FAs to Consider: WRs and TEs

[PerpetuallyBored74]

You guys are forgetting who our GM is if you think were gonna shell out for a fancy WR.

 

 

We'll either re-sign Torrey to be our #2 WR or sign one of the cheaper FA's for that role.

Just hope Ozzie finally looks to draft that #1 WR this time.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I honestly think TE is a much bigger need than WR unless they really think Pitta is going to come back healthy.

I like gilmores potential but even counting on him as your primary backup is risky and if pitta isn't a go then he's currently our starting te. With kubiak leaving I don't know if Owen Daniels is a sure bet to resign with us and honestly with some good players hitting FA with upside that are younger id rather us try to sign Gresham or Housler.

Resign Torrey and draft a WR early. If they rate one of them highly move up to get him. Wr used to be a position that took years to develop and become nfl ready but recently they've been coming out and producing immediately.

I want us to finally hit on the wr version of cj Mosley. Joe deserves it.

[stampedehero]

Before anyone asks, we're not touching Dez Bryant, Randall Cobb or Demariyus Thomas. Even if they (somehow) don't get retained by their own teams, they'll be way too expensive on the open market. Even Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson are close to complete pipe dreams.

That all makes sense.  Andre Johnson is a not considered simply because Kubiak is elsewhere.

[hn68wb4]

Shorts should be the WR target this offseason, although do we really want another WR with injury issues? i don't believe he's played a whole season yet in his career but he is the perfect target, low profile but has the potential to pay off big time. I would definitely support targeting Royal especially if we part ways with Jacoby and need a return specialist.

[Inqui]

That all makes sense. Andre Johnson is a not considered simply because Kubiak is elsewhere.

I couldn't see us taking him even if Kubiak stayed tbh. He'll be getting a lot of money from someone next season and we almost never go for those high-profile guys (for good reason).

[Sami84]

is cecil shorts really better than torrey smith?

 

truthfully

 

his hands are hardly great. Torrey is a better player

[Alexir]

Would love Randall Cobb.

[JoeyFlex5]

if gase is hired (my number 1 man for the job) do you buy into any of the hype about him bringing bay bay with him? 

 

for this to work, we would need to cut jacoby post june 1st, and ngata would have to be released, both are options that have been floating around the rumor mill for quite some time now, and whatever they do with ngata, ill be ok with it, but the releasing of ngata would allow us to make a move like this, which would be huge. 

 

the perfect kind of receiver for joe, big wingspan, great YAC, big and strong guy, solid route runner, he is a more complete receiver than this team has ever had, i like the idea, and that way we wont feel any pressure to draft a WR if the value isnt there, if jaelen strong is available at 26 or if DGB is there and youre willing to overlook the character concerns, you still take him without question, but im just saying, you wont be reaching for one later on. it would free us up to work on the secondary/rb corps if we wanted to, todd gurley in the first or tj yeldon in the 2nd would be huge for us and getting the #1 WR in FA would allow us to do that.

[rmcjacket23]

I give it a 0.5% chance.

 

Gase has no say in who he brings with him or not, and I see no scenario where D. Thomas isn't a member of the Broncos in 2015. Could easily franchise tag him if they wanted to, or he would gladly sign a long-term deal there.

 

Edit: this doesn't deserve its own thread either, so its going to get moved most likely.

[Alaska Alaska!]

No.  Just no.  Why put ourselves in debt over one player?  We didn't need a DT when we won the SB.  We don't need one now.  Use that money and spread it across the team (OFF and DEF)

[Purple_City39]

There's a lot of talk of Gase bringing one of the Thomas boys with him, and honestly, if he can then I'm all for it.  Demaryius would easily be the most well rounded WR we've ever had and an asset for Joe.

 

Honestly, Harbaugh's comment about Steve Smith coming back and playing "a role" gives me hope that they'd be aggressive for the offense this year.  I like Torrey but if you can land either Thomas, let him walk, get that Thomas, and still go after a Jaelen Strong or even DGB if possible.

