OT: Larry Fitzgerald does not expect to be back with the Cardinals next season

[Off The Grid]

My Take:

01 ~ FitzGerald will be 32 next Year. The Vast Majority of Wide Outs are past their Peak at that point.
02 ~ That History, combined with his 3 Year Swoon, translates to Enormous Risk.
03 ~ Having said that: I believe that FitzGerald will pass all but The Great One before he's done.
04 ~ And it's entirely possible that his 3 Year Swoon is more about the QuarterBacks than him.
05 ~ Futhermore, FitzGerald is a Split End, and Split Ends have historically held up far better.
06 ~ Great Split Ends, like Terrel Owens & Randy Moss, have sustained Top Shelf Play to about 35.
07 ~ That could translate into 4 more Years of Top Shelf Play.
08 ~ Even so: it would be asinine to pay Full Price in the face of such Uncertainty.
09 ~ 4 Years & $2o Million with Upside to $30 Million is all I'd pay ~ and only if I could afford it.
10 ~ No way in Hell I'd burn Defense or Trench Warriors to make that happen.
11 ~ And I'd only do that much if it was wafer-thin on Guarantees.
12 ~ And I doubt that what I'm talking about would get it done.

 

[BradyFTW!]

32 years old and 3 straight years without a 1,000 yard season. If Fitzgerald's cut, he's worth keeping an eye on. I don't think he would command that much money.

Yup, that's the one way we might get him. Teams could underestimate how much of his decline in production is due to awful QBs, and drive his price down to the point that it makes sense for the Pats to go and get him.

If we could get him for, say, $8M against the cap, then I think it would be worth looking into. For the few games that Palmer was healthy this year, Fitzgerald looked really good. He just has zero chemistry with Stanton or Lindley.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I don't disagree with anything you said. I have nothing but respect for the talent and professionalism of Larry Fitzgerald, even at this late stage of his career. He'd have made a great Patriot. But the fact is he's going to leave AZ because he a has a huge cap number that is impossible to justify.

The problem the WR nazis have with me is the preoccupation with ANY WR that happens to come on the market, let alone the Larry Fitz's of the world. Tell you what though, for all the reason's you give, if you could convince Larry to come to the Pats for $6MM next year and replace DA's cap number, I'd be all for it.

Here's the problem. How are you going to get Larry to come for relatively short money, when his major problem with the Cardinals is not being a main focus of the passing game. If he came to NE he'd have have to be sharing balls with Gronk, Edelman, and LaFell, all 3 1000 yd receivers already. I don't think anyone really thinks Fitzpatrick would take short money to come to the NE to be just one piece of a 4 headed piece of the puzzle. Certainly not when he can go so many places and still be the focus of the offense.....and make more money.

OK that takes care of Fitzgerald, possibility one down and several dozen to go.

Conversely, this offense made LaFell a 1,000 yard receiver, and LaFell is basically a poor man's Fitzgerald who makes $3M per year. There are plenty of balls to go around, and Fitzgerald on the Pats, with some draft picks invested in the OL, could give us one of the best red zone offenses in history.

I don't think it'll happen, but LaFell is basically paid like a WR3 already, and if Fitzgerald's main grievance is that he doesn't like being a slot receiver and playing with crap QBs, the Pats can absolutely fix that for him.

In short: there are a lot of reasons to potentially not sign Fitzgerald, but "we already have LaFell" isn't a good one, IMO.

 

[meatface]

He's on to Oakland/Jacksonville

 

[woolster22]

As much as I fully agree with you that bringing in someone like that does NOT provide good value, there are actually some very decent arguments for an attempt at making it happen:

1)--Fitzgerald would not have a problem picking things up, so he falls into a very small group who'd be practically "guaranteed" to work well with Brady

2)--He's one of those savvy vets with experience, who take every single snap seriously--even if they occur during the off-season and/or practice situations. Think an offensive version of Darrelle Revis. The ultimate professional who is going to give his all on every snap

3)--The lack of outside receiver needs to be addressed one way or another. The problem with paying someone 10 million dollars per year is that you just don't know if they're going to be able to pick up the offense here. (See first reason) That does not apply with Larry Fitzgerald

4)--He's obviously extremely talented, and would allow us to have 3 solid receivers + Gronk at TE. It'd basically be Super Bowl or bust, and that kind of offense could seriously set records. Edelman as the shorter/timing route receiver, LaFell as a possession-type of receiver + YACs, and Fitzgerald as the outside weapon who would likely catch a good 4-5 balls every game



Ultimately, I still feel as though it would be a waste of resources unless Fitzgerald wanted to play with a pro bowl QB and have a shot at a SB so much that he'd be willing to accept a lesser deal. If that's the case, it suddenly becomes a no-brainer in my opinion. I'd still be extremely tempted to give him a call, one way or another, though.

Torry Holt.

Next?

 

[woolster22]

Few will agree but I think BB would take back Welker if Welker wanted to come back. Law, Seymour, and Mankind all talked crap and were re-signed, except for Law who BB tried to bring him back multiple times. Unfortunately I doubt the corpse of Wes would want to come back. That corpse would be a Nice cheap veteran wide out.

