Sammy Watkins 'scarred' by Bills trade, didn't want to be in Buffalo

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

2 minutes ago, billsbackto81 said:

Sammy would never come here as a FA unless he got a kings ransom. Heck, to me he's not worth the 16 per he's getting from KC. I like Sammy, always have. But if he signed here on a mega deal only to get hurt again this place would explode. 

 

 

...note his warning, "I may just take a year off"..............

Sammy Watkins concedes Chiefs might ask him to take pay cut

Posted by Charean Williams on January 30, 2020, 11:31 AM EST

 

After three years in Buffalo and one with the Rams, Sammy Watkins finally feels at home. He has spent the past two seasons in Kansas City, making 92 catches for 1,192 yards and six touchdowns.

 

But the reality is: Watkins might be playing his final game for the Chiefs on Sunday.

 

“You never know. I have a lot of dreams and a lot of things I want to do. But hopefully I am here for the next — until coach [Andy] retires,” Watkins told NFL.com. “When he goes, I’m going to go. So, if I’m here a long time, I would definitely want to be here. And if I’m not, I’m going to take my dreams somewhere else and make the best of it.”

 

Watkins is scheduled to count $21 million against the salary cap in 2020, with a base salary of $13.75 million. The Chiefs can save $14 million in cap space by cutting him . . . or they could ask him to take a pay cut.

 

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/01/30/sammy-watkins-concedes-chiefs-might-ask-him-to-take-pay-cut/

 

[dave mcbride]

4 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...note his warning, "I may just take a year off"..............

Sammy Watkins concedes Chiefs might ask him to take pay cut

Posted by Charean Williams on January 30, 2020, 11:31 AM EST

 

After three years in Buffalo and one with the Rams, Sammy Watkins finally feels at home. He has spent the past two seasons in Kansas City, making 92 catches for 1,192 yards and six touchdowns.

 

But the reality is: Watkins might be playing his final game for the Chiefs on Sunday.

 

“You never know. I have a lot of dreams and a lot of things I want to do. But hopefully I am here for the next — until coach [Andy] retires,” Watkins told NFL.com. “When he goes, I’m going to go. So, if I’m here a long time, I would definitely want to be here. And if I’m not, I’m going to take my dreams somewhere else and make the best of it.”

 

Watkins is scheduled to count $21 million against the salary cap in 2020, with a base salary of $13.75 million. The Chiefs can save $14 million in cap space by cutting him . . . or they could ask him to take a pay cut.

 

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/01/30/sammy-watkins-concedes-chiefs-might-ask-him-to-take-pay-cut/

 

If you go further back in the thread, in the televised interview with him after the SB ended, he basically said he was joking. 

[billsbackto81]

4 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

...note his warning, "I may just take a year off"..............

Sammy Watkins concedes Chiefs might ask him to take pay cut

Posted by Charean Williams on January 30, 2020, 11:31 AM EST

 

After three years in Buffalo and one with the Rams, Sammy Watkins finally feels at home. He has spent the past two seasons in Kansas City, making 92 catches for 1,192 yards and six touchdowns.

 

But the reality is: Watkins might be playing his final game for the Chiefs on Sunday.

 

“You never know. I have a lot of dreams and a lot of things I want to do. But hopefully I am here for the next — until coach [Andy] retires,” Watkins told NFL.com. “When he goes, I’m going to go. So, if I’m here a long time, I would definitely want to be here. And if I’m not, I’m going to take my dreams somewhere else and make the best of it.”

 

Watkins is scheduled to count $21 million against the salary cap in 2020, with a base salary of $13.75 million. The Chiefs can save $14 million in cap space by cutting him . . . or they could ask him to take a pay cut.

 

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/01/30/sammy-watkins-concedes-chiefs-might-ask-him-to-take-pay-cut/

 

He's got his ring. He'd go to Cincinnati or Miami if they paid him 15 per. 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

2 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

If you go further back in the thread, in the televised interview with him after the SB ended, he basically said he was joking. 

 

...did not see the interview..........

[Phil The Thrill]

KC will cut Sammy for the simple that they want to get Mahomes under contract long term ASAP...and why not?  
 

You can’t be paying a #3WR $16M a year when you probably could get the same production from Merocole Hardman as #3 WR. 

[Prickly Pete]

Sammy Watkins is in the rear view mirror.

[Codyny13]

37 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

If you go further back in the thread, in the televised interview with him after the SB ended, he basically said he was joking. 

I don’t think he’s joking. He was on Sirius radio after they won saying he might take some time to figure out what he wants to do. There’s def some doubt in his mind.

[Billsfan1972]

He's been laughing all the way to the bank....

 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/sammy-watkins-14413/cash-earnings/

 

I've defended him, but agreed his regular season production 2017-19 has been underwhelming.

 

Still made no sense the LA trade and the hate on here for him (as if it was his fault the Bills traded up for him & injuries).

 

The Bills 30th ranked offense in 2017 can be primarily attributed the the lousy receiving core......

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

17 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said:

KC will cut Sammy for the simple that they want to get Mahomes under contract long term ASAP...and why not?  
 

