SteveSmithTD89

They'll get under. I'm by no means a cap genius but the Saints will do exactly what the saints have done for a decade - kick the can down the road. They'll continue to wager the continual increase in cap space will offset any dead money incurred. That said heres a handful of easy moves to get under. I imagine they'll need to get creative to be players in FA but here we go. Release Alexander, Brown, Murray and Sanders - saves roughly 26 million total Extend Lattimore and Ramczyk with low base salaries and high signing bonuses spread out - Could save as much as 18 million this year if they both played on base salaries of around 1 million. Restructure Thomas' contract (again, just did it last year lol) and convert the high base salary to signing bonus spread out over several years, could add a dummy year - MT could generate 9-10 million. Restructure Janoris Jenkins, saves 4.5, add a dummy year and could up it to 7-8. Extend Armstead- last year of his contract with an 18 million base salary and no signing bonus, extend him 3-4 years and convert his base this year to bonus spread over the life of the contract, could generate 10-12 million this year dependent the number of years. That's roughly 65-70 million right there. Of course the actual numbers will vary dependent on how things shake out in contract negotiations and assuming they can come to a deal with Armstead, Lattimore and Ramczyk. Personally hope they bend the saints over in contract negotiations since they have all the leverage. Point still stands, if I can see a solution in 15 minutes lying on my couch while my daughter watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... then the Saints FO can too.

I dont disagree. In fact, I'd probably say I whole heartedly agree. 2001 for me and it isn't close. I just said 2011 deserves some consideration simply because of the impact of getting Cam.

2001 is the best in Franchise history and I dont think its that close. Those first 3 picks, one of them a Hall of Famer are legendary. If CMC plays another 8-10 years i think there could be an argument but right now its still 2001 Hell, even 2011, only because of Cam (and every other pick failing miserably) has to be considered for what it meant to the team. Considering half this board would trade every single one of those players for Watson the value of a true elite franchise QB can't be understated.

We'll agree to disagree on the validity of that trade offer. Thats an SI article with tweets from Adam Schefter. If you've got any evidence of the contrary either as or more substantial than that please share it! I dont disagree that I look at that move and think its dumb. If it were me I'd be inclined to maybe offer like a 3rd and a future 2nd. Nothing more and especially not number 8 overall. I only dove deeper into his wins because you are parading 4 wins around like a badge of honor when Kyle Allen won 5 games last year for the Panthers with a lame duck coaching staff, similar offensive weapons (albeit with a healthy CMC) and the worst defense in the history of the NFL by several metrics. I think Teddy and the offense performed admirably, especially at the start of the year with all the afore mentioned problems of a rookie staff figuring it out with a fresh young defense. I wouldn't even pin that Raiders loss on him because of Bradys rookie moment of getting too cute on 4th and inches giving the ball to Armah. My issue, and the one I alluded to earlier was Teddys play down the stretch. From week 10 on he looked abysmal. That same stretch of games the defense actually started to gel (really once Whitehead was benched) and given their youth and undermanned talent held their own. Their 100% were still some growing pains like the cant get off the field on 3rd down to save our life for a 3 week stretch @KC and @NO (to me Teddys most impressive games) and VS TB but they were hardly the turnstile they were earlier throughout the remaining games. Look at some of these numbers from the stretch. VS ATL (Teddy got hurt on a dirty cheap shot, admirably came back in but did not look right) Held Ryan to 281 yards, 1 INT, no TDs Held leading rusher B. Hill to 5y yards, Gurley to 2.6 YPC on 18 attempts VS DET (Teddy out with injury, PJ walker throws 2 terrible redzone picks) 20-0 shutout win, held AP to 17 yards rushing, 5 Sacks, 11 QB hits @ MN Dalvin Cooks worst game of the season, Chinn scored two defensive TDs @ GB Held Aaron Rodgers to a season low 143 yds, 1 TD, sacked him a season high 5 times @ WFT Special Teams TD, 2 picks on Haskins, 3 sacks Im not some extemist saying Teddy is the worst QB in the league. Im not advocating cutting him and rolling with PJ Walker or Will Grier. I just think the production does not warrant his salary. If theres an opportunity to improve for cheaper or to add a legit top 3 QB in this league like a Watson I want it explored. Doesn't mean I'm married to the idea of "Anyone but Teddy" because the best option for the future of the team may very well be rolling with Teddy on a second chance with a healthy CMC and a nasty mauling Oline. Remember, I only got involved in this thread over your ridiculous comment of our WRs being the problem. Maybe Teddy physically wasn't used to the wear and tear of a full season, maybe he played through some lingering effects of the dirty shot he took against ATL or maybe the hit just made him play scared the rest of the season ala David Carr. Either way, he was not the same QB he was earlier in the season. If he can get healthy, get stronger and start pushing the ball down field he has enough positive attributes to be a solid QB. Am I skeptical? Yeah. Do I hope I'm wrong? Absolutely. Because again, I only want my team to win and there isn't a scenario where a better Teddy Bridgewater is a detriment to this team.

