Saints Get Demario Davis- 3 yrs, $24M

[TomDiggs]

 

 

Very similar deal to the 3 years and $22.5M that Avery Williamson got.

 

Sadly the Colts do not seem to be willing to pay a LB a premium rate.

 

Maybe we will pony up for someone else like Zach Brown or a lesser player that is asking for $6M a year or under. But Davis is another off the board now.

[Andrew Luck fan club]

Lol. We have nobody at LB. 

[DougDew]

Hmmm.  It has occurred to me, that maybe with the absence of FA signings, CB believes the roster isn't that bad.  That his first draft picks should mature better and the cupboard was not left as bare as some say.

 

Maybe its more of a statement about Pagano, and that a new scheme and coaching staff should do a lot better with what we have.

 

[Fisticuffs111]

Just being brutally honest, but I would've rather the Colts pay Davis or Williamson (I had Hitchens here but I've been corrected about just how rich his contract is) that kind of money than whatever average ILB we'll likely get at $4-6 mil per.

Oh well, is what it is. And I know the choice is ultimately in the players hands, etc.

[Flash7]

1 minute ago, Fisticuffs111 said:

Just being brutally honest, but I'd much rather have Davis or Hitchens (which has turned out to be a very team friendly deal with an out after year 2) than whatever middling ILB we likely get at $4-6 mil per.

If we do sign a middling ILB, it's likely we'll be looking to replace that player next year, essentially wasting the money spent this year. There is a possibility we strike gold and get a good player for cheap, but not too likely.

[throwing BBZ]

Looks like a clear path to competing for the 2019 1st pick in the draft. Wise.

[TomDiggs]

2 minutes ago, Fisticuffs111 said:

Well, I'd much rather have paid Davis or Hitchens (which has turned out to be a very team friendly deal with an out after year 2) those deals than whatever middling ILB we'll likely get at $4-6 mil per.

I know the choice is ultimately in the players hands and all that, but yeah.

 

Hard to disagree w you based on some of the names we will likely see roaming sideline to sideline instead of these guys. That said, even with the out for Hitchens, he was given a $14M bonus and then two years of guaranteed salary totalling $7.3M

 

So he basically got over $21M in guarantees and if they opt out after year 2, he would have cost them $21M over two years in actual cash and he would count $8.4M in dead money in that 3rd year if he were cut. So for that kinda money I would have passed as Ballard did.

 

I, however, would have gladly paid Williamson what the Jets did. 3 years and $22.5M w/ $16M guaranteed sounds a lot better to me. Basically he would have played 3 years for what Hitchens will make in his first two.

[jameszeigler834]

9 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Hmmm.  It has occurred to me, that maybe with the absence of FA signings, CB believes the roster isn't that bad.  That his first draft picks should mature better and the cupboard was not left as bare as some say.

 

Maybe its more of a statement about Pagano, and that a new scheme and coaching staff should do a lot better with what we have.

 

Team still needs upgraded and 3 years 24 million that isn't a terrible contract from a cap number stand point I have seen a lot more ridiculous amounts.

[NewColtsFan]

8 minutes ago, Flash7 said:

If we do sign a middling ILB, it's likely we'll be looking to replace that player next year, essentially wasting the money spent this year. There is a possibility we strike gold and get a good player for cheap, but not too likely.

 

I don't know where or what you were readig about a "team friendly" deal for Hitchens,  but here's the contract breakdown from Spotrac.

 

Team friendly it is NOT.

 

The Dead Cap hit after 2 years is a whopping 17.7 Mill.    After 3 years it's 8.4 Mill  and after 4 years it's still 5.6 Mill.

 

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/anthony-hitchens-14530/

 

It appears Hitchens and KC are married for at least 4 of the 5 years.    (Even the 5th year dead cap is 2.8 MIll)     This does NOT appear to be team friendly.

 

By the way,   read a report on ESPN,  says Hitchens graded out very average when he was on the field compared to when he was off.     Almost no change in the Dallas defense.    The Dallas Linebacker who impacted the most,  was Sean Lee.    The ESPN read is for the amount of money the Chiefs are paying,  they won't get much bang for their buck.

 

 

[Luck 4 president]

I think there are plenty of good LBs in the middle rounds. Like Fred Warner in the 4th. Very high football IQ and very athletic. They were saying during the combine that he covers and moves like a corner. If we can acquire a bunch of extra picks then we can get maybe Tremaine Edmonds/Roquan/Rashaan Evans in the 1st then get a middle round guy like Warner who would both start immediately. 

[NewColtsFan]

5 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

Looks like a clear path to competing for the 2019 1st pick in the draft. Wise.

 

I'm always amused when you seem surprised that people here think you're a troll.

 

Gee,  I wonder why?

