MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

If you ever figure it out please explain it to me.

 

I have to agree with this. And as well as your NBA example, you only have to look at European Soccer leagues to see the same thing. There's plenty of reasons why(imo) soccer has been ruined over the last few decades, but one of the major ones is that the players have been allowed to have far too much power. You give players too much power at your absolute peril.

In particular i find this idea that teams should now include certain players in personnel/roster building decisions to be stupefyingly dumb. Gidion mentioned the Texans mistake was telling Watson they'd interview the Chiefs OC and then not interviewing him. Well yeah, you're only gonna hurt the relationship by going back on your word like that. But i would say their true mistake was telling Watson he would be part of the process at all. Bad idea. Done probably to satisfy Watson a little after O Brien ran the team into the ground. Nevertheless, bad idea.

As for Russell Wilson....how to put this.... oh yeah, Get The Fuck Outta Here! That guy has less than nothing to bitch about. Sure he's taken a lot of sacks, i don't give a shit. Wilson's career has been nothing but a dream. ZERO losing seasons, only 1 year they havent made the playoffs, 4 Division crowns, 2 SB appearances and & Ring. Success, Fame & Riches, thats Wilson's NFL life. But now he's seen one of the other kids at daycare crying cos they dont have enough toys so he's gonna cry too? Please GTFOH with this diva shit. Also im pretty sure the Seahawks had the same OL/protection issues before Wilson signed that massive extension a few years ago, don't recall it being a deal breaker or trade maker back then tho. Maybe he was more interested in the $65MIL signing bonus at the time.....

 

No, I’m imposing expectations on a thinking adult with a university education. He can choose his place in life, either by quitting the NFL altogether if it’s so exploitative that it’s harming him, or by simply being smart enough not to re-sign in a particular “department” that we “should all give each other more credit” for recognizing as such an obvious dumpster fire.
If I regret a financial decision like say a house purchase in a bad neighborhood like 5 months after purchase nobody comes rushing to bail me out or have sympathy. They’ll say do your f*#**# homework. The bank will say here’s the contract you signed. You may leave, but here’s the massive penalty.
I mentioned the money because you’re acting like this guy is so hard done by that we should all feel sorry for his unfair situation. But the NFL is actually run quite a bit like other massive conglomerates. The owners control the means of production and largely set the rules. We can argue for greater control through say, a union if we’re lucky enough to have one. But at the end of the day we are obligated to adhere to the current rule structure/division of labour within the current agreement.

I’m saying there are probably a few places in this world where the application of power is disadvantageous to the workers as opposed to the owners/management. Even knowing that if I’m going out of my way to fight for the proletariat I’ll start with the poor people in Asia or South America making less than $3 / day or having poorly kept factories collapse on their heads, and not with the millionaires of the NFL.

Fyi Watson signed this extension September 5,2020. That’s after the Hopkins trade and by then he should have been well aware what was going on with this team. Less than six months later he doesn’t like his lot in life. So I reiterate, struggling to feel bad for him. And in general just annoyed by the sudden influx of complaints from well paid workers in positions millions of others would kill to be in that their situation isn’t even better. And seemingly going above their pay grade as well, trying to build the roster/front office from the field. Wait for your contract to expire and choose your location. Just that simple.

 

This is so dumb. When the two parties enter into an agreement both sides know EXACTLY what rights the other parties have including releasing a player AT ANY POINT in the contract. And the player can protect his rights in the contract by having certain amount of money guaranteed for skill and certain amount guaranteed for injury.

When a team terminates a contract they are executing a provision of the deal. It's literally written in the language of the contract. When a player doesn't want to honor a contract they have the exact same rights. Maurkice Pouncey just did the same thing. He's terminating the deal and there is language in there for that too. Like the Steelers being entitled to 1/5th of the signing bonus he received. But they won't do it.

 

Its been said here a # of times (cant remember who) that all contracts should be 3 years. Maybe thats the way to go. After two years you could extend them for 2 more years always keeping it at 3. Then if either side is unhappy its easy to wait it out and go.

