(12-24-2024, 10:38 PM)schroomytunes Wrote: I tend to agree with your assessment here! We simply are carrying too much dead weight on this team and the money can be utilized in other areas. For me mine are:
Tier 1: Cappa (8), Rankins (9.5), Hubbard (9.6) , Moss (3.4) =31 million These guys need to be released ASAP.
Tier 2: Pratt (5.6) only if we can land a faster younger LB in draft or FA.
Guys I want back: (UFA's)
1) Mike Hilton-slot blitzer
2) Mike Gesicki- TE
3) BJ Hill-DT
4) Khalil Herbert-#3 RB
5) Tee Higgins- WR if Joe re does his contract to free up cash
6) Cody Ford-G/T sub
7) Joe Ossai-DE backup
Outside FA's:
1) Will Fries (RG) Colts 26yrs old. solid in pass/run block.
2) Devin Bush (LB) Browns 26 yrs old. upgrade to Pratt.
3) Azeez Ojulari (Edge) Giants 25 yrs old. we need more pressure from the front 7.
4) Poona Ford (DT) Chargers 29 yrs old. solid disrupter in the interior line.
5) Trevon Moehrig (S) Raiders 25 yrs old. I think he becomes the solid disrupter in the secondary.
these FA's upgrade areas of need and are solid guys that fit our cap space with possibly resigning Tee and extending Chase. This opens up the draft to look at BPA.
Good post with a lot of detail. Regarding Stone & Pratt, I am really on the fence there. We have so many other holes (WR2, DE2, 2 DTs, TE1) that I am a little hesitant to create more starter level needs to fill, even if it does create more cap space. FA's don't always work out, high draft picks limited, and FA replacements could be more expensive than the guys we cut.
My offseason list would include:
1. Burrow restructure (+$19 mil to cap)
2. Chase extension (-$8 mil to cap, approx)
3. Tee signing (-$25 mil)
4. Cutting Cappa (+$8) and Rankins (+$9.5)
Starting at $62 mil, this ends at $65 mil. The PS cost (-$4 mil) brings it down to $61 with 41 guys signed.
In terms of our own FA's, at least the ines with significant cost involved, I'd want to retain:
1. Higgins (already done)
2. BJ Hill (one above average DT)
3. Mike Hilton (best run stopping corner in league)
I hope Hill and Hilton, both 30+, would make slighly less than the do now. Say, $9 for Hill and $6 for Hilton. That's $15 mil, down to $46.
I would not mind bringing back:
4. Gesicki
5. ADG
6. Trent Brown
7. Herbert
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8. Bell
9. Ford
10. Hudson
11. Bachie
But all those guys below Trent Brown should be min salary types, or very close to it. ADG & Trent could be close to that line.
But I'd want to go shopping first. If I cut Hubbard & Moss, I free up $13 mil. Up to $59 mil.
In FA, I want:
1) One QUALITY IOL ($15-20 mil)
2) One QUALITY pass rusher DT/DE ($10-$15 mil) OR another QUALITY IOL. Take the best quality guy we can get at any spot.
$24-$34 mil left.
The roster would be:
QB (1): Burrow; Browning
RB (1): C. Brown
WR (6): Chase, Higgins, Iosivas; Burton, C. Jones I. Williams
TE (3): D. Sample; All, McLachlan
OT (3): O. Brown, Mims, Cochran
OG (3): FA IOL, Volson; Steuber
OC (2): Karras; Lee
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DE (3): Hendrickson; Murphy, C. Johnson
DT (3): BJ Hill; Jenkins, Jackson
LB (4): L. Wilson, Pratt; Njongmeta, Heyward
CB (6): CTB, D. Hill, Hilton; Turner, Newton, Ivey
S (4): Battle, Stone; Anderson, Anthony
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FA DT/DE/IOL (1):
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PK: McPherson
P:
LS
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Total O: 19
Total D: 20
Total ST: 1
FA trenches wildcard: DE/DT/IOL
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Total Roster = 41
Fringe guys = 10: C. Jones, I. Williams, McLachlan, Cochran, Steuber; C. Johnson, Njongmeta, Heyward, Anderson, Anthony.
Iffy starters (8): Yoshi, D. Sample, Volson; 1 DT/DE, Pratt, Battle, Stone, McPherson.
That's a lot of work for 6 draft picks and $24-$34 mil to do. Plus Mikey will never spend to the line, so less. Say minus $7 mil, for $17-$27 mil.
Rehkow & Adomitis are restricted. Around $2 mil for them gets us to 43 players with $15-$25 left.
Some of the fringe guys may get bumped by a draft pick, returning cheap FA (ADG, Bell, Ford, Hudson, Herbert, etc.), or a higher pick. Six picks would get us to 49 if we just add on, and probably eat about $8-$9 mil. So now down to around $7-$17 mil.
That can go to:
1) Another new GA
2) Returning FA's (Gesicki, T. Brown, Ford, Hudson)
Once we get past 4, the cap hit is nada if it is a min salary guy, as we are just swapping one out for another. We can bump it up by releasing Stone/Pratt, but that creates another hole. Let's bring back Ford, ADG, Hudson, and Ossai. Cost: $5 mil. At 53, $2-$12 left.
Holes are gonna be:
2 of G2/DE2/DT2 (starter next to Hill)
TE1: Not counting on All, Gesicki
With possible upgrades at: FS (Stone), LB2 (Pratt), PK (McPherson) still possible.
Let's say we nail out first 4 picks. Those picks plus that $2-$12 mil need to fill those holes. We could get a TE or PK late on Day 3, but I would not count on any Rd 5, 6, 7 guy stepping in right away. Though it is possible.
Waiving Stone & Pratt will bump the $$ up, but also create another hole.
Right now, we might just have enough cap space to fill one more in FA with a modest buy. Or we could use that $$ to extend Hendrickson. Or sign some depth guys.
Hopefully, I am overestimating Tee's number, BJs number, Hilton's number, and Chase's extension cost, and we have a little more wiggle.
For me, I'd prefer to have the IOL set going into the draft, as I think the early (Rd 1-3) DL talent is deeper than the IOL talent. And the FA IOL talent is better/deeper than the FA DL talent. Day 3 IOL depth is something I'd still look at.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
