If Gaither Were To Go...

[JO_75]

[quote name='BlindSide' date='29 March 2010 - 09:13 PM' timestamp='1269911633' post='384104']
Time is running out for teams to sign restricted free agent Ravens tackle Jared Gaither to an offer sheet, but he may be available for less than his first round tender.

NFL Network's Jason La Canfora, citing two Ravens sources, said Monday an offer of a "high second round" pick would get a team's foot in the door.


Rest of story http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/03/29/gaither-could-be-available-for-less-than-first-round-pick/
[/quote]

Crap! FO what are you thinking? I can understand this if Gaither wants too much money which won't be surprising considering his agent only cares about money and he probably has told Gaither he can get a better deal else where. Gaither needs to be locked up ASAP, I'd much rather have 2 solid tackles who can play both Left and Right Tackle rather just 1. Now I know Oher would be moved to LT, and I think that would be great but letting Gaither go wouldn't be smart. Please re-think this Front Office, other wise we will need a Right Tackle and Cousins as our RT means Flacco can't find Boldin, Ray Rice can only run to the left side because Cousins won't open any holes on the right side. If you do trade him, don't take nothing less than a 1st. We don't want someone to get him in a steal. 1st Round Pick or No Trade!

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='JO_75' date='29 March 2010 - 09:44 PM' timestamp='1269913466' post='384117']
Crap! FO what are you thinking? I can understand this if Gaither wants too much money which won't be surprising considering his agent only cares about money and he probably has told Gaither he can get a better deal else where. Gaither needs to be locked up ASAP, I'd much rather have 2 solid tackles who can play both Left and Right Tackle rather just 1. Now I know Oher would be moved to LT, and I think that would be great but letting Gaither go wouldn't be smart. Please re-think this Front Office, other wise we will need a Right Tackle and Cousins as our RT means Flacco can't find Boldin, Ray Rice can only run to the left side because Cousins won't open any holes on the right side. If you do trade him, don't take nothing less than a 1st. We don't want someone to get him in a steal. 1st Round Pick or No Trade!
[/quote]

You contradicted yourself though saying you understand if Gaither wants more money but that he needs to be locked up right away.

Like I said previously, the team may not want to commit to Gaither for some legitimate reasons. It isn't as simple as "he's a good young player so the team should lock him up".

And I highly doubt the team would go into a season with Cousins as the starting RT if they traded Gaither unless he absolutely dominated every DE he faced in training camp and pre-season.

[52Kia Kaha92]

if Gaither where to go i would be pissed, unless we get the number #2 pick for him; which aint happening! Just think of Suh and Ngata though lol.

This team is going to make a run this year, we need Gaither manning that left side. No point in have Oher play LT and having a rookie learning how to play RT in the NFL. Not many could do it the way Oher did last year. Trading Gaither to fill the needs of tight ends and Corner (dont personally think need is that big) would be silly as we would have a huge hole at RT. I dont want to see our soon to be franchise player on his back every play.

And no, we are not going to trade gaither away for picks, Move Yanda to RT and start Chester. Yanda is IMO a top 5 guard in the league, not a great tackle because of his feet, but he is an amazing guard.


If we trade Gaither for a 2nd rounder pick, i will tear my hair out and will need a new tv if you know what i mean. If we trade him for anything less thatn the 2nd overall pick i will be very dissapointed.

[TerpRaven]

These are guy 25 years old or below under contract/own rights. How many of them are contributing more to the team more than Jared. Ray Rice and Joe Flacco...sure. Jared is #3 or #4 depending on your opinion of Oher, currently successful with a chance to be really something. I wouldn't trade Gaither for a 1st round draft pick. Why trade a proven NFL player for a maybe....There are already A LOT of maybes under contract/own rights. In some cases, guys who were picked early on the first day.

