Michael Johnson wants to Remain a Bengal

[Housh]

This is definitely such a similar post to the other MJ thread on the front page that it wouldve been better to throw it in there....now we have MJ clutter, and both threads will end up saying the exact same thing

[WhoosierDey06]

definitely makes me feel more positive he's gonna stay

[THE PISTONS]

It all comes down to money. Its rare a guy blasts his team and says he wants to leave. We've just been through it more than most teams so we kind of expect it.

[Housh]

Originally Posted by THE PISTONS

It all comes down to money. Its rare a guy blasts his team and says he wants to leave. We've just been through it more than most teams so we kind of expect it.

I agree but its also not very rare that a great young player like MJ comes out and says we are his 1st and only choice if we want to sign him. Especially on our team

[THE PISTONS]

Originally Posted by Housh

I agree but its also not very rare that a great young player like MJ comes out and says we are his 1st and only choice if we want to sign him. Especially on our team

It's all supply and demand. Players especially young ones will always put returning to the home team out there especially when that team leads the NFL in cap space.

I do think we are the best fit for him too...but if he gets a bigger offer...he'd likely leave. I do think he might get a huge offer somewhere.

[RedBengal9]

He certainly sounds like he will sign if given a fair deal. Pay him what he deserves and move on. He will stay in town unless somebody offers to grossly overpay him (a la Frostee Rucker).

[TheLeonardLeap]

This makes me laugh. Here's a little article for the people who said MJ costing $8m would be too much and to let him walk. This is also for the couple of people who wanted to bring in Cliff Avril instead of MJ.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...t-mario-money/

The guy turned down 3yr/$30m LAST year, and now he's looking for "somewhere near" Mario Williams money. This is also a really good example for people who said that MJ won't get big money because he's on a DL with Atkins.. well, Avril is on a DL with Suh and Kyle VDB, who aren't Atkins and Dunlap, but Avril and MJ's support on the DL matches up fairly well, they're roughly the same age, only difference is MJ has been a DE for 2 years and Avril has been a DE for 5.

Note that MJ's 11.5 is higher than Avril's career high.

Also note, that the Lions tagged Avril for his 5th season after an 11 sack season (sound familiar?) and now that he had another successful season, he wants more money than the Lions can afford and he'll be likely leaving in FA for another team. So tagging MJ isn't quite the answer some of you think it is.

[gardner30]

Originally Posted by TheLeonardLeap

This makes me laugh. Here's a little article for the people who said MJ costing $8m would be too much and to let him walk. This is also for the couple of people who wanted to bring in Cliff Avril instead of MJ.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...t-mario-money/

The guy turned down 3yr/$30m LAST year, and now he's looking for "somewhere near" Mario Williams money. This is also a really good example for people who said that MJ won't get big money because he's on a DL with Atkins.. well, Avril is on a DL with Suh and Kyle VDB, who aren't Atkins and Dunlap, but Avril and MJ's support on the DL matches up fairly well, they're roughly the same age, only difference is MJ has been a DE for 2 years and Avril has been a DE for 5.

Note that MJ's 11.5 is higher than Avril's career high.

Also note, that the Lions tagged Avril for his 5th season after an 11 sack season (sound familiar?) and now that he had another successful season, he wants more money than the Lions can afford and he'll be likely leaving in FA for another team. So tagging MJ isn't quite the answer some of you think it is.

Wait and see what offers Avril really gets before you panic on MJ.

With the Lions cap situation, they knew they couldn't keep Avril long term last year.

[TheLeonardLeap]

Originally Posted by gardner30

Wait and see what offers Avril really gets before you panic on MJ.

With the Lions cap situation, they knew they couldn't keep Avril long term last year.

That's not me with any kind of panic.. it was me saying that all the people who said "$6-8m a year" are unrealistic, and franchising him isn't a good idea at all. I still believe he'll cost around $10m/year somebody swooping in and overpaying him aside.... a little lower or a little higher based off of how much guaranteed money is in the contract.

[Mike M (the other one)]

Originally Posted by TheLeonardLeap

That's not me with any kind of panic.. it was me saying that all the people who said "$6-8m a year" are unrealistic, and franchising him isn't a good idea at all. I still believe he'll cost around $10m/year somebody swooping in and overpaying him aside.... a little lower or a little higher based off of how much guaranteed money is in the contract.

We will see then won't we? I think 6-8 is a fair deal. But I wouldn't squabble if we gave him 9 mil per year.

[phil413]

They have the most money, of coarse he wants to be a Bengal. For real though, they did a good job of getting a reasonable contract with Andre Smith as a rookie, nothing says they can't do it again. If they can magage that, negotiations with MJ could get so crazy that the franchise tag would be huge. With his production in his contract year and questions about his motor coming out of college I'd have no issue with that. I still remember ducking in between church services to call my dad and I asked "did the Bengals get Michael Johnson" and he said yes. I want him back as much as the next guy, but I wouldn't bet on how these negotiations play out. Good news is, Zim is a great coach and they have options in FA and a glut of guys around the top of the 2nd round.

[Goose]

as he got bigger he became more effective, this last being his best by far.
Doesn't mean he's a star but really a part of a team that functions well together.
Yeah, he gets an increase.

[McC]

Originally Posted by Goose

as he got bigger he became more effective, this last being his best by far.
Doesn't mean he's a star but really a part of a team that functions well together.
Yeah, he gets an increase.

Reward for all his hard work. He really is such a quality individual too, which should not be undervalued.