 

Imagine having any combination of Demaryius Thomas/Julius Thomas and Jaelen Strong/Dorial Green-Beckham along with Steve Smith in the slot.  They honestly owe it to Joe at this point 

[JoeyFlex5]

No.  Just no.  Why put ourselves in debt over one player?  We didn't need a DT when we won the SB.  We don't need one now.  Use that money and spread it across the team (OFF and DEF)

weve had large chunks of money assigned to one or 2 player for years now, ngata and ray rice's cap hits are huge, before the restructure suggs had a ugly cap number, we released boldin because his cap number was too high, so its not like having a big chunk of your cap dedicated to one player is anything new for us, we would just be trading the cap hit from one player to another. 

 

i dont get why people bring this up as if having a high cap number for a current player is that much different than bringing in a big time free agent. its all the same, big name players with high cap hits. this isnt just overpaying for a luxury, this is finally getting joe flacco the weapon he has needed for so long.

[Sami84]

I say dedicate one of FA to either the receiving core or to the secondary.

 

The other..just deal with in the draft.

[Gordo52]

Immediately thought of this when I saw Gase would be interviewed.

I wish it was possible....I'd break the bank for him. Ozzie knows best though.

[Alaska Alaska!]

weve had large chunks of money assigned to one or 2 player for years now, ngata and ray rice's cap hits are huge, before the restructure suggs had a ugly cap number, we released boldin because his cap number was too high, so its not like having a big chunk of your cap dedicated to one player is anything new for us, we would just be trading the cap hit from one player to another. 

 

i dont get why people bring this up as if having a high cap number for a current player is that much different than bringing in a big time free agent. its all the same, big name players with high cap hits. this isnt just overpaying for a luxury, this is finally getting joe flacco the weapon he has needed for so long.

He had a weapon in Pitta, it's just that unfortunately Pitta got injured.  We attempted to get him a weapon in Torrey, but Torrey (while extremely good) isn't your top grade WR compared to the rest.  Joe just need reliable receivers who can get open and make contested catches.  

 

I'm more concerned about having an effective running game.  Hope Forsett stays

[JoeyFlex5]

He had a weapon in Pitta, it's just that unfortunately Pitta got injured.  We attempted to get him a weapon in Torrey, but Torrey (while extremely good) isn't your top grade WR compared to the rest.  Joe just need reliable receivers who can get open and make contested catches.  

 

I'm more concerned about having an effective running game.  Hope Forsett stays

i see the point youre attempting to make, its not like there have been zero efforts in getting a weapon, but those efforts have ultimately failed, and also, a 2nd round burner at wr and a 4th round TE arent exactly extraordinary efforts, although they have been steals for the most part, but those weapons clearly arent sufficient as one doesnt even play anymore and the other is a 1 trick pony.  

 

also, with kubiak gone, forsett will not be the savior of this run game, we need to address rb in the draft imo

[rmcjacket23]

weve had large chunks of money assigned to one or 2 player for years now, ngata and ray rice's cap hits are huge, before the restructure suggs had a ugly cap number, we released boldin because his cap number was too high, so its not like having a big chunk of your cap dedicated to one player is anything new for us, we would just be trading the cap hit from one player to another. 

 

i dont get why people bring this up as if having a high cap number for a current player is that much different than bringing in a big time free agent. its all the same, big name players with high cap hits. this isnt just overpaying for a luxury, this is finally getting joe flacco the weapon he has needed for so long.

The problem I have is... you're basically paying for the Broncos benefit, because they are the one's who got four years out of Thomas at a cheap rate.

 

That's why big money FA spending is generally spent by two types of teams... teams with a large amount of cap space (not us) or teams that are in desperate need to win immediately (also not us).

 

The real benefit from a guy like D. Thomas is having him play at an All-Pro level on a rookie salary scale. The moment he starts making $10M+ a season, he's not nearly as valuable as he was a year or two earlier.

 

In essence, it is overpaying for a luxury, because it is a luxury. We already know we can win playoff games and SBs without D. Thomas... he isn't the difference maker that is somehow going to boost this team to the top. That wasn't what held us back this past season.

[JoeyFlex5]

The problem I have is... you're basically paying for the Broncos benefit, because they are the one's who got four years out of Thomas at a cheap rate.

 

That's why big money FA spending is generally spent by two types of teams... teams with a large amount of cap space (not us) or teams that are in desperate need to win immediately (also not us).

