55 million in cap space!!!

[spazz70]

Originally Posted by OSUfan

They have to reach that number but it does not have to be thru signing free agents. First and foremost they need to wrap up their own young and productive players. Michael Johnson, Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, Andre Smith,etc. Then bring back guys such as Thomas Howard and Wallace Gilberry oh also Josh Brown.

When the smoke settles from these ventures then see what is left to look into outside free agents. Personally, I would be happy with signing our own landing a good young LB such as DeAndre Levy or Justin Durant and maybe a CB like Sean Smith, Anotione Cason, Derek Cox, or Bradley Fletcher. Maybe take a serious shot at a safety such as Chris Clemons. But a LB and a CB would suit me just fine.

Why a Cb???

Leon Hall- signed
Jason Allen- signed
Brandon Ghee- signed
Dre kirkpatrick- signed
Chris Lewis-Harris- signed
Shaun Prater- signed

I would expect Leon Hall and Kirpatrick to start this year...unless Dre is hurt or a bust

I would expect to re sign Pacman and/or Newman back

[Rattler]

Originally Posted by spazz70

Why a Cb???

Leon Hall- signed
Jason Allen- signed
Brandon Ghee- signed
Dre kirkpatrick- signed
Chris Lewis-Harris- signed
Shaun Prater- signed

I would expect Leon Hall and Kirpatrick to start this year...unless Dre is hurt or a bust

I would expect to re sign Pacman and/or Newman back

Apart from Hall, unproven commodities on this defense.

[fredtoast]

Originally Posted by Rattler

I hear you on Patterson, but I don't think he'll be on the board unless we trade up a bit to get him.

he will be a top 10 pick.

that is my one stone-cold lock prediction for this years draft. I saw every game he played and he is one of the most talented players I have seen in a long time.

[BengalsIronMan]

I say for the right price because this team is loaded with talent that we're going to have to retain. Just think AJ is going to be a blank check, Geno will be a blank check, MJ will be a big payday, Dre will be a respectable payday, Dalton could have a big payday, etc etc.

[OSUfan]

Originally Posted by spazz70

Why a Cb???

Leon Hall- signed
Jason Allen- signed
Brandon Ghee- signed
Dre kirkpatrick- signed
Chris Lewis-Harris- signed
Shaun Prater- signed

I would expect Leon Hall and Kirpatrick to start this year...unless Dre is hurt or a bust

I would expect to re sign Pacman and/or Newman back

Do I really have to answer that? Ok I will. First of all, I would prefer any of the CBs I listed over Newman. Yep he had a decent season but I would rather have their youth and physicality.

Adam Jones I would like to have as a returner and maybe 4th or 5th CB off the bench.

Secondly ...Jason Allen needs to go. I liked the signing but he could not even get on the field. Cut your losses and go.

Before I go any further are you saying over any of the FA corners I listed you would prefer to have Ghee, Prater, or Lewis-Harris?

[RIPChrisHenry]

Lets sign antoine cason. The dude is tall long armed and fast. very physical and has an attitude id like to see at the pos. him oppo of leon would be sweet and i think his style of play would help kirkpatrick out cuz they are similar. gimme cason but i dont like the idea of Chris Clemons. Rather go else where.

[Lawless_1]

MJ- 4yrs/45mill
Andre- 5yrs/45mill

That gets us 2/3 of the way to to floor.

[Rattler]

There are a ton of UFA DB's out there.

[NkyDiesel]

Originally Posted by spazz70

Why a Cb???

Leon Hall- signed
Jason Allen- signed
Brandon Ghee- signed
Dre kirkpatrick- signed
Chris Lewis-Harris- signed
Shaun Prater- signed

I would expect Leon Hall and Kirpatrick to start this year...unless Dre is hurt or a bust

I would expect to re sign Pacman and/or Newman back

I say obviously Keep Leon, hopefully Kirpatrick can get on the field and stay this season, Newman was great this year, pacman was solid as well, I would bring them all back. waive Allen to avoid the cap hit and let Ghee Lewis-Harris and Prater battle it out but I like what I saw from Lewis-Harris.

[spazz70]

Originally Posted by OSUfan

Do I really have to answer that? Ok I will. First of all, I would prefer any of the CBs I listed over Newman. Yep he had a decent season but I would rather have their youth and physicality.

Adam Jones I would like to have as a returner and maybe 4th or 5th CB off the bench.

Secondly ...Jason Allen needs to go. I liked the signing but he could not even get on the field. Cut your losses and go.

Before I go any further are you saying over any of the FA corners I listed you would prefer to have Ghee, Prater, or Lewis-Harris?

I understand...let me state it this way.....

Leon Hall- starter
Dre Kirkpatrick- starter
Pacman/Newman- nickel/dime..Pacman for PR/KR
Jason Allen will not be let go...he will be the 1st bench player on this list
then the others

Now let's look at your FAs......

I am just going to clump them all together...they are all starters for their teams (except Cox)...all have experience and decent stats....

So, why would we look at them and why would they even want to come here?

