Jared Allen spent today in Seattle visiting with the #Seahawks, source said. It was his first free agent visit. He’s now back at home.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2014
The man who originally wouldn’t take any visits is finally doing the rounds.
Jared Allen visited Seattle on Sunday and according to further reports will head to Dallas on Tuesday.
This is where the market confuses me a little.
How has a soon to be 32-year-old Demarcus Ware managed to obtain a $30m contract over three years?
How has Julius Peppers signed a similar deal with notorious tight-wads Green Bay?
And yet Allen remains unsigned. Untouched, almost.
Is he demanding too much money? Some reports have suggested he’ll retire if he doesn’t get what he feels he’s owed — around $12m per season.
Presumably that stance is now softening given he’s visiting two teams who won’t be spending anything like that amount on a pass rusher.
Which makes you wonder, if he was hoping to drive a hard bargain with a diva-like approach at the start of free agency — it clearly hasn’t worked.
His market is cold — or at best lukewarm — while other, supposedly similar players have been paid handsomely.
He’s still a very good defensive end and for all the talk of decline — he played a ton of snaps in 2013 and has avoided thoroughly mediocre play/effort (Peppers) and nagging and persistent injuries (Ware).
He had 11.5 sacks on a bad team last season. He has 45.5 in the last three years.
The Seahawks have room for another pass rusher or two. They’ve talked to Henry Melton and now Allen.
They have an estimated $16-17m in cap space following Zach Miller’s restructure.
In a fantasy world both Melton and Allen would take short term, cost-effective contracts and Seattle would field a terrifying pass rush next season.
But is it fantasy?
Maybe not.
Cowboys have $7M in cap before the draft and IR & practice squad etc…which means- they really have almost zero room…also…
— Davis Hsu (@DavisHsuSeattle) March 17, 2014
There is not one person they could cut to generate $2M in cap room- well actually- I lied- there is one- too bad its DEZ BRYANT!
— Davis Hsu (@DavisHsuSeattle) March 17, 2014
As Hsu points out — Dallas really has no scope to get anything done.
You need to keep around $3-4m free in the cap for injured players and draft picks. So they’re not working with a lot of room here.
They’d have to sign either player to a longer term, back-loaded deal. But they’ve already back-loaded contracts to the max (see: Tony Romo) just to create room in 2014 (they were well over the cap going into the new league year).
Jerry Jones is on like his fourth credit card and he’s taking out a short term loan to fix his car (aka a decimated defensive line).
He might be able to appeal to Melton’s Texas roots, but even then it’s a hard sell.
But long term security is what players look for. Even if the Cowboys are putting themselves in a serious hole in the process.
The Seahawks are clearly thinking much more short term. They probably want to rent both players for a couple of years while avoiding any dead-money nightmares in 2015 or beyond.
Even getting just one deal done would be a positive. Heck — if they have to go into 2014 with Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett as their only two established pass rushers, it’ll be better than most teams.
Yet if they can add one more weapon to the defense, they’ll be able to concentrate fully on the offensive line and wide receiver in the first two rounds of the draft.
Hauschka stays in Seattle
I'm hearing kicker Steven Hauschka expected to agree to terms to re-sign w/ #Seahawks; announcement likely early this wk. #q13fox
— Aaron Levine (@AaronQ13Fox) March 17, 2014
The #Seahawks agreed to terms with productive kicker Steven Hauschka on a 3-year deal worth $9.15M, including $3.35M guaranteed, source says
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2014
The deal makes Hauschka the eleventh best paid kicker in the league according to Spotrac, which sounds like a pretty good deal for Seattle.
This was a crucial re-sign after such a productive 2013 season.
Sidney Rice sighting
The Seahawks could have some competition for Sidney Rice, who they have interest in re-signing…
#Jets are still looking to add a WR, and source says they are interested in Sidney Rice. #Saints are too, & #Seahawks would welcome a return
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2014
And oh yeah… the draft…
Dan Quinn was reportedly at the Louisville pro-day today, possibly to take a closer look at pass rusher Marcus Smith.
