rmcjacket23

Nobody's giving me picks. I've asked for them.

(I probably should watch moneyball if I'm gonna quote\reference it though)

I'd look at it this way...

Dareus is probably one of the three best defensive lineman in all of football, and he has a cap number under $10M.

He is the definition of untouchable in my opinion...

lol you must be new here

This game is amazingly unrealistic

It's just fun

Correct, I am new.

I probably should have asked more questions before I joined...

Only time a trade would be vetoed is if it was determined that the 2 teams were working together (I'm drawing a blank on the word here, I'm thinking coercion, is that right?). 

Collusion.

And I pretty much agree with that sentiment, since I think owners should be allowed to manage their teams as they see fit (basically just like fantasy football).

The only long-term problem is that when owners of teams see that trades like that are being made, in my experience, it lowers the overall integrity and "realism" with the league itself, and eventually, it just dies off on its own.

if any gm did that theyd be fired on the spot in real life

That would undoubtedly apply to at least 50% of the trades made (and that's being conservative).

People caaallllmmm dowwwwwnnn. Give me the benifet of the doubt for a minute here. Plenty of off season to go here

I'm not sure that matters... I'm not the commish, so I have no say, but if I were, I'm not giving somebody the benefit of the doubt of a very unrealistic trade based on the fact that you might flip that player later for somebody else.

I would think the commish's would be looking at a trade at the exact face value of it...

Am I the only one thinking that most of the teams making these trades are almost guaranteed to end up worse than they were before they started?

Sorry man, but that's thinking like a fan right there. Not an FO.

Not that I'm disagreeing with the general sentiment regarding the decision, but honestly speaking, how many of the decisions (and especially trades) that go on in this league are done almost exclusively based on fan logic vs real (FO) logic?

is lynch a realistic target???

Not even close to a realistic one...

I liked the Kalil deal because it gets him and his brother together and it fills a need. Williams was not in my future plans whatsoever so I still get a young guy who has at least proven he can be a solid player from his rookie season. Haven't seen it since, but at least there is something there that shows he can be above average. With my tackle situation, I needed him bad.

I don't think most people questioned it from the Panthers side... I think people were questioning it from the Vikings side...

Didn't know where to ask this question. But I know Rashaan Melvin was signed to a one year contract is he a RFA or is he unrestricted?

ERFA. Will almost certainly be retained.

Speaking of Brandon Marshall

He said regardless of age, not regardless of cost...

You weren't talkin business

 

Kalil and Minnesota wasn't a fit.

I agree. But Deangelo Williams isn't a fit anywhere.

I was more or less mentioning the difference between trading for a guy like him and just picking him up in FA, which was inevitable.

Damn I should becoming trading partners with the vikes

You mean giving up a potential future LT on a cheap deal for an incredibly aging RB who was likely to be cut anyway isn't a good idea?

LOL.

I'm trying to figure out where the Brandon Marshall talk is coming from. Didn't he just sign a 3 year 30m deal .. so it has 2 years left on it? Have the Bears hinted at cutting him and eating that cap space?

Some have suggested that. They would save just under $4M in cap space by cutting him, but mostly due to the fact that Gase is the new OC and he and Marshall never got along in Denver to begin with.

I personally am not buying that he will be cut... I think he stays for one more season.

We should try to get younger. That said cb- cary williams, jonathan joseph, or leon hall would be my picks.  Also get a free safety somehow.  We should fix all our holes through free agency and then get the best player available. 

We will be unlikely to address many of our needs in FA... we simply don't and probably won't have the cap space to do so.

A top 10 for hali? Lol

Obviously, just one of many deals that of course never even remotely happens or gets talked about in real life.

But it is a fantasy game, so it is what it is.

Dolphins players available for trade:

Mike Wallace

Dannell Ellerbe

Brian Hartline

Randy Starks

Brandon Gibson

I'm not sure if Wallace will ask for a high price, his past two years in Miami have been pure disappointments and who on earth is really going to bid high on Wallace after his past three years? I think he'll be at reasonable asking price given by the open market, but his contract is a problem. I'd def. think Wallace would be a great fit if Torrey leaves in F.A. and would become a definite possibility. 