3 of them are starters are not going to start here because we have a top 5 CB and a 1st rounder from last year

They will be looking for their FA pay day

I can see maybe Cox over Newman but not Pacman

Again, I am not saying I would not take them over Ghee, Prater or Lewis-Harris...they sound like great options to replace these guys...but they are not going to....they are starters

[spazz70]

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

Lets sign antoine cason. The dude is tall long armed and fast. very physical and has an attitude id like to see at the pos. him oppo of leon would be sweet and i think his style of play would help kirkpatrick out cuz they are similar. gimme cason but i dont like the idea of Chris Clemons. Rather go else where.

I would love it but I stated it just a bit ago...the guys mentioned are starting CBs...we have our starters for next year...Leon and Dre...unless one of them die between now and the end of FA...whether you like it or not Dre was a 1st round pick last year and will be given every opportunity to start next year...why would another starting CB in their first FA period want to come compete on a team with Leon and a 1st round pick???

[BengalsIronMan]

Originally Posted by spazz70

I would love it but I stated it just a bit ago...the guys mentioned are starting CBs...we have our starters for next year...Leon and Dre...unless one of them die between now and the end of FA...whether you like it or not Dre was a 1st round pick last year and will be given every opportunity to start next year...why would another starting CB in their first FA period want to come compete on a team with Leon and a 1st round pick???

I believe Newman will be back without a doubt unless the team doesn't want him, which I can't see that after the year he had.

[spazz70]

Originally Posted by BengalsIronMan

I believe Newman will be back without a doubt unless the team doesn't want him, which I can't see that after the year he had.

I believe that also...Pacman and Newman will be back....OSUFan was saying we should go sign some FAs starters that are looking for their first big pay days...made no sense to me...why would they come here and why would we want them?...again, unless Dre is hurt or dies before FA ends

[WhoDeyLeisure]

Blow half of it on Mike Wallace. Would be impossible to double team Green with Wallace burning up the sidelines. Who cares if he's a 1 trick pony.

[BengalsIronMan]

Originally Posted by spazz70

I believe that also...Pacman and Newman will be back....OSUFan was saying we should go sign some FAs starters that are looking for their first big pay days...made no sense to me...why would they come here and why would we want them?...again, unless Dre is hurt or dies before FA ends

Serves me right for not reading through the thread lol. I don't like claiming CB and DE are needs personally

[OSUfan]

Originally Posted by spazz70

I understand...let me state it this way.....

Leon Hall- starter
Dre Kirkpatrick- starter
Pacman/Newman- nickel/dime..Pacman for PR/KR
Jason Allen will not be let go...he will be the 1st bench player on this list
then the others

Now let's look at your FAs......

I am just going to clump them all together...they are all starters for their teams (except Cox)...all have experience and decent stats....

So, why would we look at them and why would they even want to come here?

3 of them are starters are not going to start here because we have a top 5 CB and a 1st rounder from last year

They will be looking for their FA pay day

I can see maybe Cox over Newman but not Pacman

Again, I am not saying I would not take them over Ghee, Prater or Lewis-Harris...they sound like great options to replace these guys...but they are not going to....they are starters

Originally Posted by spazz70

I would love it but I stated it just a bit ago...the guys mentioned are starting CBs...we have our starters for next year...Leon and Dre...unless one of them die between now and the end of FA...whether you like it or not Dre was a 1st round pick last year and will be given every opportunity to start next year...why would another starting CB in their first FA period want to come compete on a team with Leon and a 1st round pick???

Are you saying they do not feel they could win a starting job? Dre has proven nothing at this point. What if his knee flares up again? Is there a problem having three starting caliber corners? If he comes in and beats out one of the starters then did we not just improve at the position?

[OSUfan]

Originally Posted by spazz70

I believe that also...Pacman and Newman will be back....OSUFan was saying we should go sign some FAs starters that are looking for their first big pay days...made no sense to me...why would they come here and why would we want them?...again, unless Dre is hurt or dies before FA ends

So you saw enough of Dre to just hand him the starting job? Talk about making sense. Why would they come here? To get paid. I seem to remember bringing up the idea that Wallace and Bowe are going to be looking to be#1 guys and that notion was dismissed by many.

I guess the ego thing and wanting to be top dog applies differently to WRs and CBs.

[Millz]

Originally Posted by wolfkaosaun

That the Bengals have to spend $32 million to get up to the "salary floor". Or 88.8% of the new $120 million salary cap.

Remember how we though that was supposed to happen offseasons ago, but had to wait? Well, that's this year. So I know a lot of people are saying "for the right price" and things like that, but you DO realize that the Bengals are going to do something in free agency they basically have never done. Spend money.

So let me ask you, how are the Bengals going to spend this money? Or how should they? Because, remember, they have to reach that number because of the new CBA.

First off want to comment on this "thread" instead of the 55 million one, as it is a bit different.

Basically I hope they resign players like MJ and Andre first off while giving Geno a new deal. I dont know if Andre deserves top RT money, but should be a respectable contract.