You can’t be paying a #3WR $16M a year when you probably could get the same production from Merocole Hardman as #3 WR. 

 

Well the Hill extension kicks in next year so... he's probably gone.  As soon as he's cut ever WR wants to play there too.  Could have Anderson, or Sanders - and save cap space.  

[dave mcbride]

21 minutes ago, dneveu said:

 

Well the Hill extension kicks in next year so... he's probably gone.  As soon as he's cut ever WR wants to play there too.  Could have Anderson, or Sanders - and save cap space.  

The interesting thing about Hill is that he skews this entire conversation. He's probably the most remarkable and dangerous athlete playing at the WR position in the past decade or so. He has a 40.5 inch vertical (which is incredible) to go with 4.2+ speed and second-to-none short area quickness. Julio Jones would be the number 2 WR on that team. 

Edited February 4, 2020 by dave mcbride

[BADOLBILZ]

17 hours ago, Codyny13 said:

I don’t think he’s joking. He was on Sirius radio after they won saying he might take some time to figure out what he wants to do. There’s def some doubt in his mind.

 

He was on NFL network right after the game and literally said he was just messing with the media and that he was "too young" to take a season off.    

 

I think what it comes down to is that he always intended to be dictating the terms of his employment at this point in his career and now he is essentially a free agent because he knows that a CBA permitted "pay cut"........which I believe is a max of 20%..........is not close to enough for him to be back in KC next year.    

 

He's getting cut.

 

So yeah he's got 4-6 weeks for he and his agent to figure out what's next.

 

And coming off two disappointing regular seasons he needs to go somewhere that he will be fed the ball to re-build his stock...........which means taking a big pay cut AND limiting the options of places to play.

 

[Billsfan1972]

1 minute ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

He was on NFL network right after the game and literally said he was just messing with the media and that he was "too young" to take a season off.    

 

I think what it comes down to is that he always intended to be dictating the terms of his employment at this point in his career and now he is essentially a free agent because he knows that a CBA permitted "pay cut"........which I believe is a max of 20%..........is not close to enough for him to be back in KC next year.    

 

He's getting cut.

 

So yeah he's got 4-6 weeks for he and his agent to figure out what's next.

 

And coming off two disappointing regular seasons he needs to go somewhere that he will be fed the ball to re-build his stock...........which means taking a big pay cut AND limiting the options of places to play.

 

A cut to probably $10,000,000/yr & signing bonus.  Torched Sherman a # of times.  He'll be fine & seeing what he is capable of, it will be interesting if he can put it all together.

 

I'd say the Jets, Jax or Balt (needs a real wr), would be good landing spots.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

16 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

The interesting thing about Hill is that he skews this entire conversation. He's probably the most remarkable and dangerous athlete playing at the WR position in the past decade or so. He has a 40.5 inch vertical (which is incredible) to go with 4.2+ speed and second-to-none short area quickness. Julio Jones would be the number 2 WR on that team. 

 

Add in that Hill is incredibly sure-handed and in past years has caught up to 74% of throws tossed in his direction.

 

Further supporting your point: big jump in Alex Smith production when KC moved on from Maclin and Hill took on a larger role in his 2nd year.

[BADOLBILZ]

25 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

The interesting thing about Hill is that he skews this entire conversation. He's probably the most remarkable and dangerous athlete playing at the WR position in the past decade or so. He has a 40.5 inch vertical (which is incredible) to go with 4.2+ speed and second-to-none short area quickness. Julio Jones would be the number 2 WR on that team. 

 

 

Yeah it's a highly unusual situation.    Hill is the most dangerous player in the NFL with the ball in his hands.

 

I suspect Sammy's #1 hope will be that Amari Cooper leaves Dallas and then try to get a prove it deal there as Dak's #1.

 

Baltimore has been mentioned too and Sammy played some of his best football in year one of Rex with Roman as OC.

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

16 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

He was on NFL network right after the game and literally said he was just messing with the media and that he was "too young" to take a season off.    

 

I think what it comes down to is that he always intended to be dictating the terms of his employment at this point in his career and now he is essentially a free agent because he knows that a CBA permitted "pay cut"........which I believe is a max of 20%..........is not close to enough for him to be back in KC next year.    

 

He's getting cut.

 

So yeah he's got 4-6 weeks for he and his agent to figure out what's next.

 

And coming off two disappointing regular seasons he needs to go somewhere that he will be fed the ball to re-build his stock...........which means taking a big pay cut AND limiting the options of places to play.

 

BadOl, say more about the CBA limit on permitted "pay cut" - I had not heard of this.

 

Watkins is a $7M dead cap hit and saves them $14M if they cut him.  KC has some big name FA and only about $8M cap more than they need for rookie contracts right now, so you're likely right.

 

But I don't think they win that game without him.

 

As for Sammy's stock:

In LA in 2017, Watkins was the #3 receiver for targets and yards, despite playing 3 more games than Woods and playing on the #1 offense for points.

In KC in 2018, Watkins is the #3 receiver for Y/G (he missed games) despite playing on the #1 offense with a record-setting hot-hand QB. 

