Luke and Shead coming back

[Sgt. Largent]

Dammit. Our staff has lost their edge. It is no longer "play well or we will find somebody else." It is now, "if you're a nice guy, we'll throw you some money." This is just disgusting. This is what the downfall of an empire feels like.

Signing two players who have played well in your system to lowball one year deals is not losing our edge.

btw, when exactly did we "find someone else" for those two positions? Right now the cupboards are bare, and if we do draft corners and TE's, we'll still need the depth and experience.

 

[Maelstrom787]

Willson is as solid of a TE you're gonna get for what we are paying him. Decent blocker, quick, receiving capability. I don't think this feels like the end of anything. It feels like them re-signing a serviceable player on a short deal so that we don't need to throw a draft pick at TE2 out of necessity.

 

[Tical21]

I think you guys are missing the point I was trying to make. I'm strictly talking about Willson, not including Shead.

Our front office built their success using the "next man up", "compete", "perform or go home" philosophy. Remember when they were churning through people, constantly looking for somebody better than the guys they have? They've gone soft. They just paid Jermaine Kearse because he's a good guy and nobody else wanted him. They just paid Luke Willson because he's a good guy and nobody else wanted him. It isn't about the three million. It is about the culture of accepting and rewarding subpar play. He should be gone out of principle. Screw the money or depth. We're rewarding him for being a terrible player, but a nice guy. You're not going to win like that. It signifies a drastic change in the culture in that building, and prevents you from improving. It's a sad day.

 

[Tical21]

Willson is as solid of a TE you're gonna get for what we are paying him. Decent blocker, quick, receiving capability. I don't think this feels like the end of anything. It feels like them re-signing a serviceable player on a short deal so that we don't need to throw a draft pick at TE2 out of necessity.

Not a decent blocker, not quick, very poor receiving capability. You can get the same player, probably better, for less than 500k, and give somebody the chance to be better than mediocre.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I think you guys are missing the point I was trying to make. I'm strictly talking about Willson, not including Shead.

Our front office built their success using the "next man up", "compete", "perform or go home" philosophy. Remember when they were churning through people, constantly looking for somebody better than the guys they have? They've gone soft. They just paid Jermaine Kearse because he's a good guy and nobody else wanted him. They just paid Luke Willson because he's a good guy and nobody else wanted him. It isn't about the three million. It is about the culture of accepting and rewarding subpar play. He should be gone out of principle. Screw the money or depth. We're rewarding him for being a terrible player, but a nice guy. You're not going to win like that. It signifies a drastic change in the culture in that building, and prevents you from improving. It's a sad day.

You're having a different conversation.

I agree Pete's "next man up" at numerous positions hasn't been true at all, including TE, and especially O-line.

That was my point as to WHY we resigned Willson, there is no next man up. Vannett has shown some promise, but obviously he's not ready or else we wouldn't have resigned Willson.

But it's just a lowball one year deal, so no reason to worry about it too much, it's not like we broke the bank to keep Willson just cause he's a good dude. We let him test the market, the market told him that no one's really interested in an undersized mediocre TE that doesn't block very well. So voila, he's back, which is fine, he's played well in our system.

 

[vin.couve12]

Awesome on both accounts.

 

[vin.couve12]

Hope and could be all that happy horse shit is for fans. The front office actually has jobs to do. If uncertain, go with known commodity. If you end up with something better then all the better.

It ain't rocket surgery.

 

[Uncle Si]

Willson is as solid of a TE you're gonna get for what we are paying him. Decent blocker, quick, receiving capability. I don't think this feels like the end of anything. It feels like them re-signing a serviceable player on a short deal so that we don't need to throw a draft pick at TE2 out of necessity.

Not a decent blocker, not quick, very poor receiving capability. You can get the same player, probably better, for less than 500k, and give somebody the chance to be better than mediocre.

What player?

 

[hawknation2017]

As John Schneider succinctly described during his recent combine presser, this time of year is all about "checking boxes" of need before the draft. Checking our boxes with experienced veterans on low-risk, prove it deals means we will be less dependent on the draft to fill specific positions of need.