The reviews on Teddy Bridgewater however were not kind…
Mike Mayock on Teddy Bridgewater's Pro Day: "To be honest, I expected a little more. Very average at best." Now on @nflnetwork.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2014
Scouts texts me at end of UL pro-day, "Bortles was my #1 QB yesterday & is still my #1 QB today" ..big disappointment in Bridgewater workout
— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) March 17, 2014
I’ve long had the opinion that Bridgewater is a pretty accomplished college quarterback whose ceiling at the next level will be a more polished Andy Dalton.
But for me, that’s his top potential. And I wouldn’t invest a top ten pick on that skill set.
Tony Pauline believes he’ll end up with Oakland, but doesn’t specify whether that’s with the #5 pick…
Many leaving Louisville pro-day believe Teddy Bridgewater ends up with the Oakland Raiders: http://t.co/1CoWP5b8Zr
— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) March 17, 2014
Also noted in that Pauline piece — Brent Urban is wearing a walking boot and might have a stress fracture in his foot.
He had injury issues in college (ACL) and hasn’t worked out since the Senior Bowl. He didn’t participate in today’s Virginia pro-day.
This could lead to a fall on draft day. A smart team will take advantage.
Joel Bitonio update
If I was putting money on a potential Seahawks pick at #32, Joel Bitonio would be one of the names I seriously consider.
We’ve talked about him a lot already, and we’ll talk about him some more this week.
He had his pro-day last Wednesday and according to Gil Brandt, he was tried out at tackle, guard and centre.
Brandt reckons he’ll go in the 40-50 range. I think Seattle will be lucky if he’s there at the end of round one.
Melton and Allen. Wow, our defense could/should set records.
Resign: Thomas/Sherman/Maxwell/Wilson in the next 2 years
Big contracts gone in 2 years: Unger/Okung/Harvin/Mebane
I really think we can win at least 2 more SB
Go Hawks!!!
Harvin has 5 left on the contract. I dont see him leaving before 2018 unless he is injured like last year every year. His cap hit goes down every year by a little. I think the player you list that are likely to be gone is Bane. Unger may be gone too, but Okung and Harvin will not be gone any time soon in likelyhood. Only if injury is the reason.
Don’t forget about re-signing Bobby Wagner, KJ Wright and/or Malcom Smith.
I think they will only re-sign KJ or Malcolm if it is cost effective. They are both very good players, but I think it’s harder to replace Wagner than it is either of those guys. Not to mention, in the world of the Salary Cap, you have to pick and choose where you are going to be young/cheap, and where you spend the money.
we will not extend both maxwell and sherman…
If we re-sign Sherm, there is no way there is room (or desire) to re-sign Maxwell. Need to have cheap bodies filling out the rest of the secondary if you are spending 30 million on Kam, Earl, and Sherm.
Sherm may command in excess of 12 million, in which case we might rather extend Maxwell in that 5-6 million range and also re-sign one or two of our LBs.
I think you got the right idea. Considering Seahawks record of developing excellent secondary, why not lock them in sooner at a 4-6 million range? Then we don’t have to worry about them walking at the end of the rookie contract.
“Sherm may command in excess of 12 million, in which case we might rather extend Maxwell in that 5-6 million range and also re-sign one or two of our LBs.”
In this case, this is where an extention makes perfect sense.
Resign him to a 3-4 year deal. You could sign him for 9m/yr with 15 guaranteed. This would be the equivalent of a similar 12m/year deal in 2015. Remember, he could just as easily get franchised for less than 12m in 2015. Seattle can spread out that future delta in salary over conceivably 1-2 years. In that regard, the difference would be about 9 million total you could deduct over the life of an extension where the total earnings would be identical.
Same could be said with Maxwell. He’s kind of in the same boat that Tate was in during the 2013 offseason. Get him locked up to a 3-4 year deal at around 5m/season. That is close to the equivalent of a 7m/year deal next year as a UFA.
I can’t see the value of spending the remainder of our cap on expensive and old/injured UFAs today, as opposed to using it to lock up premier talents for a sustained SB run. We don’t have a lot of bloated contracts to cut for the 2015 UFA class.
I expect that’s kind of where we are at and I expect us to linger in the UFA market but not be aggressive. And then like last year with Chancellor — use available cap space for extensions late in April before the draft.
