Team Spending

[WRAPradio]

 

According to Spotrac we have about $19M left.  I think we typically save ~$11M for rookies and injury settlements which leaves us with about $8M left to spend this year or rollover until next year.  Cap experts, please feel free to correct anything here I've stated.  The question is, what's the best way to spend this money?  My thought is if we're not going to spend it on the offensive line, maybe we extend Bates to take the cap hit away from other years.  He's going to be the top paid safety in the league and we're already got the fifth highest paid secondary in the league; his contract would probably make us the highest spending team there.  

 

 

 

A few things I've noticed about our spending:

1.  We spend a lot on the TE position without much to show for it

2.  I like where the WR number is and adding Chase would probably put us around league average.  I don't think you need to top-10 in spending at the WR position

3.  We're still paying too much at the RB position, but as long as we have Joe that's going to be a constant theme

4.  We're overpaying our defensive line.  I do think it should be one of the highest paid position groups on the team, but for the talent level we have there I don't think we've made good decisions

5.  Our secondary needs to be great this year

[WRAPradio]

I think we really overpaid for Hendrickson., I hope he proves me wrong.

 

[sparky151]

Uzomah, Waynes, and Mixon are all overpaid for what they contribute.

[I_C_Deadpeople]

Well they were all injured

 

What is more interesting is the top 3 salary guys were NOT drafted by the team

[UncleEarl]

Didn't Tobin say there were more FAs coming?  Probably waiting until after the draft to see what they get there. 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

2 minutes ago, UncleEarl said:

Didn't Tobin say there were more FAs coming?  Probably waiting until after the draft to see what they get there. 

He did say this and it was specifically about the OL but could be any spot no doubt. 

[|High School Harry|]

24 minutes ago, UncleEarl said:

Didn't Tobin say there were more FAs coming?  Probably waiting until after the draft to see what they get there. 

I was thinking Gio's release to throw a few more bucks into the kitty was at least part of the thinking in letting him walk.

[TigerJ@w]

Wow! The Bengals paid a CB that kind of money that didn’t play a down and only two more years left on his contract.  It will be his 7th year in the league coming off an injury.  Is he worth the risk?  He is a good tackler and defender, but not an interceptor. The Bengals signed 5 CBs so far and I am sure they will draft one or maybe two. Those signing bonuses are for the year that was spread out from the years in the contract, right? If so they gave Trae $15M guaranteed money? Wow! 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

Don't worry, there is a plan....

[Jamie_B]

I hope we extend Bates

[I_C_Deadpeople]

I think Bates and Hubbard would be targets for extentions.

[Shebengal]

32 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

I think Bates and Hubbard would be targets for extentions.

One can only hope.

[WRAPradio]

2 hours ago, sparky151 said:

Uzomah, Waynes, and Mixon are all overpaid for what they contribute.

 

I agree...and I love Mix, but history has shown you don’t need to overspend on a RB or really even draft one high.  The only one of these three contracts that’s OK is Uzomah.  Yeah, he got hurt, but I don’t think he’s severely overpaid when healthy.  

[sparky151]

A healthy CJ Uzomah still isn't very good and not close to the average NFL starter. He was fine as a backup TE on his rookie deal but not worth 6 mil per year, even when healthy. Kyle Rudolph signed with the Giants for 6 mil per year a few weeks ago. Who would you rather have?

[whodey?]

It surprises me that special teams was ranked 25, for some reason I thought they were better than that.

[WRAPradio]

2 hours ago, sparky151 said:

A healthy CJ Uzomah still isn't very good and not close to the average NFL starter. He was fine as a backup TE on his rookie deal but not worth 6 mil per year, even when healthy. Kyle Rudolph signed with the Giants for 6 mil per year a few weeks ago. Who would you rather have?

 

Valid point.

[T-Dub]

23 hours ago, TigerJ@w said:

Wow! The Bengals paid a CB that kind of money that didn’t play a down and only two more years left on his contract. 

 

 

Bad enough, but with Bates on the last year of his contract it's terrible.

 

However, according to Spotrac there's an out? 

 

 POTENTIAL OUT: 2022, 2 YR, $30,800,000; $5,000,000 DEAD CAP

 

They're my go-to site for contract info but I'm not sure what this means?  They have his total for next year @  $11m with roster & workout bonuses.

 

 

Brown Family trust fund aside, this DB group aside from Bates is pretty sus.  Loved the hit from Bell but aside from that he was kind of a nonfactor most of the year.

 

Granted, the team was a nonfactor most of the year.  Still, unimpressed.

