Defensive Line

[Whatever]

(08-30-2015, 10:35 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: 1. Pat Sims was signed on March 26th so it's not like he sat around long.

2. Pat expressed a clear interest in returning and it's quite possible that he didn't even WANT to talk with other teams.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2015/03/26/bengals-bring-back-pat-sims/70496772/

3. Pat Sims (also a 3rd round pick) is a better player than Brandon Thompson. I really think you're underestimating Sims. He'd be on a roster if he weren't here. I have very little doubt about that. PFF graded him as the 2nd best defensive player on the Raiders when he was starting for them.

Sims got $50k in guaranteed money from the Bengals on a one year, league minimum deal. It's very obvious that he didn't even have a nibble from another team. Even if he had no intention of signing with them, he would have used it as leverage for more guaranteed money, more years, and/or a higher salary. Maybe somebody would have picked him up as a camp body, but dude had no other prospects and jumped on the first offer he got.

It's also interesting to note that after Sims had his one good year, the Raiders were unwilling to commit to him long term and signed him to another one year deal, and proved right when they had to bench him for poor play after 2 games last year.

Sims is probably better when healthy, but he always seemed to be dinged up during his first run with us. He will also be more expensive to keep by about $500k, due to his higher salary and miniscue bonus. That matters when you've got a lot of extensions to sign.

You also have to look at the framework of the cuts. Fans complained when the Bengals drafted Still in the 2nd and Thompson in the third. Still is all but gone, and they're going to cut a 3rd rounder from the same class to keep a marginally better player for a year, based on a handful of series in one preseason game? Doubt it, especially with fans complaining about the Ced/Fisher picks this year.