Back to the norm - Michael Johnson

[*ochocincos*]

(11-15-2017, 01:28 PM)Synric Wrote: Look I see what your getting at but cutting players and expecting to find depth after the fact is a horrible idea.

That's like quitting your job before getting another one.

As for the salary cap I'm pretty sure the Bengals don't have a problem even getting close to going over lol.

Holding onto aging under-performing vets with a decent cap chunk for insurance or fear of replacements not being as good or better can put teams in a worse position due to how the cap works right now.
The ONLY way I'm going to agree with you about holding onto MJ until after FA and draft are if one of two things happen:
1) MJ's contract is restructured so that he only counts no more than $3 mill toward the cap, thereby freeing up some cap regardless of whether he stays around or not
2) The NFL changes how salary cap spending works such that teams are permitted to exceeded the cap up until like the regular season starts or after TC or whatever

And you're right that the Bengals COULD still hold onto MJ, Jones, and LaFell and still have a bit of wiggle room within the cap, but that would leave practically no extra $$ for extension of Dunlap and/or Atkins or sign a starter from outside FA.

2018 Cap space = $13 mill
If the Bengals roll over cap, it would be ~$10 mill. That would bring the cap to $23 mill.
Some other players probably worth re-signing are Huber, Chris Smith, and Andre Smith with the uncertainty to Fisher and the state of the OTs in general.
That will probably take up ~$7-10 mill to re-sign those three.
If you re-sign Eifert, that's going to likely be another $5 mill at minimum.
That right there would take the cap down from $23 mill to $10 mill or less.
About $7-8 mill will be reserved for draft picks, and another $2-3 mill reserved for injuries.

You really think any team is going to start three (or more) rookies on the OL? Because from the above, the only way to upgrade LT, RG, and C would be through the draft since no more room for another FA.

I would rather cut at least two of MJ, Jones, and LaFell and go get a top-15 OL to solidify one of the OL spots. That would reduce the number of needed OL starters down to just 2 if you bring back Andre and bring in a new OL. And not re-sign Eifert in favor of extending proven studs Atkins and Dunlap.

And let's say these vets aren't cut until after TC or just before the season starts. Well then you have that freed up cap space but you likely missed your window to sign a quality FA or time to work out an extension with Dunlap or Atkins because the FO doesn't typically work on extensions once the season starts.