[I_C_Deadpeople]

1 hour ago, T-Dub said:

 

 

Still, unimpressed.

At least the team is consistent in this regard. 

[sparky151]

3 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

 

Bad enough, but with Bates on the last year of his contract it's terrible.

 

However, according to Spotrac there's an out? 

 

 POTENTIAL OUT: 2022, 2 YR, $30,800,000; $5,000,000 DEAD CAP

 

They're my go-to site for contract info but I'm not sure what this means?  They have his total for next year @  $11m with roster & workout bonuses.

 

 

Brown Family trust fund aside, this DB group aside from Bates is pretty sus.  Loved the hit from Bell but aside from that he was kind of a nonfactor most of the year.

 

Granted, the team was a nonfactor most of the year.  Still, unimpressed.

 

It means if the team cuts Waynes before the final season of his deal, 2022, he would have collected 31 mil from the team (signing bonus of 15 mil, 2020 salary of 5 mil, and 2021 salary of 11 mil. The team would take the final prorated 5 mil of signing bonus as dead money but would save his 2022 salary of 11 mil for a net savings of 6 mil if he's replaced after 2 years. 

[BengalFanInTO]

A number of thoughts and points from this string...

 

1. The Bengals actually have more than $19 million in available cap space. Depending on which site you use, they have approximately $24 million to $27 million.

 

2. The $11 million that Hobson uses for the rookie pool is a bit of a mirage. The rookie pool will move the available cap space down a bit but, it's not the whole $11 million as any player signed will displace a current player (and their salary) from the roster. So, the gross rookie pool is $11 million but the net figure will be considerably lower.

 

3. Is Trae Waynes over paid and the Bengals gave him a ridiculous contract? Hell, yes. Should they cut him this year? Hell, no. They'd actually only pick up about $3 million in cap space and if you refer to point #1, they don't need space. They currently rank #4 in the league in cap space so, zero reason to gain some. He might as well play so Mikey can write him the checks and pay the price for a bad decision. Next year, if they need space and he doesn't perform, sure, pick up the $11 million in space and move on.

 

4. CJ Uzomah is wildly overpaid. He's got the 9th highest cap hit in the league and he's nowhere in the realm of being a Top 10 TE. I would have flushed him (if they needed the space) this season but, he's at least in his lame duck year and, if he's re-signed let's hope it's for considerably less (unless of course he goes off this season).

 

5. I think the Bengals should use the space to extend Jessie Bates (I'm projecting this will happen around June) and sign some depth at OG (Turner or Taylor), C (Reiter) and DE (Ingram, Kerrigan, Houston). I'd add WR to this but, in my opinion there's no viable options. Maybe Kenny Stills but, that's about it. An extension for Sam Hubbard would be a good idea, too.

[I_C_Deadpeople]

No need for a new thread but this is of interest on players injured while NOT working out at the club facility:

 

The Ja’Wuan James injury, while bad for him, could be good for NFL players generally.

Players seem to be realizing that there’s a very real difference between getting injured while working out at the team facility and getting injured while working out elsewhere.

The news that James, who has (or at least had) a $9.85 million fully-guaranteed salary for 2021, will most likely lose that money because he suffered a torn Achilles tendon while working out away from the team facility was met with confused by players like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“So they are going to take his contract for working out in the off-season???” Mahomes said on Twitter.

Yes, they will. They will because they can. They especially will because the NFL Players Association has tried to get players to boycott voluntary offseason workouts this year, prompting the league to directly remind teams (and to indirectly remind players) that any player who suffers a serious injury away from work risks losing his salary. In the case of Ja'Wuan James, the price could be even greater.

Mahomes isn’t alone in his misunderstanding of the rules. And, frankly, Mahomes would never have to worry about the Chiefs not paying his salary if he were to suffer an injury away from work.

Still, he should have at least an inkling that it could be an issue. Remember when a video surfaced of Mahomes playing basketball, and the Chiefs quickly slammed the door on that? Presumably, his agents would have (or at least should have) explained to him the consequences of suffering a “non-football injury” — which means any injury (football-related or otherwise) happening away from the team facility, a practice, or a game.

Every agent should be explaining to every player the risks or working out away from the facility. Salary can be lost, forever. Guarantees can be voided if the player misses even one mandatory practice due to the injury. Signing bonus money can be pursued and recovered.

The union should be explaining that as well. Instead, player leadership continues to advocate skipping voluntary workouts, ostensibly due to the pandemic but actually because: (1) veteran players prefer no voluntary workouts at all; and (2) some members of player leadership remain upset that a 17-game season was forced upon the NFLPA during the latest CBA — as if the NFL wouldn’t have gotten a 17-game season by letting the agreement expire, implementing a lockout, and waiting for the players to cave.