Riley, Eron
Rice, Ray
Fitzhugh, Keith
Oher, Michael
Gerard, K.J.
Nakamura, Haruki
Kruger, Paul
Phillips, Jason
Parmele, Jalen
Drew, Davon
Ellerbe, Dannell
Divens, Lamar
Webb, Lardarius
VanDeSteeg, William
Price, Maurice
Reitz, Joe
McClain, Jameel
Zbikowski, Tom
Lawrence, Matt
Harper, Justin
Flacco, Joe
Smith, Marcus
Williams, Cary
Jones, Edgar
Gooden, Tavares
Talavou, Kelly
Paschal, Marcus
Cousins, Oniel
Mattison, Bryan

[RoflDogs]

Can you say smokescreen?

[Ravens Beast]

pay the maaaaan!!!!

[sporaven]

He won't be gone this offseason. It just doesn't make sense. If we keep him for another year and he plays like a premier left tackle, we can tag him and trade him for much more than we can get now. If he is injured or plays mediocre, we can sign him long term for a bargain.

[RichieAsh]

Does anyone honestly think for one second that the FO would weaken Joe's protection just for the hell of it? They are only looking to IMPROVE it because Joe was getting killed last year, and Gaither was part of the problem. Even if they kept Gaither, they would still have to draft a good RT who can start in year 1 because Gaither is always hurt.

Gaither does not play to his physical ability in either run or pass blocking because he's soft. Joe got killed many times last year because Gaither was getting beat so stop pretending he's a big time LT just because he's 6' 9".

If you need proof, take a look at the play where Gaither got hurt vs the Pats. He got beat around the edge by Jarvis Green who is a below average not speedy pass rusher and Joe took a shot from behind because of it. Gaither got hurt because he was holding Green and Green dragged him into Joe. There was also a blitz on the other side, which is why Joe got sandwiched. If Gaither could be counted on to protect Joe then they obviously wouldn't even consider trading him.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d8132168c/Jared-Gaither-injury






[quote name='sporaven' date='30 March 2010 - 01:39 AM' timestamp='1269931187' post='384192']
He won't be gone this offseason. It just doesn't make sense. If we keep him for another year and he plays like a premier left tackle, we can tag him and trade him for much more than we can get now. If he is injured or plays mediocre, we can sign him long term for a bargain.
[/quote]

[beasy2487]

[quote name='RichieAsh' date='30 March 2010 - 09:00 AM' timestamp='1269954034' post='384215']
Does anyone honestly think for one second that the FO would weaken Joe's protection just for the hell of it? They are only looking to IMPROVE it because Joe was getting killed last year, and Gaither was part of the problem. Even if they kept Gaither, they would still have to draft a good RT who can start in year 1 because Gaither is always hurt.

Gaither does not play to his physical ability in either run or pass blocking because he's soft. Joe got killed many times last year because Gaither was getting beat so stop pretending he's a big time LT just because he's 6' 9".

If you need proof, take a look at the play where Gaither got hurt vs the Pats. He got beat around the edge by Jarvis Green who is a below average not speedy pass rusher and Joe took a shot from behind because of it. Gaither got hurt because he was holding Green and Green dragged him into Joe. There was also a blitz on the other side, which is why Joe got sandwiched. If Gaither could be counted on to protect Joe then they obviously wouldn't even consider trading him.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d8132168c/Jared-Gaither-injury
[/quote]

I was wondering when someone was going to bring this up. I think this is the point Harbaugh is trying to make, Jared is still a prospect. He COULD be excellent if he put his mind to it and brought that same edge that Oher naturally brings. However, I think the point that most others are trying to make is that we know what we're getting with Gaither and we know what we need to improve versus bringing in another tackle that would require a whole new diagnostic.

Now, I think if we brought in a proven, veteran right tackle, we could part with Gaither and not be hurt too bad by it. Sadly, that veteran RT isn't out there this year.

[GoRavensNTerps]

All the people saying trading him makes no sense and we need to sign him to a long term deal aren't looking at the big picture. No team can afford to pay two tackles LT money. Oher will command a big contract when his rookie contract is up. Would you rather have Oher who's proved himself during his first year, or pay Gaither, who is constantly injured and is still a prospect? I'm all for this trade if we can get a first round pick for him. Keeping Gaither might mean losing Ngata or another high priced soon to be free agent. Ozzie loves his picks and if we can get two first round picks in this draft, I will be thrilled.

