Hopkins could stay if he were to take a paycut, and he might be willing to stay in Nashville, but I don't think I'd start him at LT ahead of Roos anyway.maximus said:
Olson is gone. He has a $5M bonus this offseason and there is no chance the Titans will pay it.
Hartwig could end up being anothr DiNapoli, asking for a lot of money. I wouldn't pay him much. They can just hand Amano the job or find someone else.
Piller could stay because he doesn't have a huge cap hit, but it's not impossible that he could be gone. Still, I'd rather keep him around at least 1 more year just to keep some measure of stability in the OLine.
I could bring back Tank for the minimum and let him compete for a starting job, but I certainly wouldn't guarantee him anything.
As for Kassell, I didn't like paying him $1M last year and he certainly hasn't lived up to it. I'd give him the same offer as Tank (minimum, chance to compete for playing time).
Same reason that he came back after the team cut all the other veterans and went into rebuilding mode. He makes a ton of money. If he wants to keep playing, they'll work something out financially. It's not like he can make another $7M-$10M working on the farm for 5 months out of the year.TitanJeff said:
If money is the only incentive, not much to add here. But he only lost ONE starting OL (and a gimpy one at that) and was promised an offense dedicated to keeping him off his backside.Starkiller said:
With Bennett's production last in '04, you figure he would have been a least somewhat more productive as would Calico.
TitanJeff said:
I know this is just ridiculus but why would not a guy like McNair do the O'Donnell thing, hang in town and stay on the team for 1M/y and be available/mentor for the QB's???
Heck Fisher would let him do that till he was 45
Would be nice, GoT. Especially if our QB of the future is Vince Young. :winker:
My concern with McNair is his year to year attitude. Not knowing if he will even be back each year should IMO reduce him down to roster bonus and salary only contracts. No way he should get close to his current salary either.
The comment TJ made about the production of the WRs has more than one dimension to it. No WR is going to catch the ball unless the ball is thrown his way. The WRs are not going to get good yardage stats if all they catch are 5 yard passes. As long as the WRs are running good routes and catching the ball when it is thrown their way they are doing all we can ask.
For the most part Bennett has done that. Add in the poor blocking by the OL and the WRs have the deck stacked against them.
Calico obviously is not fully recovered and has been a dissapointment. Although he was moving well last game he dropped a couple of passes.
On the other hand the rookies have managed to step up fairly well at WR and the TE play has been pretty good.
Still, if I was a FA WR looking for a team to play for where I could run up some impressive stats it wouldn't be the Titans. Look at Mason's production this year. Not terrible but he only has 2 TDs. Is he the problem?
I wouldn't want to be a WR on the Texans or 49ers either.
The comment TJ made about the production of the WRs has more than one dimension to it. No WR is going to catch the ball unless the ball is thrown his way. The WRs are not going to get good yardage stats if all they catch are 5 yard passes. As long as the WRs are running good routes and catching the ball when it is thrown their way they are doing all we can ask.
For the most part Bennett has done that. Add in the poor blocking by the OL and the WRs have the deck stacked against them.
Calico obviously is not fully recovered and has been a dissapointment. Although he was moving well last game he dropped a couple of passes.
On the other hand the rookies have managed to step up fairly well at WR and the TE play has been pretty good.
Still, if I was a FA WR looking for a team to play for where I could run up some impressive stats it wouldn't be the Titans. Look at Mason's production this year. Not terrible but he only has 2 TDs. Is he the problem?
I wouldn't want to be a WR on the Texans or 49ers either.
One thing to think about here as far as McNair's contract goes, there are other factors involved that may come into play.
You have three rookie WRs who will likely be close to their peak in 2-3 more seasons assuming that Jones, Williams and Roby all continue to develop as planned. How much longer can McNair go? 2-3 years?
Would the Titans want a McNair with likely more declining skills and injury issues at the point or the future QB with a couple of seasons of experience as well?
You have three rookie WRs who will likely be close to their peak in 2-3 more seasons assuming that Jones, Williams and Roby all continue to develop as planned. How much longer can McNair go? 2-3 years?
Would the Titans want a McNair with likely more declining skills and injury issues at the point or the future QB with a couple of seasons of experience as well?
i thought i remember readign a while back that were 6 million under this year then next year were like 27 million under
Very good point. We want the WRs, OL and QB all peaking at the same time and the only way for our QB to be able to do that is to get drafted this year, and get inserted into the lineup ASAP.
Volek is signed and cheap. I say let McNair walk or retire, give Volek the reigns and draft a potential future QB. If Volek does well fine, if he doesn't play the young guy. It is time to not think year to year but 3-5 years down the road.
Keeping Henry is looking better the more I look at it as well. Having a feature RB for only 2% of your total CAP is ridiculously cheap. If Brown is willing to stay at a decent CAP hit we still can have two quality backs for only about 5% of the CAP. Figure in the savings at QB with Volek and we have plenty of $$ to sign FAs as well.
Volek is signed and cheap. I say let McNair walk or retire, give Volek the reigns and draft a potential future QB. If Volek does well fine, if he doesn't play the young guy. It is time to not think year to year but 3-5 years down the road.
