MichiganCardinal

I’m only talking about rationale and sane average fans, not Bears fans.

I don’t agree on Dallas. They’re in purgatory and the Lions are better. Philly maybe. I should have at least mentioned. But they’re getting worse not better this off-season, at least so far. If they draft well, they can probably be in a position to possibly return.

I think the Lions are going to surprise a lot of people next season, when really it should be seen coming like a freight train. Perusing an Eagles board (where they were none too pleased about the loss of CJGJ), there was quite a bit of dismissiveness about the Lions. I think while the diehard Lions fans can see something really special, and different, brewing, I don’t think the average NFL fan has that same realization yet… which will make their tears all the more sweeter.

I don’t think it’s even character concerns that would impact the locker room necessarily, but rather that he’s very vocal on social media and sometimes puts his foot in his mouth…. Which, as long it’s not tracking onto the field or into the locker room, who cares.

I really can’t believe they signed CGJ for so cheap. There was legitimate talk at the beginning of the off-season of the Eagles franchise tagging him for $14.5MM.

I think it’s a totality of the circumstances that lead to the excitement for me. The Lions are trending sky high at the perfect time. Short of an unexpected run by somebody, it’s them and the 49ers at the top of the NFC

The more success the Lions have in free agency, the more I’m in favor of trading up for a top player on their board. Two weeks ago, five picks in three rounds really needed to fill at least four holes. Now though, it seems more of a luxury. If you like Stroud/Young, I bet one will be there at #3. If you like Anderson, he’ll definitely be there.

And to think just a week ago we were worried that Holmes was a type not to make any external free agent signings.

Queue the Dave Wasserman “I’ve seen enough” tweet naming the Lions NFC North Champs.

This squad is really setup for something special, even before the draft. If you add one or two instant playmakers in the draft like we are setup to do, I really believe there is no ceiling to where this team can go. The NFC simply lacks elite team-wide talent, and the NFC North is absolutely for the taking. I'm going to be heartbroken if some nonsense like a fluke Goff injury in week one takes the winds out of our sails. I'm not saying break the bank or anything, but I sure hope they have a better plan than Nate Sudfeld.

My guess is that Chark has a one-year “prove it again” offer on the table from the Lions with an expiration set sometime before the draft, but that he really wants a longer contract (i.e., he thinks he already proved it). If he ends up taking a one-year deal I would bet it is in Detroit because his best shot at one year of success is with Ben Johnson and Jared Goff. But if someone else offers him a two or three year deal, maybe even for a little less money AAV, he’ll take it… just my hunch. I also wonder if part of his in-person meeting with the Panthers was a physical work-up on that ankle. It seems like it’s never really fully healed.

Drank the Kool-Aid yesterday and upgraded my season tickets. Row 7 lower bowl. How many days until training camp? FWIW, if anyone was ever interested in season tickets I think it’s an investment that’s well worth it. The tickets can usually re-sell at prices double (or more) what you pay, and the pre-sale opportunities for concerts (like Taylor Swift) can make you huge amounts of money if you have the capital and the lack of ethics to re-sell them.

Agreed. I think there can be such a thing as "too many cooks" when it comes to paying them, but not if you have them on rookie deals. If they re-signed Chark on a one-year deal and then went into the draft and picked up Jahmyr Gibbs and Cedric Tillman (for instance), Ben Johnson would probably have a real fun time trying to fit all those playmakers on the field, but that's a good thing for everyone except fantasy football owners. A later round target that could be the next ASB-like steal and take the role of X is Andrei Iosivas out of Princeton. He's flying under the radar a bit on account of being in the Ivy League, but he's 6'3" / 205 and ran a 4.43. His Twitter profile pic is an anime character too so it also seems he can fill the locker room void left by Jamaal.

If I had to guess, he really wants a multi-year deal but isn’t finding any takers.

I think if Richardson or Hooker were in the cards, there would have been a veteran addition. Not to say they don’t have their eyes set on Young or Stroud (maybe Levis - blech), but it might be a later round pick they want to develop.

Teddy Bridgewater is the only remaining competent veteran QB on the market. I think it’s a real possibility they draft one. Not saying it’s at 6 or 3, but Goff is the only QB under contract right now.

This is what mitigates it in my mind. It’s not like this is a mega deal. For a starter, it’s actually a very reasonable deal. Doesn’t mean it was warranted, or that I think he should be a starter, but it’s like a C or C- in my mind, not an F. I don’t think he will be dreadful like 21, I just don’t think he will be good either. If he’s dreadfully bad, like ‘the linebacker position is clearly costing us games’ bad, Anzalone’s cost isn’t prohibitive to trading for a linebacker mid-season. Which is something I think they would do if it came down to it.

I admitted that pages ago!! 😂

I trust Holmes' valuation of talent far more than I do a new Cardinals GM.

This seems right, but it also seems extremely selective. "He was really really bad for these 24 games, so we are going to ignore those, blame others for it, and focus on (some of) the 10 games that came after that."

I agree. If the only hold-up was #48 vs. #55, I'd probably do #48, because it wouldn't take but a future late round pick to jump back to the mid-40s if needed. But generally, I agree. Unless they start getting cute and want to send stuff back. I would probably do #6, #18, and #81 (or a future 3rd) for #3 and #34. At that point you have the capital to move back into the 1st if needed, or stay put and get three really quality players in the 2nd round (assuming we can break the 2nd round curse).

I think the difference between then and now is that you can justify saying "one elite presence on this team (particularly on this defense) can take this team to the next level"... That wasn't the case last year (and it was only one spot), and it definitely wasn't the case two years ago.

It wouldn't help anyone to throw a defensive captain under the bus with a report that he was their fall-back plan. The public message will be that he is their guy and that they believe in him, which is what the public message should be.

I agree, and I love the idea of moving up for him (or Stroud) at #3, but I don't think I would give up a 1st (either #18 or a future) to do it. As buddha said, I would look to give up a 2nd this year and a 3rd either this year or next year. I would consider doing two 2nds (preferably one this year and one next year). But I don't think the Cardinals are going to get an offer that comes with a 1st and lets them stay in the top ten this year. As it is, the Cardinals could drop to #6 and probably have three of Jalen Carter, Tyree Wilson, Quentin Johnston, or Peter Skoronski waiting for them. Might not be true if they go any further. They have holes everywhere. We are in a spot to look for elite talent, with draft capital to spare.

I think he’s basically the 6th offensive lineman. We saw last season how quickly we made it to backup #2 when Vaitai went down and Kraemer followed in the same week. Not to mention how many weeks we had one of Jackson or Ragnow out. Whether you bring Vaitai back or draft a rookie guard, you’ll want a sure thing behind them. I think that’s Glasgow’s role.