Plus Gaither has been quoted as saying that he only wants to play LT. So the people saying that we can just move him to the right and Oher to the left are just speaking in vain.

[psuravens]

[quote name='GoRavensNTerps' date='30 March 2010 - 08:35 AM' timestamp='1269956123' post='384227']
All the people saying trading him makes no sense and we need to sign him to a long term deal aren't looking at the big picture. No team can afford to pay two tackles LT money. Oher will command a big contract when his rookie contract is up. Would you rather have Oher who's proved himself during his first year, or pay Gaither, who is constantly injured and is still a prospect? I'm all for this trade if we can get a first round pick for him. Keeping Gaither might mean losing Ngata or another high priced soon to be free agent. Ozzie loves his picks and if we can get two first round picks in this draft, I will be thrilled.

Plus Gaither has been quoted as saying that he only wants to play LT. So the people saying that we can just move him to the right and Oher to the left are just speaking in vain.
[/quote]

Oher's contract is not up for another four years.

[TerpRaven]

http://profootballfocus.com/by_position.php?tab=by_position&season=2009&pos=T&stype=r&runpass=&teamid=-1&numsnaps=25&numgames=1

The #6 OT per PFF. 703 snaps, 4 QB sacks, 2 QB hits and 6 pressures. In 2008 the numbers were 2, 1 and 17. Citing one play or a series is a poor way of making an assessment. He missed 5 games in 10 (made all 16 in 09) so I could see people questioning his durability but that is about it.

Relative to paying him and Oher both left tackle money. I would rather pay Gaither the money than to pay a 3 man committee even more money and get less. As a lot of people have said....pay the man.

[RichieAsh]

Well if PFF says he's the #6 tackle, email that to Oz right away because everyone knows PFF is the ultimate truth and Oz needs to know because I don't think he knows that! Those stats are bogus, Gaither gave up 2 QB hits? One on the play he got knocked out and one the rest of the year? He's not better than Brick Ferguson or Clady. The play where he got beat is representative of his inconsistent play. Do you really think he's the 6th best tackle in football? Again, if he was really that good, Oz wouldn't consider trading him because he would mean a lot to protecting Joe.

[quote name='TerpRaven' date='30 March 2010 - 09:52 AM' timestamp='1269960758' post='384250']
http://profootballfocus.com/by_position.php?tab=by_position&season=2009&pos=T&stype=r&runpass=&teamid=-1&numsnaps=25&numgames=1

The #6 OT per PFF. 703 snaps, 4 QB sacks, 2 QB hits and 6 pressures. In 2008 the numbers were 2, 1 and 17. Citing one play or a series is a poor way of making an assessment. He missed 5 games in 10 (made all 16 in 09) so I could see people questioning his durability but that is about it.

Relative to paying him and Oher both left tackle money. I would rather pay Gaither the money than to pay a 3 man committee even more money and get less. As a lot of people have said....pay the man.
[/quote]

[SickBoy]

[size="2"]Pay the man, we got 2 or 3 years of cheap labor from him already. If the Ravens let Gaither go, they might as well draft a quarterback to replace the soon to be injured Joe Flacco,lol[/size]

[TerpRaven]

[quote name='RichieAsh' date='30 March 2010 - 07:52 AM' timestamp='1269964326' post='384285']
Well if PFF says he's the #6 tackle, email that to Oz right away because everyone knows PFF is the ultimate truth and Oz needs to know because I don't think he knows that! Those stats are bogus, Gaither gave up 2 QB hits? One on the play he got knocked out and one the rest of the year? He's not better than Brick Ferguson or Clady. The play where he got beat is representative of his inconsistent play. Do you really think he's the 6th best tackle in football? Again, if he was really that good, Oz wouldn't consider trading him because he would mean a lot to protecting Joe.
[/quote]

If you have something more substantive and objective than PFF...please enlighten everyone.

[Ed_Reed20]

Check out the latest news regarding Gaither on his rotoworld page: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NfL&id=4497

The draft just got more interesting...

