$10M - $15M guaranteed is not close to enough to sign Hopkins. That being said, I could see us guaranteeing $30M.
I don't know MG, my feeling is that OBJ set the market for thirty something formerly great WR's coming off of injuries. I mean you can fudge how a contract is structured and make it LOOK like more. For example you can give him a million if he plays 15 games Give him another million if he has 1300 receiving yds. Give him a million if the team makes the playoffs and another million if we get to the superbowl. Now we are up to 19MM and if he hits those targets he'll be well worth the price. BUT as far as "guaranteed" money I don't see it getting past $15. Maybe when he signs the headline will be a 2-3 year deal at 19-20 million/yr, but when a closer look happens a few days later, the REAL money will closer to $15MM/yr
A couple of other points on this VERY enjoyable thread to read.
1. As to what to do with Parker if Hopkins signs is a very interesting topic. The fact is that Parker and Hopkins play the same position and do pretty much the same thing. Parker is bigger, Hopkins is quicker...and ultimately the better overall receiver. Parker's biggest problem has ALWAYS been his "availability". As someone pointed out earlier, when Parker is actually on the field he can be very productive
But make no mistake they ARE redundant. I was initially on board to trade/release him if Hopkins is signed. But I have been persuaded that keeping him at least through TC is the best way to go. Injuries aside, Parker IS a quality NFL WR and a value at $6MM. Injuries happen and I LOVE to see TC competition where jobs may be on the line. We are going to need 5 WRs on the 53. Hopkins Thornton, Juju, Bourne and Parker gives you 4 proven pros, and one guy with a ton of potential and looking for a 2nd year leap.
Now if one of the 2 rookies suddenly pops, Thornton makes the leap, or some injury on another team suddenly makes Parker a commodity that will bring an overvalued return You think about it. You can't have enough good players on your team. Parker needs to remain on the team and then you can reevaluate the situation in September and then again at the trade deadline.
I have ZERO expectations for the 2 rookies even though both have compelling stories. All I want out of them is to show enough "flash" in TC and have a full season on the PS and be good enough to make the roster in year 2 or fill in with injuries
2. As to Mac Jones...... I would like people to remember that Mac was BY FAR the best of the 5 rookie first round QB's. Last year of course was a disaster for him and we all know the reasons and while he needs to take SOME of the blame there is plenty blame to go around. We all know what they were, no need to rehash here.
When he was drafted, I felt that his BEST asset was that he was (as Brady was) psychotically competitive and a perfectionist. We saw the good side of that attribute his rookie year and a bad side of it at times last year. A couple of unprofessional outbursts (imo) that I hope he has learned from them. Remember EVERY player sucks some of the time. The good ones grow from the experience the bad ones dwell on them but don't LEARN from them. Like in life , how you respond after you've been knocked on your ass is how you will be how you are ultimately defined, NOT what you do on your best day.
My second point on Mac comes from comments that Mac is a noodle arm who can't throw a deep ball. Well if I recall correctly, while in Alabama he was a VERY accurate deep passer, and in his first year, while he didn't throw deep a lot, when he did the throws were pretty much on the mark.
Now it has been pretty much universally reported that Mac's arm strength HAS improved over the last 2 years. No one is saying that he now has a "gun", but it's better. PLEASE let us not forget that for his first 5 years, which included 3 superbowls, Brady was considered a "game manager" with a noodle arm. It wasn't until 2007 that suddenly Brady was a guy with a "gun" too. Guys DO improve over time. It took Brady several years of incremental improvement before his "gun" arrived. Now I don't know if Mac will eventually improve over the years to actual "gunhood" , but what I DO know Mac has enough of an arm to make all the throws he needs to, INCLUDING the deep one
3. The Tua comparison is a good one. But let us see league wide, if they can duplicate last year's performance. Defenses often have a way of catching up to explosive offenses, even those with the best WR combo in the league.
