Ian Thomas takes pay cut

[WhoKnows]

32 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Right now that $2 million and not having to fill the roster spot could be important. Had we cut him and had to back fill there's an expense there. There's also a shortage of draft pick spots right now and while TE was much, much more important to fill a few days ago, now we're looking at really having to use that on WR, perhaps multiple times.

Lastly, neither you nor I know how big of a deal Thomas is in the locker room and if the rebuild is going to really take off fast, sometimes you keep some of these guys just to keep it from looking like we're having a wholesale hog killing.

We may need him for Special Teams, too, where he has been a contributor, if not a standout. Warm bodies and all...

I can honestly say that A) I don’t recall Ian Thomas standing out the entire year and B) I would bet decent money that if released we could probably re-sign him after the draft.

Also, philosophically, I disagree with your draft approach. We are not competing for a SB this year. Simple as that. Hurst is a middle of the road TE. He’s got a bigger name than his results and he’s going to be 30 before the season starts and he’s on his 4th team. At this point Hurst has 1700 total yards. Olsen at this point had already been to the pro bowl and had over 5000 yards. He’s not going to be a stud, he just plugs a hole filled by possibly the worst TE1 in the league. If we pass over a potential stud TE in this best TE class in many years for a middling WR in a not so good WR class then we are doing a disservice to our QB.*

We traded away a lot to get our rookie QB. I’m fine with Hurst and Sanders, but I hope we aren’t drafting to try and fill open spots or find our DJ if the draft isn’t deep at those spots. It shouldn’t be about winning this year if it costs us way more cap than it should (FA WRs are terrible) or if we don’t go true BPA. I’m patient if the rookie flashes, we all will be. We picked a great year to need a TE, wouldn’t be good if we waste it on keeping Thomas.

* Not saying don’t draft a WR this year if a good one drops, just don’t reach for a WR. DJ was the first WR taken and he dropped to 20 or 21 because it was a bad class. Maybe that happens this year and one of the top tier WRs fall.

Edited March 16, 2023 by WhoKnows

[Khyber53]

5 minutes ago, WhoKnows said:

I can honestly say that A) I don’t recall Ian Thomas standing out the entire year and B) I would bet decent money that if released we could probably re-sign him after the draft.

Also, philosophically, I disagree with your draft approach. We are not competing for a SB this year. Simple as that. Hurst is a middle of the road TE. He’s got a bigger name than his results and he’s going to be 30 before the season starts and he’s on his 4th team. At this point Hurst has 1700 total yards. Olsen at this point had already been to the pro bowl and had over 5000 yards. He’s not going to be a stud, he just plugs a hole filled by possibly the worst TE1 in the league. If we pass over a potential stud TE in this best TE class in many years for a middling WR in a not so good WR class then we are doing a disservice to our QB.*

We traded away a lot to get our rookie QB. I’m fine with Hurst and Sanders, but I hope we aren’t drafting to try and fill open spots or find our DJ if the draft isn’t deep at those spots. It shouldn’t be about winning this year if it costs us way more cap than it should (FA WRs are terrible) or if we don’t go true BPA. I’m patient if the rookie flashes, we all will be. We picked a great year to need a TE, wouldn’t be good if we waste it on keeping Thomas.

* Not saying don’t draft a WR this year if a good one drops, just don’t reach for a WR. DJ was the first WR taken and he dropped to 20 or 21 because it was a bad class. Maybe that happens this year and one of the top tier WRs fall.

Ian Thomas isn't a hill I'm willing to die on or spend more time discussing. Good luck!

[Ivory Panther]

5 hours ago, Smithers said:

It’s rare for players to take outright pay cuts.  Kudos to Ian for agreeing to this

yes, I think he knew it was very bad deal for Carolina & he had no business making that money. 

There are 3 deals that FIT made during the Rhule era that should have never been made: 

Extending Robbie after we drafted Terrace. Fit fixed it after Rhule was gone.

Extending Ian to 3yrs $16.5M...Fit just fixed it with a pay cut.

Extending Donte Jackson 3yrs $35M...Fit needs to get Donte to take a big pay cut.

I think Rhule forced all of these moves & now that he is gone, we are slowing fixing them.

 

[WhoKnows]

1 hour ago, Byrdman4real said:

Not only that, this draft is a TE gold mine. Its best to take advantage of the opportunity that's not normal. 

