03-09-2016, 10:22 PM
(03-09-2016, 09:59 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Yea man. Dude was on his couch two years ago. And we act like we found some irreplaceable piece. Give a young guy a shot or somebody with any type of upside. We know exactly what Winston is. A guy that if we have to count on to block a good NFL defender we are in a world of shit. He flat out isn't good. And if anything he is on the downside, he is not getting better with age. And really if we needed him. I think he would be available on his couch where we found him.
There are countless replacement level NFL linemen available. We didn't find some unknown goldmine sitting on his couch. This is the type of back end of the roster guy you are supposed to try to replace. We have veterans galore on the offensive line, our best team leader Whit will show the young guys all they need to know. And we have a first and second round pick from last year that could play RT in a pinch. I'd rather give an UDFA a chance for league minimum. We might get lucky and find someone with some value.
If Winston has to come in and save the day. The day will not be saved.
Adam Jones was on his couch. So were Cedric Benson, Dhani Jones, Crocker, Gilberry, etc etc.
Winston is a backup level player, but he's better than some backups we've had (Dennis Roland and Marshall Newhouse come to mind). You can't have a roster full of all-pros.
Look at it this way. It frees us up in the draft (a tackle isn't a dire need) and if we draft a backup guard/tackle, you'll probably get your wish and Winston will be released. For now I think it was smart to sign him. There's no harm in it.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
