The Offseason Thread

[TitanLegend]

Ben Jones was rock solid last year and was solid again this year up til his injury. Not really worried about him/replacing him. He's not great but he's fine. The guard spots, if we're overhauling the line, are what need attention. And that's only the case if we're sticking with a power run scheme. If we're going spread/pass happy the o-line is probably as good as you could reasonably ask for.

[ragevsuall17]

3 hours ago, TitanSS said:

OT: Maybe a better backup than Kelly, but non-priority.

With Conklin's injury... it may be more of a priority than we think.  I think PUP is a serious possibility there.  Surgery should happen next week... 9 month recovery... that puts him on target for October... plus some time to get back in football shape.

He realistically could be out half the season.  Or not... but its something we definitely need to look at as a contingency.  

[TitanLegend]

1 minute ago, ragevsuall17 said:

With Conklin's injury... it may be more of a priority than we think.  I think PUP is a serious possibility there.  Surgery should happen next week... 9 month recovery... that puts him on target for October... plus some time to get back in football shape.

He realistically could be out half the season.  Or not... but its something we definitely need to look at as a contingency.  

Issue is there aren't even 16 good starting right tackles in the NFL, much less 32 with some solid depth guys, so in terms of finding a guy to fill in for Conklin, Kelly is probably as good as we're going to get, cause I know we're not going to waste a high draft pick on a tackle.

The protection was awful from Kelly vs New England but he wasn't completely putrid vs Arizona and Miami filling in for Lewan.

We'll just have to really hope and pray one of Lewan or Kelly don't go down as well. We'd be up **** creek without a paddle then.

[SerenityNow]

So, Mettenberger is dating Whisenhunt's daughter. Suddenly all of Whisenhunt's love for Mett makes sense.

[ragevsuall17]

1 hour ago, TitanLegend said:

Issue is there aren't even 16 good starting right tackles in the NFL, much less 32 with some solid depth guys, so in terms of finding a guy to fill in for Conklin, Kelly is probably as good as we're going to get, cause I know we're not going to waste a high draft pick on a tackle.

The protection was awful from Kelly vs New England but he wasn't completely putrid vs Arizona and Miami filling in for Lewan.

We'll just have to really hope and pray one of Lewan or Kelly don't go down as well. We'd be up **** creek without a paddle then.

We're definitely not replacing Conklin... but we do have to add someone here.  I'm not looking for an all-star... I'm looking for a vet who's willing to play on a 1-year deal... I'll overpay if I need to...

Even if I don't think I can find someone who will straight up take the spot from Kelly, I need someone who can step in as needed.  I also don't want to waste a highish draft pick for a guy who would be ready to start from day 1 (now if it's a guy in the 2nd that I see as my future OG, who I think can step in at RT if/when needed, then I don't mind this).  Regardless, this has turned into my biggest concern going into 2018.

On the other hand, a better offensive philosophy... which uses those quick short/intermediate routes to get the ball out of Mariota's hands quickly... then it's less of a concern.   

[VY]

5 hours ago, TitanSS said:

My takes on this years FA/off-season

SS: Really anticipating letting Cyprien and Searcy go, which makes SS a priority. I like the looks of Morgan Burnett. He's not going to be Eric Berry, but he's a definite improvement over what we've had, and just turning 29 this week he has a few good years left. Eric Reid and Kenny Vaccaro would also be big improvements.

C: I don't anticipate cutting Ben Jones, but he did have a very bad year. Snaps were low more often than not and he was in our backfield more often than Derrick Henry. I would like to see him replaced, either with a mid-round pick or a FA, although OG is more likely to be replaced this year. If we do let him go, Weston Richburg would be a good signing. I read that Jones played injured all year, if true, he's even more likely to get a second chance to up his game.

WR: Some really solid guys are set to hit FA, and I don't think we make a run at any of them. I would love to add any of Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson, or Jarvis Landry.

OT: Maybe a better backup than Kelly, but non-priority.

Agree w/most of those points, but these ones I think are the most important for 2018 and will shake out differently. 

Cyprien isn't getting cut unfortunately. As much as we'd want that it I doubt J-Rob will give up on him after a year. Searcy will go for sure. I suppose they could cut Cyp if they make a run at a pricier guy like Vaccaro. One guy I liked a lot out of college was Eric Reid (49ers). They moved him to WLB and he's probably on his way out there. He could be an interesting backfill for Searcy if he's healthy.

Ben Jones was hurt at least half the year, if not more. Had an injury that was never disclosed on the injury report so he had to stay quiet about it. I imagine he'll get back to form with recovery time. OG definitely could see some upgrades, but with as much as we've invested in the line I don't expect a splashy move. 

I think Decker is probably gone. Too similar to Matthews and Rishard is better. I wouldn't be surprised if we go try to find our own flex type guy especially if we get LaFleur (Tavon Austin was crucial to that offense even without big numbers). That may be more of a draft route to take though as it's a rare skill. Maybe De'anthony Thomas from KC could fit that mold. Davis-Mathews-Taylor are locks. Maybe Sharpe sticks though no ST's hurts him. If we don't go get a gadget guy maybe we focus on someone dependable - John Brown, Marquise Lee, etc. Should be some decent deals given the glut of options. Taylor needs to be more dependable, but maybe with his speed a better offensive mind gets more out of him or at least his potential diversion.

