TA and Watkins are 2 different stories and I draw different conclusions on each of them.
First Watkins who has done okay but not great. On the positive side he has been a team player and he has stayed healthy. Also considering all the other weapons we have it wasn't necessary to force feed him in this offense. I think that him missing all the OTA and training camp and having the trade happen right before the first game put him at a huge disadvantage in 2 ways. 1. The obvious is that had to learn an entire offense on the fly which is not easy and takes weeks for players to master. 2. The offense was already clicking in preseason and in the early games and there was not a dire need to work Watkins into being the number 1. Woods and Kupp were already doing a good job at that point.
Verdict on Watkins: He has number 1 wide out talent. I think he likes it here and likes winning. He will come at a discount due to the past injuries and the lower than expected production. To me he is a must sign provide we can agree on a reasonable contract. If someone goes nuts like they did on Jenkins then he will probably walk.
TA is a different story. First I don't think he is as bad as he has looked this year. He has been lost out there and his confidence is shot. He would not be a bad guy to have on the team. He also missed all of the OTA and training game and as such they did not find a way to maximize his talents and he did not find a way to fit into the existing scheme very well.
Verdict on TA: While I like TA and feel he is talented his talent is unique and he needs to be schemed into the offense so that you can get him the ball in space 4 or 5 times a game. Do that and you will get 1 or 2 explosive plays. But so far under Fisher and McVay we have not seen that happen. TA has lost confidence and it is best for him to move on. The contract we signed him to is a mind blower and even though the net savings against the cap is only around 3.5 mil that still is more than his production warrants. So it is time for him to go unless he wants to come back at the vet minimum.
