Free Westerman

[*ochocincos*]

(11-14-2017, 02:20 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: This was my plan for last offseason:

When I say realistic, I'm taking into account how the Bengals do things. I'm not going to forecast them signing Bell and Berry in free agency.

1 ) We draft 2 starters in the draft. (Typically we don't draft any Day 1 starters so this is a big improvement.) I'll say we add Rueben Foster and a starting C that is an upgrade to Bodine.

2 ) We keep Zeitler and Whitworth and leave Kirkpatrick leave. The salary cap keeps rising and Whitworth will only be here 1 or 2 more years so it's doable. (Offensive line is Whitworth, Boling, Zeitler, Drafted C, Fisher.)

3 ) Maualuga is waived.

4 ) Jackson and Vigil become starters. Billings becomes a solid rotation player at DT. (Linebackers are Vigil, Foster, and Burfict.)

5 ) We add a guy in the 2nd Round with the pick obtained at #7 that can pass rush from the DE spot. He's not a starter Year 1, but a situational rusher.

6 ) Sign Stephon Gilmore or Prince Amakumara to be a starting CB. (Amakumara signed a 1 year $5.5 million deal with the Jaguars. We paid Kirkpatrick around $7.5 million...so it's doable.) I like Ross Cockrell from the Steelers also.

7 ) Trade McCarron for a 2nd and 4th Round pick.

8 ) Retain Lafell and Burkhead. Rely on Boyd and Core to continue development at WR. Let Burkhead, Hill, and Bernard compete for snaps. Ideally the offensive line is improved with a Center.

9 ) Draft a QB that you can develop somewhere in the 3rd to 5th Round.

10 ) Draft a kicker. Hold a competition in camp to see who can win the job.

11 ) Sign Nick Fairley. He has signed back to back 1 year deals...and has played well. Offer him a 2-3 year deal. We'd then pair Fairley with Atkins with Billings, Thompson, and Sims as the backups.

12 ) Bring in a veteran TE like Vernon Davis. I feel like our offense needs more experience at backup at that position.

13 ) Bring in a coverage safety like DJ Swearinger to compete with Williams at S. On some downs, move Williams down like a LB to add speed to the defense.
http://thebengalsboard.com/Thread-My-realistic-best-case-scenario-for-improving-the-roster

We could have still drafted Mixon and Lawson too. In my scenario we would have had 2 2nd Round picks.

Was salary cap taken into account when coming up with this plan?
Vernon Davis signed for 3 years, $15 mill. $5 mill a year avg.
You say retain LaFell, so 2 years, $9 mill. $4.5 mill a year avg.
Assume you'd need at least the same $$ to retain Burkhead, 1 year, $3.15 mill.
Assume the same for Zeitler, at least on average salary. $12 mill a year.
Same with Whitworth. $11.25 mill a year.
Nick Fairley signed a 4 year, $28 mill deal with the Saints. Average $7 mill a year.
Sign Gilmore or Amukamara - $5.5 mill at minimum if you with what Amukamara signed.
DJ Swearinger signed for 3 years, $13.5 mill. Average $4.5 mill a year.
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$52.9 million a year from just these players

The team had an estimated $43.8 mill cap space heading into FA before reserving money for draft picks, a couple mill for injuries, and extension for Burfict.

What players would you have cut to make enough cap room? The only one I saw listed was Maualuga (who was hitting FA anyway so wouldn't have counted against the cap).

EDIT - You probably didn't think it would take that much $$ to get these players you listed, so at the time it probably did seem realistic.