Seriously, have you been living under a rock? Nothing I said was false, its all verifiable and well documented. This isn't me speaking out of both sides of my mouth. This isn't a unicorn scenario. We offered out 1st, 5th and Teddy for Stafford. We were reviewing his dang medicals before the Rams upped their offer. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si.com/nfl/lions/.amp/news/panthers-offer-for-stafford-revealed Matt Rhule did lay it out for Teddy, here's the article for that too. https://www.nfl.com/news/matt-rhule-says-teddy-bridgewater-has-to-have-a-tremendous-offseason And Teddy won us 4 games and kept us competitive? I greatly disagree. Outside of the 1st ATL game 2 of our 4 wins with Teddy at the helm were some of his worst games with us. 1 TD and 5 FGs against the Chargers squeaking by a rookie QBs first start and then 2 TDs and a pick against the Cards who the defense shut down and held Hopkins to the worst game of his season and held Kyler Murray to 130yards. Hardly the reason we won those games. Hell, by that logic Kyle Allen won us 5 the year before and kept us competitive in several games as well. From Week 10 on Teddy averaged 266 yards, threw 2 TDs and 4 picks while being sacked 12 times. Assuming that's the entire teams fault excluding Teddy though right? I dont hate Teddy. I would love nothing more for him to suddenly become a transcendent QB. The team would be far better for it. I just don't see a QB suddenly making that leap and changing everything about them going into their 7th year. I'm done going back and forth on this one man. Like I outlined before, if Teddy was half as good as you're making him out to be we'd be in legit contention for our Division next year and have a multitude of different scenarios going into the draft with FA coming up and plenty of cap space. Instead, based on the coaches and GMs opinions we are left with a QB who is replaceable and worth exploring every avenue to upgrade.

I dont disagree all QBs miss receivers. I would argue Teddy benefited from one of the best receiving corps in the league. You seem to believe the numbers are what they are solely because of Teddy. I'm also not chasing unicorns. This whole thread is full of you throwing out outlandish claims and deflecting blame from every single person not named Teddy Bridgewater. Not once have you acknowledged any of Teddys shortcomings. Every response is hyper critical of the offensive line, the receivers, the coaching staff, etc. Not once have you acknowledged Teddy has done any wrong. You are painting this picture that Teddy Bridgewater is on the same tier as Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers or any of the other top QBs in the game. If Teddy played as great as you've claimed Ruhle wouldn't have made the comments about him needing to have a tremendous off-season and needing to get better. If Teddy played as great as you claimed, we wouldn't have been in the process of finalizing a deal to send the 8th overall pick to the Lions for Matt freaking Stafford. If Teddy played as well as you claimed we very likely are a playoff team. If Teddy played as well as you claimed we would be talking about getting a franchise LT at 8. We'd be talking about potentially getting a stud MLB like Micah Parsons. Yhe thought of taking the 4th best QB in the draft would not be entertained. I like everyone else in this thread want my team to win. QB is the most important piece to a team. If theres a chance to get better than average performance for less salary I want the option explored.