And I hope we land a free agent or two in the first couple of days or so, as opposed to like most years including last year sitting on their hands for a few days before taking the best of what is on the scrap heap. I dont care what anyone says, but for this team to win it all next year, we are still at least a couple good players away (on offense). ANd personally, I dont care about the draft that much in terms of helping us this coming season, so hope we can land that difference maker or two in free agency, WHILE grabbing some in the draft to boot for years to come.

[McC]

Originally Posted by Millz

First off want to comment on this "thread" instead of the 55 million one, as it is a bit different.

Basically I hope they resign players like MJ and Andre first off while giving Geno a new deal. I dont know if Andre deserves top RT money, but should be a respectable contract.

And I hope we land a free agent or two in the first couple of days or so, as opposed to like most years including last year sitting on their hands for a few days before taking the best of what is on the scrap heap. I dont care what anyone says, but for this team to win it all next year, we are still at least a couple good players away (on offense). ANd personally, I dont care about the draft that much in terms of helping us this coming season, so hope we can land that difference maker or two in free agency, WHILE grabbing some in the draft to boot for years to come.

Great post.

Maybe you can clarify something for me. When Geno gets his new deal or extension or whatever you call it, am I right to think the relative pittance Geno would make this year comes off the cap number?

Then, does the amount his new deal would pay him this year AND the signing bonus count against the cap this year.


Seems like I've heard the phrase "prorated bonus" a time or two. How does that work? Is it spread out over multiple years?

I swear this whole cap thing is like the tax code to me. It might as well be written in Chinese.

[Rattler]

Originally Posted by fredtoast

he will be a top 10 pick.

that is my one stone-cold lock prediction for this years draft. I saw every game he played and he is one of the most talented players I have seen in a long time.

Hell hath frozen over...Fred and I agree on something.

[McC]

Originally Posted by Rattler

Hell hath frozen over...Fred and I agree on something.

Not such a bad thing, global warming-wise.

[Millz]

Originally Posted by McC

Great post.

Maybe you can clarify something for me. When Geno gets his new deal or extension or whatever you call it, am I right to think the relative pittance Geno would make this year comes off the cap number?

Then, does the amount his new deal would pay him this year AND the signing bonus count against the cap this year.


Seems like I've heard the phrase "prorated bonus" a time or two. How does that work? Is it spread out over multiple years?

I swear this whole cap thing is like the tax code to me. It might as well be written in Chinese.

I have no idea lol. But there is no excuse not to get a deal done sooner than later for Geno with the money they have to spend.

And my greatest fear is that they will spend most of that money to get to the cap limit on free agent Bengals like Rey, Bernard S., and Leonard, while not bringing in any solid vets at all to try to replace them, nor to replace ones like Tate who then would be back next year. If they are going to rely on the draft to bring added talent to the offense in particular, might as well start up a "On to 2014" battlecry.

[Mike M (the other one)]

Keep
LS Clark Harris UFA
PK Josh Brown UFA
PK Mike Nugent UFA 2 kickers battle it out, winner gets an extension.
P Kevin Huber UFA
QB Bruce Gradkowski UFA
OT Andre Smith UFA
RB Cedric Peerman RFA
WR Andrew Hawkins ERFA
DT Geno Atkins
DE Wallace Gilberry UFA
DE Michael Johnson UFA
LB Vincent Rey RFA
LB Dan Skuta UFA
CB Adam Jones UFA
CB Terrance Neuman UFA
SS Jeromy Miles RFA


FA Signings:
FB Greg Jones Jax
SS William Moore Atl
SLB Phillip Wheeler Oak


Best of Luck:
OT Dennis Roland UFA
RB Brian Leonard UFA
RB Bernard Scott UFA
WR Brandon Tate UFA
TE Richard Quinn UFA
DL Pat Sims UFA
DE Robert Geathers UFA
LB Thomas Howard UFA
LB Manny Lawson UFA
LB Rey Maualuga UFA
CB Nate Clements UFA
FS Chris Crocker UFA

On the fence if we need some more cash.
CB Jason Allen

Also going to look at either moving Thompson or Still to be a run stuffing DE (unless we get one in the draft).

When it comes to the draft:
I'm going with BPA and hoping to get a good match at these positions: WR, RB, DE, LB, OT

[Rattler]

Originally Posted by Millz

I have no idea lol. But there is no excuse not to get a deal done sooner than later for Geno with the money they have to spend.

And my greatest fear is that they will spend most of that money to get to the cap limit on free agent Bengals like Rey, Bernard S., and Leonard, while not bringing in any solid vets at all to try to replace them, nor to replace ones like Tate who then would be back next year.

I wouldn't be concerned about signing Rey, Scott or Leonard and certainly not Tate.

We could upgrade all of those spots thru FA...all of them aren't going to happen, but a couple splashes here would be nice.

Connor Barwin > Rey Maualuga
Reggie Bush > Bernard Scott
Danny Woodhead > Brian Leonard
Joshua Cribbs > Brandon Tate

[Brian78]

I just seen on nfl.com that we are 50.6 million under cap and forgive me if I am late to the dance with this news. But if you had 50.6 million to spend and the Bengals was your team what would you go buy?