D-Will a UFA

[Kurb]

1. Before he walks away for nothing

2. Needs can already be filled more than adequate

3. Interest from a desperate team is shown (Packers, 2010)

What else would you need exactly? If JR somehow knows that dwill will take a fair price than of course all of that is worthless.

You don't get better trading away pieces like DWill. I won't lie and say I didn't think about it myself, but who exactly would we be picking at 32 that would have made a huge difference like #34 is capable of making.

[Lumps]

You don't get better trading away pieces like DWill. I won't lie and say I didn't think about it myself, but who exactly would we be picking at 32 that would have made a huge difference like #34 is capable of making.

I agree 100%. I want him here. I think we should match anything reasonable. I hope Dwill is reasonable. But it's a business, and there just was not a better time to do it than when we had the chance and who knows if Dwill wants to stay for less we can only guess. Plus it was the Packers, not exactly 'shipping Dwill off' to Oakland or even Denver.

But then again looking at Green Bay's cap space I am not sure how they would have held onto him anyhow.

[pantherfan49]

Any contract in excess of two years for d will is too long.

This is going to be a very tough decision for the franchise. Dwill use to be a player. He hasn't been though in well over a year.

[Kurb]

I mean is Ras-I Dowling/Marvin Austin/Stephen Pea/Arron Williams/Derrick Sherod become Hall of Famers I will admit I was right about trading him to GB.

But who gives firsts for RB's and the forum would have burned the stadium down for less.

[Kurb]

Any contract in excess of two years for d will is too long.

This is going to be a very tough decision for the franchise. Dwill use to be a player. He hasn't been though in well over a year.

I give almost the entire team a pass for last season.:smilielol5:

[pantherfan49]

I give almost the entire team a pass for last season.:smilielol5:

When it comes to injuries to a 29 year old running back, there are no passes.

[Kurb]

Not much mileage on those tires tho.

[OneBadassCat]

Any contract in excess of two years for d will is too long.

This is going to be a very tough decision for the franchise. Dwill use to be a player. He hasn't been though in well over a year.

You act like he's worthless. DWill is still very much the guy he was in 08, he's just 28. He hasn't been that worn down in his time in the NFL. If our season wasn't so worthless last year DWill probably would have played if it meant something.

I don't believe his college days have caught up with him and I as long as he splits carries I don't think they will. He hasn't had a major injury in his time in the NFL. I'd wager he still has the same measurables as he was drafted.

[coralreefer_1]

So much talk about our team can afford to let him go because we have RB talent in reserves.

However the one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the fact that even though we have RB talent in full supply, all of it is somewhat questionable when we consider injuries, fumbles, split playing time...etc etc.

That might be all well and good for some other team, but we are a team that had atrocious QB play last year, and a team going into a season (hopefully a season) with no signed vet QB, Jimmy Clausen (scream) and rookie Cam. I know so many like to believe that Cam is going to part the skies like God and drop golden turds on Charlotte, but the undeniable fact remains that our running game is the only aspect of our offense that has PROVEN to be viable.

If I had any sense that we might be able to have at least a decent pass offense, I might feel ok with him leaving and putting the full load on JStew and the others. However again despite all the hype, Cam hasn't played a single down in the NFL, and we all saw what Clausen could do last year.

For the sake of having at least 1 decent aspect of our offense, and not ruining cam by putting him into a position where he may have to force passes more often, lets hope there is some way DW stays here~

[OneBadassCat]

I think it also has to do with how much faith the staff has in Mike Goodson. Personally I think he's going to be a big player sooner or later. But someday, maybe in a year or 2 he's going to become more effective than Deangelo.

So then we'll have a RB who just signed a big new contract and is now 30 something and then a RB who's extremely young and entering the prime of his career and entering it much earlier than Deangelo, whom we've buried under 2 RB's and probably won't feel like resigning with us. But at least we have JStew who ought to be good for us for a very long time.

I want Deangelo back as much as anyone but we can't break the bank for him. We have too many other needs. If it's the end of double trouble then we'll just have to make a new tandem.

[pantherfan49]

You act like he's worthless. DWill is still very much the guy he was in 08, he's just 28. He hasn't been that worn down in his time in the NFL. If our season wasn't so worthless last year DWill probably would have played if it meant something.

I don't believe his college days have caught up with him and I as long as he splits carries I don't think they will. He hasn't had a major injury in his time in the NFL. I'd wager he still has the same measurables as he was drafted.

He lost a full ypc last year. He ran a ton in college also. There are a lot of reasons to think that his tread is wearing thin.

He may still have some left in him, but he isn't worth getting into a bidding war on.

[MHS831]

THis will upset those who think you can have your cake and eat it too--You want to get great, to make a run, to become more than mediocre? Then you lose the blind loyalty to players. Atlanta and New Orleans are not our main competition--Tampa Bay is. They are the next wave. They are as young as we are (if you take Kasay out of the formula) and they have $59 million of cap space used--they will have to spend $70 million. We need to consider this a 2-year building process. By 2013, we are in the fight. However, the $30-35 million we spent keeping Steve Smith (who will be 34 when we are ready to contend) and Williams (30 years old) here for 2 years is money that could have gone toward other pieces. Heck, Smith is a cancer when we lose and DW has been "rode hard". They will have no tread left when we are ready to make a run. I love them both, but keeping DW means Goodson and Sutton stay in the garage. When their contracts expire (in a year or two), they will look to go elsewhere.

If I were a GM, I am not sure I would ever sign a RB to a second contract. Get 4 years or so out of them and move them on. Use your $$ on QB, OL, DL, CB, and WR. They come in, play immediately, and are usually out of the league by age 30. We have 3 other capable backs-time to get something out of them.

Smith is a speed WR. Most all hit the wall at 32. Think about WRs who play a long time in this league-beyond age 32. They are bigger guys with great body control and hands. Smith knows this, which is why he can't wait for the next bus.

The money we would save by trading SS and not spend by letting DW walk could make us great. That is reality. Pout if you must, but Goodson averaged as many yards per carry behind an injured line as DW and Stew. If he can tote the mail at his salary, why pay someone 8 times more?

[Gipetto]

[pantherj]

It comes down to what positions our new coaching staff wants to have filled with very good and elite players. Is the new coaching staff comfortable with replacing Williams with Goodson?

Contract:

"Mike Goodson signed a four-year, $2.242 million contract at the end of June in '09 that included a $492,000 signing bonus. Terms of the contract are below:

2010 - $395,000

2011 - $480,000

2012 - $565,000

2013 - Free Agent"

That's a nice cheap contract considering his talent level.

I'm leaning toward paying Williams the fortune he's going to want because I think both Stewart and Goodson are likely to be injured and miss several games next season. Stewart has had major toe and achilles tendon injuries, and he takes a lot of big hits on short yardage runs. I'd say it's likely he'll miss at least a few games next season. As for Goodson, he's tough, but with his slim build I don't think he can take the number of blows Williams can without being injured. Goodson is extremely fast, he runs like he's shot out of a cannon, and slams into anyone. But how much can his smaller frame take? It's risky to let Williams go, and expensive to keep him.