Keeping Henry is looking better the more I look at it as well. Having a feature RB for only 2% of your total CAP is ridiculously cheap. If Brown is willing to stay at a decent CAP hit we still can have two quality backs for only about 5% of the CAP. Figure in the savings at QB with Volek and we have plenty of $$ to sign FAs as well.
I think Steve will agree to whatever contract the Titans offer him. He has always renegotiated in the past to help out the team, and he doesn't seem like the type than needs his ego puffed up by wanting a bigger contract that some other QB.
He's set financially, he's loyal, he wants to play here, he will be the team player and do what they want (need) him to do, like he always has.
That's just the impression I get, but I have no idea really...
He's set financially, he's loyal, he wants to play here, he will be the team player and do what they want (need) him to do, like he always has.
That's just the impression I get, but I have no idea really...
Steve will stay one or two more years, then Volek and the Rookie will fight it out in next year's training camp to see who gets the job. Hoffa, you make a great point. Steve has sacrificed himself in alot of ways for this team and I don't see why he won't one more time. Steve's lack of production this year is due to the new system. It's one where you have to be with the offensive unit in practice all the time and Steve isn't known for being around practice much.
I dont think you will find Steve and Billy on the same team next year.
I heard the tail end of an interview with Mike Keith this week on Knoxville's Sports Talk 99.1 FM. Someone called in and asked what position the Titans would draft in the first round. Mike said it all depended on free agent pickups. He said the Titans have 10 million to spend and would be active in free agency.
Take it for what it's worth.
Take it for what it's worth.
As far as I can tell, the Titans would head into the offseason with a total salary cap charge of approximately $96M. That's not accounting for any of our own free agents, just the 44 guys scheduled to be under contract (plus dead money from 2 players). We'll have to wait and see what the salary cap will be in 2006 before we know how far over that puts us.
As for savings, there is a lot of money to be saved by cutting just 2 guys prior to March 1. Hopkins would save over $3M (plus more in the future). Olson would save $6M. They could save over $1.5M by letting Henry walk.
Less likely would be Lamont Thompson, who could be cut to save $1.3M. Releasing Sirmon would probably save $3M or more (I'm not sure how big his option bonus is), but I'd guess they'll just alter his contract instead to save money.
If McNair retires, it would save over $14M (assuming you prorate the $50M bonus ahead of time). If they just decline the option and change nothing else, they'd save about $4M. In theory, if they reworked the contract to last through 2009, threw out the option, and paid him his current $9M this year in base salary, it would save $12.5M (the prorated value of the $50 option bonus).
As for savings, there is a lot of money to be saved by cutting just 2 guys prior to March 1. Hopkins would save over $3M (plus more in the future). Olson would save $6M. They could save over $1.5M by letting Henry walk.
Less likely would be Lamont Thompson, who could be cut to save $1.3M. Releasing Sirmon would probably save $3M or more (I'm not sure how big his option bonus is), but I'd guess they'll just alter his contract instead to save money.
If McNair retires, it would save over $14M (assuming you prorate the $50M bonus ahead of time). If they just decline the option and change nothing else, they'd save about $4M. In theory, if they reworked the contract to last through 2009, threw out the option, and paid him his current $9M this year in base salary, it would save $12.5M (the prorated value of the $50 option bonus).
$9M in base salary sounds more than fair to me. Simply pay him in that range on a year by year basis and don't pay a bonus we have to eat later on.
The QB situation that I don't want is to have Volek and our next franchise guy on the team together. That just sets you up for a QB contraversy. The young franchise QB needs to be mentored on what it takes to be a starting QB in the league. Volek doesn't know what it takes because he hasn't done it. If Mac is gone and we bring in a young QB that needs a yr or 2 to get NFL ready then I'd rather have a Dilfer, Kitna, Brad Johnson type come in and know that their role is to mentor the young QB and to manage the game without making mistakes. I say we try to get whatever value we can for Volek this offseason.
The main issue needs to be which QB gives us the best chance of winning in the developmental window. The secondary issue is the cost. If our chances of winning during that 2 year period are better with Volek and Volek is less of a burden on the CAP I would go with Volek.
Either way there is always going to be a contraversy if we have a young guy on the bench and the vet isn't playing well. It might be easier benching Volek if he isn't getting it done than a guy like McNair.
Either way there is always going to be a contraversy if we have a young guy on the bench and the vet isn't playing well. It might be easier benching Volek if he isn't getting it done than a guy like McNair.
If McNair wants to come back, he'll be back. I think it's that simple. It's just a matter of reworking his contract.
As for Volek, they can trade him for a solid draft pick (maybe making up for Henry's 3rd rounder) and save about $620k in the process.
As for Volek, they can trade him for a solid draft pick (maybe making up for Henry's 3rd rounder) and save about $620k in the process.
The real question might be has the coaching staff given up on Volek?
I agree, for better or worse McNair will be the one calling the shots. No doubt the parties will agree on a contract IF McNair wants to return. IMO, for $9 million per year I would play until someone forced me to leave.
I agree, for better or worse McNair will be the one calling the shots. No doubt the parties will agree on a contract IF McNair wants to return. IMO, for $9 million per year I would play until someone forced me to leave.
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