 

The real benefit from a guy like D. Thomas is having him play at an All-Pro level on a rookie salary scale. The moment he starts making $10M+ a season, he's not nearly as valuable as he was a year or two earlier.

 

In essence, it is overpaying for a luxury, because it is a luxury. We already know we can win playoff games and SBs without D. Thomas... he isn't the difference maker that is somehow going to boost this team to the top. That wasn't what held us back this past season.

so, you dont think demaryius thomas makes a better play on that 4th quarter interception against NE? 

 

you also think our wr and te corps are better now than they were the super bowl year?

[rmcjacket23]

so, you dont think demaryius thomas makes a better play on that 4th quarter interception against NE? 

 

you also think our wr and te corps are better now than they were the super bowl year?

1. He does, which doesn't guarantee us a victory either. Thomas doesn't exactly have a reputation as a "tough" receiver either though.

 

2. No, they aren't, nor would I expect them to be. Not sure that simply throwing money at the problem is the remedy to the situation either.

 

For example... how do we upgrade the secondary in a single offseason when practically any cap space we would have would be allocated to a single WR? If we let Ngata walk and Canty retires, are we supposed to be extremely confident in guys like KLM or Urban, who haven't proven literally anything in this league, to just play great football in their place? If we sign D. Thomas, we clearly aren't signing Torrey, Steve Smith is probably a year away from retirement, and we have significant cap space alotted to a TE that may never play again.... so is D.Thomas going to play both receiver positions and TE for the next two seasons, until we HOPE to draft some guys who will be good, even though historically we aren't great at drafting them to begin with?

 

AND... if we signed D. Thomas, in 2016, you'd have probably in the ballpark of $40M in cap space committed to two players. What happens when Joe decides he doesn't want to alter his deal at that time (and he holds practically all the leverage that season)?

[Gordo52]

As great as Joe played in our run, Boldin still went up and made plays.... I don't like when people say we can win the Super Bowl without a great WR because we've "already proven it." .....

During that run, Boldin played like a WR1 and even Jacoby made miraculous plays. We needed great play from WR's..... Don't forget after the 2008 AFC championship game, countless playoff games were ended with a receiver not making a play.

I understand people not wanting to overpay for Thomas, but the need for a #1 receiver is almost dire... Unless you're the Hawks who have their own unique set up, which is impossible to duplicate...

Besides an all time great performance needed from Joe, we had to rely on firing our OC, Boldin to catch contested passes, Jacoby's miracle and a bend but don't break defense.... Could also add 4th&29 to even get there but who knows... Look at all the other recent past Super Bowl winners and the plays their receiver had to make in the postseason.

I'm just at the point where I don't care what it takes. Get Joe a legit weapon to throw to.

[GrimCoconut]

I wouldn't mind a move to sign Thomas, but it is a bit risky as well. Thomas does have his moments where I saw him not give a full effort and even with Manning he didn't always catch every ball. Drops were still an issue. I'm not saying to not sign him as a result. I'd entertain the idea, but I think it would be hard for Ozzie and them to make it happen. I wouldn't be surprised if they did make it happen, though, and sign Thomas but cut Ngata, Canty, McClellan and Jacoby Jones and use the money for Thomas and some other, small free agents. I think that would be a clear commitment to the offense, though, which wouldn't necessarily be characteristic of the team. 

[JoeyFlex5]

1. He does, which doesn't guarantee us a victory either. Thomas doesn't exactly have a reputation as a "tough" receiver either though.

 

2. No, they aren't, nor would I expect them to be. Not sure that simply throwing money at the problem is the remedy to the situation either.

 

For example... how do we upgrade the secondary in a single offseason when practically any cap space we would have would be allocated to a single WR? If we let Ngata walk and Canty retires, are we supposed to be extremely confident in guys like KLM or Urban, who haven't proven literally anything in this league, to just play great football in their place? If we sign D. Thomas, we clearly aren't signing Torrey, Steve Smith is probably a year away from retirement, and we have significant cap space alotted to a TE that may never play again.... so is D.Thomas going to play both receiver positions and TE for the next two seasons, until we HOPE to draft some guys who will be good, even though historically we aren't great at drafting them to begin with?