We always support the players. There is no game without the players, and fans far too often side with the owners in disputes between league and union. However, we can’t support the Players Association on this one, because it puts individual player salary and other financial factors at risk with no real benefit. The owners don’t care if the players skip offseason workouts; all this does is unnecessarily agitate the coaches.

Ja’Wuan James, who reportedly was working out at the team facility and left at the recommendation of the NFLPA, learned that lesson the hard way. Other players can now learn that lesson without losing millions of dollar.

[|SF2|]

On 4/9/2021 at 6:05 PM, sparky151 said:

A healthy CJ Uzomah still isn't very good and not close to the average NFL starter. He was fine as a backup TE on his rookie deal but not worth 6 mil per year, even when healthy. Kyle Rudolph signed with the Giants for 6 mil per year a few weeks ago. Who would you rather have?

At $6 mil a year?  I would rather take Eifert back with an incentive laden contract to be honest.  Neither player is worth close to that. Plus, I would get to witness T-Dub implode.  

[UncleEarl]

44 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

No need for a new thread but this is of interest on players injured while NOT working out at the club facility:

 

The Ja’Wuan James injury, while bad for him, could be good for NFL players generally.

Players seem to be realizing that there’s a very real difference between getting injured while working out at the team facility and getting injured while working out elsewhere.

The news that James, who has (or at least had) a $9.85 million fully-guaranteed salary for 2021, will most likely lose that money because he suffered a torn Achilles tendon while working out away from the team facility was met with confused by players like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“So they are going to take his contract for working out in the off-season???” Mahomes said on Twitter.

Yes, they will. They will because they can. They especially will because the NFL Players Association has tried to get players to boycott voluntary offseason workouts this year, prompting the league to directly remind teams (and to indirectly remind players) that any player who suffers a serious injury away from work risks losing his salary. In the case of Ja'Wuan James, the price could be even greater.

Mahomes isn’t alone in his misunderstanding of the rules. And, frankly, Mahomes would never have to worry about the Chiefs not paying his salary if he were to suffer an injury away from work.

Still, he should have at least an inkling that it could be an issue. Remember when a video surfaced of Mahomes playing basketball, and the Chiefs quickly slammed the door on that? Presumably, his agents would have (or at least should have) explained to him the consequences of suffering a “non-football injury” — which means any injury (football-related or otherwise) happening away from the team facility, a practice, or a game.

Every agent should be explaining to every player the risks or working out away from the facility. Salary can be lost, forever. Guarantees can be voided if the player misses even one mandatory practice due to the injury. Signing bonus money can be pursued and recovered.

The union should be explaining that as well. Instead, player leadership continues to advocate skipping voluntary workouts, ostensibly due to the pandemic but actually because: (1) veteran players prefer no voluntary workouts at all; and (2) some members of player leadership remain upset that a 17-game season was forced upon the NFLPA during the latest CBA — as if the NFL wouldn’t have gotten a 17-game season by letting the agreement expire, implementing a lockout, and waiting for the players to cave.

We always support the players. There is no game without the players, and fans far too often side with the owners in disputes between league and union. However, we can’t support the Players Association on this one, because it puts individual player salary and other financial factors at risk with no real benefit. The owners don’t care if the players skip offseason workouts; all this does is unnecessarily agitate the coaches.

Ja’Wuan James, who reportedly was working out at the team facility and left at the recommendation of the NFLPA, learned that lesson the hard way. Other players can now learn that lesson without losing millions of dollar.

A pretty typical union fault. In pursing a overall union goal they screw over individuals in the process.  Not the first large organization that cares more about itself then its members. 

[Jamie_B]

22 hours ago, SF2 said:

At $6 mil a year?  I would rather take Eifert back with an incentive laden contract to be honest.  Neither player is worth close to that. Plus, I would get to witness T-Dub implode.  

 

 

We could create a whole thread about players that got contracts they had no business getting but the team was stuck because they didn't plan ahead.

 

Bobby Heart and Rey Maualuga come to mind.  (And I didn't even mind Rey being here but not at the number he got)

[Jamie_B]

21 hours ago, UncleEarl said:

A pretty typical union fault. In pursing a overall union goal they screw over individuals in the process.  Not the first large organization that cares more about itself then its members. 

 

 

If I'm the union I work out a deal with team owners that allows their players to workout at approved offsite facilities, it makes sense for the players who may not even live in the city during the off-season, and it makes sense for teams who want their players to be in peak physical shape once the season starts.