A couple of things about 2nd contract markets.
1. They always go up.
2. The money a player gets is not a direct measure of his "worth or value or ranking" as a player. To an extent it is, but also--it isn't. Goes like this. The market sets the amount for a given year. And you either want that player or you don't. If you don't someone else pays the market amount. Like last year--Cooks and Watkins both got around 16 M. That's because the market for non-top ranked elite WRs in 2018 was 16 M.
How about CB?
2nd contracts in 2017: Bouye, Trufant, Gilmore, and Rhodes all got between 13 and 14 M. The average was around 13.55 M.
2nd contracts in 2018: Johnson, 14 M.
2nd contracts in 2019: Howard, 15 M.
Howard did NOT set the market for Peters, as the reporting on this would have you believe. Rather, the market set the 2nd contract amount for BOTH Howard AND Peters. In 2019 for CBs that's probably between 15-16 M. It will be more in 2020.
PLUS this was predictable. After the 2017 and 2018 2nd contracts for CBs were signed, the amount for 2019 was simply going to be in the 15-16 M range. Any ideas anyone might have that they could have signed Peters for less than that are just not realistic. That's not how the market works. Remember, if the Rams don't sign Peters for that, someone else will. Same with Watkins and the WR market. That's just how it works,
So. Do you trade a high pick for a player at the end of his rookie contract who will need to be signed soon? And that is, signed soon for AT LEAST 15-16 M? (And it will be more in 2020.) There is no way the Rams would not know that would be the market for CBs in 2019 and 2020--higher than 15 M. That's what they traded for, a guy who would be signing for that come contract time.
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