12-04-2017, 05:44 AM
(12-04-2017, 02:38 AM)Synric Wrote: Which would be who?
Welp, this website lists all free agents by position and what they have earned in the past:
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/offensive-line/
I'm sure that if someone had a lot of time on their hands/resources available/diligence to the process, that they could find out who has actually played meaningful snaps on this list. With more resources, they could probably get a general feel for what quality of play was on display for those snaps. I don't have the time on my hands nor the resources to go through that process. I'm not a franchise with a net value of $871 million. Me throwing out names would be akin to throwing darts at a dartboard.
What is apparent is that the Bengals do not do their proper due diligence to any sort of similar process. If they had, there would have been backup plans for the o-line. Smith was a good pickup, but the holes are still gaping and obvious. This list shows where free agents from 2017 signed:
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/2017/offensive-line/
Many teams who signed FA o-linemen on this list currently have better records than the Bengals. Just a couple of observations in 2020 hindsight:
John Sullivan, the LA Rams's starting center, could have been had for less money per year than what the Bengals spent on Eric Winston. The Ravens(better record than the Bengals - blanked them in opener) picked up their starting RT for what looks like reasonable money. I understand that there are a lot of teams that didn't get good value from signing some of these guys, but that's the risk that you have to take in order to have a possibility of winning big.
