A Look at the Cap Numbers

[Alo]

Wow, the Browns have a lotta spending to do.

Panthers lead list of teams on the hook with new projected salary floor - Shutdown Corner - NFL*Blog - Yahoo! Sports

[Dan in Florida]

Thanks Alo!

I would assume the Browns would use a chunck of that money to renew our core players contracts. Although it is a small core.

[Alo]

I could see that: Joe Thomas, Peyton Hillis, and Ahtyba Rubin all will become free agents in 2012. But the team may want to hold off on Hillis (will he break down?) and Rubin (scheme fit?).

Also, I think it'll help justify keeping Steinbach around: he isn't playing up to his $6.25M base salary, but overpaying for his services is less of a big deal if the team needs to reach a high salary floor.

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Man I think we have to lock down Thomas and Rubin. Hillis I'm not so sure about, unless he goes for fair value.

[Brown Warrior]

Wow. They're saying the floor will be really high... as in, teams will have to spend to the cap, basically. Those tricky Bucs and their small cap last year based on voodoo economics!

Scary to see the Colts on that list, huh? What if the suddenly had a defense?

This could end up being a pretty dramatic redistribution of talent. In the end, players in their prime take the money first because nobody really knows who's going to win next year or the next, let alone long-term. If you like the scheme and the organization, the starting position is available, and the money's right? You can build a pretty mansion anywhere.

Carolina's kind of a scary competitor. Can't imagine why they'd let Johnson walk, for instance.

[Riffer X]

Lock those guys down while you can get better value, it's the best salary concept in sports. They will all be fine.

[Alo]

Also, the team could entice a guy like Jayme Mitchell to stick around by giving him an above market deal. Might as well give him a little extra to make sure that trade wasn't a total waste...

I agree with Shep that Carolina having so much cash makes it unlikely the Browns will be able to compete for Charles Johnson's services. Somewhat curiously, the Panthers decided to franchise Ryan Kalil instead of Johnson, but they can throw plenty of money at the beastly DE.

Also, the Falcons might be willing to break the bank for him: he's a former Bulldog & the team's determined to go for it all this year. If that happens, I'd call Dimitroff about Kroy Biermann: he killed us last year and could be on the verge of having a breakout season. Heck loved him as a draft prospect.

[Enigmatic Evil]

Wait, so teams would have to spend up to that minimum mark? Is that what I'm understanding?

[Alo]

Yeah, and it's a surprisingly high minimum. It'll be very interesting to see whether the requirement becomes part of the final CBA deal.

[Enigmatic Evil]

That's crazy, and it seems very forced... no puns intended there. Why should a team have to spend more than it needs to? It's ridiculous. If that's the owners way of trying to get players suckered into the deal then kudos to the owners. I guess that's one way to ensure the players make more money... everyone's happy?

[Sez.EJ]

I hear the floor will be 90% of the Cap total. I agree teams will be resigning guys they like and renegotiating some contracts early instead of overpaying free agents of questionable value.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Alo

Also, the team could entice a guy like Jayme Mitchell to stick around by giving him an above market deal. Might as well give him a little extra to make sure that trade wasn't a total waste...

I agree with Shep that Carolina having so much cash makes it unlikely the Browns will be able to compete for Charles Johnson's services. Somewhat curiously, the Panthers decided to franchise Ryan Kalil instead of Johnson, but they can throw plenty of money at the beastly DE.

Also, the Falcons might be willing to break the bank for him: he's a former Bulldog & the team's determined to go for it all this year. If that happens, I'd call Dimitroff about Kroy Biermann: he killed us last year and could be on the verge of having a breakout season. Heck loved him as a draft prospect.

Those are some good points made. That FA wallet scenario could change in a hurry regarding Johnson. Carolina sounds like they need a veteran QB especially when we don't know how much training camp and OTA playbook installation will be lost to the lockout. QBs are the most expensive position and I could really see Carolina going after Carson Palmer. Worth noting: Palmer's house has been sold in Cincy.

I don't know the employment/contract status of Matt Leinart; BUT I think he think he's been humbled enough to be ready for the right environment. That entire first round QB class had some maturity issues dropping anchor on projected talent. I think there's a place for all of them when Cutler can throw 27 INTs one year and then lead his team to an NFC Championship appearance the next. Carolina might be a place for Leinart IMO. I know Shep would love that because I think he mentioned one of his kids liked Carolina in the past. I think what we would call this lost cap space to Leinart is a Sheproscopy.

Anyway, it's gonna be interesting to see what happens with QBs that can provide some startng experience to the QB position like: Kolb, Leinart, and Young just to name a few. They'll eat cap space like Roseanne Barr in an all you can eat buffett line.

Sorry to get sidetracked on the QB position; but since we're talking cap space with our biggest cap space shopping competitors - we're not the ones that need to add a veteran QB in the remaining cap. Understanding that, we might be the team getting the most delicious doggy bag scraps from other teams in the market. When I say this, I don't mean Sidney Rice is interested. I mean guys that have some untapped upside like DE Ray Edwards that keeps getting mentioned for good reason.

I think the areas we'll explore the most in free agency are dline, secondary and LBer. BC's Weddle at Safety idea and an experienced corner could be huge. DE Edwards and a girthy DT makes the roster on paper alot more cozy. I like some of the LBer names I see. The most intriguing guy to me is Posluzny; but he's got that D'Qwell Jackson/Yao Ming made in China type of fragile inspite of the agile athlete teasing the fanbase. If you can't get them on the field while they're making more cake than the sum of the Dakotas - what good are they? Law of averages says if you're paying 2 D'Qwell Jackson's, you're bound to see one of them on game day.

Offensively, we might make a play at the best RT. Meanwhile, if Pinkston doesn't emerge as an early starter at RG - he's got the athletic feet to be a reliable backup for Steinbach at LG as well as backup RG and RT. Our buddy Riff loves nicknames so let's dress this guy up a little bit with Pink's Tone. We'll probably make a play at 1 veteran WR like we've done forever. They've just never been the guys that come to a new playbook with a "must play - must keep" performance. We've added the Bobby Engram, Chris "Colonel" Sanders, Demetrius "Glad-he-ater" Williams, Cassius "Clay" Aiken, Tequila Sunrise Stallworth. I liked Joe Jurevicius; but he sure seemed like he was in blue jeans quite a bit in that 3 year period he was here (under contract); so wear and tear gave us a fraction of capability.

We don't need to waste ANY cake on a RB. If Hardesty gets injured again, it's as easy as using Cribbs there. I'd RATHER see Cribbs BEHIND the QB than directly behind Center for these 3 reasons:
1) He'd be a GREAT swing pass solution to the blitz
2) He's already proven he can RUN the ball - now we can make it a little less obvious when he's going to do that so all 11 guys aren't playing run and killer bee swarming the side of the field he opens to at the snap. That best game ever vrs Pitt never happens if Pollyneedsahaircut is in uniform with his instincts and 4.3 speed giddyup.
3) We can put him in motion or slot/flank him. My guess is Shurmur remembers how much fun his QB in Philly had with Bryan Westbrook being able to line up virtually anywhere. Cribbs has been the most misused talent awaiting the first offensive philosophy that understands what they can do with him. He'd be an ideal RB as others have stated often before me. McCoy will give him better short range precision than DA was able to so he'll welcome the passes in front of him.