One thing I’ve wondered about is whether having a lock down corner is a good thing. Follow my twisted logic. Teams don’t throw as often to a lock down corner, so the ball goes elsewhere. Sherman would get more interceptions if they threw toward him, but most QBs won’t. So his reputation means he won’t have many plays to make. Where as no name Maxwell will get lots of passes in his direction and has lots of opportunities to intercept or strip for a fumble. In fact, Maxwell has more of an opportunity to change the game then Sherman does. And in the superbowl he did.
So I ask you – is it always in the teams best interest to pay big bucks for a lock down corner?
Sherman has more interceptions than any other CB in the NFL since 2011.
If they aint throwing at him, think about that.
It’s 100% safe they’re going to pay him.
I would pay Sherman any amount to watch him make that last pass deflection that sent San Francisco down the toilet. Har Har Har.
I agree taking away 1/3 of the field is why a shutdown corner gets paid the big money.
I love the methodical slow game being played by Schneider and Carroll here. Let the market come to them, most of the big money has left the playing field and its time to mop up the crumbs but oh what delicious Melton and Allen crumbs!
I love that they tend to not go to bonus round free agency or the draft with huge needs, they can use their “horizontal board”/”best player against existing roster” approach to hit home runs. It’s hard to argue that there is a better way to do this.
Isn’t it great that instead of complaining as fans about the process this FO uses we can analyze, appreciate and wait in suspense for the next move? Even if we don’t agree with the move the process is typically outstanding!
This is indeed the golden age of our franchise. We all know what it’s like to root for a team that is not run at a championship level.
Maybe Allen’s a head case? Is he the type to “compete”?
he was described in MMQB by Andrew Brandt as a locker room lawyer. That might be part of what is keeping teams away from him.
There’s nothing lawyery about it. Hey Allen this is the deal and we’ll leave it up to you, but if we make a deal with someone while we are waiting then the deals gone and we would have to renegotiate.
lol
yeah his public demand to be paid what he wants might have scared some teams off by reminding them of his locker room rap though.
Living in MN he’s not a locker room lawyer at all. He’s honest, blunt and funny. Also any questions about him “competing” is ridiculous he’s got a motor that doesn’t stop even at his age. Especially when he feels a LT gets the best of him, cheap shots him or disrespects him, his level of play jumps of 2 notches.
Allen combined with the crowd noise would be unstoppable.
Interesting. makes me wonder how he got such a bad rep if a former GM has called him that in the press and why teams have been shying away from him. theres gotta be some reason why they don’t like him. He definitely does have a certain individual streak that maybe some front offices don’t think too highly of.
Not saying he IS a head case but there’s got to be a reason why a double digit sack guy doesn’t garner much interest as Peppers and aware did right off the bat. Those two didn’t last long on the FA market.
We all know what Allen can bring on the field, I think he could absolutely help the ‘Hawks next year, it’s just whether or not he can’t accept playing half the snaps as he’s used to. Our most used DLineman was Bennett at 57% of defensive snaps, can Allen accept that rate or lower?
“…but there’s got to be a reason why a double digit sack guy doesn’t garner much interest…”
Elementary, my dear Watson…he is 32 and he wants 12 big ones or he says he’ll retire. You gonna get the Hawks to up 12 big ones for a 32 year old with all the commitments we have left to do with the dosh we’ve got left? I thought not…me neither…
He was about to sign the deal Denver instead gave to Ware. So the question really isn’t why a team hasn’t been willing to pony up 12 million. More a question of why no team has been willing to pony up the eight to ten million it would take to sign him when Peppers and DeMarcus signed for more.
If we don’t get any of them, would we be interested in Phillips ?
He should be available for 1M and did get 10 sacks last year for the Broncos.
Could be an extra safety/backup rusher.
OT: I’ve really liked the tape on CJ Fiedorowicz all year. Has outstanding hands, decent acceleration and is a phenomenal blocker. Classic Y TE. Seriously. If you told me it was tape of Zach Miller in college I wouldn’t bat an eye.
Really embarrassed LSU’s DL in their bowl game.
