sturg33
I
He was rated as the 9th best 3-4 DE in the NFL... and we will likely switch with Austin being a proponent of 3-4 and our strong group of linebackers.
REAL FOOTBALL Thread
- Thread starter zitothebrave
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He was rated as the 9th best 3-4 DE in the NFL... and we will likely switch with Austin being a proponent of 3-4 and our strong group of linebackers.
Tapate50
Well-known member
He played for 13M last year and will play for 27M in his next 3 with Seattle.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Tapate50
Well-known member
chop2chip
Well-known member
3 years 27 million for what THAT guy does is a steal.
I think this is more of a case that they are moving away from the traditional passing Saints to more of a balanced offense.
Rating was 18.4, compared to 27.5 for Suh. (3rd best NT/DT)
He just wants his last 3 years guarenteed
sturg33
I
Mis-read it... Re-posted
Maybe they were seeking to trade him or the right deal fell on them. Getting a top center and a first round pick (among others I think) for a pass receiving TE that was slightly above average and ranked 11th among TEs last year is an absolute steal. (obviously last year was a down year)
chop2chip
Well-known member
sturg33
I
I wasn't suggesting he was as good as Suh.
I said, getting him takes some of the sting away from losing Suh... and since we're paying him less than half, we have some room to upgrade.
I figured that was obvious. But I'm happy to spell it out further if you need
chop2chip
Well-known member
Yeah but the thing is that Graham isn't the 11th best tight end. I don't give a flying phark what PFF says. He's second to Gronk and it's probably not that big of a gap.
Yeah, he told them he wants out if they don't guarantee his last 3 years. They must have told him they weren't going to.
As a receiving TE he's probably 2nd. But, he also doesn't block and gets injured all the time. Plus the whole, how much is a receiving TE valued when you can easily draft a decent one.
cajunrevenge
Well-known member
It was only a 12 million signing bonus on a 4 year 40 million contract. They used some tricks to keep his cap number down for 2014 like he has a 5 million roster bonus due a few days after the new league years starts, its technically guaranteed money because theres no way they would cut him after only 1 year. The Saints could then convert that roster bonus to a signing bonus days before it vests to spread it equally over the remaining 3 years to save cap space in 2015. By trading him now the Seahawks will be paying that 5 million roster bonus so the Saints take a 9 million cap hit this year. Getting Unger nets a 2.5 million net decrease in cap space this year but significantly improves the cap space after this year.
chop2chip
Well-known member
I'm not disagreeing with the move necessarily. But it's definitely an outright admission that they screwed up and definitely a byproduct of having such a devilish cap situation that they couldn't fix the holes on their team with the roster as is.
There's also the unintended consequences of having to either guarantee Lewis's contract or cut him. It's not a direct casualty of the transaction, but obviously this situation occurred because of this trade.
chop2chip
Well-known member
As a receiver I would put him ahead of Gronk. He's a redzone monster.
You can't replace Jimmy Graham easily. There is an argument that they made the right move, but they gave up arguably their best player.
cajunrevenge
Well-known member
I think the season record is proof enough they screwed up. If they go 10-6 and win the division this trade doesnt happen. Lewis has every right to be upset because he took a big discount to play for his home town team and its heavily back loaded. They will probably just up his guaranteed money to satisfy him, he deserves it imo. I bet that extra first round pick is going to be used to trade up in the first round, and it wont surprise me if its for an offensive player...... even a QB from Oregon.