Re: Here’s why AD and Khalil Mack are still waiting: 43 wheeling

Quote
Florida_Ram

Quote
Rams43

Well, let’s take a look at that.

Let’s assume that your 2020 cap number of $200 million is correct.

Goff $30 million
AD $23 million
Cooks $16 million
Peters $18 million

Those 4 players put us at $87 million already. The next 4-6 players will surely exceed your remaining $33 million in order to remain at $120 million or 60% of overall cap that “winning teams” spend on their top 10 players.

And, even if they could somehow do that impossible looking feat, then we still have a problem. We need to somehow fit 43 more players in for a combined $80 million. That’s less than $2 million per player.

And at least 12 of them must be starters in addition to our 10 included above PLUS Hekker, GZ, and McQuaide.

Like I’ve said before, the cap is like a big pizza. The bigger the slice going to one player means a correspondingly smaller slice for other players. It’s a zero sum thing.

Look, I get that top players are gonna get top salaries. That’s the free market at work. But I also see why the Rams are trying to hold down the top salaries in order to have money for other needed players.

I am a fan of the team and consequently want what’s best overall for the team. It’s ultimately like a family budget problem. Should they get the Ferrari when both mom and dad need a car to get to work?

Just saying that there will be some excruciating personnel decisions coming up in these next few years.

This was a rational and logical point of view Rams43

stock-photo-top-view-of-business-shoes-on-the-floor-with-the-text-tough-decisions-365569700.jpg

DHqDnPWUAAAnx2W.jpg

I don't agree.

First, no one really knows if the Rams are "trying to hold down" contracts. That means that they are trying to pay someone like Donald less than the market. Is that true? Do we know that?

Second, the Rams CAN'T hold down contracts. They can only sign cheaper guys or let guys walk or both, if their aim is to be frugal at the expense of top talent. They can no more hold down contract numbers than any other team can---they can only sign their best players or let other teams sign them.. Looking only at 2nd contracts, a guy gets what the market sets that year from one team...or, from another team. As for the fantasy that the Rams can lowball Donald by underpaying him on tags for a couple of years, he would walk from that and demand a trade, and no team can afford to get nothing for a top player that does that.

Third, yes, you invest in your top players...like all good teams do...and build around that with draft picks, UDFAs, cuts, bargain FAs. I just described the 99 Rams in fact. It had the most UDFAs starting of any superbowl team I can think of---Jenkins, Fletcher, Farr, Nutten, Gruttadauria then McCollum, Horne, Warner. Or it;s like the way Wade's defenses work. They always have stars (eg. Von Miller) but then he also makes top defenses out of teams that have low picks and UDFAs at ILB. If you don't believe in your personnel dept. then you don't believe they can do that, if you do believe in your personnel dept. then you believe they can always dig up players to make an entire team to go along with your stars.

If I were to make an ideal team that included Rams parts, it would have top contracts at CB, OLB, DL, LOT, QB, and WR...which leaves room, if they sign Donald and Goff and the money works accordingly, for a couple of others.