I loved him for those exact reasons. But with Miller restructuring, I don’t see any way we’re going TE at all in this draft.
CJ would have been a perfect successor to Miller. But now that Miller is no longer a cap casualty risk — there is simply no need for us to draft him, or even address the TE position in 2014 or 2015.
Willson is going to be the joker. And he’s a joker that can block. McCoy is similarly framed. Miller is pretty much locked in at a reasonable rate and is still top tier as a multi threat/base TE.
This position group is pretty much perfect for our aims out of the TE position. I don’t even expect a late round flyer to be spent.
We like to draft for future needs and if we can get younger at the inline TE position and the price is right, I don’t see why TE won’t be an option. Wix has a lot of talent and could definitely be on our radar in the fifth.
Can you imagine a training camp with 7 TEs.
Zack Miller
Luke Willson
Anthony McCoy
Travis Beckman
Cooper Helfet
Darren Fells who is still around working to be a TE
Jermichael Finley as long as he passes his medical
Can you imagine leaving camp with a Miller, McCoy, Willson, and a Finley. No need to draft TE this year.
well Vince Wilfork might be available soon and I’d much rather have him than Jared Allen or Henry Melton.
Vince is 33 this year and coming off a bad injury. I’d pass on him if cut.
No way would I take Wilfork (or Allen) over Melton. Melton was one of the 2 best 3Ts in the League before tearing his ACL (the other being Geno Atkins).
With a heavy focus on offensive in the first two rounds…aka deepest receiver class in years…i could see some good bargains on the defensive line slipping to the 32nd pick. It’s safe to say that three to four qbs will be taken before the Seahawks, as well as three to four receivers…with emphasis being on the amount of receivers taken in the first round, this will let a good defensive linemen slip to the Seahawks at 32. It’s hard to say who that player will be. Carroll and Schnieder like “special” players on their defensive…multi taskers in a sense. A guy who can rush the passer and stuff the run, read screens, and maintain gap control. I think that Barr out of UCLA could be an option, perhaps the Hageman from Minnesota, Nix from Notre Dame, Van Noy from BYU in the 2nd-3rd round range, all and all i think they grab a long DE with on of their first three picks.
Even if they fell to #32, I wouldn’t have much interest in Barr or Nix. I’m not sure SEA would have much interest either, depending on who else is available.
I fully agree on Barr and Nix. They might take a look at Kareem Martin if he is there later.
Is Martin a Hawk type pick at #1 ??? I think so…..
Not a chance IMO. Way too inconsistent. Plus surely there’s a reason they’re chasing Allen and Melton here? Hard to see them going pass rush in R1 with the needs elsewhere.
yeah, I know. They need to get Russel some help. I think Martin is on their radar early though.
Like to see what I can stir up, you know.
Keep up the good work Rob…
I really only see Donald/Hageman and Tuitt as potential prospects at 32. I don’t see any other guys of significant quality worthy of that selection. And I think the focus on DL UFA talent is tipping their hand that they don’t really like the group as it is.
There are a lot of late day 2 kinds of guys that if they fell would interest us. But I don’t see us going DL with our first 2 picks unless it’s a special kind of talent. Martin is not a special talent.
You don’t think bitonio would be available or the hawks wouldn’t draft him at 32?
I agree with you, I would be very open to any of those three. Donald and Tuitt in particular fall a little into the “freak” category with their size and speed (Donald: 285 and a 4.65 40; Tuitt at 304 and a 4.8 40). However, with the exception of Clowney, there isn’t anyone else in the draft that I would be interested in on the DL in the first round.
I’m confused on the market for Allen as well, it makes no sense.
Of the three, Peppers/Ware/Allen, Allen is the least banged up, the most consistent, and has the highest motor.
I’d pay him the most, yet teams are squeezing him out.
It’s strange, but hopefully it works to the Seahawks advantage.
Seriously though, Peppers over Allen?!? In what Bizarro universe does Peppers, whose play has declined and whose motor is not, nor ever has been what Allen’s is, get paid big money while Allen doesn’t? Makes no sense to me.