 

All contracts should be negotiated by the two parties entering into the contract and that's your contract. NO ONE has any idea what's important to these individual players. Some guys are looking for long-term financial security, some want a monster signing bonus, some want to be able to hit the market again in three years, some have put down roots in a community and want to spend the rest of their career in one place, some want big guarantees, some are willing to bet on themselves, some are not.

Football is a business. Teams and players come and go every single day and both sides know what they're in for when they get together. No one should feel sorry for the players and no one should feel sorry for the owners. They both have experienced people representing their interests. Five years from now Patrick Mahomes will be making 10M less than the highest paid QB. You think he didn't know that when he signed his deal? He chose the things that were important to him.

 

Yes, but... 5 years from now if he keeps improving he will be screaming for a new deal

 

Steelers sign Ben Roethlisberger to new contract



Ben Roethlisberger will remain in Pittsburgh for the 2021 season.

The Steelers announced today that they have signed Roethlisberger to a new contract that will keep him in town this year.

There’s no word on the value or structure of the contract. The Steelers had made clear that Roethlisberger wouldn’t be back if he didn’t reduce his 2021 salary cap number from the $41.25 million it was scheduled to be, but it wasn’t clear whether Roethlisberger would be taking a pay cut, or merely restructuring his contract to reduce his cap hit this year but getting more money that would increase his cap hit in future years.

What is clear is that Roethlisberger will be running it back in Pittsburgh for one more season, and the question of whether his career will go on after that has been pushed back to 2022.

NBC

 

Ben Roethlisberger gets $14M for 2021, Steelers get $15M in cap room

Details have emerged about the new deal that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger signed for the 2021 season.

According to multiple reports, Roethlisberger’s compensation for the season has gone from $19 million to $14 million and the Steelers have picked up $15 million in cap room for the coming year. Roethlisberger was set to count $41.25 million against the cap before altering his deal.

NFL Media reports that Roethlisberger will make a league minimum salary of $1.075 million with the rest of his compensation coming as a signing bonus. They also added voidable years onto the contract in order to spread the cap hit out into future seasons.

Whether Roethlisberger will be around as anything other than dead money on the salary cap for those years remains to be seen, but Thursday’s developments ensure that he’ll spend his 18th season in Pittsburgh.

 

Washington releases Alex Smith



Word last week was that the Washington Football Team would release Alex Smith in the near future and the time has come.

According to multiple reports, Washington has officially released Smith. The move comes after Smith made a remarkable comeback from his 2018 leg injury to start six games during the team’s run to the NFC East title.

Smith didn’t play in the playoff loss to the Buccaneers because of a calf injury to the same leg and he has not formally announced a plan to continue playing in 2021. He did say that he feels he has a lot of growth left on the football field, however.

Where he would get a chance to continue that growth remains to be seen. It’s set to be a busy offseason of movement on the quarterback front and it’s unclear if Smith will have a clear shot at a starting job with another team. If he is open to being a backup, there would likely be a number of teams interested in having a player with his experience in that role.

Washington opens $14.7 million in cap space with the move. They have Taylor Heinicke and Steven Montez on the roster at quarterback, so some of that cap room will likely be devoted to adding to their options at the position.

NBC

 

Report: Dak Prescott’s deal is for four years, $160 million



A year ago, Dak Prescott wanted a four-year deal. The Cowboys wanted him to sign on for five.

The sides couldn’t agree, and the quarterback played 2020 under the $31.4 million franchise tag.

It sent them back to the negotiating table this offseason, and now they have reached agreement on a long-term deal. The team announced it had come to terms on a deal but provided no details. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media filled in some of the numbers.

Prescott, 27, will get a four-year, $160 million deal with potential to earn another $4 million. He also gets a no-trade clause and no-tag clause, and $126 million is guaranteed.

The first three years average $42 million per year, per Adam Schefter of ESPN, and includes $66 million to sign and $75 million in year one, the most in NFL history.

Prescott cost the Cowboys more than he would have had the team reached agreement earlier in his career, but they ensured the former fourth-round choice will be around beyond this season.

