Phillips in the slot

[*ochocincos*]

(10-19-2020, 02:00 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: Dunlap, absolutely.  I really have nothing to base Atkins on at this time, but if he is basically the invisible man, yes.  With Green, Ross, and maybe Shawn Williams' money off the books, they should have plenty to sign WJIII, and I think the best use of FA dollars would be Guard, and I would target Thuney, coming off a year on the franchise tag.  He is just 28 years old and consistently one of the best guards in the league.  I would also love to know WTF they have been teaching their offensive linemen out there as they ALWAYS seem to have a great one.  

What I do NOT want to spend FA dollars on:  

a WR
an OT (would cost way too much and I think we draft an OT)
a DE (again, overpaid for even solid production)
a TE (we don't use them anyways, at least not as weapons)

As I mentioned, they only have between $20-30 mill to work with for all FAs, including their own.
They are estimated to have $31.5 mill cap space for 2021 but will likely reserve about $11 mill for draft picks + injuries.
They have $8 mill that they can roll over into 2021, which they likely will do.

The Bengals have 26 guys set to hit FA this coming offseason.

I would expect WJ3 will command $14+ mill himself given the Bengals gave that to Trae Waynes.
Lawson, depending on how he does by year's end, could get $8+ mill.
Their entire ST unit (Bullock, Huber, Harris) are all set to hit FA, and collectively made nearly $6 mill this year alone.
They also probably will want to retain Brandon Wilson, who made $2.1 mill this year and likely will be seeking more than that.

So the Bengals could easily eat up their entire cap with just their own internal FAs that they want to re-sign.

The top 5 OGs in the league make $13+ mill a year, which is in the same realm as a Top 10 OT. And Thuney is going to get paid as a Top 5 OG.
So if the Bengals want Thuney, they probably have to let WJ3 (and Lawson?) walk or let a high-priced veteran go to free up more cap.