BarleyNY

I hope people are getting close to putting to bed the idea that the ravens are still a very well run and managed organization. This was a huge overpay on their part and reeks of panic. OBJ took the money, which was smart. when a player at the end of his career finds a team willing to get stupid like that. It’s almost always a good idea to let them.

Base salaries have a minimum amount based on the player’s number of accrued seasons. That’s the only rule regarding how big or small they can be. OBJ’s salary is exactly the min for a player with the number of years he’s played in the league. A signing bonus can be any amount. It gets prorated evenly over the course of the player’s contract - up to five seasons. The Ravens are using void years (probably 4) to kick most of OBJ’s cap hit into next season. I believe it’s even possible to kick some into 2025 if they cut him using a post June 1st designation before the years officially void.

I think that Beane & McDermott may be feeling enough pressure that the long term isn’t that important to them. A playmaker needs to be brought in on offense and they’re looking at Hopkins. I agree that there are real risks with him. i’m just reading the situation right now, not necessarily advocating for him. I get why they’d do it, but it is a big risk. As for DHop’s contract, bringing him here would require a new deal as well as creating some additional cap space. An Ed Oliver trade would be likely.

AZ is just dragging this all out to try to maximize the return on DHop. Right now it doesn’t hurt them to maintain a high asking price. As I’ve said before, the week prior to the draft is likely when he’ll be moved. Mid-May is the latest for him to be traded or cut. I didn’t say anything about the Bills threatening or intimidating the Cards. This is just Beane doing his due diligence and exploring his best options. Letting it be known via leaks that the Bills are exploring other options to improve their WR room is just gamesmanship.

Yup. Based on Oliver’s reaction to the extension offer he got from the Bills - or the lack of an offer at all - I think he’ll hit FA where some DT needy team with plenty of cap space will overpay for him. If he has his best season it’ll be a repeat of Edmunds.

I don’t think it’ll take 13 to get Rodgers. His contract is way too expensive and he’s too close to retirement to return that value. GB might talk a good game about keeping Rodgers right up until before their first regular season game, but that’s not realistic. OTAs start May 22nd so he has to be traded by then. Otherwise an injury to him completely screws the Pack. He’d be untradeable and they’d have to pay him in full this season.

The Jest would have a filthy WR room with JSN added.

Beane looking at options to trade up and get a WR in the draft makes sense as a contingency if the DHop trade falls through. Not that GMs don’t check into trading up and down from their picks regardless of their real interest in doing so. It also sends a message to AZ & DHop that we are prepared to fill that need another way if they don’t play ball.

I have the Jets in a draft on another football board and took JSN as well. The top 12 fell similarly and no trades were allowed in that one.

I feel for you. I’m usually in your position. It’s actually kinda comical watching it from the outside.

I think the Pack gets at most a second this year and a second next for Rodgers. Next year’s might even be conditional. A second and Corey Davis makes sense. Rodgers is at the end of his career and everyone knows he’s a 1 or 2 y rental. Plus his contract is brutal. That was pure insanity.

Thanks. I can take another team short on picks if no one else wants them.

Well, duh. I never said that any team should sign him. I never even argued against any point in the post I quoted here. Obviously there is very little upside and a whole lot of downside for a team that would sign him - especially if he tries to mentor a young player. No disagreement there. But explain to me why a player who has made so much money already should play for vet minimum (or close) to play somewhere he doesn’t want to play?.

Totally disagree. When considering employment people are free to set whatever conditions they deem appropriate. In Cam Newton’s case there isn’t even an argument to be made as to why he shouldn’t set whatever conditions he wants. He has made $133.5M from his football contracts - plus whatever he made from advertising, etc. A last, near league minimum contract isn’t something he needs financially, so why should he go to a team/coach/situation where he will be unhappy?

I am fully prepared to watch the Bills disappoint me by overdrafting a MLB at 27. If that happens it will be three years in a row that they’ll have painted themselves into a corner and forced themselves to draft for a glaring need in round one. If they don’t sign (or come to an agreement with) a serviceable MLB before the draft, then it’s easy to predict what will happen. Again. The other option is that they could try to trade up from 59, but they haven’t been willing to take that kind of risk in the past.

I got that

I'll take the Browns and their two third round picks unless there is someone who takes them every year.

That’s interesting. That is one area I know little about.

Some good fun there! The artist spent some real time on those.

I think BB is toast. Without Brady and a real chance at a championship players won’t put up with his coaching style. But you’re right that tanking is their best chance at getting there. I also don’t need his successor set up with a FQB.

It didn’t look right when I typed it. I should’ve double checked it.

The cap consequences of releasing versus trading Hopkins is exactly nothing for the Cards. So unless they overplay their hand or Hopkins won’t work out a reasonable restructure/new contract with a team that is willing to trade for him, they’ll get something for him. Hopkins refusing to play ball with his contract could cause them to have to cut him.

Yes, I meant Veteran Signing Benefit, not Veteran Signing Bonus. So sorry for the confusion that caused you.

Dawkins was a 2nd round pick, but your point largely stands. Paying Saffold $6M was sheer stupidity - and I said so at the time. Matching the Bates offer wasn’t as bad of a move, but overpaying him was still pretty bad. Morse was an overpay too, but they kinda had to do that at the time. Putting themselves in a position where they had to count on a player as raw as Brown was dumb too. He was the 3rd OT his rookie year. Last season his competition for RT was Quessenberry. The we-didn’t-expect-him-to-have-to-play garbage from Beane is ridiculous. There’s a good chance that any 3rd OT will have to play a lot of meaningful snaps. Having poor competition (Q) pretty much seals it. I don’t know how McGovern will work out, but OT needs some real help. Dawkins is above average, Brown is below, Q is well below and Doyle shouldn’t be in the NFL. That means that at present we are a Dawkins injury away from hot garbage at OT and Allen getting pummeled by DEs. Beane has to do better than that. If you need some quick cash I have an acquaintance in Youngstown that needs a package hand delivered to New Jersey. I hear the job pays pretty well.

This is such a poor excuse. Beane and McD decided where they wanted to spend on this team. They chose to address positions other than OT and roll with Brown and Quessenberry. The same holds true for the positions they’ve addressed in the draft. It is what it is.