buddha Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 1 hour ago, MichiganCardinal said: The more I digest last night’s Eagles-49ers game, the more I want this Lions team to be all-in this offseason. I’m not advocating for mortgaging the future by any means and “selling the farm”, but I don’t think there is a need for patience or development of a rebuilding plan anymore. Go sign some free agents, draft some instant play-makers and make a run. The NFC on the whole is simply beatable. Don’t wait for the Cowboys, Giants, Vikings, Panthers, or Seahawks to claim that spot as the NFC power alongside the Eagles and Niners (who are both themselves beatable). The NFC is up for grabs, go friggin take it. we could even trade our #1 pick for pat swilling! 🙂 the draft should be about taking the best player available with an eye to the future. holmes is thinking about next year and three years down the road and five years down the road. this offseason will be real interesting on whether holmes is ok with paying big money to bring in an outside free agent or continues to build in house. and if he does go outside, what type of fit are they? is jalen ramsay a guy they bring in here? is he a culture fit? holmes should know him, at the very least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.TaterSalad Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 2 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said: The more I digest last night’s Eagles-49ers game, the more I want this Lions team to be all-in this offseason. I’m not advocating for mortgaging the future by any means and “selling the farm”, but I don’t think there is a need for patience or development of a rebuilding plan anymore. Go sign some free agents, draft some instant play-makers and make a run. The NFC on the whole is simply beatable. Don’t wait for the Cowboys, Giants, Vikings, Panthers, or Seahawks to claim that spot as the NFC power alongside the Eagles and Niners (who are both themselves beatable). The NFC is up for grabs, go friggin take it. If the 49'ers can take the NFC by storm with a QB carousel that included a 7th round pick starting then we can do it with Jarred Goff, who has already been to a Super Bowl. I agree though, I want us to be a top-tier team next year and with an aggressive off-season and a couple of big free agent signing and a homerun draft pick or two, we can be. Assuming we still have a good running game next year, I believe we will have the offensive talent to hang with anyone in the NFL not named the Bengals or Chiefs. Even those two teams we will be real damn close too. Given where we are at right now and the potential big step we can text next year, I will be very disappointed if Holmes goes out and doesn't make a major free agent signing or too on defense. The team is ready to take the next step and a talented free agent or two on defense can be the guy/s to help us do it. If he sits on his hands and only makes small-time acquisitions that will be underwhelming to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.TaterSalad Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 1 hour ago, Hongbit said: The mythical NFL salary cap. Pride of Detroit: NFL officially sets 2023 salary cap: What it means for Lions From the article . . . Last year, the Lions saw an increase in cap space of $8 million based on adjustments, but they are not expected to reach a number that high this season. For example, we already know that Kalif Raymond hit enough incentives to earn him over $1 million in bonuses this season, and Jamaal Williams earned $250,000 for reaching 1,000 rushing yards. Keeping in mind that the final salary cap number for the Lions is still in flux, at this time, Detroit has roughly $16.2 million in available cap space for the 2023 season. While $16.2 million doesn’t seem like a large amount, it is actually the 13th most available in the league. In fact, there are actually 14 teams that are all over the salary cap allotment at this time, despite the increase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRamage Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 On 1/26/2023 at 2:41 PM, Shinzaki said: I dated a girl who drove a VW Golf in the late 80's. It was a nice reliable car...she was also nice and reliable and built like Jessica Rabbit....VW also made the Rabbit I'm kinda built like Jabba the Hutt, and VW make the Jetta, so... that's kinda close, right? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley70 Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Goff is on the books for 30M next year. Do they restructure him to to create some cap room? If they do that kinds of ties them to him for a couple extra years. The problem i see with Goff is he must have a decent line and weapons to throw to. And with him making 30M a year it will be difficult to hang on the current OL, ARSB, and others when their contracts expire. Unless of course Holmes can keep hitting on multiple draft picks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRamage Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 2 hours ago, Hongbit said: The mythical NFL salary cap. I love how they said it's a record $224 million. Like duh... it goes up (nearly) ever year. Each new year is a new record except twice in the history of the NFL salary cap. Since 1994, when it first started, there are only been two years when the cap was less than what it was before. In 2009 the cap was $123M. In 2010 there was no cap. In 2011 with the new CBA in place the cap was put back and it was set at $120.6M. In 2020 