Conklin's injury is going to make week 1, maybe even month 1 questionable. I remember talk of him maybe needing to be a guard in the pro's which I don't think is necessary. Year 1 was great, year 2 came back down to earth. After year 3 we'll see how he is. The OT FA class is weak as is the draft class for the o-line in general, so doing much better than Kelly is going to be difficult. Upgrading the line this year is honestly going to be tough, but now even more complicated given Conklin's injury.

[Andrei01]

I'd like to go after Paul Richardson, especially if we let Decker go (which, again, I wouldn't). He has pretty great speed to be a deep burner, and has been shown signs of breaking out ever since he entered the league. Probably won't ever fully develop into a top #1 in this league, but he could still be a great option next to what we currently have on roster.

[615finest]

44 minutes ago, Andrei01 said:

I'd like to go after Paul Richardson, especially if we let Decker go (which, again, I wouldn't). He has pretty great speed to be a deep burner, and has been shown signs of breaking out ever since he entered the league. Probably won't ever fully develop into a top #1 in this league, but he could still be a great option next to what we currently have on roster.

Paul Richardson has been on my radar as well. Has great speed to stretch the field, and wouldn’t break the bank. I don’t think he leaves Seattle tho 

[TheMonarch1110]

Why do so many people want to get rid of Murray? I don't understand it. While he had trouble on running plays this season, he was still pretty great catching out of the backfield and with pass protection. Everyone says they want a 3rd down back, but we already have a damn good one on the roster. Just tell him Henry is the starter now and he can spell him and play on a majority of 3rd downs.

If they let him go, Charles Sims intrigues me. He had a really good year about 2 years ago until he had an injury last season and just kind of disappeared.

 

[ragevsuall17]

1 minute ago, TheMonarch1110 said:

Why do so many people want to get rid of Murray? I don't understand it. While he had trouble on running plays this season, he was still pretty great catching out of the backfield and with pass protection. Everyone says they want a 3rd down back, but we already have a damn good one on the roster. Just tell him Henry is the starter now and he can spell him and play on a majority of 3rd downs.

If they let him go, Charles Sims intrigues me. He had a really good year about 2 years ago until he had an injury last season and just kind of disappeared.

 

For me its simple... $6.5M cap hit next year. With no prorated money or guaranteed money, he can be cut with $0 penalties. Easy financial decision... JRob had this in mind when he gave him the extension after trading for him.

[ragevsuall17]

1 minute ago, TheMonarch1110 said:

Why do so many people want to get rid of Murray? I don't understand it. While he had trouble on running plays this season, he was still pretty great catching out of the backfield and with pass protection. Everyone says they want a 3rd down back, but we already have a damn good one on the roster. Just tell him Henry is the starter now and he can spell him and play on a majority of 3rd downs.

If they let him go, Charles Sims intrigues me. He had a really good year about 2 years ago until he had an injury last season and just kind of disappeared.

 

For me its simple... $6.5M cap hit next year. With no prorated money or guaranteed money, he can be cut with $0 penalties. Easy financial decision... JRob had this in mind when he gave him the extension after trading for him.

[TheMonarch1110]

2 minutes ago, ragevsuall17 said:

For me its simple... $6.5M cap hit next year. With no prorated money or guaranteed money, he can be cut with $0 penalties. Easy financial decision... JRob had this in mind when he gave him the extension after trading for him.

Which makes sense if they're going to do a little big spending this offseason, but who out there is going to be raking in big bucks from us? How much would another RB then cost us to sign too because then we have that gap. I would be ok with Murray leaving, but I think he still has a good amount of value on this team to where 6.5 mil doesn't seem like that bad a hit for a final year as we ease Henry into full time starter.

[TwoToneBlue]

8 minutes ago, ragevsuall17 said:

For me its simple... $6.5M cap hit next year. With no prorated money or guaranteed money, he can be cut with $0 penalties. Easy financial decision... JRob had this in mind when he gave him the extension after trading for him.

That and he doesn't strike me as the type that would handle a demotion very well.

[ragevsuall17]

16 minutes ago, TheMonarch1110 said:

Which makes sense if they're going to do a little big spending this offseason, but who out there is going to be raking in big bucks from us? How much would another RB then cost us to sign too because then we have that gap. I would be ok with Murray leaving, but I think he still has a good amount of value on this team to where 6.5 mil doesn't seem like that bad a hit for a final year as we ease Henry into full time starter.

With the carry over effect on the cap, 6.5M is a good chunk of change. Maybe they dont use it this year, but they carry it over to next year to help with Mariota's extension. Lewan will get his extension this year as well. 

We may not make splashes in FA, but we still have to be conscious of not just wasting 6.5M. I've targetted Dion Lewis for a few months now as the type of back we need to bring in. He's had a stellar close to the season... Where maybe we could have had him at 4M/year and maybe now it takes 5M/year. Still a better value than Murray at this point in their careers. 

RBs are seen as an easily replaceable or interchangeable commodity... And RB contracts hav e gone done significantly the past decade or so because of this.

[ttitansfan4life]

Keeping Murray would make no sense. He makes too much for what he’s worth. Everyone talks about getting faster, we’ll replacing him at his salary should be priority one.