Brandon LaFell has reached agreement w/ Bengals

[3wt]

(03-30-2016, 06:15 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Agreed. This is the first offseason I can remember where the Bengals did everything I thought they should do.

- Let MLJ and Sanu sign crazy contracts elsewere? Check.
- Make the younger safety (Iloka) the priority? Check.
- Bring back Adam? Check.
- Sign a vet WR (something I've harped on for years?) Check. (As a bonus, it was the exact guy I wanted)
- Let Andre walk? Check.
- Finally sign Dansby? Check.

The only other thing I would possibly want is for Reggie to come back, and even that is still a possibility. Props to the FO.


Yup. Hopefully they also add a draft pick or two. Like BD said, just one injury and we're looking at Tate starting.

Somewhere fingernails are scraping across a blackboard in the abyss...

[Brownshoe]

(03-30-2016, 06:17 PM)GodFather Wrote: so last year he caught 37 passes for 515 yards and no TD's and released by the Pats, so why is this a great signing?

He was hurt for a lot of the year last year (and his first year having an injury that made him miss a game). The year before he about had 1k yards and 7 TDs. LaFell is just as productive as Jones.

[3wt]

(03-30-2016, 06:34 PM)coachmcneil71 Wrote: On a side note Treadwell may very well drop like a hot rock in this draft. The reports coming out about his workouts are very much in line with what some of my insider SEC guys have been telling me. He may not be the #1 that many have been lead to believe.

He has really grown on me once I got my mind around his slow 40.  Anquan Boldin was not a real fast guy, but he was an impact player in his prime.  Treadwell would be a really nice complement to Green.

[BobJones4980]

(03-30-2016, 06:38 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: That is what worries me. Their WR corps is far from loaded. And LaFell really wasn't that expensive. Yet they pulled the plug. They were really mum on his injury last year too. Still not too sure what it was and if it could linger.

I like the move. It was needed. But people I'm not as hype as a lot on here.

The Patriots not releasing details worries you? The Bengals checked him medically and everything must have checked out. The Patriots cut him because it saves about 4 mil in cap space, for about that same amount they get Nate Washington(1 mil) and Hogan(Front loaded 5.5 mil first year cap number and 3,3.5 the following 2). In their offense LaFell just wasn't worth 4 mil cap space when they could get Nate and Hogan for what they got them for. 

I don't think LaFell is gonna be great but he is probably a better option than Sanu and honestly not that far behind MJ. I also still think we double down on WR in the draft because they clearly know Tate isn't the answer.

[bengals67]

Great signing!

This and Dansby allows us to take the best player available when we draft in first and second round.

I could see a DE, DT or CB in rounds one and two but not  necessarily in that order. Depends who is there.

[cinci4life]

Great signing. Love it!!!

[NATI BENGALS]

(03-30-2016, 07:06 PM)BobJones4980 Wrote: The Patriots not releasing details worries you? The Bengals checked him medically and everything must have checked out. The Patriots cut him because it saves about 4 mil in cap space, for about that same amount they get Nate Washington(1 mil) and Hogan(Front loaded 5.5 mil first year cap number and 3,3.5 the following 2). In their offense LaFell just wasn't worth 4 mil cap space when they could get Nate and Hogan for what they got them for. 

I don't think LaFell is gonna be great but he is probably a better option than Sanu and honestly not that far behind MJ. I also still think we double down on WR in the draft because they clearly know Tate isn't the answer.

No what worries me is that he was cut by a team with not so great WR depth. And we are signing him to be our #2.

I saw it saved about 2.6mil by them cutting him.
http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/5188/brandon-lafell

We didn't really have much competition for his services. With the Panthers WRs and their experience with him I expected them to poke around. But didn't hear anything.

I like it. Done complaining. Just not going to treat it like some massive, offseason winning, free agent pick up.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-30-2016, 07:24 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: 1. No what worries me is that he was cut by a team with not so great WR depth. 2. And we are signing him to be our #2.

3. I saw it saved about 2.6mil by them cutting him.
http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/5188/brandon-lafell

4. We didn't really have much competition for his services. 5. With the Panthers WRs and their experience with him I expected them to poke around. But didn't hear anything.

6. I like it. Done complaining. Just not going to treat it like some massive, offseason winning, free agent pick up.

1. The Pats have better WR depth than some think. Edelman and Amendola are solid. I'd take Keshawn Martin over Tate.

2. He may not be our #2 depending on how the draft goes. If he is, he'll be in the same role he was in NE. He was behind Gronk and Edelman there. He'd be behind Green and Eifert here.

3. Still a good chunk of change, especially considering what they're paying Nate Washington to fill the same role.

4. FA is dead right now. Boldin, Fitzpatrick, Arian Foster, Reggie Nelson and many other solid players are barely even making visits, let alone signing.

5. They have Kelvin Benjamin, Ted Ginn, Devin Funchess, etc. I'd say they're all set.

6. I don't think anyone really thinks it's a massive signing, just a very good smart move that assures we'll be (at the very least) "ok" at WR2.

[fredtoast]

(03-30-2016, 07:24 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: No what worries me is that he was cut by a team with not so great WR depth. And we are signing him to be our #2.

New England has a noodle arm QB who can't complete a deep pass unless it is to a 6'6" freak athlete.

With the 2 Edelmandolas behind Gronk LaFell was expendable.

