SmokinwithWilly

One of my long time customers is recovering from a major concussion last year. He's been in rehab for 8 months and is still not walking without assistance and will likely never fully recover. I understand the competitive nature, but I'd have to seriously consider retirement with that history of TBI's at his age. The possibility of needing someone to wipe your ass for the next 40 years isn't appealing when sitting on that level of wealth.

Didn't see it posted so sorry if this is a double up on this thread. SBMVP headed off to KC. Walker's deal is for three years and is worth up to $45 million with $28.7 million fully guaranteed, per The Insiders. https://www.nfl.com/news/chiefs-signing-ex-seahawks-rb-kenneth-walker-iii-mvp-of-super-bowl-lx

At least they brought in someone who could potentially start a game or 6 barring injury. We still have Dalton, for now. I can't fault at least trying to get better, even if it is Tua.

I think viable option is being generous. Another hit to the noggin and his eggs are going to be scrambled like a Denny's grand slam breakfast.

Real grass is doable even with all the concerts. The hardest part of turf is doing any replacement of damaged turf and getting it to take root in time to be useable. Typical turf can take between 3-6 weeks depending on variety and weather conditions to really grab hold. Covering it for concerts and making sure it drains well enough to prevent ponding and soil deterioration are simple enough, relatively speaking.

So the same reaction we'd have watching him after 4 quarters behind center.

I hope not. He's coming off that Achilles injury and there's no telling if he's going to be ready or not to take the rigors of a season long starting center.

I'd like to get him and he was on the table at the deadline last year, but I don't see them moving away from him unless they get enough in return to draft a replacement at guard. He's still on his rookie deal so he's cheap. It would be interesting if something could be worked out with regards to Hunt for JPJ but I don't know how that would work with his salary and guarantees. We get a true center, they get a true guard.

At this point I'm more interested in do they have the tools vs is he a bonehead. Sometimes it comes down to speaking the right language. I said this before about Darnold after we traded him away. He needed someone who could communicate with him effectively to help him grow. Neither of those were Gase or Rhule. He could also be another Rosen. Either way, Dalton is done and we need to look elsewhere whether it's Levis, Howell, the ghost of Vinnie Testaverdi. Somewhere.

Not a promising center class for day 1 starters. There's a couple of intriguing prospects, but none that you can really look at and say that guy is starter material. Lew, Slaughter, Hecht and Jones seem to be in the top 5 on most rankings projections I've seen, but even so, don't know that any of them are ready to go day 1.

Not at all, but we wouldn't bring in anyone who might possibly unseat Bryce. Either he rises or falls, hopefully before we give him any extension. Levis, if he gets cut by the Titans, looks like he could be a backup with potential if he can get a do over, kind of like Darnold after Gase and Rhule.

Center is a bit questionable this year. There are some interesting candidates out there, with Parker having a good senior bowl and Coogan is a guy that I think is an interesting prospect but I don't think he's day 1 ready. We've passed over some gems at the position the past few years in favor of guys with high RAS scores and raw potential. Sometimes the sensible, non flashy pick is the one you should make instead of TMJ over Humphries or Brooks over Frazier.

On a side note, I've heard a large shipment of exercise bikes is being sent to the 9ers training facility.

Bryce or Mayes?

Maybe he can talk Matt Paradis out of retirement.

Injuries happen but the concussions are worrisome, any TBI is since you can't actually see the injury or repair it like an ACL. After the 1st they come easier. I've had 4 myself. I do know that my bell gets rung much easier now than it did. All we can do is hope he can stay healthy.

I really don't see how you can extend Young if he puts up another season on par or slightly improved with this past one, or especially before the season. Brissett put up better numbers in 5 fewer games as a backup for 6 mil per season. I know they were behind and passing a lot, but still. 185 yards a game is not extension worthy. I can't imagine paying 40m per season for what we've gotten so far at the QB position.

I sort of think it is and isn't with regards to our tackle situation. I see tackle like QB. Even if you have 2 decent starting tackles, you need to be developing one behind them constantly. Expecting both tackles to make it through the season unscathed is not reasonable, nor is it reasonable to think you can pay both tackles elite tackle money. Always have to be developing a backup plan. 2 elite tackles and a QB on his 2nd contract can easily eat over half your cap space. That's not sustainable long term. I don't blame Dan for what happened to Icky, but I think we've been short sighted since drafting him. We've pretty much ignored OL in the draft and that's not something you can do with the attrition rate of OL.

Save $1.99 against the cap.

The most important position room on the team has been ass for 3 years so the solution is to go find a big ol scoop of ass and add it to the mix. Might as well keep Andy Dalton.

Can't save any money this year by cutting him. His salary is fully guaranteed and counts against the cap no matter what unless we do a minimal extension to spread the hit out. There's always the risk he doesn't play again and there's the possibility he does. It all depends on do we take the risk of spreading out the guaranteed money or just eat it all this year. Any extension is really just about cap management while seeing when/if he can recover.

Crosby probably wanted out and wants a real shot at winning. That ain't happening in Vegas. They've been dysfunctional for a while. Playing in Vegas is playing for a paycheck. As a competitor, you gotta want more.

XL for Thomas. We aren't enamored with XL. They aren't for Thomas. Trade straight across. Hell, we'll even throw in David Moore.

I'd feel much more comfortable going into 2026 with him as a starter and Yosh/rookie as a backup than Yosh/equivalent and a rookie prayer as backup or starter. Also, this is where a smaller extension for Icky would come in handy. Extend him for 2 years as suggested in another thread, spread out that 5th year option salary cap hit, use the relief to sign Decker, and give Icky time to recover and evaluate instead of taking a shot in the dark after a year or longer full recovery period.

At this point, I think we need to be looking beyond backups. Bryce hasn't even proven he's worthy of being a weekly starter. It's time to start looking for another potential QB1. Bryce needs to be pushed. The Panthers need to explore future possibilities who could potentially take the reigns when/if Bryce has another meh season. Geno doesn't fall into that category anymore.