the cap was $198.2M but in 2021 it dropped to $182.5M because of impact of the pandemic. In 2022 it went up to $208.2M, surpassing the 2020 number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motown Bombers Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 2 hours ago, Stanley70 said: Goff is on the books for 30M next year. Do they restructure him to to create some cap room? If they do that kinds of ties them to him for a couple extra years. The problem i see with Goff is he must have a decent line and weapons to throw to. And with him making 30M a year it will be difficult to hang on the current OL, ARSB, and others when their contracts expire. Unless of course Holmes can keep hitting on multiple draft picks. I would be surprised if Goff isn't restructured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hongbit Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 $30M is actually a bargain for the numbers he put up last year. I think it comes down to how active they plan to be in free agency. Assuming Vaitai, Harris, and Romeo are cut, they should have enough to sign a quality player and a few smaller ones without having to touch Goff. If they have bigger plans then they will need to get creative and wouldn’t surprise me to see them extend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1984Echoes Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 1 hour ago, Hongbit said: $30M is actually a bargain for the numbers he put up last year. I think it comes down to how active they plan to be in free agency. Assuming Vaitai, Harris, and Romeo are cut, they should have enough to sign a quality player and a few smaller ones without having to touch Goff. If they have bigger plans then they will need to get creative and wouldn’t surprise me to see them extend. Big plans to me means playoffs... Which means, to me: (A) Keep Vatai. If anything, restructure Vatai. (B) Restructure Goff if they need to... but (C) I think they're going to try to keep a lot of their own guys, unless they get a crazy outside contract offer, so... I kinda think they're going to have to restructure Goff. And... (D) I also think they'll look outside their own FA's for a higher end QB Backup, and a premium veteran CB, if they can get their hands on one. In other words: money. Even if they can swing a trade for Ramsey... he also costs money after he's traded to the Lions. So I think at least two restructures will be necessary (Goff & Vatai...). The guys who I think are on the cut list are Romeo, Harris, and Brockers. I think it might also be possible that Harris escapes the knife... but I'm much less certain about him than Vatai... I'm, 95% certain the Lions want to keep HV, and I agree with them if that's their position.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hongbit Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 34 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said: Big plans to me means playoffs... Which means, to me: (A) Keep Vatai. If anything, restructure Vatai. (B) Restructure Goff if they need to... but (C) I think they're going to try to keep a lot of their own guys, unless they get a crazy outside contract offer, so... I kinda think they're going to have to restructure Goff. And... (D) I also think they'll look outside their own FA's for a higher end QB Backup, and a premium veteran CB, if they can get their hands on one. In other words: money. Even if they can swing a trade for Ramsey... he also costs money after he's traded to the Lions. So I think at least two restructures will be necessary (Goff & Vatai...). The guys who I think are on the cut list are Romeo, Harris, and Brockers. I think it might also be possible that Harris escapes the knife... but I'm much less certain about him than Vatai... I'm, 95% certain the Lions want to keep HV, and I agree with them if that's their position.... I left out Brockers because he’s 100% gone. He was a healthy scratch the last 5 games anyway. Vaitai is going to have to take a pay cut wherever he goes so maybe he would resign for a cheap deal. Personally, I am not interested because his injury history. I would expect them to draft a guard somewhere and have him turn into another Holmes special that will be better than Vaitai anyway. Btw, where does your information come from that makes you certain the Lions will keep Vaitai. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1984Echoes Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Simple intuition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.TaterSalad Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 2 hours ago, 1984Echoes said: Big plans to me means playoffs... Which means, to me: (A) Keep Vatai. If anything, restructure Vatai. (B) Restructure Goff if they need to... but (C) I think they're going to try to keep a lot of their own guys, unless they get a crazy outside contract offer, so... I kinda think they're going to have to restructure Goff. And... (D) I also think they'll look outside their own FA's for a higher end QB Backup, and a premium veteran CB, if they can get their hands on one. In other words: money. Even if they can swing a trade for Ramsey... he also costs money after he's traded to the Lions. So I think at least two restructures will be necessary (Goff & Vatai...). The guys who I think are on the cut list are Romeo, Harris, and Brockers. I think it might also be possible that Harris escapes the knife... but I'm much less certain about him than Vatai... I'm, 95% certain the Lions want to keep HV, and I agree with them if that's their