Back And Better Than Ever?
January 28, 2008What A Tangled Web We Weave
January 28, 2008Browns Offer Contract Extensions To Anderson And Lewis
Ok, Jamal Lewis I get. He’s an unrestricted free agent, the Browns have no other viable options at running back right now. He’s likely to be significantly cheaper than what Michael Turner will be asking for on the open market. He rushed for over 1,300 yards last season. He likes being in Cleveland. The fans have warmed up to having a former Ravens players being a leader on the team. So why not offer him a new deal? It only makes sense.
That is precisely what has happened. According to Marla Ridenour in the Akron Beacon Journal, the Browns have made their initial offer to Jamal Lewis. There was no report of the value of the contract or the number of years, but assuming it’s nothing outlandish, this would appear to be a good move by the Browns.
Also in the article, though, was mention that the Browns have offered DA a three year contract. I cannot get my head around this. It makes no sense whatsoever to me. Why are the Browns locking themselves into a long term deal with DA? The only way this can make sense for the Browns would be if they traded Brady Quinn immediately in order to get max value in return for him. Phil Savage has essentially locked the Browns into a scenario in which they gave up last year’s 2nd round pick and this year’s first round pick for a backup QB.
The arguments for this move will say that it’s ok because Brady Quinn isn’t costing the team very much against the cap. I would agree with that point, but the issue isn’t the cap figures, it’s the lost draft picks. That is real value in the NFL, and in some ways even more important than cap space. The Browns could have kept all their options open for the next two seasons by simply tendering DA rather than offering him a long term deal. The Browns are essentially bidding against themselves to keep DA around longer, and I cannot understand why this move is so necessary.
Phil Savage has managed to back himself into a corner in which the only way this move works out in his favor, and I mean the only way, is if DA becomes a perennial Pro Bowler. In that scenario, he will have saved the Browns enough money against the cap to offset the lost value in draft picks. Otherwise, Savage’s only choice is to trade Brady Quinn. The Browns cannot afford to not have a 1st round pick this year because they wanted a solid backup QB for the next 3 years.
I have been Phil Savage’s biggest supporter, and I think the man has a brilliant eye for scouting NFL talent…..but this time I would love to be able to pick his brain and figure out his logic in making this move. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one, and observing how it is going to affect the makeup of this team.
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4 Comments
The only thing I can think of with regard to the DA portion of this deal, is that maybe Savage is trying to make him the solid backup for the next 3 years. But I wholeheartedly agree that it’s stupid. He should be dangling DA for draft picks first, and THEN if no one bites, give him an offer.
Couldn’t agree more. It just makes no sense.
It does to an extent, hear me out. You sign DA to a three year deal, the combines come and go and teams don’t feel good about the QB class, and they shouldn’t as this is one of the worst QB classes (in appearance) in quite a few years.
One of those top teams who need a quarterback might be willing to give us a bounty for either DA or Quinn, and if either one of them can get us into the top ten with a chance to get Sedrick Ellis or Chris Long, we need to pull the trigger like we were playing Halo.
I don’t think DA is gonna be around. If I’m Phil Savage I don’t honestly believe that I saw a franchise type quarterback in the last 8 games of the year. But I’m positive there are teams that will want to take a chance on him. As much as I’d like to see the Dolphins take him, I don’t think Parcells is that stupid. Realistically, the Falcons are the one team I can see him going to. Makes lots of sense. There was rumor floating around that DA said he wanted Romo money too, which isn’t gonna happen. I’d tender him the max one-year deal and go there. Nothing more.