Willis for Cromartie?

[baltimore_hokie]

I heard a Lendale White for Cromartie rumor. If you are the Chargers, which would you prefer?

[purplepoe]

I heard a Lendale White for Cromartie rumor. If you are the Chargers, which would you prefer?

I think that question is directly related to their current salary/contract situation.

Willis is in the middle of a very large contract with $3.6 million owed this season.

White, unless some miracle happens with the CBA, will be a RFA.

The Chargers and Titans could work out something that would cost less for both sides.

Both players have had some work ethic issues over the years. Willis has obviously proved more and has more talent but also has more wear and tear.

With no cap I'd definitely want Willis for the 2010 season.

Also, I just read that Pete Carroll might have an interest in White out in Seattle.

PP

[Rxdoxx]

I've been trying to research Willis' cap implications, and admit I'm not fully clear on how to understand it, but it looks to me as follows.

He signed a 5yr deal in 2007 with the following bonuses

Initial signing $7.5 mil
Post 2007 season option bonus of $6 mil
and a subsequent bonus of $1.5 mil

Total bonus prorated is $15 mil, so there is at least $3 mil this year and next year.
Confusion comes in for me pro-rating $7.5 over 5 yrs, $6 over 4 yrs and $1.5 over 3 yrs, looks like the dead money is more than $3mil/yr presently but not certain.

There are also 2 additional option years ('12 @ $6.5 and '13 @ $7.2).

I can see paying $3.6 mil for a back-up RB this year, but Willis' base salary in 2011 is $6 mil.
Add that $6 mil to the $3+mil prorated bonus, and we have a back-up RB eating over $9 mil of whatever the new cap turns out to be.

We can cut him after this year to avoid the $6 mil base, or we can move him this year and totally remove the following year's dead money.

As much as we are debating the value of a $3.6 mil back-up RB, a $6mil/yr one gets us a free ticket to Shepherd-Pratt.

I'm not on any crusade to move Willis because of who he is or what he brings.
Just looking into the future, the team can't afford him, and he has value now to a number of others, I'd jump on a Cromartie or similar scenario in a heartbeat, with nothing bad to say about MCGahee.

[baltimore_hokie]

I'm not on any crusade to move Willis because of who he is or what he brings.
Just looking into the future, the team can't afford him, and he has value now to a number of others, I'd jump on a Cromartie or similar scenario in a heartbeat, with nothing bad to say about MCGahee.

Right. I like Willis and what be brings to our offense. He has been valuable the past few years, but pretty much every player has a trade value that should be exploited at some point. Coming off a big TD year with more than 5 YPC and before his cap value becomes unmanageable, it would be stupid not to get a young player in a somewhat "need" position.

Cromartie and Willis have both been Pro Bowlers in the past. Both have had pretty down years recently too. I'm all for that trade, with some late-round pick thrown in.