[Milton145]

Why trade him for a second rounder? I don't care if it's high, if we are trying to be a Superbowl team and have gotten damn close to it the past 2 years, we don't get rid of the guys that has helped us. We get rid of the guys that didn't and add new players in their position.

Not worth it honestly...he hasn't had off-field issues. He plays great (better than our backup) and is loyal to the franchise. I don't get it...

[PuRock]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' date='30 March 2010 - 02:46 PM' timestamp='1269974777' post='384340']
Check out the latest news regarding Gaither on his rotoworld page: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NfL&id=4497

The draft just got more interesting...
[/quote]

I've always thought the Redskins would be the most obvious suitors. Personally I'm a Gaither fan. But I'm going to let the team evaluate him for the long term. Because I don't know the ins and outs of things.

But if he's going to the Redskins, we can package up a better deal that just a second. You have to rip off danny boy. Get like a 2nd & 3rd and a conditional 3rd round next year. Danny would do it for a left Tackle. That way they can still draft a QB in the 1st.

[psuravens]

I just don't see it being worth it to trade Gaither for a second round pick. If money is the real issue here, then restructuring Willis's contract would be the better way to go. It's easier to replace a back up running back, compared to a tackle. Worse comes to worse we can plug McClain in as a back up running back. I know there are some holes on the team, but is trading Gaither for a second round pick really going to fill all the holes? All I can see it doing is creating another hole at RT for us to fill in. From this, it only looks like a step in the wrong direction.

If Jason Peters can get a first round draft pick, then I can't see why Jared Gaither can not. By the way, don't take those PPT rankings seriously. Outside of the stats, the rankings are useless. They have Kelley Washington ranked higher than Deshawn Jackson and Brandon Marshall.

[PuRock]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' date='30 March 2010 - 02:46 PM' timestamp='1269974777' post='384340']
Check out the latest news regarding Gaither on his rotoworld page: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NfL&id=4497

The draft just got more interesting...
[/quote]

I'm starting to hear more an more chatter about Jared Gaither now that La Canfora said a "high second round pick could get your foot in the door" yesterday.

Sounds like the Redskins, Lions, Bills and Raiders could be biting. All of which are thinking OL in the 1st round, but would open up their options if inking Gaither.

Sounds like something could go down on draft day.

[CustomUserName]

If we lose Gaither, we lose a quality, young, LT that could be an anchor on our line for the next decade, to one of the 31 other teams actively trying to be better than us.

Yup, open and shut. It sounds like a genius idea.

[slugz1]

[quote name='GoRavensNTerps' date='30 March 2010 - 09:35 AM' timestamp='1269956123' post='384227']
All the people saying trading him makes no sense and we need to sign him to a long term deal aren't looking at the big picture. No team can afford to pay two tackles LT money. Oher will command a big contract when his rookie contract is up. Would you rather have Oher who's proved himself during his first year, or pay Gaither, who is constantly injured and is still a prospect? I'm all for this trade if we can get a first round pick for him. Keeping Gaither might mean losing Ngata or another high priced soon to be free agent. Ozzie loves his picks and if we can get two first round picks in this draft, I will be thrilled.

Plus Gaither has been quoted as saying that he only wants to play LT. So the people saying that we can just move him to the right and Oher to the left are just speaking in vain.
[/quote]

how do you know that oher want LT money did you talk to him.Oher play RT so we pay him RT money. Who are you to say we dont have enough money to pay our players, none of us dont know how much money the ravens has to spent. Everyone tends to forget when Gaither made his first start. The guy was shutting down all the top pass rushers. He held freeney takle-less and sack less and just plain shut down DeMarcus Ware.

[Ed_Reed20]

Not to compare Oher to Ogden, but J.O. played left guard his rookie year before moving to his true position the next season. Like J.O., Oher played out of position as a rookie and I'm sure the team wants him at his natural position.

We can all post about how the team needs to pay Gaither or how bad a decision they might make in around four weeks but until you see how it turns out, how can you question the organization?

It likely won't just be Ozzie's call either. He'll consult with Harbaugh who has heard everything he needs to know about Gaither from the position and assistant coaches in addition to dealing with Jared personally.