 

AND... if we signed D. Thomas, in 2016, you'd have probably in the ballpark of $40M in cap space committed to two players. What happens when Joe decides he doesn't want to alter his deal at that time (and he holds practically all the leverage that season)?

the secondary was blasted with injuries this year, it wasnt great to begin with, but with our starters it was good enough and with a healthy jimmy smith it definitely would have held up better in the playoffs, our secondary is similar to our OL from 2013, decimated by injuries and all it would take is 1 under the radar signing and healthy players returning to make it a strength. 

 

this team grabs a defensive lineman in the draft almost annually, we love our d-linemen and we coach the hell out of them, we will be fine on the d-line, that is one area of this team that i always have faith in, our FO and coaching staff will keep that area running strong. 

 

if joe decided he wont restructure, then thats another problem all in its own and we are screwed regardless.  

 

so what youre saying is, we have 2 players that arent even playing that are eating up cap space and our qb has a high cap number in the future, so we should just keep our roster exactly the same and not try to improve in clearly weak areas?

[rmcjacket23]

the secondary was blasted with injuries this year, it wasnt great to begin with, but with our starters it was good enough and with a healthy jimmy smith it definitely would have held up better in the playoffs, our secondary is similar to our OL from 2013, decimated by injuries and all it would take is 1 under the radar signing and healthy players returning to make it a strength. 

 

this team grabs a defensive lineman in the draft almost annually, we love our d-linemen and we coach the hell out of them, we will be fine on the d-line, that is one area of this team that i always have faith in, our FO and coaching staff will keep that area running strong. 

 

if joe decided he wont restructure, then thats another problem all in its own and we are screwed regardless.  

 

so what youre saying is, we have 2 players that arent even playing that are eating up cap space and our qb has a high cap number in the future, so we should just keep our roster exactly the same and not try to improve in clearly weak areas?

No, what I'm saying is, you don't try to improve weak areas by throwing $10M+ in cap space at one position.

 

The secondary isn't just about injuries, though that plays a significant part. Its possible, though I'd consider it unlikely, that Jimmy and Webb are both playing in their final season as a Raven in 2015. Jimmy isn't currently under contract beyond 2015, and Webb's cap number coupled with production/injury concerns doesn't make sense beyond this season. Or, put another way... how realistic is it to expect to sign D. Thomas this season and Jimmy next season, when both could easily command $10M annually or close to it?

 

And that's ignoring the fact that we still have no quality depth at corner or even safety behind that, and we aren't even sure if we've got two starting caliber safeties on the roster right now.

 

When you have multiple positions that you'd like to upgrade, the draft and spending wisely in FA is vital. And I'm not sure anybody could argue dropping $10M+ on a WR would constitute as "spending wisely" given our present situation.

[GrimCoconut]

No, what I'm saying is, you don't try to improve weak areas by throwing $10M+ in cap space at one position.

 

The secondary isn't just about injuries, though that plays a significant part. Its possible, though I'd consider it unlikely, that Jimmy and Webb are both playing in their final season as a Raven in 2015. Jimmy isn't currently under contract beyond 2015, and Webb's cap number coupled with production/injury concerns doesn't make sense beyond this season. Or, put another way... how realistic is it to expect to sign D. Thomas this season and Jimmy next season, when both could easily command $10M annually or close to it?

 

And that's ignoring the fact that we still have no quality depth at corner or even safety behind that, and we aren't even sure if we've got two starting caliber safeties on the roster right now.

 

When you have multiple positions that you'd like to upgrade, the draft and spending wisely in FA is vital. And I'm not sure anybody could argue dropping $10M+ on a WR would constitute as "spending wisely" given our present situation.

I think we could still make a move and a push for a guy like DT and still re-sign Jimmy, but if we're being honest with each other it would require some very tough choices. You'd likely need to cut or trade Smith Sr, Ngata, Canty and McClellan just to do it and would need to extend Yanda and reduce his cap hit. We'd also likely need to give up on re-signing KO as well. At that point, you'd likely need to hope that Urschel becomes that great, stud LG we need. And then we would still have needs at safety, CB, and TE. 