 

[Fisticuffs111]

10 minutes ago, TomDiggs said:

 

Hard to disagree w you based on some of the names we will likely see roaming sideline to sideline instead of these guys. That said, even with the out for Hitchens, he was given a $14M bonus and then two years of guaranteed salary totalling $7.3M

 

So he basically got over $21M in guarantees and if they opt out after year 2, he would have cost them $21M over two years in actual cash and he would count $8.4M in dead money in that 3rd year if he were cut. So for that kinda money I would have passed as Ballard did.

 

I, however, would have gladly paid Williamson what the Jets did. 3 years and $22.5M w/ $16M guaranteed sounds a lot better to me. Basically he would have played 3 years for what Hitchens will make in his first two.

Yeah, I'd read an article that wrongly made it seem like the Chiefs got a better deal than on the surface, which is not the case.

And agreed on Williamson. That's a much more comparable contract/situation to Demario Davis.

[Fisticuffs111]

5 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I don't know where or what you were readig about a "team friendly" deal for Hitchens,  but here's the contract breakdown from Spotrac.

 

Team friendly it is NOT.

 

The Dead Cap hit after 2 years is a whopping 17.7 Mill.    After 3 years it's 8.4 Mill  and after 4 years it's still 5.6 Mill.

 

 

 

 

That was me, and I've retracted it from my post after @TomDiggs corrected me.

I got fooled by a poorly written article.

[NewColtsFan]

Just now, Fisticuffs111 said:

That was me, and I've retracted it from my post as @TomDiggs corrected me.

I got fooled by a poorly written article.

 

Thank you....

 

No worries....     the salary math can get very complicated and it can be easy to turn around.    A glance at the wrong column can get your head spinning.      It's happened to me more than once.     Hey,  if you like this stuff, (and we both do)   then it happens to all of us....   

 

Thanks for the correction.    Much appreciated.       

 

[shasta519]

Doesn't seem like a bad deal for a starting ILB. Not sure what Ballard is going to do at the position if he doesn't get some help in FA.

[Finball]

54 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

The Dead Cap hit after 2 years is a whopping 17.7 Mill.    After 3 years it's 8.4 Mill  and after 4 years it's still 5.6 Mill.

 

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/anthony-hitchens-14530/

 

It appears Hitchens and KC are married for at least 4 of the 5 years.    (Even the 5th year dead cap is 2.8 MIll)     This does NOT appear to be team friendly.

 

By the way,   read a report on ESPN,  says Hitchens graded out very average when he was on the field compared to when he was off.     Almost no change in the Dallas defense.    The Dallas Linebacker who impacted the most,  was Sean Lee.    The ESPN read is for the amount of money the Chiefs are paying,  they won't get much bang for their buck.

 

 

 

17.7M dead cap after year one. 8.4M after year two. 5.6M after year three.

 

It's basically 2 year, 21.5M deal (which is expensive for LB like Hitchens and not team friendly) and then team options of 8.5M, 6.5M and 8.5M for years 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Or maybe 3 year 30M would be better description since his dead cap would be 8.4M and cap hit 11.3M for year 3. Unless he's complete liability, he'll probably be there for at least 3 years.

 

Also, Colts and Chiefs use different contract structure. Colts haven't given out signing bonuses to FAs the past 2 years. Chiefs use SB. Hitchens got whopping 14 million signing bonus. For the Colts to match that deal using the structure they've used the past 2 years, they'd have needed to give out a deal that averages 10 or more millions per year.

[NewColtsFan]

5 minutes ago, Finball said:

 

17.7M dead cap after year one. 8.4M after year two. 5.6M after year three.

 

It's basically 2 year, 21.5M deal (which is expensive for LB like Hitchens and not team friendly) and then team options of 8.5M, 6.5M and 8.5M for years 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Or maybe 3 year 30M would be better description since his dead cap would be 8.4M and cap hit 11.3M for year 3. Unless he's complete liability, he'll probably be there for at least 3 years.

 

Also, Colts and Chiefs use different contract structure. Colts haven't given out signing bonuses to FAs the past 2 years. Chiefs use SB. Hitchens got whopping 14 million signing bonus. For the Colts to match that deal using the structure they've used the past 2 years, they'd have needed to give out a deal that averages 10 or more millions per year.

 

It COULD be a 2-year deal..  but the cap hits are high enough that two years is not likely.

 

By the way, thanks for the catch on the dead cap hits.    You are correct.    

[dgambill]

I think the Colts might bring back Bostic and might be willing to give Walker and George and Morrison a chance to compete for LB roles. Probably bring in a rookie too. I think Walker might be a good player in this new scheme for us.

[NorthernBlue]

perhaps Ballard really likes the stack linebacker group of this years draft. 

[Defjamz26]

40 minutes ago, NorthernBlue said:

perhaps Ballard really likes the stack linebacker group of this years draft. 

This is the deepest off-ball LB class in recent memory. There are several intriguing prospects. Honestly if this is the route they’re going to go, we might as well trade back and get Smith or Vander-Esch in the 1st round. Or do the Bills trade and get both.