This is the Worst Free Agency I've Ever Seen since Burrow was Drafted.

[jj22]

(03-14-2023, 04:45 PM)NotBigzo Wrote: What are the chances of any of those "in principle" deals fall through? How often does that actually happen? 

If they weren't willing to match Carolina for Bell, then what Safeties are going to want to come in for what we're willing to offer?

They matched Carolina offer for the most part.... all but the guarantee. That's why this notion that players can decide to stay if they loved the place seems legit, but the Agent runs the show. They offered Bates 17M a year average but not the payout of 23m in the first year, or the guarantees.

Bates swore up and down he wanted to remain a Bengal. "It's the team that drafted me. I became a man here. Unfinished business etc"... Yet you see he left.

Same with Bell. We all know the Bengals don't do guarantees but make up for it by keeping players long after they should (Boyd for the most recent example, although Mixon is legitimately in jeopardy of breaking that little philosophy of theirs). Bell would have gotten his full contract, even if it wasn't officially "guaranteed". 

Both left.

The players can tell their agent to take a lesser deal is a fallacy just like the notion that players will take less to win a Championship. ATL nor Panthers are winning a Championship any time soon. We hear it all the time and the ideal seems legit, but it isn't. Agents have to worry about not only making their money, but attracting future clients. They need the big deals.