Originally Posted by
Haloti92
There are obviously other options.
Regardless of how good you think Flacco is, one option is to pay a guy who is only 75% as good as Flacco only 30% of what Flacco would cost and spend the difference on other positions. Regardless of whether you think Flacco is better than Alex Smith, the issue is whether he is worth twice as much as an Alex Smith, or an aging veteran (like McNair going 13-3) because that might be what Flacco demands.
The thing about the "we won't let him walk" statement is that it ignores the possibility that Joe asks for too much. There obviously is and should be a line to be drawn in terms of what to pay him. People that say "we will definitely lock him up" don't really ever mention exactly what they mean. I assume they mean both sides will be "reasonable," but I am not so sure Flacco's side will. I think if it had been, a deal already would have been signed.
So again, let's say Joe wants 6 years - $100M with $35M guaranteed? Yes or no? To me that is clearly not a "no brainer" decision. In fact, I could easily see myself passing on that, if it were up to me, depending on how we finish the year.