Cap Space Article

[BengalChris]

(05-01-2020, 10:12 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Well, if you are going to value the four year contact based on the first three years, I guess you could say he has been overpaid.  But 4 years and $17 million is still pretty cheap.  That number for the fifth year is absurdly high, though, and makes is all but impossible for the Bengals to commit to Ross on that fifth year.  Oddly, teams have to decide whether to pick up the fifth year option on their first round picks by May 30th after the THIRD year on the contract.  

So, essentially, the Bengals will be paying Ross about $5.5 million to play in 2020 and then he will be a UFA.  My hope is he produces and the team sees value in him (no one else on this team can take the top off like him) and offer him a new contract next year.  It wouldn't be anywhere close to the deal of Green, but I would much rather have a burner like Ross playing outside for the price of what Dillon would likely need ($8-9 million per year).  That would likely only be feasible if Ross stays healthy all year and produces well in 2020.

The reality of the situation is he will likely be like a Ted Ginn, Jr.  He will bounce around the league from team to team and produce here and there but the Dolphins never really got first round value out of him.  

$17M over 4 years for a guy who has around 700 and something yards receiving in the first 3 years isn't good value for the team. His 1 superb game versus the 23 games that totaled around 500 yards receiving plus the 24 games of not even playing pretty much tell us what to expect from him.

Speed in one thing, but there is so much more to the position that he's sub-average at.

The team would be better off finding a reliable WR with some speed to replace him. Possibly in next season's draft.

The analogy to Ted Ginn Jr is pretty spot on, except I believe Ted Ginn stays more healthy.