03-10-2017, 01:50 PM
(03-10-2017, 01:45 PM)muskiesfan Wrote: Willie was re-signed twice to contracts that paid him $6m per year and then was cut because he wouldn't take a pay cut. Levi was signed to an extension that paid him $5m per year and was cut when Andre was drafted. I understand the cap was lower at the time, but the Bengals weren't exactly breaking the bank for their top performing offensive lineman. Andre was re-signed on the cheap because he misjudged his market value. The Bengals didn't overwhelm him with a deal, the market just wasn't there for him. Zeitler wasn't even offered a contract (per Hobson) and Ogbuehi is still under his rookie contract.
I stand by my statement that the Bengals do not value OLine, especially compared to skill positions. The team themselves have said that they do not value interior OLine. While I also agree that the Browns severely overpaid for Zeitler's services, the Bengals didn't even try.
Willie signed a 5-year, $32 million deal with the Bengals in 2006. The salary cap was $102.5 million then. The cap has increased by 63% from then. So say Willie made $7 million in Year 1 back then...that's equivalent to $11 million in todays dollars.
