2014 offseason thread

[Mizerooskie]

I'll go position by position (ignoring the cheap backups in some positions, as they are minimally impactful on an offseason plan)

QB
Like it or not, Joe's the guy going forward and the contract isn't being restructured any time soon. I personally think he'll be fine once the mess around him is cleaned up.

Plan: Stand pat.

RB
Rice - untradeable and uncuttable, so the best you can do there is to challenge his manhood and hope he trains with a vengeance in the offseason.
Pierce - a fine backup and potentially good starter if he regains last season's form.

Plan: I'd look to acquire a versatile big-play threat to spell those two and play in certain packages (De'Anthony Thomas would be perfect were he to fall to the 3rd round pick). Also, address the coaching.

FB
Leach - A beast, but becoming less and less relevant.
Juszczyk - More athletic and versatile than Vonta

Plan: Cut Vonta, transition Juice into more of an H-back role.

WR
An area I perceive as a much bigger problem than most:

Torrey - fine as a #1/2
Brown - looks a safe bet to be a decent #3 with potential to be a #2
Jacoby - Occasional deep threat, but not reliable as a receiver. Overpaid.
Doss - Found his home as return specialist and #4-5
Stokely - Done.
Thompson - Nothing more than a #4-5
Mellette - A mystery at this point

Plan: Cut Jacoby for significant cap savings, giving Doss full returner role. Great draft for the position, so I'd draft one in the first 2 rounds (Sammy Watkins would be fantastic), and possibly another later (I like Cody Hoffman of BYU and Jeremy Gallon of Michigan as late round guys)

TE
A mess with Pitta out.

Pitta - Joe's boy. Re-sign.
Dickson - Adios.
Clark - Adios.
Bajema - Meh.

Plan: Draft at least one (Fiederowicz and O'Leary would be solid mid-round options and Lyerla might be a good gamble) and sign at least one (Chandler, Smith, Rosario, Cumberland)

OL
Ugh.

Monroe - Legit LT. Re-sign if at all possible.
Osemele - Promising young player
Gradkowski - Please, please part ways
Yanda - Strongly consider a re-structuring/extension
Oher - Not as bad as he's made out to be. Re-sign if reasonable, let go if not.
Backups - Shipley's had some success and Wagner looks promising. The rest are dime-a-dozen players

Plan: Re-evaluate the coaching situation and install a scheme that fits the personnel. Re-signing Monroe is the most important personnel move, followed closely by replacing Gino. Personally, I'd rather go the trade or free agent route to fill the center spot. I wouldn't trust a rookie to turn it around. Yanda's play this season doesn't justify his price tag. If the staff is confident he can turn it around, an extension or re-structuring lowering his cap hit would be beneficial If Oher wants to be paid like a Pro-Bowler, let him walk and draft a tackle to compete with Wagner for the starting RT spot. It's a deep draft at OT, so they could get a really good player anywhere in the first 3 rounds. Hurst, Henderson, and Moses are guys potentially beyond the first round that could work.

DL
Ngata - Slowing down. Can't cut him. Would a re-structure help?
Jones - Performance to salary ratio works for me
Canty - Same as Jones
Cody - I'd be fine with him as cheap depth. If he wants more, he walks
Williams - Promising but raw
McPhee - Like him a lot as a backup for the cost.

Plan: Try to re-structure Ngata if possible. Increase Williams' reps. Add a bit more young depth through the draft (I like McCullers, Jernigan, Hart, and Easley as non-1st round guys right now).

LB
Suggs - Still an elite pass rusher, but that cap hit is huge. Seems a perfect candidate for an extension to bring it down.
Dumervil - Excellent pass rusher whose cap hit isn't exorbitant (yet).
McClain - Can't justify his salary given his abilities.
Smith - A pleasant surprise and needed experienced hand.
Brown - Young athletic talent.
Upshaw - Like his performance and his salary. Would like to see even more snaps.
Bynes - Fine as cheap backup.

Plan: Extend Suggs to bring the cap hit down. Cut McClain. Re-sign Smith. Increase Brown's snaps in a major way. Continue to transition to more youth and athleticism through the draft (Barrow, Skov, Christian Jones, Bullough are all potential mid-round options)

CB
Smith - Coming into his own nicely. Great cap hit for next season. Extend for beyond that.
Webb - Doesn't look the same to me. Cutting him doesn't do much next season (but would thereafter). See if he can bounce back.
Graham - Interesting case. I think he's a solid nickel corner, but could see the justification for not wanting to re-sign him if he wants more money. Could Brown or Jackson replace his production for cheaper?

Plan: Let it ride with Webb. Re-sign Graham if he doesn't want too much of a raise. Address some depth through draft (big fan of Kyle Fuller, but he may go too early; I like Dennard and Joyner mid-to-late)

S
Elam - Stud in the making
Ihedigbo - Capable backup/spot starter whose salary wouldn't preclude getting a replacement starter.
Brown - Some potential to progress into a starter

Plan: Acquire a starter opposite Elam via trade or free agency. Yet another position that needs draft depth (not crazy about the draft class; Ty Zimmerman might be best option.

ST
Tucker - Young stud. Should be here for the next decade.
Koch - Massively underperforming, and thus overpaid.

Plan: Cut Koch, draft or sign cheap replacement.

[redramsam]

I disagree with you about Ihedigbo. He's been kind of a beast this season. Probably the best player in our secondary at the moment.

[Dirt1]

Well, Jordan Reed I don't think played college BBall...he was there in the draft as someone I really, really liked as he looked physically as an Aaron Hernandez clone.

As for your real point though, I would hope we are utilizing some significant resources towards looking for those types of guys. I know the Eagles for example have an extra scout whose sole purpose is to scour college basketball for guys who may not be NBA material, but have those translatable skills to be able to play football.

I hope we are doing the same...I agree with you.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I always thought that Keith Booth would have been an incredible NFL TE. A tough, physical guy with great hands (could catch the ball in traffic), who just didn't have the height for his game to translate to the NBA. There have to be some guys out there like him.