Giants sign their free agent LT - the market price for OT in FA is set.....

[BradyFTW!]

Beatty is a competent LOT and nothing more. He can pass block and is only a rather poor run blocker. Volmer picked one position in front can play BOTH LOT and ROT; and is a Probowl ROT for the Patriots who is superior than most ROTs in pass blocking and just as good as any ROT run blocking mauler. Plus he can shift to LOT in case of injury to the LOT, and do a more then competent job. In that sense he is more valuable than Beatty.

He is drawn back by his potential back problems.

He merits a slightly better contract than Beatty got, should they choose to keep him. Of the 'big three' he is easily the most valuable at his age and position. If anyone should be tagged, it's him.

He was able to play LT a couple of years ago, back when he was fully healthy. Whether or not he still can is anyone's guess. Maybe I'm just not well-versed enough in what to look for, because when Vollmer was on the field this year, it looked to me like he was playing significantly below the level that he played at in 2010. A bit slower off the snap, and definitely has lost some lateral quickness. Not surprising, considering the nature of his injury. He also seemed a bit inconsistent, as well. Still did a more than competent (I'd even say good) job, but definitely not the All Pro caliber that he used to play at.

 

[Ring 6]

.....and its pretty affordable from my point of view.

Beatty signed for 5 years and $38.74MM with a $12MM signing bonus. Now we don't know anything about the structure of the deal, but on the surface its just over $7MM/yr for a good starting LT. I think Volmer is another level up talent wise, but he has that chronic back should mitigate his demands down to where Beatty signed. If Volmer was willing to take that kind of deal, but with some injury protection for the team, they could probably get something done.

BOTTOM LINE - I think this deal shows the effect of the large number of OLmen available in FA this class and the effect of flat cap on the general FA class. This is going to be a GREAT year to have some cap room to spend.

I think there is no chance Volmer gets that kind of deal, and certainly not from the Patriots. Beatty is a quality LT forchistsake

 

[Ring 6]

Less guaranteed money?

Then its a lesser contract.

 

[Ring 6]

Yup, Vollmer should get 6 at most and given the uncertainty of his back it should come under that.
If he's looking for LT money and for the pats to just forget about his health than he s as good as gone.

Until he finds out 31 other teams see it the same way, then who knows

 

[Ring 6]

There also can be bonuses for games started or even games when he was active. There can be roster bonuses for being on the team for Game One. There are lot of methods.

The problem is having to carry a backup that is good enough to start, knowing that he would be used a lot, so cannot really also be the backup for Solder.

But a contract with those provisions is not attractive to the player. You might was well just offer less, its the same thing.

 

[patfanken]

Vollmer, a RT with chronic back issues who can't stay on the field and who, due to those injuries, is sometimes a significant liability even when he does play.

Your position would hold more credence if some of your facts could be backed up. There is no question that Volmer has back issues, but by and large they haven't kept him off the field. Contrary to the impression you are trying to leave, in 3 of his 4 years he's missed a total of 3 games. Only in 2011 did he miss a significant amount of games

I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree there. Personally, I'd rather see the Pats go in the direction of a guy whose ceiling may not be as high, but at least you know he'll be on the field consistently and will be able to get the job done. From what I saw last season, Cannon can probably be that guy. That should allow the Pats to go and find a swing tackle, then take the remaining savings over what you would pay to Vollmer and shore up their weaknesses elsewhere. If they spent it on a contributing WR, for example, I think that the effect on the offense would be a significant net positive.

Now I'm not saying that the Pats WILL resign Volmer, but there is a good case for them to do it, and Beatty's contract now puts more into play.

By signing Volmer the Pats get a probowl quality RT, who can also be your back up LT. This allows Cannon to either be a high quality backup T and/or be your starting RG. At 10MM/yr I would agree with your that the risk/reward might be too much, but at $7MM/yr and the appropriate safeguards, it makes much more sense. We can afford having 2 higher priced guys on the OL and by the time Solder is ready for his big contract, we'll be ready to replace Mankin's big contract with with his.

I was skeptical that Volmer would be back, but Beatty's contract has given me hope that the benefits of keeping him would now make economic sense

Here's a thought if you are still concerned about the cap space. How about this. Release Connolly and his cap number, move Cannon to RG and upgrade there. Now instead of just having an average RT and an average RG, you get an elite RT and a RG who has the size and potential to be an upgrade at RG....and if you can save $2MM in cap savings for Connolly, then your net cost of Volmer would just be $5MM for this year.

 

[BradyBranch39]

I'd definitely sign Vollmer for 3-4 years at anything less than $6M per year.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Your position would hold more credence if some of your facts could be backed up. There is no question that Volmer has back issues, but by and large they haven't kept him off the field. Contrary to the impression you are trying to leave, in 3 of his 4 years he's missed a total of 3 games. Only in 2011 did he miss a significant amount of games

Now I'm not saying that the Pats WILL resign Volmer, but there is a good case for them to do it, and Beatty's contract now puts more into play.

By signing Volmer the Pats get a probowl quality RT, who can also be your back up LT. This allows Cannon to either be a high quality backup T and/or be your starting RG. At 10MM/yr I would agree with your that the risk/reward might be too much, but at $7MM/yr and the appropriate safeguards, it makes much more sense. We can afford having 2 higher priced guys on the OL and by the time Solder is ready for his big contract, we'll be ready to replace Mankin's big contract with with his.

I was skeptical that Volmer would be back, but Beatty's contract has given me hope that the benefits of keeping him would now make economic sense

Here's a thought if you are still concerned about the cap space. How about this. Release Connolly and his cap number, move Cannon to RG and upgrade there. Now instead of just having an average RT and an average RG, you get an elite RT and a RG who has the size and potential to be an upgrade at RG....and if you can save $2MM in cap savings for Connolly, then your net cost of Volmer would just be $5MM for this year.

Connolly's cap charge this season is $2M and change, versus the $7M annually that you want to see allocated to Vollmer. That's not exactly interchangeable. Even still, in the scenario that you described, Connolly would still have too much value to warrant releasing, since he's a very good center, which is the position that he should be playing, and would have played this season if Waters hadn't bailed.

Yes, Vollmer played 15 games this year. But he was playing as part of a rotation at RT, and his effectiveness was significantly down from past (healthy) years. Not to mention that odds are that his back will get worse over time, rather than better. He's had problems with it since college, and while I don't blame the Pats for rolling the dice on him--the talent was too great at the spot where they were drafting, and Gronk is proof that it's oftentimes a good gamble--but a bad back that has been a persistent problem for consecutive years is an enormous red flag when you're dealing with a tackle. Despite all of that, you still want to make him the highest paid RT in the NFL. I strongly disagree.

 

[eom]

» Over the Cap- Top NFL Contracts: Right Tackle

 

[mgteich]

I agree with you.

I was simply answering a question from a poster as to what protections are possible.

But a contract with those provisions is not attractive to the player. You might was well just offer less, its the same thing.

 

[captain stone]

» Over the Cap- Top NFL Contracts: Right Tackle

Based on this chart, I'd guess that SeaBass will be seeking at least $5M APY.