2019 NFL off-season thread

Always wondered about this - not really a surprise. Also one of the reasons the lower-rung teams have to pay extra to bring in FAs. Though I am surprised Dallas is so well regarded. Maybe it is the royal treatment with low expectations that puts them over the top.
NFL Agents Poll: Best, worst spots for free agents

 

Le’Veon to the Jets. Helluva night in nyc sports.

 

I like some of what I've seen from Mayfield, though his performance was mixed when I saw him. Some of the sacks he took early on were his fault, but the protection wasn't very good in the games I saw. They are impressive at the skill positions, but if there is going to be an issue on offense, that's where it will be.

The defense has some nice pieces, but it's still got a long way to go and the loss of Peppers isn't insignificant.

 

So he got less money overall, but slightly more guaranteed, than the offer from the Steelers last season. For that, he sat out an entire season. Bell is a hell of a football player, but he is not an intelligent man.

To dig a little deeper, he gave away a season in a high-powered offense with one of the best offensive lines in the league and future seasons behind that line. He goes to the Jets, who don't have the weapons on the outside or a strong offensive line. If he really did get out of shape, too, this could turn out to be a bad deal for everybody.

But hey, he managed to hurt his old team and by extension his former teammates, so I guess he has that on which to hang his hat.

I haven't even gotten to see the message board for Steelers fans I frequent. They were already going nuts over Beckham to the Browns, so that should be entertaining.

 

They aren’t his teammates until they start the game, otherwise they are his co-workers. If he dogged it in the game, if he called out sick on game days or if he refused to play the last play because the ball was going to another player, then his teammates should hate him. He doesn’t owe his coworkers a thing holding out over money, even when you’re as stupid as a football player. It’s strictly about money. Playing for a better team, all things being equal, is great. But the money is what comes first. Very few people have the luxury to be underpaid and like it.

 

Amazing stat I heard this morning - Bell has the third-most touches in the NFL since 2013 and that’s with sitting out a year. Maybe that year off will benefit him, body-wise. Still, good luck to him getting back that $14 mil. Also hope he enjoys 8 in the box every play.

 

No state income tax is a big plus.

 

He wasn't being underpaid. In fact, the contract the Steelers offered could easily have paid him more money. It was $33 million guaranteed going in and by the third year it would have guaranteed $45 million.

Telling his teammates he would be there, then not showing up and refusing to respond to calls and text messages qualifies as screwing with his teammates. More importantly, many of them had been his teammates for multiple seasons.

It's a small part of my overall point. Bell seemed to have hurting the organization as a goal. It's the only goal his holdout accomplished. I don't think either side won.

Also, I wasn't focused on playing for a better team. I was focused on his potential for individual success. The Steelers have a superior offensive line and even without Brown, they probably have better skill position talent than the Jets. They were definitely better in the season Bell gave away with his holdout.

 

Eight in the box with a weak offensive line in front of him. Don't forget that second part.

 

I agree with you that Bell's negotiating style is unlikely to be taught at Harvard Business School anytime soon. On the other hand, he is now possessed of $35 million in guaranteed income, just paid by somebody else. It is possible he resorted to the admitted costs of his holdout not to hurt the Steelers (hard to argue his absence in 2018 was the reason they missed the playoffs), but simply to force a divorce he wanted.
Prop bet for New Yorkers: Who gets hurt first in 2019 due to overuse, Barkley or Bell?

 

When we get into this type of money, a lot of it is about pride. It's a symbol of success. It's about respect. Bell seemed to feel as if the Steelers weren't respecting him enough because they didn't give in to his demands. That's why I think screwing them over was among his goals, though getting as much money as possible was the primary focus.

Pittsburgh's long-term offer was worth more money. It had $2 million less guaranteed than what he finally got from the Jets, but the rolling guarantees built into the Steelers' offer and the differences in cost of living alone make what Pittsburgh offered at least an equal deal. Bell cost himself an entire season. Maybe he saved wear and tear, but his body got a year older and he's going to have to work to get his conditioning back. When he has started seasons late in the past due to suspension or holdout, he has taken a while to get up to speed. Now he has to do it after a full year with a lesser offense around him.

It is certainly subjective to claim hurting the Steelers was among his goals, but I think it is fair to say that is all he really accomplished with his year-long holdout.

 

The market for Bell just wasn't really there, and that was his big miscalculation. He ended up in an inferior situation, with an inferior franchise, for more barely more than he would have gotten with Pittsburgh. Good organizations just weren't willing to go crazy on a RB with his history of suspensions and stupidity. I hope Neil O'Donnell called and welcomed him to New York.