[HarleyDog]

Reading the board this morning before work seemed gloom and doom. So happy to see the excitement back. And all it took was signing a #2 receiver? Glad LaFell is here. I don't think he is as awesome as many but I think he will more than meet our needs. My only reserve about him is I wish he had better hands. Other than that, he's point on. With Daltons quick release, he will see plenty of passes. He just has to haul them in.

[fredtoast]

(03-30-2016, 04:57 PM)Crowe Wrote:  I still say we grab a WR in the first 3 rounds and then maybe look to add one in the 7th or as an UDFA.

This.

I still doubt we use a first round pick on a WR, but I am pretty sure we take one in the first three rounds.  And if WR is BPA in the first I will be fine with that.  I just don't think we have to use that high of a pick for a #2 WR.

But I also think we will take 2 WRs in the draft.  Even with Lafell we still just have 2 legit starting WRs.  No matter how much you like the potential of other players we have ion the roster the fact is none of them have done anything so far.  Tate actually had a decent 

[yellowxdiscipline]

Decent option.. I think with Green and Eifert you can throw anyone out there, but LaFell has had some success. Still drafting a WR at 24 though.

[BobJones4980]

(03-30-2016, 07:24 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: No what worries me is that he was cut by a team with not so great WR depth. And we are signing him to be our #2.

I saw it saved about 2.6mil by them cutting him.
http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/5188/brandon-lafell

We didn't really have much competition for his services. With the Panthers WRs and their experience with him I expected them to poke around. But didn't hear anything.

I like it. Done complaining. Just not going to treat it like some massive, offseason winning, free agent pick up.

The Patriots had a plan going into the offseason it would seem, LaFell according to OverTheCap.com had a 3.8 mil cap hit for 2016, I assume about a million of that turns into dead money though. They decided it was a better move to go ahead and cut LaFell, save the 2.5+ mil and put that towards getting a young guy in Chris Hogan and a veteran in Nate Washington.

The fact they cut LaFell doesn't worry me at all, they liked a younger guy on a similar contract and made it happen while putting some of the money from cutting LaFell to the younger players contract.

As for Carolina they haven't got as big of a problem at WR as some people claim, As Shake stated above they have Benjamin returning, Funchess going into his second year, and Ginn playing the best football of his life, so yea they are set. 

This board is so wishy washy with the way they treat signings, In every potential Free Agent thread people whine and complain and throw out the "only kicking the tires" comment and then when they get signed its fine but we should have done better. I swear so many on this board just don't wanna be happy, just easier to complain about another solid move rather than appreciate that basically all the right moves were made this off season by our Front Office. Seeing the deals guys like MJ and Sanu got I will take LaFell all day and draft talented guys early rather than cripple our potential of signing more important players down the road over the the #3-4 option on the offense.

[StoneTheCrow]

(03-30-2016, 09:16 PM)yellowxdiscipline Wrote: Decent option.. I think with Green and Eifert you can throw anyone out there, but LaFell has had some success. Still drafting a WR at 24 though.

This, this, this. I've said it a bunch already, Eifert is the 2. 

[Shepdawg]

(03-30-2016, 06:17 PM)GodFather Wrote: so last year he caught 37 passes for 515 yards and no TD's and released by the Pats, so why is this a great signing?

He should be able to easily replace the production they were getting from Sanu, without the drops.  LaFell actually has great hands.  In 2014 he caught 74 passes out of 119 targets with only 2 drops.  That's a 1.7% drop rate.  People will quickly dismiss that by pointing out that last season his 6 drops in 74 targets last season for an unacceptable 8.1% drop rate.  But when you actually look deeper into the games last year, and not the season overall you see that most, if not all of those drops came in his first game back from injury in Oct against the Jets.  He was targeted 8 times in that game and had 6 drops (unofficial) Not sure how many were official when all was said and done.  But that one game, his first one back coming off an injury shouldn't be determining factor on whether or not he has good hands.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000566199/article/brandon-lafell-gives-himself-an-f-after-day-of-drops

Let's just hope he can catch the ball with the right PSI in it.  And he doesn't get the drops like BJGE got a touch of the fumble bug after getting here.

[Ricky Spanish]

Opens us up for a 2nd round or 3rd round wideout.

BPA

[BengalChris]

We should take the BPA in the first round, with leanings toward WR, DT, DE. LaFell only covers one receiver spot and more depth is needed. Presently we have Green, then LaFell, then unproven 7th round picks Wright and Alford, followed up by a proven sub-receiver (Tate) who really would be out of the league if the Bengals hadn't signed him. To make a run we'll need a receiver who can come in and play next year.

[EatonFan]

Now we just have to fill the WR with a bit more depth and take a safety. We could also use an edge rusher and backup LB.

[Benton]

(03-30-2016, 10:26 PM)BengalChris Wrote: We should take the BPA in the first round, with leanings toward WR, DT, DE. LaFell only covers one receiver spot and more depth is needed. Presently we have Green, then LaFell, then unproven 7th round picks Wright and Alford, followed up by a proven sub-receiver (Tate) who really would be out of the league if the Bengals hadn't signed him. To make a run we'll need a receiver who can come in and play next year.

I'd pug it Green, then Eifert, then LaFell, Rex, Wright/Alford, Tate.

[wolfkaosaun]

Awesome. But we still need a legit #2 like Docston or Coleman.

LaFell should do well in the slot.