01-11-2021, 09:06 PM
(01-11-2021, 08:33 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: If you don't offer long contracts, you don't get top tier FA.
If you don't get top tier FA, you're not protecting Burrow.
If you're not protecting Burrow, what's the point in planning on his future extension?
Worrying about 2023 and 2024 cap space when you're in the 2020-2021 offseason is how you turn into a loser.
Here's a list of all the players the Bengals have under contract in 2024:
Joe Mixon (who will probably cut to save $12.3m)
Joe Burrow (only if they pick up his 5th year option)
That's it. List over.
.....Refusing to sign premier guys for the 2021 season because of worries about cap space in 2024... goddamn have we Bengals fans been subjected to Mike Brown for too long, or what?
Just to be clear, I'm not necessarily calling for this approach, I just think this is what we're likely to see.
I do think you'll be able to sign a legitmate, high-quality starters this year on contracts shorter than what we would normally see. I think some of these guys are going to let them market reset, and I think guys are going to have accept the reality that teams just aren't going to have as much to spend this free agency period.
Even if the cap doesn't decrease as much as predicted (176 million), it's still going to hurt spending. I would guess we've seen an average year to year increase in the salary cap of about 5%. Teams generally budget under the assumption the cap rises, and I think we'll see a lot of teams right up against it, in a world of hurt if it falls short of even what it was set at last year.
I think they can find two quality starters on OL under what I defined. What they cannot do is just pencil in Hart, Spain, and XSF and act like they're problems are solved. I just hope they realize this.
What name to look out for, outside of the OL, which I think would be a heckuva signing for them is Hunter Henry. His market is currently set at around 8-10 mil. That would be a great target for them, both literally and figuartively. You add him to this team, maybe take a Jamar Chase at 5, and then fill two spots on OL with 7-10 mil guys then I think you've given yourself a really nice chance at improving this offense. All while leaving a little money to spent elsewhere on the other side of the ball.
