Duke Tobin on why the Bengals didn't trade veteran players

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(01-23-2020, 02:41 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: People do realize that when you trade a player their money comes off the books, right?

It's not as simple as saying, "There's no way we improve by replacing Geno Atkins wity a 3rd or 4th round pick.". You have the pick + the cap space.

Geno Atkins vs. a 3rd rounder + 12 mil to spend in FA is an entirely different discussion than simply Geno Atkins vs. a 3rd rounder.

You lose some of your better players but you'll also gain the ability to sign better players, in addition to young draft prospects.

We can all argue about the demand and compensation until the cows come home, but don't gloss over the fact that the above is true.

Monetary savings are more important when a team is an active participant in FA and is near/at/over the cap. The Bengals are none of those things. Savings would get rolled over for the inevitable “have to extend player x” 2-3 off seasons from now. The only way the savings would make sense in Bengals land is if the team had drafted well over the past 3 seasons and had a glut of guys coming up on second contracts who were worth extending.