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RamRod

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Free agency is right around the corner.

Deadline for franchise tag is coming up, which we reportedly won't use. 

Anybody we could realistically sign or  who would be good fits? Just saw the Browns released Christian Kirksey. If Littleton goes we'd be thin and inexperienced at linebacker.

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12 minutes ago, RamRod said:

Free agency is right around the corner.

Deadline for franchise tag is coming up, which we reportedly won't use. 

Anybody we could realistically sign or  who would be good fits? Just saw the Browns released Christian Kirksey. If Littleton goes we'd be thin and inexperienced at linebacker.

We saw our new DC Staley say his ideal ILB is a sideline to sideline sure tackler and all LB positions need to be versatile. I don’t know much about Kirksey so if he qualifies then sure sign him. I have also seen Browns fans not surprised or upset he’s leaving. Does Trevathon still have anything left? Also a name that vomes up a lot is Patrick Owuasor.

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Just going to throw this out there;

Many of you didnt like what I predicted it would take to bring back Zuerlein in my Mock Draft (4 years - $19m) but I need to point out that Ka'imi Fairbairn just got almost that at 4 years - $17.65m

So that original price I tossed out is likely what it will take to keep Greg. And I think what we do with him might be the signal beacon on what our strategy is in the next few years. Some threw out some quotes that we might not be "going for it as much" as we did the last few seasons. If thats true then we my not give GZ that money, but if we still believe we are Super Bowl contenders, we need that reliable Kicker. They arent easy to find

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I think we keep GZ and whatever it takes is good with me. We've seen too many teams screwed in the playoffs and cycle through four or five kickers and they all suck during the regular season only to cost them games. GZ had a down year hell so did Hekker and the return game. And in the end it cost Bones his job just like Henderson not being ready cost Peete his job. 

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I may get crucified for saying this but I’m actually not opposed to moving on from GZ. We’ve obviously got very limited cap space and we can likely better use the money elsewhere. I understand kickers are crucial and there’s seemingly less good ones each year. But Zuerlein has had the injury bug the last few seasons,  and injuries aside, it seemed like he took a step back last year. I’d be open to using a later pick on Rodrigo Blankenship out of Georgia 

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3 hours ago, BEASToftheEAST4 said:

I may get crucified for saying this but I’m actually not opposed to moving on from GZ. We’ve obviously got very limited cap space and we can likely better use the money elsewhere. I understand kickers are crucial and there’s seemingly less good ones each year. But Zuerlein has had the injury bug the last few seasons,  and injuries aside, it seemed like he took a step back last year. I’d be open to using a later pick on Rodrigo Blankenship out of Georgia 

Just a couple of things

  • We arent Cap strapped, we just cant go around giving giant deals. We have the option restructuring Goff, and when it comes to GZ specifically, we could easily give him that 4/$19m deal with only a $3m cap hit (y1-$3m/ y2-$4m/ y3-$5m/ y4-$7m) where he will unlikely see that 4th year other than his signing bonus, basically making it a 3 Year $13m deal. Give him the "bigger" guaranteed number of making the $4m Signing Bonus, and year 1 & 2 salaries guaranteed.
    • I get many dont like paying a kicker, but if you want to be a legit Super Bowl contender, we need to feel safe at that position, and a Rookie who was still pretty shaky in college will not provide that
  • Injury Bug? This isnt Roger Dorn in Major League. He had a legitimate injury last year, and came back from it when it mattered. And we all saw how much it hurt us when he was out. Before that hes missed like 1 or 2 games in a couple of seasons, but hes never been an injury issue. Not to mention he was there all of Last Season, so clearly healed from the big injury of 2018
  • Please tell me where hes taking a step back?
    • Id like to point out he has only missed 6 Extra Points in his entire career, and only 1 in the past 2 seasons. There were guys who missed more than half his career total just this past season
    • Yes he still drops Bombs, hit a 58 yarder last year, and a 55+ yarders the 2 years before that. But he is also damn accurate When we get close to the Red Zone (where it matters most) he has missed 8 FGs inside of 40 his entire career, nearly 94%. Yes he was uncharacteristic from 41-50 (went 5-11) but he still went 5-7 from 50+. When you are kicking deeper, more often, youre going to miss some. 

