Heard his name floating around the Titans community a bit lately, so just wanted to get your guys' thoughts. With the Bucs being in cap trouble, and after just resigning Gronk, a guy like OJ Howard($0 Dead cap for Bucs if they trade him) is probably on the trade block.
First question. Do we want him? He's been underwhelming his entire career thus far. Has a pretty terrible injury history. He does still have potential though, and we need a TE1 badly(one that can block and also be a legit recieving option)
2nd. Can we afford him? Last I heard, we had 15 million in cap space and that was before these last 5 or so signings have gone through. Seems like the thought of us having enough for another contract like this AND rookies might be completely out of the question at this point.
Finally, what would he cost? I would assume they are trying to unload him for a 4th or 5th, but seeing that they have no leverage(negative cap space) I could see him being got for a 7th.
The rookie Tight End crop is really thin this year, so it makes a guy like this look alot more desirable. I would personally love an opportunity to see this guy here, but I don't know if we can even make the cap numbers work at this point. He seems to be the only reasonable trade option though...
I'm assuming some team will get him for a 6th or 7th rd pick. Will it be us? Doubt it, but here's to hoping.
First question. Do we want him? He's been underwhelming his entire career thus far. Has a pretty terrible injury history. He does still have potential though, and we need a TE1 badly(one that can block and also be a legit recieving option)
2nd. Can we afford him? Last I heard, we had 15 million in cap space and that was before these last 5 or so signings have gone through. Seems like the thought of us having enough for another contract like this AND rookies might be completely out of the question at this point.
Finally, what would he cost? I would assume they are trying to unload him for a 4th or 5th, but seeing that they have no leverage(negative cap space) I could see him being got for a 7th.
The rookie Tight End crop is really thin this year, so it makes a guy like this look alot more desirable. I would personally love an opportunity to see this guy here, but I don't know if we can even make the cap numbers work at this point. He seems to be the only reasonable trade option though...
I'm assuming some team will get him for a 6th or 7th rd pick. Will it be us? Doubt it, but here's to hoping.
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Adding Howard would open up more draft flexibility....whats he worth? A 5th? 3-4 million/yr?
I think him or Brate will be released
I think him or Brate will be released
No way am I even considering a trade for him because his 6mil salary comes with him....I doubt any team will trade for him with that cap hit and his total lack of production...the Bucs most likely are gonna have to cut him....at that point I’d consider him on the cheap.
Good point...agree with this
I'm really not sure where the narrative that he's been underwhelming has come from. For example, here's how his 3 best years compare to Jonnu's 3 best years (they each had one dud year so I left that out - Jonnu was a rookie in his worst year, and OJ was injured last season):
Jonnu:
2018: 20 rec, 258 yards (12.9 ypc), 3 TD
2019: 35 rec, 439 yards (12.5 ypc), 3 TD
2020: 41 rec, 448 yards (10.9 ypc), 8 TD
OJ:
2017: 26 rec, 432 yards (16.6 ypc), 6 TD
2018: 34 rec, 565 yards (16.6 ypc), 5 TD - only played in 10 games
2019: 34 rec, 459 yards (13.5 ypc), 1 TD
From a receiving productivity standpoint, his production is very similar, if not better than Jonnu. His blocking is a question mark simply from the fact that it would take studying game film to know if it's good or not. But he's more than worth his $6M salary this year, and definitely worth a mid round pick if that's what it would take to get him.
The problem really is his contract length. He would just be a one year rental, and then we'd either have to give him a bag of cash, tag him (I like this idea most), or let him go and just get a compensatory pick for him.
According to overthecap.com, if OJ Howard is released, his 6million dollar salary would all be dead money. It's showing that the only way the 6million will be cleared is if he is traded. The NFL salary cap is probably in my top of 3 most confusing things I've ever tried to understand(along side women and politics)
I don't even know if that's correct, I wouldn't think so. I think those cap sites are just off sometimes. Obviously, ideally, he gets cut and we can get him on a 1 year, 2 million dollar deal or something. I don't think we could even afford him if he was 6 million anyways, so I hope overthecap.com is wrong and he gets released lol
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Lol he's a giant slot WR. Not a real TE. We need a blocker who can also create mismatches.
Maybe we can give ole Taylor Thompson or Phillip Superslaw a call. Lol
Obviously I'm kidding, but where TF is delanie at, seriously?
I believe JR is in talks with the Bucs and Delanie at the moment. We have to see what our cap figure is at before we can make an offer, but either player would undoubtedly add tons of value to the team right now while giving us more breathing room in the draft.
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Id rather have Howard than Walker tbh
Without a doubt, would you rather have Howard or Delanie and Daquon Jones If that was an option?
Howard....i want to get younger
Daquon played a role well but I think Autry is a better fit. And we could add a DT in the draft as well?
From probably the biggest Firk fan on the board, OJH is better. I’m all for getting him as cheap as possible. He’s got a lot of tread left on his tires.
I agree that Daquon isn't nearly as good as many people in here believe him to be. I also think he's less than ideal as a true Nose Tackle. A guy like Danny Shelton would be a better fit in my eyes. 6'2 344 lbs. Maybe we can get him for a milli. Daquon wouldnt be a horrible pickup, id just prefer someone a lil younger and stouter In the middle. I'm probably going to dig in deep doing some analysis on Nose Tackles and Tight Ends for the draft here soon. Because honestly these could all be out of the question due to the cap.
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Where in the world are you getting that he would sign $2m deal? Jonnu just got $30M guaranteed. Gerald Everett got a 1 year, $6M deal. Even Jeff Swaim signed back with us for $2.5M! There is no world where a 99th percentile, 1st round pick would sign for $2M.
As for his contract, he's a first round pick, so this year is being played on a 5th year option. None of his rookie signing bonus goes against the 5th year, because it was paid for over the course of the first 4 years of the contract. The 5th year is a stand alone year, where the money is all guaranteed against injury, but not paid out through bonuses. The player is paid the money in their game checks, week by week. So until he plays the games, he gets no money. If he is traded before he plays a game, the team that he is traded to would be liable for those game checks.
Exactly. 5th year options became fully guaranteed last week which is why we cut Adoree the day before. Honestly, I was shocked the Bucs didn’t cut Howard the day before too considering all the money they’re spending on Brate and Gronk. They can’t cut him, only trade him with the $6 mil contract.
OJ Howard has finished every season on the IR. I don't think it's possible to actually get him for 2 million, just said that was ideal.
I would see them as more likely to cut Brate than Howard now. His $6.5M against the cap would carry almost no dead cap.
I would not mind adding him at all if they did. We could (probably) be the first team in NFL history to have two players from Harvard playing the same position.
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