What might a Charles Johnson extension look like?

[LawCat]

I say this would be an awesome deal. CJ is a very solid player and great locker room guy. If we can hang onto him for a couple of more years at a reasonable and cap friendly salary I'm all for it. I think he will be back to form next year if he can get and stay healthy. 

I still think we need to try and draft a future replacement this year...as we've seen with Hardy and Ealy, it takes a couple of years for these guys to develop into solid starters. 

I personally think Ealy is set up nicely for a breakout season next year. He has flashed all year but I think his Super Bowl performance really showed him what he is capable of. Hopefully he can turn that into motivation to put in the hard work necessary this off season to come in and be a beast next year.

[Khyber53]

Johnson is a good player, no question about that. What works against him, here at least, is weighing $11 million in savings (still knocking $4 million off our cap) versus what he has accomplished in the last two years, injuries and all. We can excuse some of the drop off for injuries but we also have to measure those injuries versus what his performance could be... is he wearing down or is he strengthening back up?

In the Gettlemagic era, I'm not sure that $11 million in savings isn't the most attractive option. Right there you make back most of the cost of tagging Norman. But there's another factor and a big one.

Leadership on that line... you can't assume that Allen will be back and if he is, it's going to cost a fair amount, even with a restructuring. If Allen decides to retire and you let Johnson go, who will be the wise old man for the D-line? Dwan Edwards? He might even be calling it quits after this year. Addison, Star and Short will be your long-timers.

That might not be such a bad thing, as these guys are hitting their stride now and each has experience in the trenches. They are also backed up by Luke and Davis (if he doesn't surprise us with a retirement statement).

I hate to say it, but the more I look at it, CJ's days of being Big Money in Charlotte might be coming to an end. He'd really, really have to be willing to do a team friendly deal at this point. And there are a ton of teams out there that would be willing to throw dollars at him hoping he's not used up all of his glory days yet.

 

[jbeachbum24]

I think fans tend to underestimate what it takes to come back and be 100% affective after an injury, especially for a lineman. CJ has the heart, that's what I took from his comments after the one game where he was mad about pulling the starters. I would love to have him back at those prices.

[rayzor]

the only FA decision gettleman made i have hated was tagging hardy. honestly, i trust him for everything else. i have no idea if CJ is worth even the  restructured amount, but i do like him being on the roster and think that he and actually allen are both needed presences. i hope we can work it out to keep both of them, but we could probably find better talent for less money in FA.

 

it's a tough call that i'm glad i don't have to make.

[thefuzz]

6 minutes ago, jbeachbum24 said:

I think fans tend to underestimate what it takes to come back and be 100% affective after an injury, especially for a lineman. CJ has the heart, that's what I took from his comments after the one game where he was mad about pulling the starters. I would love to have him back at those prices.

I think that fans tend to think that players with heart win you football games.

Heart only gets you so far, if you can't stay healthy, or do your job at a high level, you can't be paid at a high level in the NFL.

CJ could bounce back next year, CJ could take a pay cut, but you need to look at history.

[Gin and Juice]

41 minutes ago, imminent rogaine said:

Good point. I agree that Delaire can't be THE guy.I was thinking Ealy gets a spot and then heavy rotation between Allen/Addison/Delaire/Rookies until/unless one of them shows he is ready to own that spot.

Lol. Yeah, personally it's easy to window shop at RBs and CBs etc...., but one thing is for sure the we know improves our team dramatically, Beef the trenches up.

Gman hasn't made a Splash yet in FA and I understand why, but I'm thinking he does this year and wouldn't be surprised to see 2 DEs(recognizable names), a solid DT, and 2-3 O-lineman with at least one of those being an upgrade and rest for competition. 

 

We do that before the draft and everything else is easy

[rodeo]

His play this year wasn't worth 10 million dollars. I would still cut him.

[jbeachbum24]

43 minutes ago, thefuzz said:

I think that fans tend to think that players with heart win you football games.

Heart only gets you so far, if you can't stay healthy, or do your job at a high level, you can't be paid at a high level in the NFL.

CJ could bounce back next year, CJ could take a pay cut, but you need to look at history.

I think you misconstrued my statement. I don't believe that heart alone wins games, just in previous posts people were questioning his motivation. I believe CJ has the skills and motivation to win, thus heart.

[frash.exe]

I'd rather see his cap hit cut down to to 6 mil a year. But he's also constantly pissing and moaning about the team on Twitter and I don't think he's a big fan of Gettleman so I don't think it's gonna happen.

[KB_fan]

3 hours ago, Jeremy Igo said:

Johnson isn't 30 yet and can contribute a few more seasons. 

So an extension may look something like. 

3 years at 2 million a year base with a 12 million signing bonus. 

That would drop his cap hit in 2016 to 10 million (5 million savings). 

2017 would drop to 6 million cap hit. 

 

Is that something you would be comfortable with? 

I think the key word there is "contribute." 

Obviously the money is a question, but also the question is WHAT can Johnson still contribute, and will he accept the role our coaches want him to play in going forward?  

While he's still pretty decent against the run, I'm not sure he has what it takes anymore to be the pass rusher we need.  He showed a few flashes in the post-season, but really it's only been occasional flashes both in 2014 & 2015. 

I'm not sure he should be our starter opposite Ealy next season.  Folks were moaning all season that starting him & Allen was hurting our pass rush and hurting the development of younger guys who were playing better.  (Ealy....).   

Would Johnson accept being part of the rotation but not a starter?  Basically I'm assuming we'll look to sign a strong pass rushing free agent to start opposite Ealy.

Is Johnson good at mentoring younger players?  That would be a big reason (along with the depth he provides) to keep him...., I just don't know if he'll accept this role and/or do well in it.

[Smithers]

I normally wouldn't have a problem with it...but my big fear is that if this happens, it could seriously hurt the team if Johnson fails to show up in games once again as Rivera has a tendency to not pull under performing vets in favor of more promising younger players. 

[KB_fan]

2 hours ago, Cam El said:

There might be an advantage to doing nothing. If we leave his contract be, he'll be playing for  his next contract. That tends to motivate guys.

Not an option financially if we're going to tag or sign Josh and sign KK. 

[The Lobo]

2 hours ago, Peppers90 NC said:

He had a strong post season when he might have gotten his legs back. He wasnt allowed to practice for 8 weeks I believe, so at first when he did return, he was not ready.

That's how I felt. Against the Hawks he was very solid. He was playing the run and read option very well. Against Zona, he had a lot of pressures and a strip from Palmer. He looked better, that's why I think with a full offseason he should be better next year.

[KB_fan]

2 hours ago, Gin and Juice said:

We do have a lil potential gem in Larry Webster. Kinda resembles another Brandon Williams project but maybe Webster gets it!

God knows he has the physical tools.

Thanks for commenting on Webster.  I feel I know nothing about him and haven't had time to do any research.

We've also got Cox and Miley.... both showed some flashes last preseason.  Wouldn't assume either are anywhere near ready to start, but hoping they're progressing.   Haven't heard a peep about either in months, especially Miley who has having some knee surgery done?   Has Miley gotten through rehab and been practicing with the guys?  Anyone know?