Yikes. Look man, I love Teddy the person. I was born and raised in Louisville. I was at the Sugar Bowl in the student section when he whooped the Gators in what at the time was the biggest upset in BCS bowl game history. Hell, my 10 year old Dog who I've had since he was a puppy is NAMED Teddy. Teddy Bridgewater is on my Louisville Athletics Mt. Rushmore. Like I said, I LOVE Teddy. But this take? Not even insinuating, but outright saying that DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel and Robby Anderson can't beat tight man and THATS why the offense struggled? I can't get behind that. Thjs is close to the worst take in the history of this message board and I was here for the Jimmy Clausen truthers. There are numerous examples of all 3 of those WRs bailing Teddy out on poor throws, being missed on deep throws either because Teddy lacks the arm strength to get them the ball. At the end of the day simply does not have the physical tools to get it done at the NFL level as a high end starter. Do better man.

Wheres ole "Edmunds" burner account saying that Teddy is the reason for his success and throwing shade referencing drops.

Can't look into Vegas odds, point spreads etc. It all fluctuates on the money, encouraging other people to bet on other options. Someone comes in and makes a sizeable bet on the Panthers, we become the betting favorites in an attempt to encourage other betters to put money on other teams. Theres no inside information or substantial know how involved. House always wins.

You can take Bills word. Now deduct his base salary we no longer pay him because he's off the team. The remaining number, the net impact of what it does to the Cap are exactly the same. Trading CMC is not out of the question despite my personal hopes hes a panther till he retires.

According to spotrac its -4.6 million if we take it in the chin to trade him this year. Doesnt seem like a crazy hit, but our definitions are admittedly subjectively. Designate our last June 1 option its a savings of 8 million to trade him. 2016 Philly traded their 2016 1st(eight overall), 3rd, 4th, 2017 1st and 2018 2nd For Browns 2016 1st (2nd overall) and 2016 4th. Is CMC + a 4th, in his prime, now on an affordable contract since the signing bonus is gone under team control for 5 more years worth a 3rd and 4th in this year's draft plus a future 1 and a future 2? Id argue that a 1,2,3, and swap of 4s, across 3 drafts might even be on the low side compared to some recent trades we've seen. Personally, I dont like the deal. I wouldn't make it. I'd rather trade up to 3 with draft assets and ride with Zach Wilson. But this scenario isn't ridiculous nor is the compensation that far off.

In his scenario he traded CMC and 8 for 3. He didn't include any future picks? I dont like the idea personally but do people even read the OP or just decide to poo all over and take some perceived intellectual high ground. Basically in total we'd be trading 8 CMC 2022 1st "a few" (3?) 2nds A couple young players - no idea who That is pretty close to the same offer people are already floating around OP just took a more outside the box approach to facilitate all parties since Texans dont want Teddy.

Thats not what he's saying at all. Hes saying we should look to make a separate deal with Miami for the 3rd pick. THEN package the 3rd pick into our Watson offer. I agree if Miami aquires Watson we arent then trading with Miami to get him. That wasn't his scenario though. And there is some precedence for this. The Eagles traded up to pick 8 before then using pick 8 in a package to move up to 2 for Wentz. All that said, count me in the camp of people who much rather take Wilson/Fields at 3 than to package more assets into a Watson trade.

Thats... not how comp picks work. Previous years salary has no bearing on comp pick formula. Would be completely dependent on the contract he signs THIS off-season with another team.

I dont disagree what he made in contrast to his play was grossly imporportioal. But his salary is not unreasonable which is what I was alluding to. Furthermore I believe he is subject to waivers rather than being cut outright. With his contract being reasonable >2 mil per year for an OT with no dead money for the claiming team I doubt he passes through waivers unclaimed.

4 year 11.56 million contract. Signing bonus of 5.97 million spread out over the 4 years. Wed be on the hook for 3 years 5.59 million. Thats backup tackle money hes making.

Respectfully disagree... unless our definition of what constitutes a big cap number differs. Here's his base salary which would be all we would be on the hook for in terms of cap hit. 2021 1.1 million 2022 1.6 million 2023 2.1 million Id throw as high as a future 5th to them.

He goes to Miami and that Watson asking price bottoms out. Would essentially come down to us or the Jets. Jets could still put together a nice package but they'd have to ask themselves what price is worth DW and what price is worth picking a QB at 2 and saving assets and money.