 

I didn't go digging into all the #s but no wonder why Miami wants to release him, his cap hit was $17M with $27M in dead money, in 2015 it will be a cap hit of $12M and $6M in dead money, so cutting him is a no-brainer for them. I don't know if we'll do it, just seems like an extreme risk-Medium reward, so I don't see it happening. 

Cap savings on Wallace is only $2.5M in 2015, with $9.6M in dead money.

I'm guessing you were using Spotrac for your initial analysis, but that cite is wrong in regards to Wallace's cap amount. Of his $9.85M salary for 2015, $3M of that is guaranteed.

I don't expect the Dolphins to release him this offseason, though its possible.

While I agree that teams like as little dead money as possible, there are times they just may have no choice.  This, perhaps, may be one of them.

 

Unless the Cap goes up substantially more than expected, they are going to be over the Cap upon tendering their ERFAs and RFAs, so they are going to have to find substantial Cap space in order to get under the Cap and free up space to sign/re-sign guys.

 

The call with Webb is whether they feel he can recover AND stay healthy.  If not, then they almost have to do something because of the Cap savings a post-June 1 release provides.

 

I'm now leaning more towards a forced paycut (with incentives built into allow him to recoup that money) and if not, then a post-June 1 release.  That $8M in June can be used to sign their rookies and the excess to carry into the season for injury replacements. 

 

Look at it this way, if they feel that Webb will not be a Ravens in 2016 - then they are going to have $6M in dead money in 2016 either way.  So, if that's the case, then is Webb worth $8M this year or would they be better off using that $8M elsewhere?  No, the money isn't available until June, but they can spend to the Cap until then, knowing they've got enough to cover the rookies and carry into the season when the $8M is freed up in June.

 

Certainly not an optimal resolution, but perhaps the most practical.

I do agree with this... there might not be an option.

From the 2016 perspective, the Ravens would hold more leverage then if the status quo remains. So at that point, the Ravens basically could decide whether to extend at a significant discount (probably ideal) or cut. I don't think cutting outright is a really great option this season, and Webb still has the leverage in paycut negotiations.

While I don't think it will happen, I can see Webb playing at his current cap number being a possibility IF the Ravens are actually interested in him staying for a long time and they are able to work out some cap space in other areas, such as cutting/extending Ngata and/or Yanda.

$20-25 M may be on the high side, but history shows that teams win when they invest in the line. For most of the decade, the Patriots spent about 25 on their line. And every year, they had the best line. I have no issue with spending $25M on the starting line. The game is won in the trenches, so buy a great line.

 

People may question the Patriots' reputation now, but you simply can't argue against the quality of their offensive line and its impact on their offense.

True, but particularly when it comes to interior O-line, we have a history of successfully drafting and developing players there. Given that, its sort of hard to justify paying top dollar to positions where we can probably find or develop suitable replacements.

I would think positions where we are notoriously weak at drafting and developing, such as QB (until Joe), WR, and probably Corner are spots where we should consider spending larger chunks of our money.

I mean lets be honest with ourselves... positions like RB, linebacker, D-line for the most part, and interior O-line are positions this team has had no issue drafting and developing players historically, and that's unlikely to change. I'm not saying we let generational players like Ray or possibly Mosley (a bit early for this) walk after their first contract, but its the precise reason why guys like Ellerbe, Kruger, Art Jones, etc. aren't amongst our highest priority resigns, even though they were quality players for us.

An interesting tidbit to add onto your comment is that KO has been injury-prone as much as he's been dominant. Furthermore, Zuttah actually played LG as well before he played center and has the versatility to swing. It's certainly possible the FO extends Yanda and lets KO play out his contract to see if he retains his quality of play and if he remains healthy. I think those are the two large factors for him. 

 

KO is also very versatile in that he could potentially play LT in a pinch, which is a nice benefit for us as well. I don't think it's nearly as clear-cut as you do, although I do agree that it'll be tricky. 

Well I certainly don't think its clear-cut... I think there's plenty of question marks. In 2015 alone, you're going to have about $20M in cap space tied up between Yanda, Monroe, and Zuttah, with Monroe and Zuttah on the books for $13M in space in 2016.