It does NOT mean we will disregard these areas in the draft and undrafted free agency, i.e. kicker, offensive tackle, running back, tight end, cornerback, etc. It simply allows us to be more freewheeling and creative in drafting the best available players for this team.

IMO, that was one of the major dilemmas with the draft classes since our championship. We were forced to play catch-up, due to not having all of our boxes checked with veterans, by targeting very specific players in the draft at very specific positions of need.

Rather than relying on the draft to fill our holes, the team has done a nice job this year of acquiring free agents to meet the base line for the competition. Now the draft can be used to supplement that competition with young -- and hopefully even better -- talent. Think of it as plugging the holes in a leaky boat first (with "prove it" vets) before you spend your time scooping the water out with a bucket (rookies).

 

[Siouxhawk]

This is good news. Willson is a solid athlete who has shown some improvement as a blocker, even playing some H-back/fullback at the end of last season. It also adds another receiver whom Russell Wilson is comfortable and familiar. One year deals are what veteran players get when they still have something to prove.

Veterans who are already familiar with our system are incredibly valuable because there is only so much time in the day to bribg newcomers up to speed.

Shead should return from his injury in time for our presumptive playoff run. They can stash him on PUP and/or IR until then.

+1. I just like that goofy Canadian and have high hopes for Shead after he heals.

 

[Sports Hernia]

I get Shead but why Luke in such a deep TE class? Unless guaranteed money is low.

Exactly. I like Luke, but the draft is strong in TE's. This is another sign they are considering letting Graham go after 2017 IMO.

It's only a 1 year deal. More telling that they are unsure of Vannett stepping up as the 2nd TE to me as opposed to anything to do with Graham.

This.

 

[Seymour]

Willson is as solid of a TE you're gonna get for what we are paying him. Decent blocker, quick, receiving capability. I don't think this feels like the end of anything. It feels like them re-signing a serviceable player on a short deal so that we don't need to throw a draft pick at TE2 out of necessity.

Not a decent blocker, not quick, very poor receiving capability. You can get the same player, probably better, for less than 500k, and give somebody the chance to be better than mediocre.

What player?

Haven't you heard? 6'5" TE's that run 4.46 40's grow on trees.

 

[Tical21]

Willson is as solid of a TE you're gonna get for what we are paying him. Decent blocker, quick, receiving capability. I don't think this feels like the end of anything. It feels like them re-signing a serviceable player on a short deal so that we don't need to throw a draft pick at TE2 out of necessity.

Not a decent blocker, not quick, very poor receiving capability. You can get the same player, probably better, for less than 500k, and give somebody the chance to be better than mediocre.

What player?

Does it matter? You can find bad TE's anywhere. Brandon Williams. Whatever TE's are available in the 6th round of the draft. Maybe a guy you drafted pretty high last year even? It doesn't matter. When a player you drafted underperforms and never becomes better than mediocre or worse, you don't pay that player and keep him around, period. It prevents you from moving forward and improving. It sets a bad precedent as well. You can't reward guys for that. Instead of cleaning house and moving away from their bad underperformers, they are paying them. That is not what good franchises do, I'm sorry.

I just really for the life of me cannot believe we are really here celebrating the re-signing of a really bad football player. It's a bad sign and a bad trend.

 

[Uncle Si]

Does it matter? You can find bad TE's anywhere. Brandon Williams. Whatever TE's are available in the 6th round of the draft. Maybe a guy you drafted pretty high last year even? It doesn't matter. When a player you drafted underperforms and never becomes better than mediocre or worse, you don't pay that player and keep him around, period. It prevents you from moving forward and improving. It sets a bad precedent as well. You can't reward guys for that. Instead of cleaning house and moving away from their bad underperformers, they are paying them. That is not what good franchises do, I'm sorry.

I just really for the life of me cannot believe we are really here celebrating the re-signing of a really bad football player. It's a bad sign and a bad trend.

Of course it matters. That's why they signed him.

This move does not preclude them taking another TE in the draft.

