watch freekin NE trade a 5th in 2017 for fitz.even though we offer the cards a 1st and a 3rd this year
Draft class 6 million + range
HARTLINE AT 5-6 MILLION
Smith in the 6 million range
Starks in the 6 million range
Bush in the 4 million range
Clemons in the 2 million range
Fasano 4 millon range
Garner 1-2 million range
Trusnik 1-2 million range
Devlin and Moore 3 million range
that's around 40 million on just 10 free agents plus the draft class
you still have 15 rfa and ufa left to sign or their replacements EVEN if lucky add another 10 plus million for the remaining 15 free agents
Now we're at 50 million (ball park figure)
and you believe we can add one or 2 high free agent contracts
another 10-15 million to go with the 50 million all ready accounted for
Fitzgeralds Average Salary PER YEAR IS $16,062,500
and he still has 6 years on his contract
You have to give up draft picks plus come to terms with Fitzgerald
and I doubt you'll get a discount from him
I believe if you think we'll sign all our draft picks other than Long and add 1 or 2 high priced free agents
you're going to be very disappointed
please stop with the Pro Bowl talk, Jake Long was a pro-bowler last year, didnt play like one, before his injury JL was the leading vote getter for Pro Bowl when he was playing poorly, anyone can make the pro bowl these days especially with the SB substitute players, and players just not caring and saying they cant play b/c of injury
but for arguments sake, Pouncey will be a pro-bowler this year and is a top 3 Center in the NFL, Jones should be a pro-bowler this year but wont make it because of lack of name recognition, also lack of fan voting
$2 million for backups? Moore resignings? Bush, who has all but announced hes out the door?
This team has had 4 consecutive losing seasons. If anyone believes we should be resigning the majority of this franchise, then i have a bridge i want to sell you.
When we signed Brandon Marshall we made him "the highest paid wideout in the league". That was, in a very literal sense, a lie. Sure, he had the biggest contract at the time, but for him to get all the money from it he would have to do some ridiculous things. I believe we owned him 2 million dollars if he played 95% of the special teams plays and we would have to pay him 4 years later. Fitzgeralds contract is large, and he makes the majority of it, but he wont be making 16 million a year. And having 6 years left is a good thing, it allows the team to spread the salary hit throughout the years.
Draft picks have never been cheaper. We drafted a top 10 quarterback and are paying him what, $2 mill a season? And thats only because our front office got into a penis measuring contest for utterly no reason and had to all but fully guarantee Tannehill's contract. Each player is making a couple hundred thousand max. Not to mention teams take that into account well before free agency. If we are announcing we have upwards of $50 million available, then that already counts the draft.
As the Jets have shown, teams can successfully navigate salary cap considerations with ease. If we cant, our problem isnt a lack of cash, its a lack of intelligence. Virtually every other team in the league makes a huge signing and has no problems adding players. Teams like the Jets, Bucs, Bears, and Broncos have all shown they can resign their players and still dish out upwards of $100 million dollar free agent contracts. This discussion is even more laughable when you consider the fact that we have to spend our cap or else we lose it.
What we are able to do and what we will do are two seperate things. Ireland is staying and nothing he does surprises me anyone. But we have the cap to sign Long, Jennings/Bowe, take care of any of our players we want to keep, and still sign some more. If we wanted to, and Arizona accepted, we could trade for Fitz and still have enough left over to take care of all our free agents, excepting Long, and we could try and make a run at him.
Insanity is to keep reading your posts and thinking they might actually have a point. Real good teams in the NFL do not build through FA. They build through the draft and fill in the remaining holes via FA. To give up 3 draft picks for a 30 year old WR when this team has many other needs is assaine. How is that not insanity?? I would love to see Keenan taken with our 1st, and then geez look we would still have two more picks that you are so ready to give away. Then with those picks we are able to bring in even more young talent. The arguement that none of our past 2nd round draft picks were any good is weak. I can easily say that this year will be different and we nail our first 5 picks - compare that to your trade for Fitz (5 starters, 5 poistions addressed to Fitz and one more pick), I win.