Free Agency 2024

[|BlackJesus|]

^ I've become a fan of Sample and wanted him back. I believe he's worth what they're paying him and that he could do even more than they're asking of him. 

 

I also think his critics are forgetting that Sample is Burrow's off season workout partner at Black Sheep. And Burrow likely trusts him more to block for him than anyone else. 

 

[MichaelWeston]

9 hours ago, T-Dub said:

Justin Smith was a far more productive DE than Sample is a TE.  They do have one thing in common though: career longest reception (INT return).*

 

Sample is actually 23 yards vs Smith's 21 but...

 

Remind me why he had to play the role of blocking RB again?  I'll give you a hint: 

Not sure how he was the "12 starter" playing <50% of the offensive snaps but sure, OK.  I mean, they'd have to spend at least a 5th round pick to replace that kind of production at a fraction of the price. 

 

Hey who knows, maybe his 6th NFL season will be his breakout year.

The 12th starter is going to play less than 50% of the snaps....that's how math works. 

[sparky151]

12 hours ago, spicoli said:

Sample is like the new Justin Smith. If he were drafted later everyone would love him.
 

You all realize these guys have no control over when they get picked, right? 

 

Taking him in the 2nd round was a mistake because it was a missed opportunity to take a better player. But that has nothing to do with whether or not Sample is good at his job. He's not. He's just average as a blocking TE and well below average as a receiving TE.  Among TEs with enough snaps to qualify, PFF rates him as the 35th best overall TE in the league last season. He ranked 44th and 54th in the other 2 years of his career with enough snaps to be rated. So if your argument is that he's showing improvement over the course of his career, eh. He ranked 26th in pass blocking (well behind Gesicki for what it's worth). He was 12th in run blocking. And 48th in receiving.

 

That's not the profile of a 3 million per year player. The ancient Marcedes Lewis outgraded Sample by a lot last year and plays for vet min on a year by year contract. The Bengals need to get off the complete annual TE room turnover treadmill but Sample isn't the guy to sign for 3 years. Just draft a rookie on day 3 as a blocker and you'll have him for 4 years on the cheap. 

11 hours ago, MichaelWeston said:

 

Sample's contract was front loaded. He makes 4.9 million this year and then. 4.1 million for the next 2 years. His AAV is 3M per. So he's not on average making more than Trent Brown. 3M per is not an outlandish contract for what is essentially your 12th starter on offense. 

 

Sample is great at his role. A rookie would have been a crapshoot. 

 

So we shouldn't draft a tackle in round 1 because he'll be a crapshoot? 

 

I've no objection to signing a good TE. Gesicki should be an upgrade over Hudson or Smith and probably over Hurst and Uzomah. He's certainly a better player than Sample though he's getting paid less. 

[Jamie_B]

It's weird to me to see people understand the importance of Reggie Kelly shit on Drew Sample.

[|BlackJesus|]

 

[sparky151]

40 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

It's weird to me to see people understand the importance of Reggie Kelly shit on Drew Sample.

 

Sample is no Reggie Kelly. He isn't going to erase TJ Watt. 

 

Guys like Darnell Washington last year or Tip Reiman this year are better blockers and better all round athletes than Sample. 

[claptonrocks]

1 hour ago, Jamie_B said:

It's weird to me to see people understand the importance of Reggie Kelly shit on Drew Sample.

Agree.

Like him or not he's our blocking TE this year.

He'll do just fine in his role.

[claptonrocks]

41 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

 

Sample is no Reggie Kelly. He isn't going to erase TJ Watt. 

 

Guys like Darnell Washington last year or Tip Reiman this year are better blockers and better all round athletes than Sample. 

Ok but we have Sample this year.

He's our Blocking TE.

Id rather embrace it than the negativity towards him.

[sparky151]

He's a sunk cost. That shouldn't be an obstacle to upgrading the blocking TE position if the chance presents itself on day 3. We have 10 picks this year. 

[|BlackJesus|]

Just now, sparky151 said:

That shouldn't be an obstacle to upgrading the blocking TE position if the chance presents itself

 

I think the Bengals will take Dallin Holker from Colo St with the Rd 3 comp pick. As he can block and catch. 