I'd prefer the o-line stay together but considering the effot the team has made to solidify the unit the past three seasons, does anyone really think the organization would just let a starting LT go without a good numer of reasons?

[flynismo]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' date='30 March 2010 - 02:51 PM' timestamp='1269978677' post='384375']
Not to compare Oher to Ogden, but J.O. played left guard his rookie year before moving to his true position the next season. Like J.O., Oher played out of position as a rookie and I'm sure the team wants him at his natural position.

We can all post about how the team needs to pay Gaither or how bad a decision they might make in around four weeks but until you see how it turns out, how can you question the organization?

It likely won't just be Ozzie's call either. He'll consult with Harbaugh who has heard everything he needs to know about Gaither from the position and assistant coaches in addition to dealing with Jared personally.

I'd prefer the o-line stay together but considering the effot the team has made to solidify the unit the past three seasons, does anyone really think the organization would just let a starting LT go without a good numer of reasons?
[/quote]


I definitely agree that Gaither will be thoroughly evaluated in all aspects, but in the end, as always, it simply comes down to money. Gaither wants paid a lot of money for a guy who has yet to sniff a pro bowl. We all know he has the potential, but he has yet to put it all together, and of course, he is in jeopardy of getting stuck with the "injury prone" label.
If he doesn't seriously lower his demands, I think he'll be gone. Dont want to see that happen personally, but this is the business side of the game rearing its head.

[UxbridgeRaven]

If the rumours are true and a high second "gets your foot in the door" it might be that the Ravens see absolutely no way to keep Jared beyond this year and feel that what they will lose this year is less important than what they get back (likely to be more than just a 2nd) to move the team forward over the next few years. Or it might be that the sides are a long way apart and the Ravens think the only way to drive down Rosenhaus' price is to hope no-one bites for even a second rounder and use that to try and drive the price down, which is a pretty high risk game, but one I'd love to come off.

I find it hard to believe that no-one would give up a high 2 for Gaither assuming he isn't looking to get paid franchise tag money, so if the rumours are true something gets done during the draft in my opinion, which will add a bit of fun.

[Bltravens]

My only thing with this situation is if we do trade Gaither for a pick, that pick cant be used on his replacement, because then that trade is utterly pointless and we in essence downgraded in talent for the first 2-3 years of that particular new player. Since we only have a 1,2,5,5,6, this year and theyre talking about the Redskins 2nd, then we use our 2nd on getting a new T and that T has to be proficient in pass protection. I dont care if hes a weak run blocker, I think every OL on our roster right now has run blocking as his strength. Get a kid who wont make us regret losing Gaither when Woodley is clocking Flacco in the mouth twice a year.

[JO_75]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' date='30 March 2010 - 03:51 PM' timestamp='1269978677' post='384375']
Not to compare Oher to Ogden, but J.O. played left guard his rookie year before moving to his true position the next season. Like J.O., Oher played out of position as a rookie and I'm sure the team wants him at his natural position.

We can all post about how the team needs to pay Gaither or how bad a decision they might make in around four weeks but until you see how it turns out, how can you question the organization?

It likely won't just be Ozzie's call either. He'll consult with Harbaugh who has heard everything he needs to know about Gaither from the position and assistant coaches in addition to dealing with Jared personally.

I'd prefer the o-line stay together but considering the effot the team has made to solidify the unit the past three seasons, does anyone really think the organization would just let a starting LT go without a good number of reasons?
[/quote]

I prefer the Offensive line to stay together and grow as a unit to one of the best in the league, but if we have to lose Gaither than so be it. I so much agree with the above. Another thing to consider is this, and if you have played Franchise on Madden 10 with the Ravens enough you would know that we have Ngata in his contract year this year and he will have to be paid and considering Peppers and Haynesworth's contracts the past two years, we will be looking at close to $100 Million for Ngata, and I have said it before and I'll say it again, Ngata and Flacco will probably get the first $100 Million dollar contracts the Ravens hand out. Ben Grubbs was drafted in 07, Grubbs who is another crucial part to the offensive line, will be in a contract year either this year or next year. Ray Rice will be entering his 3rd year of his 4 year rookie contract this season, and he will have to be paid. I love Gaither as much as everybody else but we have too many KEY players that will have to be paid soon and I'm not sure if we can give Gaither big money all a while paying Ngata, Grubbs and other players as well. Granted we don't have a cap, but even if we get a cap back, there is no way we can afford to keep everybody in tact.

