Free Westerman

[Benton]

(11-14-2017, 02:20 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: This was my plan for last offseason:

When I say realistic, I'm taking into account how the Bengals do things. I'm not going to forecast them signing Bell and Berry in free agency.

1 ) We draft 2 starters in the draft. (Typically we don't draft any Day 1 starters so this is a big improvement.) I'll say we add Rueben Foster and a starting C that is an upgrade to Bodine.

2 ) We keep Zeitler and Whitworth and leave Kirkpatrick leave. The salary cap keeps rising and Whitworth will only be here 1 or 2 more years so it's doable. (Offensive line is Whitworth, Boling, Zeitler, Drafted C, Fisher.)

3 ) Maualuga is waived.

4 ) Jackson and Vigil become starters. Billings becomes a solid rotation player at DT. (Linebackers are Vigil, Foster, and Burfict.)

5 ) We add a guy in the 2nd Round with the pick obtained at #7 that can pass rush from the DE spot. He's not a starter Year 1, but a situational rusher.

6 ) Sign Stephon Gilmore or Prince Amakumara to be a starting CB. (Amakumara signed a 1 year $5.5 million deal with the Jaguars. We paid Kirkpatrick around $7.5 million...so it's doable.) I like Ross Cockrell from the Steelers also.

7 ) Trade McCarron for a 2nd and 4th Round pick.

8 ) Retain Lafell and Burkhead. Rely on Boyd and Core to continue development at WR. Let Burkhead, Hill, and Bernard compete for snaps. Ideally the offensive line is improved with a Center.

9 ) Draft a QB that you can develop somewhere in the 3rd to 5th Round.

10 ) Draft a kicker. Hold a competition in camp to see who can win the job.

11 ) Sign Nick Fairley. He has signed back to back 1 year deals...and has played well. Offer him a 2-3 year deal. We'd then pair Fairley with Atkins with Billings, Thompson, and Sims as the backups.

12 ) Bring in a veteran TE like Vernon Davis. I feel like our offense needs more experience at backup at that position.

13 ) Bring in a coverage safety like DJ Swearinger to compete with Williams at S. On some downs, move Williams down like a LB to add speed to the defense.
http://thebengalsboard.com/Thread-My-realistic-best-case-scenario-for-improving-the-roster

We could have still drafted Mixon and Lawson too. In my scenario we would have had 2 2nd Round picks.

1- We could've. There were centers available, but not sure how good they would've been starting. There were some good options to rotate in the DL where we picked.
2- My thoughts were keep Whit, let Kirk walk. We most likely couldn't have kept Z.
3- 5 Doable
6- Could've been, but easier to see in hindsight.
7- I still advocate holding onto AJM if you're making a playoff run. If you're just rebuilding, then trade him. Apparently, we decided AFTER the season started that we were in a rebuilding mode.
8- Man, I still say letting Burkhead go was a huge **** up. No, he's not an elite playmaker... but he's a consistent football player who you can use all over the place.

Kind of indifferent on the rest. I don't think TE is a huge issue, I think we could roll with what we've got. 

Anyway, we did mostly the opposite of good moves. Which is what makes it frustrating to watch at times.