Re: no

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dzrams

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Rams43

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dzrams
You kind of missed my point. I know about all of those names and have thought some about what a new contract would look like.

My main point is this: we don’t have a bunch of special players. It’s no need to get too concerned about a player unless their special. We won 4 games last year.

Earlier in the thread you argued that clearly Donald is not actually contributing to more wins. The same logic applies to every other player you listed as a quality starter.

All of them are playing for a losing 4 win team and clearly not making a difference. But unlike Donald, they are also not killing it to the same degree he is.

Donald is special. You pay him; everyone else is replaceable. Some are easily replaceable, and others shouldn’t require huge amounts. You like to call our players “quality starters” but few are even of pro bowl quality. IOW, fungible.

Take a look at your list.

Joyner – May be one of the 8-10 higher salaries but also may have drafted his replacement already in JJ if his demands are unreasonable.
Ogletree – will likely be one of the top 8-10
Alexander – The SS position is one of the lowest in terms of salary.
Easley – Good role player but replaceable. Probably won’t give him a huge contract.
TruJo – Likely gone. Will be replaced by an inexpensive draft pick.
Gurley - option year salary is not a huge amount. He also needs to prove he’s worth a lot especially given that RBs are a dime a dozen in today’s pass-centric NFL.

Which player on this list is not replaceable? Goff and Donald are the two players I see that will require very high salaries. If Goff doesn’t pan out, they’ll start over with a draft pick. Good QBs like Cousins never make it to free agency.

It's not so much that any one of those 6 players are elite, dz.

But they ARE quality starters. Webster and Coleman are probably 2 more if Wade knows what he's doing.

Donald would be a 9th starter for '18 requiring a new contract. It's a numbers thing after a certain point, don't you think? How many starters do we want to have to replace in '18, really?

And, more importantly, just how far will that projected $40-42 million cap space take us toward those signings?

The pie is only so big. AD deserves a big slice, but we need slices for quite a few other players, as well, if we want to sniff the playoffs anytime soon.

BTW, it's possible that we're not that far apart regarding AD's value to the Rams, given he would be renegotiating mid contract. I'm thinking $18-20 million per, 5 years, $60 million guaranteed. You?

We were a 4 win team. For that reason, I don’t have a problem with replacing many of those players.

I don’t look at it as quality starters. I break it down into tiers in determining who to pay.

Elite – currently Donald, maybe Whitworth, and a healthy Quinn which we haven’t seen in two years
High quality starter – How many do we actually have here?
Quality starter aka Average starter – This is where most of our players are at. I have no problem with replacing everyone in this category.

I would prioritize the elite and high quality starters. If they are not above average, it makes the most sense to replace them via the draft. If they are old (Whitworth), injured (Quinn), demanding to be paid above their tier (Tru), then they also will likely be replaced via the draft.