Free Agent Offensive Tackle Options

[ringless]

Top RT market is somewhere around 6.5M - $ 7 M per year.

We have plenty of money so that is not an issue right now

There is still the possiblily of Kam and or Graham holding out this year. We also have some others we may want to resign, new draft picks, buffer for season injuries so I wouldn't say we have "plenty of money". As of right now we are 21st in the league with available cap space so that means 20 other teams have leverage over us when signing free agents.

That is true to an extent. But a deeper look at each teams salary cap will give a much different answer. Arizona has 40 million in cap space. A lot of our fans think we have a lot of money too, and are hopeful in snagging a good free agent. I on the other hand dont see it.

40 million
15 Million to Chandler Jones, 5 million to rookies, 2-3 million to mid-season signings. Now we are down to 17 million. Here's where the difference comes in between Seattle and Arizona in their cap space. Seattle has all their key players locked up. Arizona has too many expiring contracts at the same time of key players. With that 17 million how would a team like Arizona who appears to have more cap space address the following FA's

Campbell (Starter)
Gresham (Starter)
Frostee Rucker who's been a big contributor
Tony Jefferson (8th best safety according to PFF) Starter
DJ Swearinger- This guy plays with intensity, I think he would do so well with Seattle. A true enforcer, big hits, and strips.
Chris Johnson- meh
Kevin Minter (starter)
AQ Shipley (Starter)
Alex Okafor (starter)
Earl Watford- he did well
Josh Mauro- has really been developing and making plays
Andre Ellington- injured seemingly all the time
Marcus Cooper (starter)
Chandler Catanzaro (Starter)

That is a ton of talent, and there is 17 million available between them. The starters in AZ are going to regress, and the depth will as well.

The lesson is, cap space is not always what it appears.

 

[2_0_6]

Keep in mind that landing Thomas would not only be whatever you give up in a trade (2 1sts?) but also an extremely rich contract that puts us in a cap-bind for a few years.

I'd love to have Thomas, but I love the farm right where it is.

:ditto:

As much as I love Thomas and he fills a need, trading a 1st and taking on his salary is a bit steep for a 32 year old lineman. Id rather them make a run at tackle in free agency and use the 1st pick on a CB or another lineman if one falls.

 

[ivotuk]

Looks like Clady is a Jet, and injured, again.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ryan-clady-w ... 16361.html

 

[ivotuk]

Just as an fyi, here's a great explanation of Okungs contact, which probably isn't as bad as people make out. Unless they don't pick up his option, then he's screwed.

http://overthecap.com/thoughts-russell- ... t-broncos/

 

[AgentDib]

Just as an fyi, here's a great explanation of Okungs contact, which probably isn't as bad as people make out. Unless they don't pick up his option, then he's screwed.

That's kind of the point though and why people didn't like the contract. Do you expect them to pick up the option and pay him $12m/yr after a subpar season?

 

[Hyak]

I'd be surprised if Denver keeps Okung under that contract. That said, I don't think Okung comes back to Seattle if he hits the open market.

 

[jammerhawk]

I completely agree, Seattle knows what they'd have with Okung and he just isn't worth what he'd want or anything close to $12 million/yr.

I don't think the team wants him back.

 

[Largent80]

The Okung ship has sailed, and frankly all the people listed before raise the Meh - O - Meter to 11.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The Okung ship has sailed, and frankly all the people listed before raise the Meh - O - Meter to 11.

You telling me you wouldn't sign him back for a cheap 1-2 year deal?

75% Okung is better than the dumpster fires we have at tackle now. Fant is still at least a full year away from not whiffing 4-5 times a game and getting Russell killed.

 

[Tical21]

I'll sign up for Okung right now.

 

[Largent80]

The Okung ship has sailed, and frankly all the people listed before raise the Meh - O - Meter to 11.

You telling me you wouldn't sign him back for a cheap 1-2 year deal?

Why YES, that's what I'm telling you.

 

[Chapow]

Quite frankly, there just aren't very many good to great Left Tackles in the NFL period. I would say Okung is at least decent, and has a history of being good to very good when healthy. In this day and age it's not very easy to find a good LT. I would bet that over half of the teams in the league would like to find a better LT than what they currently have. Good, and especially great, Left Tackles are becoming rarer and rarer and harder and harder to find.

Why on earth would Okung sign a "cheap" 1-2 year deal?

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Quite frankly, there just aren't very many good to great Left Tackles in the NFL period. I would say Okung is at least decent, and has a history of being good to very good when healthy. In this day and age it's not very easy to find a good LT. I would bet that over half of the teams in the league would like to find a better LT than what they currently have. Good, and especially great, Left Tackles are becoming rarer and rarer and harder and harder to find.

Why on earth would Okung sign a "cheap" 1-2 year deal?

I mean cheap for a LT, as in he might take less if it's a two year deal instead of his dumb self negotiated one year deal he's now getting screwed on with Denver because they're more than likely not going to pick up his option.

I wouldn't pay him 10M a year, but I'd sure entertain a two year 7M deal. Okung even as poorly as he played last year is still a top 15 LT, and certainly better than Fant or Gilliam.

 

[Chapow]

For the record, I'd be happy to have Okung back. He would obviously be a pretty giant step up from what we had at the LT position last season.

And I really couldn't give a crap less what he costs. If the Seahawks sign him, for whatever amount, I'm sure they have a plan and he and his contract fits within that plan.