We have limited picks the next few years and a rookie QB who doesn’t have to win the SB this year or next. We aren’t Mahomes’ KC that was in the playoffs before he started or Burrow’s Bengals that didn’t have to trade up. It’s likely going to take us more than 2 or 3 years to get to a SB. We have to draft extra value with every pick. No more wasting picks on long snappers. You take the day 2 ranked G instead. If it’s the best TE class in years and guys in the 2nd are 1sts in other years, take advantage so that you earn back your trade value in the draft.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

20 minutes ago, Ivory Panther said:

yes, I think he knew it was very bad deal for Carolina & he had no business making that money. 

There are 3 deals that FIT made during the Rhule era that should have never been made: 

Extending Robbie after we drafted Terrace. Fit fixed it after Rhule was gone.

Extending Ian to 3yrs $16.5M...Fit just fixed it with a pay cut.

Extending Donte Jackson 3yrs $35M...Fit needs to get Donte to take a big pay cut.

I think Rhule forced all of these moves & now that he is gone, we are slowing fixing them.

#4) Don't forget picking up Sam Darnold's 5th year option as well.

[Smithers]

22 minutes ago, Ivory Panther said:

yes, I think he knew it was very bad deal for Carolina & he had no business making that money. 

There are 3 deals that FIT made during the Rhule era that should have never been made: 

Extending Robbie after we drafted Terrace. Fit fixed it after Rhule was gone.

Extending Ian to 3yrs $16.5M...Fit just fixed it with a pay cut.

Extending Donte Jackson 3yrs $35M...Fit needs to get Donte to take a big pay cut.

I think Rhule forced all of these moves & now that he is gone, we are slowing fixing them.

 

It hurts seeing Sportrac assign a market value of 1.5M to Donte 

[Jon Snow]

44 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

#4) Don't forget picking up Sam Darnold's 5th year option as well.

Although I'm still not convinced Fitterer doesn't deserve some amount of the credit for all 4 of those blunders i have to agree. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Jon Snow

[stratocatter]

Not to discredit Fitterer, as in my book he gets a clean slate post Rhule post Tepper 2.0 (we’ll see how long that lasts).

But Wilks was the Robbie reason. Loved it too. Take no BS.
Fit did his job to clean up the mess and make something out of the spilled milk.  

edit: if I could rule out the other suspects, Fit would be being looked at harder though. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by stratocatter

[Mr. Scot]

11 minutes ago, stratocatter said:

Not to discredit Fitterer, as in my book he gets a clean slate post Rhule post Tepper 2.0 (we’ll see how long that lasts).

But Wilks was the Robbie reason. Loved it too. Take no BS.
Fit did his job to clean up the mess and make something out of the spilled milk.  

edit: if I could rule out the other suspects, Fit would be being looked at harder though. 

Wilks had no say in player personnel, only coaching staff.

As head coach, he could bench Robby, but he had no power to cut or trade him.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Mr. Scot

[stratocatter]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Wilks had no say in player personnel, only coaching staff.

As head coach, he could bench Robby, but he had no power to cut or trade him.

Point taken. Though I don’t think anyone was pushing back too hard  on Wilks’ lead. 

[Prowler2k18]

5 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

This makes sense...

 

Seems to be defining his role in Reich’s offense which is primarily what he does best - blocking. 

Great move to adjust his salary accordingly.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Prowler2k18

[Seltzer]

11 minutes ago, Prowler2k18 said:

Seems to be defining his role in Reich’s offense which is primarily what he does best - blocking. 

Great move to adjust his salary accordingly.

Ian Thomas is worth a roster spot as a blocker.  Our room game down the stretch last years is nowhere as effective without him.  I get he doesn't bring much as a receiver, but him taking a pay cut is a good move for both sides.

[Mr. Scot]

7 minutes ago, Seltzer said:

Ian Thomas is worth a roster spot as a blocker.  Our room game down the stretch last years is nowhere as effective without him.  I get he doesn't bring much as a receiver, but him taking a pay cut is a good move for both sides.

There are loads of indications that our offense this year could be very run heavy.

That's a situation that makes a good run blocking tight end more valuable.

[Rocky Davis]

He should have never been paid what he was given in the first place.  He should get maybe $1M/yr.

He is not a complete TE and is only half good at blocking.

Thinking about it, this was too harsh.  Thomas is fine when he is engaged in the game and is doing his best blocking.  I have seen some half assed blocking from him in the past though and then some Grade A too (especially for Cam).  So let's hope Ian is motivated and makes 2-3 or those "where the hell did that catch come from" catches next season.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Rocky Davis