Whit & Zeitler Vs Geno & Carlos

[Whatever]

(08-31-2018, 02:21 AM)BengalChris Wrote: To start with the Bengals could have signed both of them for less than they got on the open market. When Zeitler was in his option year he could have been signed for around what DeCastro got, which was around 9M per year. The Bengals low balled Whit but he would have stayed for a decent contract.

The team then would not have signed Kirkpatrick for 12M per year. That's where I believe we'd have seen them save money.

We could still sign Geno and Dunlap. But I'm sure our draft priorities would have changed.

But, that's all speculation.

It's hard to say what Zeitler hypothetically would've taken.  It's clear that they were never really close.  DeCastro is a lot better than Zeitler.  Frankly, Z isn't worth $9 mil a year.  Maybe $7 mil, tops.  

The issue with Whit was the Bengals wanted to go year to year due to his age and Whit wanted another multi year deal.  The initial money was close.  The Bengals big mistake with Whit was overestimating his loyalty to the team and not tagging him.

People assume a player will always sign on the cheap if you extend them a year early, but it's not always the case.  Some guys want to test FA, regardless.  A 1st round pick who just got his 5th year option picked up has made enough money to be set for life and can afford to gamble on themselves.  Now, guys taken in the middle to late rounds who aren't making millions a year will often jump on that financial security, but that wasn't Z or Whit's position.