 

[Ozzy]

I like it. I do think TE is potentially a place they could shock fans by grabbing one in the 1st or 2nd this year with a few of them being special talents though. They could still draft one but this gives them insurance if they can't. Willson kills me at times with some of his drops but I love having the guy on the team and his speed and big play ability and being comfortable with Wilson is a big plus.

I really wanted Shead brought back cheap and this signing makes total sense. He's a very capable starter when healthy and should be able to make an impact later in the year.

 

[Tical21]

Does it matter? You can find bad TE's anywhere. Brandon Williams. Whatever TE's are available in the 6th round of the draft. Maybe a guy you drafted pretty high last year even? It doesn't matter. When a player you drafted underperforms and never becomes better than mediocre or worse, you don't pay that player and keep him around, period. It prevents you from moving forward and improving. It sets a bad precedent as well. You can't reward guys for that. Instead of cleaning house and moving away from their bad underperformers, they are paying them. That is not what good franchises do, I'm sorry.

I just really for the life of me cannot believe we are really here celebrating the re-signing of a really bad football player. It's a bad sign and a bad trend.

Of course it matters. That's why they signed him.

This move does not preclude them taking another TE in the draft.

That's my disagreement. I don't think that's why they signed him. I think they signed him primarily because Pete has grown attached to the kid.

 

[johnnyfever]

I like both of these, pending details.

Wilson is just a solid body for relatively pretty cheap, knows the system and we know his pros and cons. This allows us to utilize him to his strenghts. When you have a team like ours that has so many highly paid stars, you have to fill the gaps with "meh" players. As far as "meh" players, these two are toward the top and familiarity both ways is a huge plus.

Shead showed signs of brilliance, and signs of stupidity. His main point of emphasis should be getting his head around to be able to A.):get a possible interception, and B.):avoid the DPI calls.

He is pretty decent at sticking with his guy, especially considering his salary. He just needs to work on a few things. He also is one of the more versatile and solid backups we have if the injury bug bites.

We will draft at both positions if the right guy is still on the board and they will compete.

Great depth signings for what I'm assuming is going to be pretty cap friendly.

 

[Uncle Si]

Of course it matters. That's why they signed him.

This move does not preclude them taking another TE in the draft.

That's my disagreement. I don't think that's why they signed him. I think they signed him primarily because Pete has grown attached to the kid.

"attached"

or perhaps "trusts?"

It's a fairly minimal contract and doesn't close the door on anything. I would agree with you if you continued to offer significant contracts to players who were not living up to the ones they had signed.

Willson is just insurance though... a vet who understands the system in case Vennett or a draft pick don't work out.

 

[Anthony!]

Despite what a select few in here think this was a good move that provides flexibility. Willson was targeted 21 times and 2 tds. Given how few the targets are and yet 2 tds, I am not sure how this is underperforming he was our #2 TE in a system where you had 2 players with over 900 yards. He was tied for the 3rd most receiving TDs and he had the second highest reception to td ratio. So some here, really need to let their personal biases away.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Does it matter? You can find bad TE's anywhere. Brandon Williams. Whatever TE's are available in the 6th round of the draft. Maybe a guy you drafted pretty high last year even? It doesn't matter. When a player you drafted underperforms and never becomes better than mediocre or worse, you don't pay that player and keep him around, period. It prevents you from moving forward and improving. It sets a bad precedent as well. You can't reward guys for that. Instead of cleaning house and moving away from their bad underperformers, they are paying them. That is not what good franchises do, I'm sorry.

I just really for the life of me cannot believe we are really here celebrating the re-signing of a really bad football player. It's a bad sign and a bad trend.

Of course it matters. That's why they signed him.

This move does not preclude them taking another TE in the draft.

That's my disagreement. I don't think that's why they signed him. I think they signed him primarily because Pete has grown attached to the kid.

If you were right Tical, then why'd we use a 3rd round pick on Vannett last year?

What everyone's trying to tell you is this doesn't change anything as far as addressing our needs in the draft, of which TE is still one of them. We can't overpay for another TE while Graham is still on the roster, so there's nothing left to do but resign Willson and continue to look for TE's in the draft.

You're not going to get a starter for 500k, or even 2-3M.