La'El Collins opt out

[NATI BENGALS]

Not too long ago I was adamant we needed to stop drafting OL early and stick with proven free agents.

Then I pictured the 6'8" 375lbs Dawand Jones and his 89" wingspan giving Burrow that extra tic. Then the two giants at LT in the NFL played against each other in the Super Bowl and it solidified it even more. Elite size. You can win with it. And it's a midwest kid from OSU, keeping that pipeline open, for the icing on the cake.

Power. No offense will be scarier than the Bengals O if we can get a bullying, dominant, run at will ground game going.

[*bfine32*]

(02-24-2023, 02:19 AM)casear2727 Wrote: Pat is full of it, PA went hard on protecting injured players several years ago.

I really like John Michael-Schmitz - could be the next Creed Humphrey.  Avila is another guy, he could play 2 years at G then switch back to C if we dont keep Karras.

O'Cyrus Torrence is a guy that I'm not sure I pass on either.  He could be a really good player quickly.  We need tackle help but if we can get the 3 IOL strong, it would be a great start.  

How was Tenn able to cut Taylor Lewan?

As to the prospects. PK and Milz differ greatly on Torrence. PK is NOT a fan at all. 

[casear2727]

(02-24-2023, 03:16 AM)Bengalholic Wrote: Yeah, and he was released with a 'failed physical designation' while he's still rehabbing from the ACL surgery.  

(02-24-2023, 11:08 AM)bfine32 Wrote: How was Tenn able to cut Taylor Lewan?

As to the prospects. PK and Milz differ greatly on Torrence. PK is NOT a fan at all. 

Lewin said he knew after the 2nd game, in which he was hurt, that he wasnt coming back.  It doesnt appear that his contract for 2023 was guaranteed (14M) and he would be a cap casualty anyway.   

With the 'failed physical designation' it sounds  like he took the medical settlement?  Get a free 2M instead of nothing and head to another team instead of waiting to be ruled healthy and then cut...? That would help the team and the player.  He was hurt almost 6 months ago so he would have eventually been cleared.   But I'm sure they followed the Article 45 of the CBA since Lewan had no issues with it.

PK has been wrong many times before....maybe not as many me, but still...I think the kid could end up being very good.  Then again I thought Kenyon Green was solid and he ended the season with negative numbers across the PFF board...

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(02-23-2023, 09:05 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I talked to Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller about this today on air.

PK said: "Of course, you can cut them or else you'd have a bunch of injured players eating up your cap". He then said a lot also depends on the structure of the contract.

Jim Miller said: "But the player can file a grievance. I did it in my career"

So that cleared up very little.

I will say with Tenn recently parting ways with Taylor Lewan throws out the whole "must wait until the new league year" assumption.

So who knows a former NFL player and a former NFL GM just muddied the waters.

Also at the end of the call I asked their opinion of John Michael-Schmitz while they were down scouting the Senior Bowl. PK absolutely loves him, so throw around whatever term you want, but I'm hoping the kid is there at 28 and we find a new role for Volston other than starting LG. 

Interesting. I also really like Michael-Schmitz. Doubt he falls all the way to 28 though.

I think Avila or Torrence are much more likely to fall to us. Never know.

(02-24-2023, 12:22 AM)007BengalsFan Wrote: Eluemunor doesnt sound like a bad pickup if we could get him for 3.4-4M


Kelvin Beachum might also be worth looking at RT for depth.  He is getting long in the tooth but still might be able to help.  According to PFF:

"Beachum earned his 10th straight season-long pass-blocking grade above 70.0 and showed few signs of slowing down at 33 years old, logging over 1,100 snaps with a revolving door of lineman teammates at each of the other four positions all season long. He's limited as a run blocker, and that won't change, but you know what you're going to get with Beachum at right tackle, and you're likely going to get tremendous value considering he's coming off a two-year, $4 million deal signed in 2021."

