Chris Baker expected to sign with Bengals

[*ochocincos*]

(03-08-2018, 11:03 AM)jj22 Wrote: This isn't a flyer pick up. They dropped over 3m on him. That's 3m off the cap. Which makes him a significant if not big signing by their definition. Hobs is about to remind us that this means we now are down to 14M in cap space due to this signing. My only question is once again were they bidding against themselves? Like they tend to do Andre Smith? We may never know. We know with Smith because he has sat out with no interest for long periods of time on multiple occasions. The only reason he got the shot in Minny is because of Zimmer. When they say we can't afford a OT or OC in free agency, maybe they could have used that extra 3m.

Like people say. Would you have traded Andre Smith (3.5M) and Minter (4.5M) an 8m cap hit, to help afford Whit who they offered 10m to, but wasn't willing to pay 13M?

Unless you guys think there was a rush to get this guy signed. I don't see an urgency to sign any player outside of the Oline right now. Unless it's for the vet minimum. So this is nothing against Baker. We all know the "type" of player they like, and that will never change. He fit's the label. They've shown not to care about their perception (see comments under announcements of his signings).

Personally I'd wait to spend any money until I know if I can get some Oline help. Maybe they know what we are slow to learn. They aren't going to be able to afford any legit Oline help in free agency. I think that's the message with them wiling to give 3 year contracts to 30yr old Safety's and now paying 3m for 30yr old Dt's. The writing is on the wall.

Agreed. While $3 mill may not seem like much for NFL contracts, Mike Brown doesn't throw a contract that big to fringe roster players. Baker will make this team barring some injury or incident.