FTFY

 

[woolster22]

So the money was to be put into escrow to be paid out to Brady, but now will not, so it could be spent on resigning players like Revis and/or McCourty. This would explain why it will not alter the cap, because the money will be spent by the team in another capacity.

Fail.

Brady's cap his went up a million a year. The major difference that the salaries are not fully guaranteed, keeping the Krafts from having to put $24 million, of cold hard cash, into an escrow account. What this really does, is free up some cash for the pats to use as signing bonuses, etc. Any of the twenty four million spent elsewhere would count against the cap this year in some capacity, depending on the contract.

 

[supafly]

Torry Holt.

Next?

There are so many things wrong with this post, that I think it's just better to leave it alone.

 

[woolster22]

There are so many things wrong with this post, that I think it's just better to leave it alone.

Plenty of "old Wiley vets," have cone in here and failed to produce. Galloway, 85, Lloyd seemed to grasp the playbook but never made everything truly click...

 

[supafly]

Plenty of "old Wiley vets," have cone in here and failed to produce. Galloway, 85...

We'll start with your Torry Holt example:

"On April 20, 2010, Holt signed a one-year, $1.7 million contract with the New England Patriots.[12] He was placed on injured reserve on August 15, 2010 as a result of a knee injury that would require surgery. He was released by the team on August 17, 2010 with an injury settlement."

 

[woolster22]

We'll start with your Torry Holt...

"On April 20, 2010, Holt signed a one-year, $1.7 million contract with the New England Patriots.[12] He was placed on injured reserve on August 15, 2010 as a result of a knee injury that would require surgery. He was released by the team on August 17, 2010 with an injury settlement."

Maybe I'm confusing him with Galloway?

Again, the point being plenty of veteran receivers have come to NE and failed to grasp the playbook, get in sync with Brady, or both.

While I'd say Fitz has as good a chance as any, he is not a lock.

 

[supafly]

Plenty of "old Wiley vets," have cone in here and failed to produce. Galloway, 85, Lloyd seemed to grasp the playbook but never made everything truly click...

Comparing Chad freaking Johnson to Larry Fitzgerald is just bizarre.

They couldn't be more different in work ethic, attitude, intelligence, etc.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Torry Holt.

Next?

What does torry holt have to do with Larry Fitzgerald?

 

[supafly]

Again, the point being plenty of veteran receivers have come to NE and failed to grasp the playbook, get in sync with Brady, or both.

I don't remember claiming otherwise, woolster.

I'm simply saying that Fitzgerald greatly improves the odds and takes away from the concern about locker room issues, attitude concerns, lack of effort, work ethic, and intelligence.

You could've said the same thing about Darrelle Revis and the fact that we've had CBs fail here. The bottom line is that both Darrelle Revis and Larry Fitzgerald are the posterboys for the kind of player that you get if you have the opportunity.

I don't believe it will happen, but there are certainly plenty of reasons why it should.

 

[woolster22]

What does torry holt have to do with Larry Fitzgerald?

Whiskey.

I'm going home now...

First name that came to mind when thinking of a veteran wideout many people felt could grasp the system. Forgot he got hurt, as supa pointed out.

All I'm saying is there aren't really many sure bets for receivers picking the system up.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Whiskey.

I'm going home now...

First name that came to mind when thinking of a veteran wideout many people felt could grasp the system. Forgot he got hurt, as supa pointed out.

All I'm saying is there aren't really many sure bets for receivers picking the system up.

Haha, right on. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up- the problem with Holt wasn't grasping the system; was all injury-related.

 

[woolster22]

I don't remember claiming otherwise, woolster.

I'm simply saying that Fitzgerald greatly improves the odds and takes away from the concern about locker room issues, attitude concerns, lack of effort, work ethic, and intelligence.

You could've said the same thing about Darrelle Revis and the fact that we've had CBs fail here. The bottom line is that both Darrelle Revis and Larry Fitzgerald are the posterboys for the kind of player that you get if you have the opportunity.

I don't believe it will happen, but there are certainly plenty of reasons why it should.

I seem to have missed the "practically," in "practically "guaranteed"". My bad.

I will put the shovel down I guess...

 

[nabwong]

I wouldn't be surprise if Fitz came here on a 1 year rental at a relatively affordable salary.

Reasons
1. It's almost a guarantee to make the playoffs
2. Playing with Tom Brady
3. Playing for BB
4. His numbers will probably be awesome and then he can re-test the free market after that
5. No distractions.

I'm speaking as a fan. I really want this to happen. Imagine, Fitz with minitron and Gronk. You still have LaFell and Wright (with a full off-season). Draft a couple on O-line. drooooooooooolllllll.

 

[Fencer]

Is anybody concerned that he's on one of the best teams he's been on in his whole career this season, yet he's dissatisfied with his role?

 

[ausbacker]

We'll start with your Torry Holt example:

"On April 20, 2010, Holt signed a one-year, $1.7 million contract with the New England Patriots.[12] He was placed on injured reserve on August 15, 2010 as a result of a knee injury that would require surgery. He was released by the team on August 17, 2010 with an injury settlement."

Fitzgerald is more than welcome to sign a 5 year deal with the Patriots for 2 million per...