Beachum isn't a bad thought for a couple years while drafting a RT early like Darnell Wright. If La'el gets healthy by mid 
season, great. If not, we didn't screw ourselves depending on it.

(02-24-2023, 02:19 AM)casear2727 Wrote: Pat is full of it, PA went hard on protecting injured players several years ago.

I really like John Michael-Schmitz - could be the next Creed Humphrey.  Avila is another guy, he could play 2 years at G then switch back to C if we dont keep Karras.

O'Cyrus Torrence is a guy that I'm not sure I pass on either.  He could be a really good player quickly.  We need tackle help but if we can get the 3 IOL strong, it would be a great start.  

Sure would have one heck of an interior with one of those guys added. Volson is very versatile which makes all of this possible.

[Bengalholic]

(02-24-2023, 02:15 PM)casear2727 Wrote: Lewin said he knew after the 2nd game, in which he was hurt, that he wasnt coming back.  It doesnt appear that his contract for 2023 was guaranteed (14M) and he would be a cap casualty anyway.   

With the 'failed physical designation' it sounds  like he took the medical settlement?  Get a free 2M instead of nothing and head to another team instead of waiting to be ruled healthy and then cut...? That would help the team and the player.  He was hurt almost 6 months ago so he would have eventually been cleared.   But I'm sure they followed the Article 45 of the CBA since Lewan had no issues with it.

PK has been wrong many times before....maybe not as many me, but still...I think the kid could end up being very good.  Then again I thought Kenyon Green was solid and he ended the season with negative numbers across the PFF board...

Reading through Section 45 a couple of times, it pretty much aligns with everything Jake Liscow said. Collins can definitely be cut, even without passing a physical...but it will reduce the cap savings. Instead of 6m in savings, it would be reduced to about 4.8m due the portion of the Injury Protection that would count towards the cap (1.2m of the 2m payment would count towards the cap).

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

(02-24-2023, 11:08 AM)bfine32 Wrote: How was Tenn able to cut Taylor Lewan?

As to the prospects. PK and Milz differ greatly on Torrence. PK is NOT a fan at all. 

Thanks for posting all that. My OL scouting chops are near zero.

Torrence is a RG. I mean, we COULD switch his position, but that has not gone super well lately. 

I thought Avila was VERY good vs Michigan and Wypler & Johnson very good vs Georgia. Was hoping Avila would be around in Rd 2 and Wypler in Rd 3. Am I dreaming? 

Would be happy taking Schmitz, Avila, or Wypler. It eould be an immediate depth upgrade. And we'd have 2 guys who can play C (them + Karras) and at least 3 at G (Cappa, Volson, Karras), + Avila (likely) if it is him. 

[007BengalsFan]

(02-24-2023, 02:04 AM)casear2727 Wrote: Jonah can definitely be cut...... it would just be stupid AF.

I think everyone understands you cant cut Jonah or you owe him the full amount of his contract so obviously cutting Jonah is not going to happen.  We are stuck with him unless we are able to find a team that wants to trade for him.  Even finding a team to trade for him may be hard because how many teams want to pay a LT 12.6 million when he has been top 5 the last two seasons in giving up sacks.

[casear2727]

(02-24-2023, 03:52 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Reading through Section 45 a couple of times, it pretty much aligns with everything Jake Liscow said. Collins can definitely be cut, even without passing a physical...but it will reduce the cap savings. Instead of 6m in savings, it would be reduced to about 4.8m due the portion of the Injury Protection that would count towards the cap (1.2m of the 2m payment would count towards the cap).

So much for the clause "the player also has to agree....."

[casear2727]

(02-24-2023, 08:45 PM)007BengalsFan Wrote: I think everyone understands you cant cut Jonah or you owe him the full amount of his contract so obviously cutting Jonah is not going to happen.  We are stuck with him unless we are able to find a team that wants to trade for him.  Even finding a team to trade for him may be hard because how many teams want to pay a LT 12.6 million when he has been top 5 the last two seasons in giving up sacks.

Really?







This isnt Twitter....