Trades seem a bit too good to be true and heavily favor us. The first 3 picks are money but after that it's kind of iffy for me outside of Shaun Wade who I agree in the 4th is worth the risk. If we don't get Watson and trading up for Wilson doesn't pan out then I would be extremely happy with this plan C assuming we can get Lance at 8.

Based on what? Everything in that article is 100% accurate. This isn't some "Fake smile, narcissistic con artist" bullshit we heard with Cam. He struggles making reads because he stares down his first read too long. Its prevalent in the Alabama, Northwestern and the Indiana games. Its a matter of whether the scheme is limiting him (Herbert) or if he is simply slow through his reads because he's been able to get by on sheer athleticism he hasn't needed to (Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson) or if he flat out can't make them (Haskins) He is just as raw as Trey Lance in the sense you'll have to mold him into a pro QB and build him up. The difference between the 2 is we've seen Fields light up big time schools (Clemson game comes to mind). His talent and leadership are there. If our coaches think they can build him into the star he can be, I'm all in.

Saves 4.5 million this year if traded or cut outright. Designate our last June 1st option on him and saves just under 11 million. Both options more importantly gets the contract off the books. Not worth the 14-16 mil per season hes making.

Absolutely not. Restructuring those deals would make it near impossible to move on from them after the season. Best option is including the two of them in the Watson trade (if it happens.) Second best option is to release them outright in 2022 and add another 30ish million to our already 100mil+ Cap.

The real question is what exactly would it cost to trade up. Last time teams traded up for QB at 1 and 2 was 2016. Using those as a baseline Id probably prefer this route, hell, might be cheaper. In 2016: Rams moved up from number 15 to number 1. Rams gave up 2016: 1st, two 2nds, 3rd, 2017: 1st, 3rd. They received the Titans 2016: 1st (Number one overall) 4th and 6th. Eagles moved up from eight to number 2 for another QB. Eagles gave up 2016: 1st, 3rd, 4th, 2017: 1st, 2018: 2nd. They received the Browns 1st (2 overall) and 2017 4th. I would do both of those in a heartbeat, neither are nearly as expensive in comparison to the rumors around Watson.

Feels a little disingenuous not including recent drafts. Id say 9/15 of the 1st round QBs since 2017 are pretty damn good. The number is much higher if I include players I'd take over Teddy in a heartbeat. 2017 2. Mitchell Trubisky (Traded up for) 10. Patrick Mahomes (Traded up for) 12. Deshaun Watson (Traded up for) 2018 1. Baker Mayfield 3. Sam Darnold (Traded up for) 7. Josh Allen (Traded up for) 10. Josh Rosen (Traded up for) 32. Lamar Jackson (Traded up for) 2019 1. Kyler Murray 6. Daniel Jones 15 Dwayne Haskins 2020 1. Joe Burrow 5. Tua Tagavalola 6. Justin Herbert 26. Jordan Love (Traded up for)

Wentz is maybe the better QB at this point? I honestly don't even know. I mean neither are coming here and neither are even on my top 5 choices of QBs I'd want. The things with Wentz are 1) price to aquire him. I want ZERO PART in trading at least a first round pick (maybe more) for him. That is entirely too much for a massive unknown that we would be hitched to for the long term. Brings us to point 2) That contract. Oof. Any team bringing him in better be damn sure he's the answer because you're stuck with him for the long haul. And he's already 28 years old. Not exactly Watson, Mahommes, Lamar etc. Finally point 3) his shitty play aside, ignoring his awful contract and the insane price we'd be paying to even get the opportunity to pay him loads of cash to maybe get back to how he played 3 years ago... Theres still the elephant in the room of him being a poo teammate. I want zero part of that in a young lockerroom. Cam won't happen for obvious reasons but by comparison, no draft capital needed to aquire, would be a short deal with an easy out, would cost a fraction of what Teddy Bridgewater is getting, even less so of Wentz. For me between the two its a no brainer. That said, I took sizzles bait and am helping to derail the thread which certainly was not my intention. Back to your regularly scheduled program of which franchise throws a 1st out the door for Wentz