Bengals, Burfict at Impasse

[ArmyBengal]

I made that same argument myself many times here in that this is new territory for the Bengals.

When was the last time this team has had to make some of the hard choices they've had to make in the past 2-3 seasons ??

I said the same words, you can't pay them all. This is what happens on teams that are contenders year in and year out.

The front office has handled this about as well as we could hope for and won't cause us to be in cap hell any time soon.

I have zero issues with pushing money into next year assuming Green does in fact get his extension.

I have no reason to think that doesn't get done.

I also won't pretend this is going to get any easier for the front office after Green gets done either.

2015 sees 9-10 starters or guys that get playing time as UFA's. (Maualuga, Gresham, Boling, Newman, and Nugent to name a few)

2016 ?? Yeah more of the same. Assuming Green gets done, that still leaves an absolute ASSLOAD of starting or guys with playing time as UFA's.

Hall, Dre, Whit, Nelson, Kirkpatrick, Nelson, Zeitler, Gilberry, Sanu, M. Jones, Still, Thompson, Iloka, and A. Jones all in 2016.

That is a daunting task regardless of how you want to view each of those guys. Also keep in mind that is only the UFA's, there are more that are RFA's.

Thank God they have been drafting well over the years.

[COB]

Burfict deserves it. And even though half the guys that get paid are never the same again, I don't think he'll fall in that category. He's a driven guy.

RE more signings - I'd take Gresham but I doubt he'll be satisfied with the deal I (or the Bengals) will offer. If I had to sum up the way Gresham feels about his NFL career, I'd say frustration is the word. Matched by the fans and the employer. Get Eifert healthy and going, and maybe trade Gresham. Win win. I'm making shit up now.

[kingwilly]

So, the Bengals are now right up against the salary cap. When was the last time we saw that?

Bottom line, really nice work by Katie.

I would also suggest that it's justification for letting guys like Michael Johnson and Anthony Collins walk this offseason. You can't pay them all.

Of course, that strategy is only justified when you actually DO pay the people that matter most. So far, so good.

Here is the next move:

Dumping Leon, BJGE. That's almost $13M cap savings right there.

Now, would you rather have had one of MJ or AC instead? I would.

[Kazkal]

I doubt we are against the Salary wall being we got such great deals from Dalton & Burfit,So Aj should be no problem keeping him around and new contracts for young guys in 2-3 years not named AJ.

Dumping Leon, BJGE. That's almost $13M cap savings right there.

Now, would you rather have had one of MJ or AC instead? I would.

I think were fine without MJ and well be nice to have AC

[skyline]

So, the Bengals are now right up against the salary cap. When was the last time we saw that?

Bottom line, really nice work by Katie.

I would also suggest that it's justification for letting guys like Michael Johnson and Anthony Collins walk this offseason. You can't pay them all.

Of course, that strategy is only justified when you actually DO pay the people that matter most. So far, so good.

Here is the next move:

Dumping Leon, BJGE. That's almost $13M cap savings right there.

Now, would you rather have had one of MJ or AC instead? I would.

Dumping Leon? Um, no thank you.

[ArmyBengal]

I am concerned about Leon, but I can't really see dumping him as an alternative at this point.

[HoosierCat]

Mo money, mo money, mo money! Let the next round of negotiations begin!

CINCINNATI -- Vontaze Burfict has barely begun his second professional contract, but he wants the Cincinnati Bengals to know that he already has deal No. 3 on his mind.

When he signed his new three-year contract extension worth about $20 million Wednesday, Burfict let front office officials know that he'd be back in a little more than two years when it's time to renegotiate. His plan? To stay in stripes as long as possible.

"I told Troy [blackburn] I'll be back in 2016," Burfict told ESPN.com in the Bengals' locker room after Thursday night's preseason finale. "Obviously they trust me, and like I've said, I want to be a leader of the defense. We have great things to come for the next three years while I'm here."

Heh. Go get 'em, Tez.

[ArmyBengal]

Good that he has the confidence that revisiting this in 2016 would be warranted.

If he continues trending upwards in his play, it's not like he wouldn't be deserving.

Again, I still think there are going to be hard decisions in the coming years with our own free agents.

[Scottishbengal]

So, the Bengals are now right up against the salary cap. When was the last time we saw that?

I see that Harvey has completely swallowed the team's annual game of "Hobsonize the numbers." They must just love him in the FO.

They have about $10 million in cap space left. And yes, they will probably need a few million for injury replacements and a couple nickles for the practice squad guys, but they will also get space back when cuts are through.

This is consistent with what they've been saying all offseason, which is that the plan was to push about $8 million forward (again) to sign guys (read: AJ) next year. Now that they've gotten Burfict and Dalton done, there's really not any reason to object to that. AJ will get done at some point and they've already exercised his option for 2015, so no pressing need there. And who else is there to extend? Gresham? Anyone is a rush to hand Jermaine a big pile of cash? Yeah, me neither. Moobs only had a short-term deal so he may be in the mix next year.

Bottom line, really nice work by Katie.

Just for info Katie did the Dalton deal and Troy did the Burfict deal