The main reason the Packers went Peppers instead of Allen (less money may have contributed as well) is that Allen is a pure 4-3 DE where as Peppers (also traditionally a 4-3 DE) at least has the size to play DE in Green Bay’s 3-4 alignment. The entire Allen to Green Bay or Denver did not make sense to me for these reasons.
Dallas at least makes sense as a fit, but I can’t imagine he sees them as a contender, nor can they give him much money. If there was a dark horse in play here that would also be a good fit, it would be the Patriots. Allen to the Pats wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
I think it takes a certain type of team to sign a 32-yo defensive star. Making that kind of move is aimed at winning now, not building for the future.
I would say that 80% of the league is realistically in a building mode. Sure a team like Oakland can afford him, but why bother? Sure Dallas is kicking the tires, but well…Dallas.
Of the front-runner teams that could actually use him, not many can afford 5-8mm for a contract (probably what Seattle offered him:
I think his market is small because the list of teams that could actually use him and afford him is small.
Apparently only Green Bay and Denver was willing to break out the bank for aging defensive line stars. Apparently Allen wasn’t even invited. Actually more like Allen was invited to Denver and turned down at the door.It is weird.
Doug Baldwin’s 2,1M does not yet count against the cap since he has not signed his tag yet, at least I haven’t seen any report of it. Nor does the number include any kicker and there should be some room to resign core players. Although Earl Thomas’ cap number might not increase very much, if FO wants to make it back-loaded. So Seattle does not have that much “free” cap space either.
They still have a lot more than Dallas, and I think some of the projections have simply deducted Baldwin’s salary assuming he’ll sign the tender.
Baldwin is a guy that I would like signed to a long term contract now. Why not offer him 4 million a year for 5 years with 10 million guaranteed? He might take it and we would have an excellent 3rd receiver for a long time. He is worth as much as Tate at 6 million per year.
I’m sure they won’t consider an extension like this until Thomas is signed up, and possibly Sherman.
Hausch re-signed for 3 years 9.15 mil, 3.35 mil guaranteed. Right above average for NFL kickers.
yay
This is a pretty big deal IMO – I know the FO would have wanted to low ball him, but he won several games for us and has gotten stronger for kick off and is very consistent. I’m happy this got done!
Remember when PC said after our Atlanta loss that we needed more pass rush? Bennett/Avril/Melton/Allen would have to be considered mission accomplished. The young dudes would be like “could we get a snap?”. One can dream on a Monday morning…..
I think you are completely wrong with jared Allen. I don’t think he’s doing this to be a diva or to even get more money. It’s truly who he is. I Think he is perfectly fine with retiring.
I questioned whether he was using a hard nosed approach to drive a hard bargain. Considering he said “no visits” last week and he’s taking visits, I don’t think I can be that wrong…
I would not put much stock into what Allen said. Players say things all the time. Look at John Abraham. Last year he said the same things that Jared Allen is saying this off season. In the end, he ended up signing an inexpensive contract with Arizona.
Allen hasn’t said anything. I’m going off insider reports from guys like Schefter and Rapoport. Those two have been pretty accurate this past week.
Rob – I’ve reread your comments at the top of this thread… I think: Allen WANTS 12 million or he’ll retire. I also think he’d like to win a SB, and maybe if someone offered 10 million instead of 12 he just might take it. As usual (like most of us every day) – he is trying to balance several “WANT(S).”
The Hawks come in to play here IF he decides to go with the, “I want to win a SB want.” – over the 12 million dollar “want.”
Me – I just want him to want a SB ring…could happen…perhaps. On the other hand I bet there’s quite a few lakes in the US that he wouldn’t mind sitting back with a cold one and dippin’ in a line…time will tell…
he was about to sign the 10 million a year deal in Denver that was given to Ware before the Broncos huddled and gave it to Ware instead. then right after that the threat to retire hit the press.
so I don’t think there’s any question that he would accept 10 mil a year but I don’t think he’s been offered anywhere close to that.nor do I think he will be.
with cuts of miles austin and kyle orton, both with a june 1 designation, i can easily get the cowboys cap space to 15million this season and 31 million next season, plenty of room for Melton and Dez, especially giving Dez backloaded contract after next season – I’d go 7 years, 15 million signing bonus, 1st year salary 1 million, roster bonus of 3 million in years 2-6, escalating salary starting at 10 million in year 2, rising 2 million per year to 20 million in year 7, guarantee years 1-3. It’d go on the books as a 7 year 121 million contract with $44million guaranteed in the first 3 years, only 6 million of dead money after the first 3 season (essentially 3 years 51 million, with 3 option years if he maintains elite production), and cap hits of 4 million in 2015, followed by 16, 18, 20, 22, 21. Under those guidelines, plenty of room for Melton.
