Bengals on (essentially) one-year deals

[*SHRacerX*]

(05-08-2020, 12:06 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: Tate will be an RFA, so we shouldn't be too worried about him next off season.

Glasgow's season will be incredibly important for him, because he hasn't played much at all in his career. Even if he stays healthy and has a good year, it'd be difficult for him to get more than 1 year deal in 2021, considering he's been injured the last 2 years.

John Ross will probably bounce around the league on 1 to 2 year deals for a while simply because of his speed. We'll see if he can live up to that in 2020 and earn a new contract.

I'm most concerned with Carl Lawson, Joe Mixon and Mackenzie Alexander. WJII and Green fall into the "If we re-sign them, that'd be great, but we have their replacements lined up (in Phillips and Higgins)."

Lawson, Mixon and Alexander don't have heir apparents on the roster right now. I would love to sign Mixon to a 3 year extension with an AAV of 8 to 10 million, but I also understand that RBs basically have no value in this league unless they're CMC.

I don't know how much Lawson is worth. How much is a 5 to 8 sack rotational player worth? Maybe 8.5 million AAV? Maybe we'd be able to replace him in the draft in 2021.

Alexander is also a relatively low cost contract as a slot only corner. If he performs up to snuff, I'd be happy to give him a 3 year 18 million dollar deal.

I think Mixon will get signed for somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 million per year.  The guaranteed money will be critical.  When it comes to Lawson, that is what is somewhat exciting.  If they are unable to extend him before the season, he will be playing (like much of the team) on a prove-it deal.  If he performs up to his potential for a 16 game season, it will bode very well for the Bengals.  They probably wouldn't be able to afford him if he came off a 16 sack, All Pro-type season, but he would really make an impact.  I think a lot of us were surprised how much money was thrown at Waynes and how little at Alexander...Can't help but wonder if Alexander is just a "see if he fits the scheme" or something for one year and then try to extend.  It is a bit of a gamble, though, as slot CBs are finally being recognized as very critical positions. 

I'm guessing Mixon will get extended and AJ will play on the franchise tag.  From what I understand, the sides are a mile apart.  It would be interesting to see if they make another move by releasing someone like Shawn Williams to get Lawson to sign now for a deal in the range you mentioned. I know the Bengals value Williams but he is clearly on the decline and playing as many snaps as he did at nickel backer last year also now has more options at the position (ADG, Bailey, Bell).