As far as historical precedent a similar thing happened with Austen Corbett who looked like a bust in Cleveland was reborn with Rams earning him a big contract which rams did not match.
Of course, Corbett wasn't as dominant but I think the rams realize that until they got Dotson they wasted time and draft capital (looking at you Bruss) trying to plug that hole.
I think we re-sign him.
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alyoshamucci
This is not a normal thing that happened ...
I cannot remember how many times across the league a throw away trade for a late rounder yielded something like this. There have been low round trades that turned a player's career around (Randy Moss), but I can't remember a non starter on one team turning into a high caliber, pro bowl worthy player at his position for a low pick.
The numbers that are floating around for him right now seem kinda nuts ... and maybe they are a bit inflated ... maybe they might not be that high ...
For the purposes of this exercise, I'm going to assume they're accurate. 16-17 mil per for four years. Making him one of the top paid at his position.
I'm going to do a list of reasons we shouldn't pay that, then see if I can talk myself into it.
1) Dude, he's a Guard. You can't be serious.
2) Maybe he'll stop playing well after he's paid.
2 is not really serious, but I figured I'd list it so there wasn't just 1.
So ... reason #1 is going to take all the focus ... let's see if we can make #1 irrelevant.
1) We have 50+ million in cap space. That's enough for either a CB or Edge of top caliber ... Dotson ... and "likely" bringing back Spoon and Demarcus.
2) Since we're shopping this year, we're unlikely to get a comp pick for him. We get nothing.
3) Matt Stafford had a pro bowl year behind this O line.
4) Kyren Williams also did. Changing it might be the dumbest thing we could do.
5) As of now, we have 3 players aging through the last years of big contracts. There won't be changes, unless they retire ... so we can count on those being steady. AD, Matt, Kupp.
6) We have gotten so much out of our rookies, that we know that big holes in the front 7 and WR room are filled with players we get on the cheap for 3 years. This is a big deal, likely the biggest.
7) OT, the premium position on the line, is not going to need $ spent on it this year at the very least, and given draft quality this and next year, we could fill that position with a player who would play Dotson's contract out on a rookie contract, meaning that as per normal, we're only "really" paying 2 people o the O line for the forseeable future ... and that's IF we pay Dotson.
8) Given how Matt likes to punch DT helmets, I'm getting more focused on the interior of the line.
9) 1st and goal from inside the five is almost a sure thing.
10) Think about total O line cost. When we won the ring, it was near 30. But mostly Whit and Havs. If you're not paying big money to 3, you can afford to splurge on two. The hope is that the other 3 are made strong by those two and that you have talent on rookie contracts.
11) We are usually paying 2 WRs. Not next year in all likelihood.
In the end, I think this draft class has given us an opportunity to spend money to preserve a highly productive unit ... keeping it intact.
Questions and comments welcome.