It would require the Cowboys draft a QB, a WR replacement for Miles, and a RB to replace Murray after this season as there would likely be no room to fit him in. Alas, Jerry Jones probably isn’t that smart. We’ll see what happens.
Excuse my lack of salary cap knowledge. I could be totally wrong here, but doesn’t a June 1st designation mean that the cap space is not available until then? And if so, wouldn’t that mean Melton could only to “agree” to an offer with Dallas now and only sign after June 1st? I would think that would be a rather risky move for both parties.
they still have over 7 million in cap space right now, which is enough to sign Melton immediately, even to a one year prove it contract. With the draft in early May, it’s not so bad not to have your top 2 or 3 draftees unsigned until June 1.
They have less than $7m arfter adding Weeden I believe, Plus they need to keep around at least $3-4m free for injuries etc…
I would welcome back Sidney Rice (especially if we don’t get Finley), but I certainly wouldn’t get into a bidding war for his services. He is one of those players who I would want back, but on our terms.
Rice coming back at the league minimum is fine – any more than that, let the Jets or the Saints sign him. He was well paid by us for 3 years with average results. If someone wants to pay him $2-3m a year, let them.
I have to agree if it is above 2 million. He has gotten a lot of money from the Seahawks during his career. If he wants another ring he should give us the hometown veteran discount. Besides PC is targeting other big receivers so he may not even see much time on the field next year.
I like Marcus Smith at Louisville, so happy Gus was checking him out. Poor Teddy – he’s going to be drafted too high, by a bad team, and likely not going to wow anyone.
Yeah, there are reports that Bridgewater’s pro-day were very marginal. I would not be surprised to see him tumble a bit, maybe into the second round. It would be interesting if one team late in the first round (Cincinnati, New England, San Diego, or Denver) made a play on him for the future. It seems like most of these teams are in win-now mode, but you wonderful if they feel relatively comfortable if they would make a play for the future as well- kinda off a Green Bay drafting Rodgers move (though granted, Rodgers had WAY more upside in my opinion).
Man, I am leaning more to Bridgewater going in the second round unless someone trades up.
Could he be this year’s Geno Smith???
Yeah, I think it’s possible. Of course, all it takes is one team (see Ponder, Vikings).
You have to think since next year’s FA looks worse for us than this year, they may be planning to roll a significant amount of money into next year. I wouldn’t be surprised by no more FA signings.
On Jared Allen…
ESPN’s “NFL Nation Minnesota Vikings” section has an excellent sum up of where they think Jared is now. It’s quite interesting, and so are the comments by the Viking’s fans.
Brent Urban has stress fracture in foot. Did not do drills in pro day.
If he can’t run and work out before the draft, that could push him down a couple of rounds.
My list of Hawk FA’s, in order;
1-Bennett (SIGNED) Best possible-realistic DL player for Hawks!
2-Tate gone
3-Breno gone
4-Hauschka (SIGNED) Best Kicker in NFL based on last seasons record and his distance on KO’s was vastly improved.
1&4 > 2&3 IMHO
Would anyone prefer 2&3 instead? No, 1&2 and 1&3 are not options…
I thought that Breno’s signing at 4.5 million would have been within our ball park. After all we are paying 10 million + on the other side of the line for Okung. And no I don’t buy into the left tackle is more important arguement. They are both important and they both face top notch defensive ends. If you don’t believe that then ask yourself why our top DE Avril rushes against a right tackle.
So we weren’t willing to go 4.5 million, which leads me to believe that the Seahawks wanted to make a change. Either with an existing player or a draft pick.