Owner Jerry Jones long has expressed confidence that in Prescott the Cowboys have their quarterback of the present and the future.

Prescott is 42-27 in the regular season in his five-year career, with a 1-2 postseason record. He has passed for 17,634 yards with 106 touchdowns and 40 interceptions.

Prescott was leading the league in passing yards with 1,856 before the compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in Week 5 against the Giants. He underwent immediate surgery and a second surgery in December.

NBC

 

I had a question passed at me during the GMO that I thought was interesting enough to share and ask the rest of you how you view it.

The question was put to me like this - If you were to take any quarterback in the NFL right now and have them start for your franchise in a one year bubble, who would you take, then take next?

So I spent a little time and worked up a list -

1. Patrick Mahomes
2. Tom Brady
3. Aaron Rodgers
4. Russell Wilson
5. Josh Allen
6. Dak Prescott
7. Kyler Murray
8. Deshaun Watson
9. Justin Herbert
10. Lamar Jackson
    
11. Derek Carr
12. Jimmy Garoppolo
    
13. Matt Stafford
14. Joe Burrow
15. Baker Mayfield
16. Ryan Tannehill
17. Matt Ryan
    
18. Jared Goff
19. Sam Darnold
20. Ben Roethlisberger
    
21. Kirk Cousins
    
22. Jameis Winston
    
23. Carson Wentz
24. Cam Newton
    
25. Mason Rudolph
26. Teddy Bridgewater
27. Daniel Jones
28. Marcus Mariota
29. Jalen Hurts
30. Drew Lock
31. Gardner Minshew
32. Tua Tagovailoa

If you were tasked with choosing a quarterback to run your team for this season only, of the available passers currently in the league, what would be your top 32?
(no rookies included)

 

I'll give my Top 10 because after that I start getting confused, lol. My list is only a couple tweaks off yours, Tim.

1) Mahomes - Raw talent and smart
2) Brady - talent, smart, experience
3) Wilson - talent
4) Rodgers - talent , smart, experience
5) Prescott - Talent , skills, smart, just like his game
6) Allen - talented, physical, size and lotza heart
7) Murray - raw talent, fly's under radar, gets the job done and knows how to come back when down
8) Herbert - Future star
9) Watson - talent, play-maker
10) Jackson - talented, legs, play maker, winner

 

Brady
Mahomes
Wilson
Herbert
Burrows
Allen
Watson
Rodgers
These are the guys I think can get the Steelers to the SB. I wouldn’t even fart on the rest

 

So . . . using your logic, the Steelers don't currently have a QB on their roster that can take them to the Super Bowl.

It's refreshing to see you've come around to reality.

 

Jesus Mary and Joseph..... Dak just completely rinsed the Cowboys. I mean he shredded them. It looks like every major negotiating point he wanted he got, including insane total $ and gauranteed $ numbers. Talk about being force fed a dick, or in this case, a Dak, heh heh. Heh.

Remember a year ago when there was chatter about Dak wanting 35 and the Cowboys saying no way cos it was a ridiculously overpriced number. Leverage is a bitch.

 

Personally id have Watson as high as 5. And Id have Murray a little lower. Just dont trust that guy yet.

 

Cowboys franchise tag Dak Prescott



The Cowboys have already locked up Dak Prescott with a four-year, $160 million extension. But the club has exercised a procedural move to protect Prescott in the future.

Dallas has franchise tagged Prescott for a second consecutive year, which is exactly what the quarterback and his agent Todd France wanted. It is the exclusive tag, which would mean no other team could negotiate with Prescott — were he on the open market.

While Prescott’s contract is expected to have a no-tag clause, Dallas tagging the QB in 2021 means a subsequent tag would be Prescott’s third. And a third tag would require a 44-percent increase from the cap number in the final year of his deal.

Prescott also has two years in his contract that void the day before the start of the 2025 league year, which is after the franchise-tag deadline. So even if the Cowboys wanted to tag Prescott that year, it would be too late.

All this is to say, France has negotiated a deal for Prescott that has made it very difficult for Dallas to ever franchise tag the quarterback again.

NBC