[sparky151]

If we draft a rookie TE (or sign a street vet) who turns out to be better than Sample, we could cut him at the end of training camp with a modest cap savings in 2024 but save 5 mil in space over the next couple of years. He has a 2.35 mil roster bonus that hasn't been paid yet but I'm not sure of the timing on it. If it's not due until week 1 and depends on him making the team, that would be extra savings.

[|BlackJesus|]

2 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

 Sample, we could cut him at the end of training camp

 

There is a 0% chance of Sample being cut. 😵‍💫 

 

He's a key part of Zac's offense. 

[Jamie_B]

We're not cutting Sample 

 

Good lord

[MichaelWeston]

50 minutes ago, BlackJesus said:

 

I think the Bengals will take Dallin Holker from Colo St with the Rd 3 comp pick. As he can block and catch. 

 

i thought he was more of the Big RB type and older...is that another guy?

[MichaelWeston]

We will be running a lot more 12 sets this year with Gesicki and Sample. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they targeted a backup blocking TE late in the draft to ensure that position had depth. 

[claptonrocks]

17 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

We will be running a lot more 12 sets this year with Gesicki and Sample. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they targeted a backup blocking TE late in the draft to ensure that position had depth. 

Good points.

They have 2 good receivers but definitely could use a backup blocker in case of injury to Sample.

[|BlackJesus|]

51 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

I thought he was more of the Big RB type and older...is that another guy?

 

Probably another guy. Holker's age is 23. He was made famous by catching 2 balls at once in Indy ... Bengals used one of their meetings on him. 

 

[claptonrocks]

2 minutes ago, BlackJesus said:

 

Probably another guy. Holker's age is 23. He was made famous by catching 2 balls at once in Indy ... Bengals used one of their meetings on him. 

 

I

 

2 hours ago, sparky151 said:

 

Sample is no Reggie Kelly. He isn't going to erase TJ Watt. 

 

Guys like Darnell Washington last year or Tip Reiman this year are better blockers and better all round athletes than Sample. 

To play devil's advocate .

I doubt Kelly would have had any more luck blocking Watt than any other TE in the league has.

 

[IKOTA]

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

If we draft a rookie TE (or sign a street vet) who turns out to be better than Sample, we could cut him at the end of training camp with a modest cap savings in 2024 but save 5 mil in space over the next couple of years. He has a 2.35 mil roster bonus that hasn't been paid yet but I'm not sure of the timing on it. If it's not due until week 1 and depends on him making the team, that would be extra savings.

 
Drew Sample engaged in sexual acts with your wife or something? My goodness, let it go dude. He’s perfectly in line with what his salary is and is ultra dependable. That’s something Taylor and the Bengals place value on. 
 

[stryker57]

really?  all this fuss over a 3mil/ yr TE,,

like they were going to sign the worlds greats FA left in the books but cant now because they over paid on sample. 

 wanted Jonah gone, he's gone ,

you all bitched about Mixon, he;s gone,

so sample is your next sacrificial goat? 

jesus they all arent gonna be stars

someone has to stay back and do the grunt work,

be happy the guy finally got a multi season deal,

the bengals are known to drag players along on 1 yr deals. 

[claptonrocks]

17 minutes ago, stryker57 said:

really?  all this fuss over a 3mil/ yr TE,,

like they were going to sign the worlds greats FA left in the books but cant now because they over paid on sample. 

 wanted Jonah gone, he's gone ,

you all bitched about Mixon, he;s gone,

so sample is your next sacrificial goat? 

jesus they all arent gonna be stars

someone has to stay back and do the grunt work,

be happy the guy finally got a multi season deal,

the bengals are known to drag players along on 1 yr deals. 

Well said..

Its true.

[Jamie_B]

33 minutes ago, stryker57 said:

really?  all this fuss over a 3mil/ yr TE,,

like they were going to sign the worlds greats FA left in the books but cant now because they over paid on sample. 

 wanted Jonah gone, he's gone ,

you all bitched about Mixon, he;s gone,

so sample is your next sacrificial goat? 

jesus they all arent gonna be stars

someone has to stay back and do the grunt work,

be happy the guy finally got a multi season deal,

the bengals are known to drag players along on 1 yr deals. 

