AJ - 'franchise tag is not the best thing'

[fredtoast]

(01-26-2020, 02:06 PM)Sled21 Wrote: AJ has been an awesome player and awesome guy his whole career in Cincinnati. No reason to hate on him, just give him a multi year deal loaded with incentives. If he stays healthy and meets them, he gets paid. If he doesn't, he doesn't. Win Win.....

The ONLY point of getting a long term deal is getting more GUARANTEED money than the $18 million under the franchise tag.  No way in hell Green signs any long term deal with less than $18 million guaranteed.

I like green, but I just don't want to pay him $18 million.  I don't think he will ever return to his old form.  He will be 32 by the start of this season and numbers show that is when WRs tend to drop off dramatically.  So I can't imagine giving a lot of money on a long term deal to a 32 year old WR who has not played in a year and a half.  To me his inability to recover normally from this last ankle injury is more worrisome than getting a new injury.

[Sled21]

(01-27-2020, 12:31 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The ONLY point of getting a long term deal is getting more GUARANTEED money than the $18 million under the franchise tag.  No way in hell Green signs any long term deal with less than $18 million guaranteed.

I like green, but I just don't want to pay him $18 million.  I don't think he will ever return to his old form.  He will be 32 by the start of this season and numbers show that is when WRs tend to drop off dramatically.  So I can't imagine giving a lot of money on a long term deal to a 32 year old WR who has not played in a year and a half.  To me his inability to recover normally from this last ankle injury is more worrisome than getting a new injury.

I understand that point as well, but you can take it to the bank if we let him go and he goes to LA and excels for the next three years, we will have thread after thread about how stupid and cheap the Browns were for letting him walk.

[MEBengalsFan]

(01-27-2020, 12:31 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The ONLY point of getting a long term deal is getting more GUARANTEED money than the $18 million under the franchise tag.  No way in hell Green signs any long term deal with less than $18 million guaranteed.

I like green, but I just don't want to pay him $18 million.  I don't think he will ever return to his old form.  He will be 32 by the start of this season and numbers show that is when WRs tend to drop off dramatically.  So I can't imagine giving a lot of money on a long term deal to a 32 year old WR who has not played in a year and a half.  To me his inability to recover normally from this last ankle injury is more worrisome than getting a new injury.

I would offer him a 3 year deal with a clause that states he has to play a minimum of 12 games. If he does he gets a bonus which accounts for half of the $18 million. So a contract that is basically $18 million with another $18 million bonus. As for the signing bonus for the contract I would throw in another 5 million. The contract would be worth around $41 million if he plays at minimum 12 games a season. Otherwise the contact would be for $23 million. I think something along those lines would be fair for Green and the Bengals. Of course there would be many more clauses and such in the contract to ensure the Bengals financial interest is protected and that the player interest is also considered. 

Would you agree a contract like that would be worth doing with Green? 

[fredtoast]

(01-27-2020, 12:38 PM)MEBengalsFan Wrote: I would offer him a 3 year deal with a clause that states he has to play a minimum of 12 games. If he does he gets a bonus which accounts for half of the $18 million. So a contract that is basically $18 million with another $18 million bonus. As for the signing bonus for the contract I would throw in another 5 million. The contract would be worth around $41 million if he plays at minimum 12 games a season. Otherwise the contact would be for $23 million. I think something along those lines would be fair for Green and the Bengals. Of course there would be many more clauses and such in the contract to ensure the Bengals financial interest is protected and that the player interest is also considered. 

Would you agree a contract like that would be worth doing with Green? 

If I would not want to guarantee $18 million then why would I guarantee $23 million?

At least we know more about his injury, recovery, and medical history than any other team.  Hopefully that would help us make the right decision.

[R3stangs]

(01-27-2020, 12:34 PM)Sled21 Wrote: I understand that point as well, but you can take it to the bank if we let him go and he goes to LA and excels for the next three years, we will have thread after thread about how stupid and cheap the Browns were for letting him walk.

Oh shoot. Never thought of that! We definitely better sign him then, no way can we risk threads about how cheap and stupid the Browns are!

There is no right or wrong answer on this on. Right now its everyones opinion and no one will be proven right or wrong until you see what AJ does next season. For some the price is too high for the risk (injury/age) especially in light of other needs on the team, and for others its not. 

We'll see what happens.