Now about the redskins, If you want to talk about any Gaither trade, it better be a first or nothing. I don't care how high the Skins pick in the second, it's not worth it. Now If we were to trade him to any team and we could get a first, why not try a 1st Rounder in 2011? Granted that pick would be a year away, but I was looking at Walter Football and they have a 2011 Mock Draft and I am thinking that we should try to acquire a 2011 pick and get one of the receivers coming out, either Julio Jones, Michael Floyd or A.J Green, and if the Redskins have another bad season they could be in the top 10 and if we have their 2011 1st round pick, we could have one of those WR's fall to us.

I would say if we do the trade with Washington, I say we try to get their 2011 1st Round Pick. They could throw in a late round pick in this year's draft like a 4th or heck let's see if the new Front Office is dumb enough to trade us their 2nd, and 1st round pick in 2011. Either way, I think we should just ask Washington for their 2011 1st round pick and go from there.

[flynismo]

[quote name='Bltravens' date='30 March 2010 - 03:59 PM' timestamp='1269982742' post='384411']
My only thing with this situation is if we do trade Gaither for a pick, that pick cant be used on his replacement, because then that trade is utterly pointless and we in essence downgraded in talent for the first 2-3 years of that particular new player. Since we only have a 1,2,5,5,6, this year and theyre talking about the Redskins 2nd, then we use our 2nd on getting a new T and that T has to be proficient in pass protection. I dont care if hes a weak run blocker, I think every OL on our roster right now has run blocking as his strength. Get a kid who wont make us regret losing Gaither when Woodley is clocking Flacco in the mouth twice a year.
[/quote]


Maybe we get a 2nd and a 4th for Gaither. Burn the 2nd on his replacement, and the 4th on another position (a Center or DL maybe). I'd be okay with that.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='JO_75' date='30 March 2010 - 05:00 PM' timestamp='1269982808' post='384413']...I am thinking that we should try to acquire a 2011 pick and get one of the receivers coming out, either Julio Jones, Michael Floyd or A.J Green...
[/quote]

I know this is off-topc but add Jonathan Baldwin of Pittsburgh to that list as well. He's a man amongst boys.

The Redskins aren't going to give up a ton for Gaither. A second round pick would be sufficient in my book because I'm sure Ozzie could parlay that into some mid-round picks.

[REEDPIXUOFF]

[quote]I prefer the Offensive line to stay together and grow as a unit to one of the best in the league, but if we have to lose Gaither than so be it. I so much agree with the above. Another thing to consider is this, and if you have played Franchise on Madden 10 with the Ravens enough you would know that we have Ngata in his contract year this year and he will have to be paid and considering Peppers and Haynesworth's contracts the past two years, we will be looking at close to $100 Million for Ngata, and I have said it before and I'll say it again, Ngata and Flacco will probably get the first $100 Million dollar contracts the Ravens hand out. Ben Grubbs was drafted in 07, Grubbs who is another crucial part to the offensive line, will be in a contract year either this year or next year. Ray Rice will be entering his 3rd year of his 4 year rookie contract this season, and he will have to be paid. I love Gaither as much as everybody else but we have too many KEY players that will have to be paid soon and I'm not sure if we can give Gaither big money all a while paying Ngata, Grubbs and other players as well. Granted we don't have a cap, but even if we get a cap back, there is no way we can afford to keep everybody in tact.
[/quote]

Ngata shouldn't cost 100 million like many of us expected after Haynesworth got that deal. The Pats gave Wilfork 5 years 40 million, that should be more along the lines of what Ngata gets.

You're probably right about Flacco, the going rate on franchise qb's these days seems to be 100 mil. Don't have to worry about this for 3 more years though.

Gaither plays a more important position than Grubbs and should be given a longterm contract first.