Like I have said, I know it doesnt feel good, or look sexy to spend money on a Kicker, but you are all going to be very upset if we dont have a reliable one when we are pushing for the playoffs and trying to make a Super Bowl run

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@StLunatic88 Going from 87.1 to 72.7 in FG percentage from 2018 to 2019 certainly seems like a step back to me. I understand the importance of a kicker and am not arguing the logic behind it. I also stated that it’s getting harder and harder to find a good one these days. We all know GZ has a boot. But just wasn’t himself this year and whether he played all 16 games or not this past season, these little nagging injuries may have built up and had some sort of affect. You said it yourself—his presence was missed when he was hurt and even though he played every game this season, there were still a few games where there was a real chance where he wouldn’t. Do we really want our kicker to be a guy who may miss game time when it comes to big moments? 
Again, I’m not calling for it to happen—but I wouldn’t be opposed if it did. 

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3 hours ago, StLunatic88 said:

Just a couple of things

  • We arent Cap strapped, we just cant go around giving giant deals. We have the option restructuring Goff, and when it comes to GZ specifically, we could easily give him 

Recent interview with Snead didn't give the impression he wants to restructure Goff. Without the Goff restructuring, we arent't "strapped", but options/moves are limited.

Great article below on the "perils of cap imbalance" between quarterback and runningback. We're heading into dangerous territory based on historical analysis of teams who allocated 17.5+% of cap space in a season to RB and QB. We'll be the highest since 2011 with 26.5% of our cap allocated to Goff and Gurley. 

 

https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/the-perils-of-salary-cap-imbalance-between-quarterbacks-running-backs/

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24 minutes ago, BStanRamFan said:

Recent interview with Snead didn't give the impression he wants to restructure Goff. Without the Goff restructuring, we arent't "strapped", but options/moves are limited.

Great article below on the "perils of cap imbalance" between quarterback and runningback. We're heading into dangerous territory based on historical analysis of teams who allocated 17.5+% of cap space in a season to RB and QB. We'll be the highest since 2011 with 26.5% of our cap allocated to Goff and Gurley. 

 

https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/the-perils-of-salary-cap-imbalance-between-quarterbacks-running-backs/

And it's only 1 years. Next year we can release or trade TG if we so desire and not take a huge cap hit. Also there are some flaws to that article among them is the fact that those Rams teams had such a huge cap hit because of the last big rookie QB contract before the rookie wage scale. The 2017 Steelers were 13-3 I doubt they had a problem with this imbalance. 2016 Panthers were a year removed from the Super Bowl I doubt they have a problem with it either. 

Also did he say he wouldn't restructure AD? That frees up another $13 million. Trade or cut NRC, Brown and Matthews and there's another $11 million. Extend Jalen Ramsey and we can easily reduce his 2020 cap hit. Tyler Higbee has a $6.25 million roster bonus coming up restructure that into a signing bonus and you can clear up more. There are ways around the cap it would be very easy for us to suddenly have $50-60 million in space. We probably won't do all that because some of it is just kicking the can down the road and Snead is smarter than that. But a few maneuvers to get $30-40 in space is very easy to do. Don't listen to the headline grabbers who tell you we're screwed for cap and draft picks. My favorite is Niner fans doing this. We have more cap space and while they have a 1st round pick we have 4 picks before their 2nd pick. Yet we're the ones who are screwed if you read general or the news forums here. 

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Guys I like (will mark cuts as such):

Andrew Whitworth OT (re-sign)

Greg Zuerlein K (re-sign)

Stephen Weatherly OLB

Quinton Jefferson DL

Christian Kirksey ILB (cut)

Avery Williamson ILB (cut?)

Jordan Reed TE (cut)

Nigel Bradham ILB (cut)

Kyle Van Noy ILB

Dont'a Hightower ILB (cut?)

Reggie Ragland ILB

Graham Glasgow OL

Cordy Glenn OL (cut?)

Kelechi Osemele OL (cut)

Tyeler Davison NT 

Danny Shelton NT

Abry Jones NT (cut)

Those are a few guys off the top of my head. I expect us to chase comp picks again, so I wouldn't expect any high-priced FAs who aren't cuts.

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New name to watch: Kyle Emanual OLB

28 years old 6'3 255lbs 4.77 40 time.

Guy was a starter for the Chargers in 2016-2017. Played in both 3-4 and 4-3 defenses. Retired last year, but now wants to come back. Could be interesting target, but will garner interest.

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He (Emanuel) was a starter on a very bad LB corps that couldn't tackle to save their lives.  He's a better ST player than he is a defensive player.  As defenders go he's really JAG; had above-average athleticism but middling-at-best instincts and didn't excel on actually tapping that athleticism.

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