[rmcjacket23]

I think we could still make a move and a push for a guy like DT and still re-sign Jimmy, but if we're being honest with each other it would require some very tough choices. You'd likely need to cut or trade Smith Sr, Ngata, Canty and McClellan just to do it and would need to extend Yanda and reduce his cap hit. We'd also likely need to give up on re-signing KO as well. At that point, you'd likely need to hope that Urschel becomes that great, stud LG we need. And then we would still have needs at safety, CB, and TE. 

Yup, and that also includes not re-signing Torrey, meaning after 2015, we would basically have D. Thomas and nobody else.

 

Tough to say it'd be easy to draft somebody or sign somebody else, given that you'd still have all the above mentioned positions that need to be addressed also.

 

Bottom line for me... I see plenty of scenarios where we sign D. Thomas and this team is actually worse in the long run...

[eek]

D thomas is not a #1 to me, i am not sure if you guys watch Den games. but for you fans complaining about Torrey Smiths drops, D Thomas has just as many. D Thomas gets a lot more targets than Torrey does so it masks the drops.

 

Also we never shouldve resigned Jacoby last year, that was a waste of $12 million. Its too much money for a glorified return man. Steves and Jacobys contracts is hurting anything with Torrey, I rather have Torrey any day of the weak then Steve and Jacoby.

[rmcjacket23]

D thomas is not a #1 to me, i am not sure if you guys watch Den games. but for you fans complaining about Torrey Smiths drops, D Thomas has just as many. D Thomas gets a lot more targets than Torrey does so it masks the drops.

 

Also we never shouldve resigned Jacoby last year, that was a waste of $12 million. Its too much money for a glorified return man. Steves and Jacobys contracts is hurting anything with Torrey, I rather have Torrey any day of the weak then Steve and Jacoby.

He only had $4.5M guaranteed on his deal, and he made all of that last season... he won't sniff anything near $12M. We owe him no more guaranteed money after the 2014 season.

 

If he stays next season, he will make $2.5M, and that would almost certainly be the last season with us. So best case for him is he makes $7M.

[GrimCoconut]

D thomas is not a #1 to me, i am not sure if you guys watch Den games. but for you fans complaining about Torrey Smiths drops, D Thomas has just as many. D Thomas gets a lot more targets than Torrey does so it masks the drops.

Also we never shouldve resigned Jacoby last year, that was a waste of $12 million. Its too much money for a glorified return man. Steves and Jacobys contracts is hurting anything with Torrey, I rather have Torrey any day of the weak then Steve and Jacoby.

Yeah. Thomas has his drops. I even mentioned that as well. It's a big reason I'm also reluctant to go all on for him. He's a good WR, and I wouldn't mind him here, but on the right deal.

[PurpleCity5]

If Torrey leaves then bring in Cecil and draft a #1 WR in this years draft. TBH, I'm high on Camp so I think the Ravens could give him more chances considering that he was hampered with injuries. 

[Pirate88]

I'm not so sure I like Torrey over SS. His age is the only thing that makes it a debate. I'm for getting Joe an upgrade in weapons. I would prefer looking into bargains. First let's consider Gordon and Blackmon. Ravens have success with talented and troubled yet smart players. Both are smart.

Then there are top talented WRs that at will come cheap due to being undervalued due to sub par and even terrible QB play. Gresham Vernon Davis, Rob Housler, Crabtree and Kenny Britt. Also Sanu could be traded. He isn't happy with criticism when its the qb. Housler isn't a big name yet but he soon will be. Watch his tape. Also Crabtree has elite ball skills and when I watched his games I was astonished at his play speed. He should have Roasted Sherman numerous times if Kaepernick knew anything about timing and anticipation. His talent is similar to Kevin White who will be a top 10 pick. All these guys are complete Talents at WR and TE who will be underpriced due to bad QBs. Not one trick horses like Torrey. BTW I don't like Strong's Separation quickness and routes or yards after catch. Crabtrees is far superior. Strong still will likely go top 20. Last years WR draft was far better. Watch tape and you will see last years late Round2 pick is similar to Kevin white who will go top10. Robinson has Strong's ball skills but much faster and better yac. Strong although i still like him will be drafted before 26 but I like crabtree better.