Shaq is a leader.

[CanadianCat]

10 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

I like the leader, but the player is nothing outstanding, in my view.  I seen him chasing a lot.  He makes a lot of tackles, I suppose, but we are so spoiled with Beason, Mills, Morgan, and Luke---I just do not see that kind of LB--a guy who is in the hole with the back and stuffing the run.  I see a guy who is great from sideline to sideline, but not a stuffer.  Someone set me straight, because I want to like him.

Luke was never a 'stuffer' either. He never made they highlight tackles. 

TD is a top tier LB in the league on on a team that has had the very best LB's in the league for a long time. Listen to other teams talk about him, they give him far more respect than we do.  

[Khyber53]

Been saying it for years.

[Sgt Schultz]

Shaq's main problem comes down to two approximate numbers:  $11.3M vs. $24.5M

The first is his dead money figure for 2023, the second his cap hit.  This, for a team that has less than $2M in cap space for 2023 (per Spotrac's projection) and only 38 plays in that total.  His cap hit is fourth among LBs next year.

His 2023 base salary is not bad (14th among LBs), nor is his 2023 actual cash (16th).  If his cap hit was in line with those numbers, this may not even be a discussion.

I like Shaq, and I think he has been a (or THE) leader on the defense for some time.  He leads at a higher level than he performs.  That might not matter, except when we lost Luke, Hurney's solution was the usual:  If we pay him like he is among the elite, he will become among the elite.  That set the bar too high.

Since 2023 is the final year of his contract, hopefully they can come up with a solution both sides like that eases his 2023 hit, keeps him around for a few years, and removes the stench of one of the final Hurney contracts.

[Aussie Tank]

Great bloke but he’s one of the salary cap moves we need to make in the off-season. Would love to grab Noah Sewell in the second 

[Tr3ach]

6 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

Shaq gets unfairly poo on because he had massive and really impossible to fill shoes taking over for TD and Luke. Also that wild contract doesn't help.

He is one of our better defensive players and he is definitely our veteran leader on that defense. Probably has been almost the entire Rhule tenure.

I think he gets hated on because he probably got slightly overpaid and he shows flashes of being a great player sometimes and other times he kind of disappears, but hes definitely a solid to sometimes really good player. 

[Admiral Ackbar]

High expectations come with a 23 mil cap hit next year....

7 hours ago, TheMostInterestingMan said:

Shaq takes a lot of poo on this site but he's a really good player. We could do a lot worse than Shaq. 

I think as a fanbase we have developed some unrealistic expectations at the LB position due to being spoiled with all time greats. Luke, TD, Beason in his prime, Morgan when healthy. Shaq is a damn good player and its kind of a shame to see how people talk about him on here sometimes. 

 

[TheMostInterestingMan]

1 hour ago, Admiral Ackbar said:

High expectations come with a 23 mil cap hit next year....

 

Can’t disagree with that, but he’s taken poo board before that contract. And furthermore, he can’t be blamed for making as much money as you can. It’s not like he held out to make more. I rarely fault a player for their contracts. And you could argue yet again that those expectations come with being a 1st round pick. But in both cases I feel the poo he has taken on here are unjust and I feel he’s deserving of more huddle credit.