If we're talking about locking up Yanda and KO in back to back seasons, you could have a $20-25M offensive line (excluding Wagner), which in my opinion, is a bit on the high side. And heck, Wagner would need a new deal after 2016 too, so you've potentially got three offensive lineman looking for decent sized contracts in the next three seasons, and they are essentially unarguably our three best lineman also.

If I were a betting man, I'd say at least one of them isn't around long term, and KO makes the most sense to me as that guy.

Merge topics...

I was talking bout Jacoby Jones a June cut. Webb I think gets restructured for less $$ or cut. He has to know his value won't be much if he is cut even though he was good down the stretch. so he should agree to a paycut restructure that pays him more than he would get on the open market if he is flat out cut yet much more cap friendly for us and hopefully he is healthy. I think Suggs last season with the team will be 2015 as we likely draft a young edge rusher early this draft to learn under him. Either that or he takes a pay cut and becomes the #3 rotational edge rusher as he basically starts getting less snaps than the young player and reduced role or he retires. As long as Joe doesn't lose $$ I'm sure he restructures to reduce his cap #. After all he is used to winning. As long as an owner is willing to pay out the $$ then cap figures can be reduced and spread out. Osemele barring injury could be the best LG in the NFL next season and will cost. Yanda at 31-32 won't cost as much. Same with N'gata, at his age I think he restructures and even takes a pay cut at his age. Something like 3-4 years with a decent bonus up front and not much garunteed after that. Then He probably has another 2 years before he retires or has a reduced role. Or he could be cut altogether if Ravens land another good DT in round 2-3. Everybody is thinking WR in this draft but I see edge rusher then corner or edge rusher and DLine . This is an underwhelming Safety draft and That Elam pick is really hurting us!! Good news is we can get talented WRs/TEs at a bargain in FA like Housler Britt and Crabtree or a Vernon Davis once cut and focus on other positions in the draft.

Here's my take...

1. Suggs isn't going anywhere for the next two seasons... he's basically locked in through 2016. Cutting him in 2016 would save us a whopping $100K against the cap, with $6.6M in dead money. We could ask him to take a paycut, but he's really not making that much that season anyway ($4.5M), and he has no incentive to agree, because he knows the franchise won't cut him over $100K. Even as a backup, he's worth way more than that. Frankly, the way his contract is designed, he basically is going to play here until he retires. Even in 2017, we save less than $2M against the cap by cutting him.

Bottom line... he's here a minimum of two more years, and quite possibly three.

2. You really can't restructure Joe's contract... he needs to accept an extension. Given how well he's been playing recently, he may not even accept an extension for equal or less. You've got an annually increasing salary cap, an even greater dependency on QBs in the league, and you'll have guys like Wilson and Luck (who arguably have lesser credentials) making upwards of $25M a season potentially.

3. If Yanda gets extended this offseason, it will likely be costly. Offensive lineman can play longer than a lot of players in this league, and he's probably got at least 2-3 quality years of play left in him at a minimum. He's coming off an All-Pro campaign, and he made $6.5M on average on his previous deal. He could easily get that again from us or from somebody else, and I would think the floor with him would be about $5M a year, which is substantial for a guard.

4. KO is an interesting case. Conventional wisdom says we would try to keep him, but if you're signing Yanda this season or next, can you afford to pay two guards elite guard money in back to back seasons? Historically, the answer is no, because we saw this a few years ago with Yanda/Grubbs. Grubbs was arguably better than KO is at that time, and we signed Yanda and let him walk. That potentially certainly looms for KO, considering that they probably do like Urschel and the fact that the franchise has a proven track record of drafting and developing quality interior lineman in the mid to late rounds of the draft.

Not really unless he's one of the highest paid 51.

Which, under the veteran minimum, he almost certainly would be. Vet minimum for Richardson in 2014 would have been $570K, which means it could realistically be $600K this season.

Ravens had about 15-20 players under the Rule of 51 last season that had a cap hit of $600K or less.

For a league minimum just for training camp to see what he may or may not provide wouldn't hurt us. He might be a better fit for our system.

Training camp cut into our salary cap also, doesn't matter if its the league minimum or not.

I'd rather bring somebody in for the league minimum who can actually contribute. Besides, we already know he's not the kind of runner who fits our system.