I would of liked to have breno back aswell but i do buy the fact that (atleast in this system) LT is more important and that is because Wilson is R.handed. his back is to the Left side so it is his blind spot, as appose to RT where its in his vision. I think depending on what arm your QB throws with will dictate which side you find more Value at.
I don’t agree with this Alaska.
For starters, Okung is always going to earn considerably more than whoever starts at right tackle. And they’re paying him what a #6 pick in the 2010 draft is due — he’d be earning that salary this year if he played left tackle, quarterback, full back or kicker. He’s still on his rookie pre-CBA deal.
I thought there’d be a deal to be done with Breno at $3m. The Jets are willing to pay 50% more on top of that. Everyone has their price — including Giacomini and Golden Tate. In both of their cases, the price went above and beyond what Seattle was prepared to pay.
There’s a difference between ‘wanting’ to make a change and accepting that change is inevitable. The Jets blew us out of the water with that deal. Remember, our overall cap spending is heavily tilted to the offense right now. It’s great having an elite defense on the cheap, but that’ll change soon. They have to bring down the cost of the offense gradually.
Breno was a capable NFL starter but he missed some games in 2013 and however you fell about his level of play, I think even the most die-hard Breno supporters would agree that his level of play was not likely to improve. Bowie is an improving player who was already in a position to compete for the starting job in 2014. The last thing you want to do is pay what the Jets paid for Breno and then have Breno end up a backup.
Unger is getting 6 million a year. Apparently the Seahawks are willing to pay more for some offensive linemen. Would they have signed Breno at 3 million? I don’t know. I really liked the way he handled himself in the playoffs and superbowl. But injuries may have come into consideration. I am sure they will target a right tackle in the draft and then use Bowie or Bailey for competition.
As for the cap, the biggest charges on the offensive side are Harvin, Okung and Lynch. The last two may be coming off the cap after this year, or playing at dramatically reduced prices. That will help pay for Wilson when it’s his turn.
Left tackle and center are considered the two premium positions on the offensive line these days. To be fair, I’m not surprised they’ve pumped investment into those two positions, while being prepared to use a guy signed off Green Bay’s waivers at right tackle, a former defensive lineman at right guard and a rotation at left guard.
I think we’ll see further investment in the OL this year, but then it also wouldn’t shock me if they went WR in round one and waited until what is essentially a third round pick to go OL. We’ll see.
I think the money that might have gone to Breno is now available for Jared Allen. Bowie and Bailey made Breno expendable. Caylin Hauptmann is also highly regarded. It looks like we really hit on three late round, UDFA picks last year. Cable is earning his money for us.
I’m not sure it was a case of anyone being expendable. In the same way I don’t think Kearse or Baldwin made Tate expendable.
I think it’s about sticking to your guns, setting a price and not budging.
Detroit took Tate away by paying him more than we thought his role was worth. Ditto Giacomini.
We won’t be replacing Tate with a $6.25m guy, or Giacomini with a $4.5m guy.
And next year if someone pays K.J. Wright more money than we think he’s worth, we move on there too. Likewise Maxwell, Smith, Baldwin etc.
You can’t over pay to keep everyone, considering we might have to stretch things to keep Thomas, Sherman and Wilson. You have to be strong.
yes, this is true. The approach to ‘win forever young’ must remain level headed at all times.
Wr James jones signed 3 yr deal with oakland
Fall Brent Urban fall!!!
All the way to the 5th round for the Hawks ala Jesse Williams. We can redshirt him if need be, no need to push the process. Give him a strength and conditioning program and watch him become a beast in a years time.
A fall certainly isn’t out of the question given his injury history. Although it’s not quite as serious as Williams’, so he should go earlier than the 5th.
yeah one can hope though!
An ACL followed by a stress fracture will turn a lot of teams of completely though, and I have seen many projections in the 3rd prior to this news. We have a pick at the end of 4 and beginning of 5 which are just waiting for injury concerns to come and red shirt with us.
Rob I don’t see any sites that tout Urban as a high round pick. In fact most that I have seen have him around the fifth already even before the injury news. Were are you getting him as a high round guy? Just your own evaluation or have I missed others touting him there as well?
My own evaluation.
I don’t spend much time worrying about what other sites say.
Thanks!