KSpan

It would depend on how much base was curious inverted to bonus/guarantee, but Carolina seemingly has little ncentive since it would commit to a third year and/or beyond unless the strategy is to kick cap hit down the road. The contract itself is already only 3 years though so the team doesn't have much wiggle room. The contract itself was a gamble and the team, quite predictably, lost, so now they have to pay for it.

Teddy should not be considered a starter and this year showed exactly why. Top-tier backup for a very solid squad, absolutely, but while his floor may be higher than some bottom-tier starters he has zero ceiling or dynamic to his game. That alone puts a hard limit on what all but the most talent-rich teams could accomplish (e.g. NO last year). I say this because IMO no rational team will trade for him and his contract unless they are planning on not winning a Super Bowl this year. Maybe it happens and agreed that it would be to Carolina's advantage if it does but it's highly unlikely.

4823 yards, 33 TDs, 7 ints, and another 444 rushing yds and 3 TDs... yeah, he did. Houston only scored 384 points compared to Carolina's 350, so what could Carolina have been last year with that kind of QB play? Not saying Watson is the only answer but it does highlight the difference.

IMO this is where faith in the regime comes in. I would certainly like the rookie contract as well but those guys are all unknowns. Watson is a proven top-level QB. And agreed also that winning it all is the priority. I'm trusting the staff and FO to have and execute a big-picture plan, be it a vet QB at cost or a rookie.

If you make zero changes but swap Watson for Teddy with last year's roster, that's worth likely 3-4 more wins alone. Again, I agree that the OL needs improvement but if a desired QB is available the team has to get him and improve the OL in parallel as they can.

Sure makes it easier to improve the line when capital doesn't have to be spent on a quality QB as well. The line needs to be improved, no question, but improving the line isn't going to make Teddy (or other such QBs) what they ain't.

Teddy was and, barring a miracle, will continue to be exactly who he's always been - sometimes good enough to win, not good enough to be above average (or even average really) without perfection around him. He showed nothing at any point this year to the contrary and the actions at the end of the year, from both him (throwing the staff under the bus) and the team, could indicate the off-field element was underwhelming as well.

I think it all started at signing, when those of us who pointed out Teddy's obvious weaknesses and voiced skepticism were hammered for being 'haters' and not supporting him. Had to preface anything negative that way so that the strawman wouldn't come out and I guess it stuck.

It's fantastic that they break the 'deep throws' into actual depth strata. A 20 air-yard throw is not the same as a 40+ air yard throw, particularly if completed.

Right, but the public didn't necessarily have to know that. The team could have hedged by not being so public about it so that if they did need to bring Teddy back out, the fans would only suspect. It's complicated for sure. The team just seems to have left themselves no option but to replace him, if not have him entirely off the roster, and it's an odd way to play it. On the flip side though perhaps we can view the directness as refreshing.

I just assume we're checking in on any/everyone and go from there.

For better or worse I don't see how the team can trot him out again after the PR/verbiage used this offseason, backup or otherwise. The team's true feelings are exposed and Teddy is as lame a duck as Fox was in 2010, if not moreso after last year's perfomrance.

In all seriousness Teddy can be a decent backup. There's just no way anyone is offering a trade with that current contract.

This is exactly what I was going to post.

That's peanuts in the grand scheme of things to have long-snapping be automatic. I say pay the man.

Eh, minimal improvement over the current situation if any at all. Whatever direction the team goes they should at least pick someone that has some dynamics to their game.

If another long-term solution isn't on the table I'd gladly take another average QB who at least has the potential to be explosive/work some magic. 'm not saying I have an answer and I trust the FO to do their jobs and find someone, but if it's another year of Teddy that will be very, very disheartening to see. With respect to PR I agree 100%. I've said it in other threads but after how things have been handled I don't know how the team could attempt to trot him out again with any semblance of positive sentiment.

Dude slid at the 1... unforgiveable. Gotta sell out for the score.

I was talking about the team. Teddy really has little choice in the matter.

How does Teddy stay at this point? The team has completely taken him down in public since the season ended, even if only implicitly.

Smitty having flashbacks.

LeSean McCoy, back-to-back Super Bowl champ. Good for him.

Smitty/Moose/Proehl were absolutely better than this year's corps (one could argue that Moose/Jeffers/Walls in 1999 were just as good as well) and that's not knocking out current guys at all. Your overall premise is reasonable though that the 3 of them with CMC have the most overall talent spread, but even then the '03 group with Davis and Foster were deeper.

Beat like a drum on that one.