 

[Largent80]

So spend more money for more stink. Got it.

And of course the guy that can see everything very clear into the future sees no hope of improvement from a guy that never played his position before, in like forever.

In my eyes, RT is a larger problem because if you remember right, Gilliam was supposed to start at LT after glass ankles left last year and many posters were saying, he's going to be great.

He was beat out by friggin Sowell, who is experienced and got outplayed by Fant, and never got the job back after injury.

Gilliam was so bad that his RT duties were stripped. He got them back because he was the lesser of the evils that remained.

 

[jammerhawk]

The argument that the team should take Okung back b/c there are only a few options is sorth of like settling to go to prom with the ugly girl when there are better options. At least you've got a date is the logic. Paying premium money for the 15th best guy, if in fact he really is 15th, sounds to me like something the team wouldn't do. Perhaps, if the price was really right, but even then i suspect the team has seen all it needed to see of Okung.

There will be a few guys the team will take a hard look at b/c the RT position is seriously in need of fixing. Maybe Ifedi could be moved to RT notwithstanding pete's recent denial of same. I suspect the team will additionally draft a LT candidate, and/or try to deal for one; but see Fant as an interesting high potential development project. Frankly I'd be surprised to to see Okung back, as his injury history is less than acceptable, even though he apparently made it through this season without taking time off. Besides that I felt he'd lost a step and had serious difficulty covering speed rushers and as a result was false start penalty magnet.

 

[xgeoff]

Top RT market is somewhere around 6.5M - $ 7 M per year.

We have plenty of money so that is not an issue right now

There is still the possiblily of Kam and or Graham holding out this year. We also have some others we may want to resign, new draft picks, buffer for season injuries so I wouldn't say we have "plenty of money". As of right now we are 21st in the league with available cap space so that means 20 other teams have leverage over us when signing free agents.

That is true to an extent. But a deeper look at each teams salary cap will give a much different answer. Arizona has 40 million in cap space. A lot of our fans think we have a lot of money too, and are hopeful in snagging a good free agent. I on the other hand dont see it.

40 million
15 Million to Chandler Jones, 5 million to rookies, 2-3 million to mid-season signings. Now we are down to 17 million. Here's where the difference comes in between Seattle and Arizona in their cap space. Seattle has all their key players locked up. Arizona has too many expiring contracts at the same time of key players. With that 17 million how would a team like Arizona who appears to have more cap space address the following FA's

Campbell (Starter)
Gresham (Starter)
Frostee Rucker who's been a big contributor
Tony Jefferson (8th best safety according to PFF) Starter
DJ Swearinger- This guy plays with intensity, I think he would do so well with Seattle. A true enforcer, big hits, and strips.
Chris Johnson- meh
Kevin Minter (starter)
AQ Shipley (Starter)
Alex Okafor (starter)
Earl Watford- he did well
Josh Mauro- has really been developing and making plays
Andre Ellington- injured seemingly all the time
Marcus Cooper (starter)
Chandler Catanzaro (Starter)

That is a ton of talent, and there is 17 million available between them. The starters in AZ are going to regress, and the depth will as well.

The lesson is, cap space is not always what it appears.

Nice post, interesting analysis.

Frostee Rucker is a great name. I laugh every time I hear it...

 

[getnasty]

I wonder if there's any thought on moving Ifedi to right tackle? I would perfer that he stay inside but just to gain some continuity with the interior of the line but I wouldn't be shocked if he opened the season at RT.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

I wonder if there's any thought on moving Ifedi to right tackle? I would perfer that he stay inside but just to gain some continuity with the interior of the line but I wouldn't be shocked if he opened the season at RT.

We can't really know this. Pete has maintained they want Ifedi to stay inside. Of course things change, and in particular Seattle has a very strong history of moving players around. So I take Pete's proclamation with several grains of salt. I consider Pete's word on this to be very soft, based on the proven history of how we shift positions.

This is a draft where you can get real quality OGs. Seems very strong in the interior. Obviously Ifedi's length and athleticism point to being capable of playing on the edge physically. If he were in this class of OTs, he'd probably be drafted close to where he was last year. Probably the 3rd best OT in a weak tier one class. But probably the best prospect in terms of measurables and athleticism of the bunch.

A lot has to play out and it bears watching the process very closely leading up to the draft. If Seattle fails to solve the RT problem via UFA or by trade, then I'd say the odds of Seattle bumping him outside are much much stronger. That doesn't mean they will.

My guess is if they are on day one of the draft and they haven't made a move, they'll be reading how the draft develops. I do expect that moving Ifedi to RT is probably plan D/E. UFA first, trade second, OT they like falls in the draft third. Then probably a tie between sticking with what they have and allow for improvement from within (still a possibility), or taking an OG who can likely start day one, and then at least having Ifedi compete at RT.

We should know how serious Seattle is about keeping Ifedi inside by the second week of April. But right now there is just no way to intelligently speculate how committed they are to keeping Germain at RG. Have to go with the proclamation at this point.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I wonder if there's any thought on moving Ifedi to right tackle? I would perfer that he stay inside but just to gain some continuity with the interior of the line but I wouldn't be shocked if he opened the season at RT.

Ifedi was just another in a long line of early draft picks that were suppose to play tackle, but magically had to move inside once training camp started.

Boggles my mind that we have the combined experience, football intelligence and savvy of three people like Schneider, Pete and Cable..............and we still can't draft O-lineman correctly.