 

Co-sign

[T-Dub]

5 hours ago, sparky151 said:

He's a sunk cost. That shouldn't be an obstacle to upgrading the blocking TE position if the chance presents itself on day 3. We have 10 picks this year. 

 

Glad someone here understands what that means and the sort of message it sends to the locker room.

 

People act like pointing this out means we think he should be taken behind the stadium and dumped in the river. Kinda emotional in here IDK. Like this "did he sleep with your wife"" shit? Nah bro but it sounds like you'd like to watch him with yours. Weird.

[sparky151]

6 hours ago, BlackJesus said:

 

There is a 0% chance of Sample being cut. 😵‍💫 

 

He's a key part of Zac's offense. 

 

I think you're right that there's no chance the Bengals cut him. But the offense needs a TE who can block, not necessarily Sample. And, as noted above, there are plenty of better blocking TEs around.

 

5 hours ago, MichaelWeston said:

We will be running a lot more 12 sets this year with Gesicki and Sample. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they targeted a backup blocking TE late in the draft to ensure that position had depth. 

 

Or, dare I suggest, they draft a TE who can do both?

 

5 hours ago, claptonrocks said:

Good points.

They have 2 good receivers but definitely could use a backup blocker in case of injury to Sample.

 

Or if he goes down early in the year again as in 2022, they can just sign a guy off the street. Remember how the Bengals offense crashed and burned when Sample was done for the year? Oh, wait...

 

4 hours ago, claptonrocks said:

I

 

To play devil's advocate .

I doubt Kelly would have had any more luck blocking Watt than any other TE in the league has.

 

 

You may remember Marvin's quote along the lines of Kelly was a grown man who could handle DEs. Sample+Jonah couldn't handle Watt. Sample is certainly a better blocker in the backfield than Mixon was. But inline he isn't a receiving threat and was behind a couple dozen other TEs as a pass blocker.

 

4 hours ago, IKOTA said:

 
Drew Sample engaged in sexual acts with your wife or something? My goodness, let it go dude. He’s perfectly in line with what his salary is and is ultra dependable. That’s something Taylor and the Bengals place value on. 
 

 

Ultra dependable? Are you kidding? He's missed 22 games in his 5 year career. That's more than a fourth of them. Why are they paying him triple the AAV on this year's contract compared to last year when he was a free agent? Were they worried about the Titans or something? If the Titans had paid him nearly as much as the Bengals did, he'd qualify us for a comp pick. 

 

3 hours ago, stryker57 said:

really?  all this fuss over a 3mil/ yr TE,,

like they were going to sign the worlds greats FA left in the books but cant now because they over paid on sample. 

 wanted Jonah gone, he's gone ,

you all bitched about Mixon, he;s gone,

so sample is your next sacrificial goat? 

jesus they all arent gonna be stars

someone has to stay back and do the grunt work,

be happy the guy finally got a multi season deal,

the bengals are known to drag players along on 1 yr deals. 

 

I want the Bengals to spend to the cap. But spend it more efficiently and pay the difference makers. Giving Sample a (relatively) big contract is tripling down on error. He was overdrafted in the second round initially. Not his fault but poor evaluation by Tobin.  Then Tobin botched the first round last year, choosing Murphy when we could have turned that pick into multiple good players such as Jones, Washington (a better as well as less expensive blocking TE) plus an early 2nd rounder this year. 

 

1 hour ago, T-Dub said:

 

Glad someone here understands what that means and the sort of message it sends to the locker room.

 

People act like pointing this out means we think he should be taken behind the stadium and dumped in the river. Kinda emotional in here IDK. Like this "did he sleep with your wife"" shit? Nah bro but it sounds like you'd like to watch him with yours. Weird.

 

Tobin would probably claim it sends the message that "we reward our own" or some such. Players might well take it differently, like "play internal politics and you'll get ahead". 

 

[IKOTA]

2 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

Glad someone here understands what that means and the sort of message it sends to the locker room.

 

People act like pointing this out means we think he should be taken behind the stadium and dumped in the river. Kinda emotional in here IDK. Like this "did he sleep with your wife"" shit? Nah bro but it sounds like you'd like to watch him with yours. Weird.

Wtf is wrong with you?