 

Teams can say "yeah, he's been stuck behind Hill and Kelce, but then they have to say "he was stuck behind Kupp and Woods". 

At some point teams gonna ask "is he stuck, or is he a very good #2 guy?"

 

[plenzmd1]

17 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

he is essentially a free agent because he knows that a CBA permitted "pay cut"........which I believe is a max of 20%..........is not close to enough for him to be back in KC next year.    

 

 

 

WTH is this..never heard of it. Need to google!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

15 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

Yeah it's a highly unusual situation.    Hill is the most dangerous player in the NFL with the ball in his hands.

I suspect Sammy's #1 hope will be that Amari Cooper leaves Dallas and then try to get a prove it deal there as Dak's #1.

Baltimore has been mentioned too and Sammy played some of his best football in year one of Rex with Roman as OC.

 

Unless Baltimore greatly reworks their passing game, Sammy's dreaming to think he rebuilds his stock there.  Their passing game is TE-centric, and I'm sure that Marquise Brown would like to see more targets; he showed himself sure-handed whenever he got the chance.  He's on a rookie deal and so is Boykin, whom I believe they think well of from what they've seen.  I don't think the Ravens are gonna shell out for Watkins.

 

If Cooper leaves Dallas, you may be right that the Cowboys would be a good spot and they have cap.... they do have some FA players who want to get paid though.

[BADOLBILZ]

2 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Unless Baltimore greatly reworks their passing game, Sammy's dreaming to think he rebuilds his stock there.  Their passing game is TE-centric, and I'm sure that Marquise Brown would like to see more targets; he showed himself sure-handed whenever he got the chance.  He's on a rookie deal and so is Boykin, whom I believe they think well of from what they've seen.  I don't think the Ravens are gonna shell out for Watkins.

 

If Cooper leaves Dallas, you may be right that the Cowboys would be a good spot and they have cap.... they do have some FA players who want to get paid though.

 

 

Agreed.........I think Dallas looks like the best option..........they have the money to fit a guy in at $8M-$10M on a 1 year deal if Cooper leaves and Dak throws the ball deep and to the sidelines so there are plays to be made there.  

 

They were interested the last time he was a UFA as I recall.

 

As for the pay cut allowance I assume it's still part of the CBA but back when half the league was in cap disarray every year it was a regularly discussed component.    Like I said I think it's around 20% of base salary and after that they have to be cut and re-signed.    That's a possibility but if you are KC and looking at this WR draft class.........why not just draft a couple?

[Figster]

48 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

BadOl, say more about the CBA limit on permitted "pay cut" - I had not heard of this.

 

Watkins is a $7M dead cap hit and saves them $14M if they cut him.  KC has some big name FA and only about $8M cap more than they need for rookie contracts right now, so you're likely right.

 

But I don't think they win that game without him.

 

As for Sammy's stock:

In LA in 2017, Watkins was the #3 receiver for targets and yards, despite playing 3 more games than Woods and playing on the #1 offense for points.

In KC in 2018, Watkins is the #3 receiver for Y/G (he missed games) despite playing on the #1 offense with a record-setting hot-hand QB. 

 

Teams can say "yeah, he's been stuck behind Hill and Kelce, but then they have to say "he was stuck behind Kupp and Woods". 

At some point teams gonna ask "is he stuck, or is he a very good #2 guy?"

 

Myself personally, If I'm the Bills GM I would explore the possibility of bringing Sammy back to Buffalo. 

 

Andy Reid made it a point to reference Sammy Watkins in his post game interview after the Superbowl. I think Reid realizes what he has in Watkins and finds a way to keep him in the fold.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Figster

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 minutes ago, Figster said:

Myself personally, If I'm the Bills GM I would explore the possibility of bringing Sammy back to Buffalo. 

 

I don't think that's going to be explored.  Nor am I persuaded it should be.  Right now, I believe the data say Watkins is a very good #2 or #3 guy who can make valuable plays when #1 and #2 are covered like blankets.

 

2 minutes ago, Figster said:

Andy Reid made it a point to reference Watkins in his 1st post game interview after the Superbowl. I think Reid realizes what he has in Watkins and finds a way to keep him in the fold.

 

Reid should reference Watkins.  Watkins played a big role in winning that game.  I'm sure Reid would like to keep Watkins.

 

But especially if @BADOLBILZ is correct that they can't ask him to take more than a 20% paycut, I don't see how they can keep him.  I'm sure Reid would like to keep all their players, but he has to be realistic.  The Chiefs won the SB on the strength of vastly improved defense, from #24 to #7.  

 

They have 18 UFA, and many of them are on defense, including Chris Jones and Bashaud Breeland.  They have $16M in cap space right now, which is about $8M more than their estimated rookie pool.  Watkins is the #2 cap on the team.

 

They're going to have to make some choices.

 

56 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

WTH is this..never heard of it. Need to google!

 

I have googled, and so far coming up blank.  I see a reference to a cap of 30% per year on pay INCREASE for a renegotiated contract, but not for pay cuts.