12-13-2024, 02:40 PM
(12-13-2024, 01:46 PM)2MinutesHate Wrote: There's no absolute way we can afford Jamarr and anything but cheap vets and guys on their rookie deals for the WR position. Just looking at the positional spending by team in Sportrac makes this painfully obvious. We're already 4th in the league without Chase's new contract. We just can't overload 3 posistions (QB, WR1 and WR2) and expect the team not to suffer.
Burrow is just going to have to learn to get the ball to these other guys. If Burton and Yoshi can just step up, I think we'd be good as we're only 4-4 this year when Tee plays and he's only went over 100 yards once in 8 games. Paying $20 million+/year just doesn't make sense.
Maybe we can cut some guys on the defense and save money there (Rankins, Hill?, Stone and Hubbard), but we're still going to need FA's to try to stabilize the D. It'll be a very interesting offseason.
This is simply not true. We have plenty of cap space. The $62 mil figure being bandied about IS a touch high (no PS numbers and only 42 players signed), but it also does not take into account a Burrow restructure (+19 mil). Nor cutting any dead weight (Rankins, Cappa, Hubbard, Stone, Moss, McPherson, etc).
The simple truth is, beyond Burrow, Chase, Hendrickson, and Higgins, no one on the team deserves a lot of money. There are some who earn their $7-$15 mil dollar pay (BJ Hill, L. Wilson), some are borderline (OBJ, Hilton, Pratt, Karras), and some who flat out are not atm (Cappa, Ramkins, Stone, Hubbard, Moss, McPherson).
There is more than enough to pay Tee & Chase, bring back a few other vets (BJ Hill, Hilton, Gesicki, ADG, Hudson, Bachie) and/or add some talent at multiple spots (IOL, DT, S, DE). Now, not necessarily ALL the vets and ALL the spots, but multiples for both.
There is not a real big fish DT worthy of big money. Hill is #4 on some lists. But it is a pretty good DT crop with 4 guys with Rd1 grades from Kiper.
Ditto DE/EDGE & TE (Gesicki #1 on some lists). But the draft has a lot of good pass rushers, though most of the high emd guys are OLB types and the true DEs mostly more 2nd/3rd round guys.
And while it is true we cannot spend $15-$20 per spot to fill all our holes (DT, NT, DE2, 2 IOL spots, 2 S spots, CB1,TE1) that was never an option. Too many holes.
Let's not create another by letting Higgins walk. We still have not replaced Bates (drafted Hill, signed Scott, signed Stone). Nor Reader (moved Hill to NT, signed Rankins, drafted Jenkins AND Jackson). And our early attempt to replace Tee was Burton. Hell, we have not even been able to replace Bell (Scott, Battle, Bell 2.0).
By my count, in terms of picks: a first, and second, and three thirds, and $25 mil in FA spending to get what? Half a season of decent CB play from our 1st round safety and a flash or two from Jenkins?
When ZT came in, he nearly aced the big FA moves (Reader, Hendrickson, Chido, Bell, Hilton, Hill trade). We had productive drafted players on the roster (Bates, Mixon, Boyd, Hubbard). And some of the early drafts yoelded good resukts (Burrow, Chase, Higgins, Pratt (was he pre ZT), L. Wilson.
But since the SB, it has been mostly crap. OBJ, Karras, and Cappa were upgrades from a disaster OL, but we are still mediocre paying top dollar. Scott, Stone, & Rankins in FA. Revolving door at TE (Smith terrible, Hurst & Gesicki good).
The draft? After Chase in 2021: 2: Carman, 3: Ossai, 4: Cam Sample, 4: Shelvin, 4: D. Smith, 5: McPherson, 6: T. Hill, 6: Evans, 7: Hubert.
2022: 1: D. Hill, 2: CTB, 3: Carter, 4: Volson, 5: T. Anderson, 7: Gunter.
2023: 1: Murphy, 2: DJ Turner, 3: Battle, 4: C. Jones, 5: C. Brown, 6: Iosivas, 6: Robbins, 7: Ivey.
2024: 1: Mims, 2: Jenkins, 3: Burton, 3: Jackson, 4: All, 5: Newton, 6: McLachlan, 6: C. Johnson, 7: Anthony, 7: Lee.
Brown is likely the best pick of that bunch so far? McPherson for two years 2nd? CTB for a year? Turner for a half year? Mims' year this year? Yoshi's? Battle's limited role last year? Lordy.