position.... They had a top 10 offensive line without Data I. I see no reason to keep him unless the dead cap money is too high to cut him. Otherwise find a guy to play Guard in the draft and move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 if vatai takes a paycut, i think the lions will keep him. sewell loves the guy. i think that matters to this mgmt group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1984Echoes Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 And he was dominant in 2021. I think the coaches love him too, not just Sewell. Also, Evan Brown is a FA and will most likely get a larger contract then the Lions want to pay. Again, a restructure or even the paycut idea per buddha, keeps him with the Lions. IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hongbit Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Sewell will be in his 3rd year coming off a pro bowl season. The training wheels are gone. He doesn’t need a veteran mentor to help with confidence anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganCardinal Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 I think Vaitai is one of the more nuanced decisions for them to make. If he’s retained he will absolutely be restructured into a one-year prove-it style of incentive laced deal, but the question is whether they will want him back at all, or will seek to replace him in the draft or free agency. If you’re guaranteed to get what you got in 2021, it’s a no brainer. Vaitai had a career year at RG, despite being a tackle by trade, and he’s only going to be 30. He was arguably our best offensive lineman in 2021... He’s coming off of a back injury though that can really mess with a lineman’s performance. The last thing you want is to sign him to a one-year deal to be your starting RG and have him come out, aggregate it in training camp, and go out again (i.e., Levi). Now you’re digging into depth again before you’ve even gotten a snap out of your starting five (yet again). Hank Fraley is one of the best in the business, but it’s not fair to be expecting him to turn Jonah Jackson into a starting caliber NFL guard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RatkoVarda Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 a healthy Vaitai seems to be a better guard than Evan Brown, but Brown is more versatile, and Ragnow has consistently missed some games. I would pick Brown over Vaitai, but maybe that is not the right question. Is the assumption they won't bring back both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRamage Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 25 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said: a healthy Vaitai seems to be a better guard than Evan Brown, but Brown is more versatile, and Ragnow has consistently missed some games. I would pick Brown over Vaitai, but maybe that is not the right question. Is the assumption they won't bring back both? I suspect that Brown could easily be a starting center for a lot of team and if there's a team that needs/wants him, he'll get a lot more money being a starting center than a backup guard/center. He'd probably get more money being a starting center than even a starting guard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1984Echoes Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Vatai is already under contract. The decision is to release him or to negotiate a lower cap hit. Brown is a FA... I'm guessing they want him back. But he might get a better offer/ guaranteed (as far as that goes) starting position with another team. The decision is does he get too expensive or does he make his mind up on another team, or can the Lions get him back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley70 Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Spotrac has Brown's estimated contract at 3 years 10M a year. That seems a little high to me though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley70 Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 I will guess that they take an IOL before the end of day 2 of the draft. Jackson's contact is up next year, they can't pay them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 4 minutes ago, Stanley70 said: Spotrac has Brown's estimated contract at 3 years 10M a year. That seems a little high to me though. hard pass for that money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganCardinal Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Worth remembering too is that Tommy Kraemer could be brought back as well. He was expected to be the backup OG, and the starting RG when Vaitai went down, but went down with a back injury within the same week that Vaitai did. Kraemer could be had on a minimum contract. Brown was the 3rd string guard and the backup center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motown Bombers Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 If Evan Brown gets that kind of money, maybe I'm not so quick to cut Vaitai. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hongbit Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 37 minutes ago, Stanley70 said: Spotrac has Brown's estimated contract at 3 years 10M a year. That seems a little high to me though. This would be to be someone’s starting Center. I’d assume he’s 100% leaving us for the opportunity to start at his natural position and get a huge pay upgrade. He played great as a center when Ragnow went down in 2021. He was average to poor at G this past season filling in for HV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.