NFL: Offseason Thread

[jbindm]

Salary cap set at just over 177 million.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/03/05/report-salary-cap-set-at-177-2-million/

Piggybacking on this -

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...makes-six-percent-jump-to-nearly-180-million/

For once, the Browns lead the league in something! They have the most available cap space with going into free agency with 108 million bucks to play with. Unbelievable. You would think that with all the cap space and high draft picks they would accidentally at least become competitive. Takes a special kind of incompetence to be that bad every single year.

 

[Dandy]

Piggybacking on this -

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...makes-six-percent-jump-to-nearly-180-million/

For once, the Browns lead the league in something! They have the most available cap space with going into free agency with 108 million bucks to play with. Unbelievable. You would think that with all the cap space and high draft picks they would accidentally at least become competitive. Takes a special kind of incompetence to be that bad every single year.

It just has to click once. See: Jacksonville. They had a top ten pick (usually top five) like ten years in a row and they finally made it somewhere this year.

 

[CloneFan4]

It's possible. You look at the deal for Garropalo and some of the other recent big money QB contracts and you can see that teams and agents are starting to get very creative with the structure of the deal. If the Vikings are interested then their perfect scenario would be a front loaded deal with a ton of guaranteed money up front that wouldn't completely tie up their cap flexibility later on.

But the reality is that in the salary cap era a team can't invest heavily on both sides of the ball. Paying Cousins big money would restrict their ability to maintain an elite defense. You can't pay everybody.

Its almost like you're convinced Cousins won't be a viking yet multiple reports say they are the favorite

 

[ClonesTwentyOne]

Rumor is Vikings are going to offer Cousins 3 years 91 million all guaranteed. He's going to be a Viking

 

[jbindm]

Its almost like you're convinced Cousins won't be a viking yet multiple reports say they are the favorite

There's a lot of chatter about a lot of things right now, and I suggest taking it all with a big grain of salt. I'm not convinced he'll be in Minnesota but I do think they're in contention.

I think it's going to come down to money. If a team like the Jets backs up the truck and offers him in excess of 30 mil/year, will the Vikings be able to bridge the gap and make an offer where the difference in money is justified by the chance to win now?

 

[Dandy]

Rumor is Vikings are going to offer Cousins 3 years 91 million all guaranteed. He's going to be a Viking

If the Jets offer 6 years 180 million and the first year at $50M all guaranteed... He'll be a Jet.

 

[jbindm]

It just has to click once. See: Jacksonville. They had a top ten pick (usually top five) like ten years in a row and they finally made it somewhere this year.

Yeah, and with John Dorsey in charge now there's as good a chance of that happening as there has been in the last decade. We'll see.

Jacksonville was good, but they benefited from a weak division. I'll be curious to see how things go for them once Houston gets back Watt and Watson and (fingers crossed) Andrew Luck is back and 100% healthy in Indy.

 

[ClonesTwentyOne]

If the Jets offer 6 years 180 million and the first year at $50M all guaranteed... He'll be a Jet.

We will see. I keep reading he doesn't want a long term deal. Take a pay cut go win a championship. Either way he's going to be making a lot of money and living comfortably. Being on a winning team makes up for some cash IMO

 

[Dandy]

Yeah, and with John Dorsey in charge now there's as good a chance of that happening as there has been in the last decade. We'll see.

Jacksonville was good, but they benefited from a weak division. I'll be curious to see how things go for them once Houston gets back Watt and Watson and (fingers crossed) Andrew Luck is back and 100% healthy in Indy.

Well they just resigned Bortles so they'll continue to be trash once the other teams around them recover.

 

[BigJCy]

 

[jbindm]

The Jaguars have informed Allen Robinson that they will not use the franchise tag on him. Watkins and Robinson will be the best of a pretty thin WR free agent group.

 

[BigJCy]

The Jaguars have informed Allen Robinson that they will not use the franchise tag on him. Watkins and Robinson will be the best of a pretty thin WR free agent group.

Lot of talk out of Chicago that the Bears going to make a pretty strong run at Robinson.

 

[Mr Janny]

The Jaguars have informed Allen Robinson that they will not use the franchise tag on him. Watkins and Robinson will be the best of a pretty thin WR free agent group.

Watkins can be great in the right system, I think. Last year with the Rams wasn't his best work, and he still caught 8 touchdowns. He's got all the tools, and is still pretty young. Put him on a team like Green Bay or New England, and I think he could be a nightmare for opposing defenses. I'm not a fan of either of those teams, though, so here's to hoping he doesn't sign with them.

 

[jbindm]

Lot of talk out of Chicago that the Bears going to make a pretty strong run at Robinson.

I think he'll draw interest from a lot of teams. But there's significant risk there, too. He's coming off a major knee injury and before that his numbers had plummeted following his big 2015 season. I suspect that has as much to do with Blake Bortles as it does him, but his best bet might be a one or two year prove-it deal to show he's all the way back.

It's just hard to say because so many teams have significant cap space to play with. I'm kind of wondering if this free agency season ends up like a few years ago in the NBA when the TV money came in and everyone was splashing big cash around for players who were just ok.

 

[jbindm]

Watkins can be great in the right system, I think. Last year with the Rams wasn't his best work, and he still caught 8 touchdowns. He's got all the tools, and is still pretty young. Put him on a team like Green Bay or New England, and I think he could be a nightmare for opposing defenses. I'm not a fan of either of those teams, though, so here's to hoping he doesn't sign with them.

Yeah, Watkins is a good big play threat. It's the injury stuff. He's almost always showing up on the injury report with a nagging foot or knee or hamstring or groin issue. It's neverending. Can't argue with the ability, but there's a reason two teams have already given up on him.

 

[ClonesTwentyOne]

 

[Mr Janny]

Yeah, Watkins is a good big play threat. It's the injury stuff. He's almost always showing up on the injury report with a nagging foot or knee or hamstring or groin issue. It's neverending. Can't argue with the ability, but there's a reason two teams have already given up on him.

True, that's there. But he just feels like a redemption story waiting to happen, to me. Get him in the right environment, and he can be a terror, some place where he doesn't have to be relied on to be the man. Seattle or maybe New Orleans could be good landing spots as well.

 

[Mr Janny]

That could be interesting. They've got a lot of cap space this year, and quite a bit projected for next year, too, but have some good players who they will want to re-sign. So, if they front load the contract, paying him huge money for the 2018 season, he might have a smaller cap hit for the following two years, allowing them flexibility to resign their other guys.

 

[jbindm]

True, that's there. But he just feels like a redemption story waiting to happen, to me. Get him in the right environment, and he can be a terror, some place where he doesn't have to be relied on to be the man. Seattle or maybe New Orleans could be good landing spots as well.

Sure. I wouldn't be too upset if he ended up with the Colts for the right price.

 

[ClonesTwentyOne]

That could be interesting. They've got a lot of cap space this year, and quite a bit projected for next year, too, but have some good players who they will want to re-sign. So, if they front load the contract, paying him huge money for the 2018 season, he might have a smaller cap hit for the following two years, allowing them flexibility to resign their other guys.

Don't think Cousins could turn down 30+ million a year guaranteed.