#422

Looks like the Steelers are in win now mode having addressed their biggest needs in the last 48 hours.

49ers TE Vance McDonald and a 5th rounder arrive in return for a 4th rounder. Given the likely finishing spots for the two sides we could be talking as few as 10 picks.

And Joe Haden CB arrives on a 3 yr deal having been released by the Browns earlier in the day.

Question marks with both. McDonald has had issues with his hands since arriving at the 49ers as a second rounder in 2013 but is an upgrade on Jesse James as a blocker and has undoubted big play ability.

At his best Haden was one of the top corners in the league but has struggled with injury in recent years. Early reports suggest that the only guaranteed money in the contract is $7m this year.

#423

Playing the Lions do a deal for Sheldon Richardson. It makes so much sense.

#425

Colts is the only place where he could land… but I don’t see it happening at all.

The thing is everyone knows without a doubt now that Brock is terrible, so why would anyone want to trade for him?

He has no value in the league. He may be better than your backup (Colts/Tolzien), but he’s not going to win you any games and he’s going to cost you something (players/picks/salary).

The most obvious and most likely scenario that plays out is he gets cut. This was always the most likely thing to happen. I think the only reason the Browns have even given him reps in pre-season is because they were hoping he would show enough to prove he might be better than players like Tolzien (he hasn’t).

#427

Without knowing all the specifics, I think he’s on an absolutely massive contract like $17m this year. Depending on how much of that is guaranteed he’ll receive a portion of that if he gets cut. In a trade the acquiring team would be taking on that contract, unless he’s willing to renegotiate. But he won’t be because I doubt any team will likely be willing to give him as much money as he’ll get if he’s cut.

If he gets cut then it opens up more options as it’s a new contract so teams will be offering what he’s worth (not a lot).

With the, Jets. McCown is steady, they’ll give Hackenberg a shot at some point. And as much as the front office might protest, they’re not interested in winning this year.

#428

Just checked. His contract is $16m fully guaranteed for this year. So that means if you cut him, the entire $16m counts against your total cap this season. Hence why nobody will trade for him.

Someone may take a punt once he’s been cut, but probably for the minimum salary of like $750k. He’s basically done in the league and he’s not consistent enough to be a journeyman back up like McCown, or even a camp arm.

#430

Yeah it was such an interesting trade, not something I can recall happening since I’ve been following the NFL. Any noises they’ve made about giving him a chance were purely to try and attract a suitor.

If any of the teams on the playoff bubble have a QB go down then Kaepernick will probably be the guy teams look to.

Brock may struggle to find a team at all. He is really fucking bad.

#432

Good on you JJ

#433

Osweiler CUT. Sheldon Richardson traded to Seattle from the Jets too as the race for the #1 pick gathers pace.

#435

Painful reading this.

The example of how bad trading up is involves the Rams receiving a shed load of picks in the Griffin trade.

The just a few years later, having seen how awful that deal was for the Redskins… We sell the farm to draft Goff at #1. :weary:

#437

Totally. There’s a lot of entrenched dogmatic thinking in the NFL. This is the way we do things, this is how it’s always been done etc. It’s a league that’s incredibly bad at embracing change. Mostly because it’s run by “old white men”.

Alao the grandstanding and lack of long term planning has always astounded me. There’s a real win now mentality when really it should be win in five years. GMs rarely get the time needed to build anything meaningful and so they’re pushed into gambling on a Franchise QB.

#438

Still think there are many more variables at play than simply number of picks. The short length of the average playing career and the high chance of injuries have such a huge effect on eventual results.

#439

The way the Patriots go about their business is pretty interesting, they’ll trade away picks for players they think they’ll get a couple of years out of at a starter level. Of course they’re in the privileged position of not having had to worry about who’s playing QB for the last 17 years.

#441

I think this is the most important thing for the Patriots. For all the hoo-ha about Belichick trading down and maximising picks and this, that and the other, he doesn’t actually draft any better than anyone else. He has Tom Brady covering up a multitude of mistakes. Having him is basically 50% of the Patriots roster decisions taken care of.

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#442

Think that says more about what a gamble the whole draft process is. That’s why he’s so willing to trade away picks and “undervalue” them. Their acquisitions in those trades and through free agency are where Belichick and his staff separate themselves from the rest of the league.

Still you can compare them to other teams who have obviously generational QB talent (Rodgers, Luck, Stafford), and their struggles to compete regularly and the difference has to be in the Front Office.

#443

Not sure if you guys saw it but the NFL program was back on the BBC last night

1 Like
#449

Considering they offered him a lot of money and he turned them down, signing him to a minimum contract would be a little bit funny. Also they somehow managed to get something resembling serviceable QB play from him, so not a bad move to cover while Lynch is out injured.

#451

Amazing how Brock is back in Denver. Weird how the universe works sometimes.

Also, as an addendum to the Matthew Stafford contract chat above, this is an interesting (and very heartening for a Lions fan) article:

#452

I reckon Elway has got Osweiler back to clean the toilets, do everyone’s laundry (jockstraps only) and generally be the butt of everyone’s jokes.

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#453

You’d kind of think Elway would want to stay as far away as possible from what could have been one of the biggest contract mistakes ever and an utter embarrassment to his franchise, but maybe he’s so drunk off his own bullshit he’s happy to try and redeem it.

#454

Sometimes American sport is weird. You’ll be amazed to hear.

So the Jets are busy planning for a season of absolute failure, with a view to picking a brand new QB at number 1 in next year’s draft*, and therby ensuring** many years of comparative success in future. Of course, if they conspire to be even slightly better than completely terrible, for example finishing 5-11, maybe even 4-12, that plan just goes straight to shit. That’s a really weird line to have to tread, must be pretty stressful for management, and what do you even say to the coach? Please lose every game by as little as possible? This never happens in non-US sport.

*I believe Sam Darnold is the accepted choice. I know nothing of him, except you know when people say “nothing rhymes with orange”, and someone will for some reason always say “borange”? He makes me think of that, only with Arnold.

**No 1 draft pick QBs are a cast-iron guarantee of success of course.