BREAKING: Short extended, 5 years 80 million

[d-dave]

I must say, I enjoy the "Hindsight" crew.  It's so easy to look back and point out all the mistakes!  Man, if only we were the GMs!  We'd never lose a game!

Here's the reality:  Short is a top quality NFL player.  He got paid like one.  Last year, our team generally looked like poo, hence us with a top 10 selection.  They are paying him based on his ability to do his job, which is still very much appreciated around the NFL.

As for Butler?  He's a talented guy.  What if the plan for Butler is to help keep KK fresh and help out on passing downs?  What if Butler is able to be a quality guy?   Me playing the what if is no worse than the Hindsight crowd calling him a bust.  Remember, KK did play a fair amount of defensive end.  If we can have him and Butler putting pressure on QBs, is that a bad thing?  Butler was a case of making your strength stronger.

I'm curious to see what the contract structure looks like later on, that's going to tell us what the "real" value of the deal is.

[hepcat]

Got him for a deal I'd say. He was a must keep.

[panther4life]

BTW 40 million over next 2 years aint poo. Not actual cap hit's, just a combination of his signing bonus and guaranteed salaries over next 2 years. 

If we kept franchise tag and had to use the tag again next year then we would have paid 30.36 in actual cap hits over the next 2 years and then still be at risk of losing him.

Some of you forget that part of Gettleman's plan to save cap was by kicking the can down the road (absorbing dead money hits on players he cut or traded). That dead money hindered us as much as it helped us for about 3 years. 

Now we have very little dead money going to waste at the moment. That could change quickly if someone doesn't live up to expectations but with the cap increasing yearly and the more flexibility to maneuver without dead money weighing us down I think there is no reason to be anything but happy about this deal. Short is a guy we want on the team long term.

The Butler pick was a combo of BPA and possible worst case scenario insurance. It certainly didn't help us at all last year but thats in the past now. I'm glad he's there to give us a good rotation of interior pass rushers for the next 4 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[therealmjl]

If Butler pans out we are in great shape...he's got the 5th year option and also Shortt's deal is likely front loaded. 

Gettle got this.

[TheMostInterestingMan]

5 minutes ago, Craig Pruitt said:

I doubt that would be a base package. But, it's not uncommon for teams to play a hybrid defensive scheme where they have the flexibility to play 3-4 and 4-3 fronts during the game. The Pats have been known to do that in the past. And, Ron is a defensive minded head coach. I think it's good if you can mix things up on defense since the game is so tilted in favor of the offenses these days.

Yeah I didn't mean as our base, just curious if some of you anticipate we might see it thrown in some this year.

[panthers55]

Once again Gettleman is going all in and not playing games like he did last year. Good to see. Now draft some offense and let's get back to the playoffs.

[SetfreexX]

Some of you all trip me out with the worry about the roster...

Will we keep Star?

How can we re-sign Turner/Norwell?

You have to realize in the next year or two guys like Kalil (32), Davis (34), Stewart (30) won't be here, that in and of itself will open some decent cap space. Peppers, and Johnson as well, I didn't mention them initially because their base salaries aren't as high. 

You guys need to realize for the first time, in a long damn time we have a GM, that is working the cap in the best interest of the team, and awarding players that deserve to be rewarded. 

I for one am excited about our future, over the next two drafts, I expect to see a nice crop of trench players injected on each side of the ball to continue building for when we move on from some of our vets. 

[d-dave]

2 minutes ago, mjligon said:

If Butler pans out we are in great shape...he's got the 5th year option and also Shortt's deal is likely front loaded. 

Gettle got this.

Short is 28.  I wouldn't be surprised if it's very front loaded in the first three years.  Then we can figure out how well Short can play into his 30s.  Also, the cap keeps jumping $15-20 million a year.  I think this is a long term win no matter what.

[CPF4LIFE]

The best thing he has done this off season beside trading Ealy. Props to gettleman for getting this done.

[Craig Pruitt]

22 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

An elite three technique is largely a waste of money if you don't have a quality NT beside him to demand a double team.

Great point.  A couple of years ago I watched a documentary on the 1970's Steelers.  All of the defensive lineman said the key to their pass rush (and to some extent their overall defense) was Joe Greene. Mean Joe had to be double teamed every play in his prime. LC Greenwood, Dwight White, Ernie Holmes, and their backups almost always got one on one matchups. None of those guys are in the Hall (although LC arguably should be) each one was a Pro Bowler at some time during their career.

Warren Sapp was an awesome 3 technique DT. But, during his prime years in Tampa he had a couple of solid DT's playing beside him (Brad Culpepper, then Booger MacFarland). Once again, those guys aren't in the Hall but they were solid players in Tampa.

 

 

[pantherj]

Short must be doing back flips to get that kind of deal with the way he played. Amazing.

[therealmjl]

Just now, pantherj said:

Short must be doing back flips to get that kind of deal with the way he played. Amazing.

Aw cute message board fanboy upset 

[LinvilleGorge]

1 minute ago, Craig Pruitt said:

Great point.  A couple of years ago I watched a documentary on the 1970's Steelers.  All of the defensive lineman said the key to their pass rush (and to some extent their overall defense) was Joe Greene. Mean Joe had to be double teamed every play in his prime. LC Greenwood, Dwight White, Ernie Holmes, and their backups almost always got one on one matchups. None of those guys are in the Hall (although LC arguably should be) each one was a Pro Bowler at some time during their career.

Warren Sapp was an awesome 3 technique DT. But, during his prime years in Tampa he had a couple of solid DT's playing beside him (Brad Culpepper, then Booger MacFarland). Once again, those guys aren't in the Hall bur they were solid players in Tampa.

 

 

Yep, the NT is a largely thankless position. His primary role is to eat up blockers so that everyone else can rack up the stats. He's the OL of the defense. 

[SetfreexX]

Also on the concern about too much being invested at the DT position. You simply ask yourself ONE question, what if KK got hurt??? Or prior to today the other question would be what if we move on from KK...???

Butler allows us to feature two premiere interior pass rushers on passing downs, and while the edge rushers are important, the quickest way to the QB is straight up field, having DT's that can penetrate and prevent QB's from stepping up allows the DE's to run the arc and have more opportunities; and when the QB's do step up we have two studs waiting on the interior. This also allows Star to be that anchor on 1st, and 2nd downs. Which means we can rotate Short / Butler alongside Star to keep them fresh as well. 

I like the more aggressive, but not foolish approach this off-season.