. Also, if they could find a good FA replacement for $2 million less, I'd also be for that.
But I agree with you that if they're just going to pocket the money saved, then why does it matter?
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
