Bringing In An Injured 26 yr old former star for a show me season

[mgteich]

Would we bring in a former top WR who is recovering from injury for a show-me year at vet minimum? Of course we would. IMO, we need to understand the concept of dead money.

We have Shuster who has been injured and is still recovering. Last year, he performed at the level of a #4 WR. Of course, we didn't have anyone in front of him other than Douglas, so a #4 trying to be a #2 didn't look great.

It costs us ZERO for Shuster to be our #5 WR. He could work out much better, even this year, but there is a place for a #5 receiver competing for more reps. The bonus is that after a 2024 show-me year, we have a contract for an additional year at $7M with no guarantees.

We should carry 6 WR's if we must. There is a reasonable chance that Shuster will be good enough to be our #3 this year, or at worst #4.

 

[holyredeemer]

I’m confused man. What exactly are you trying to say? That we should carry 6 wr’s? Are you trying to spark a discussion about roster spots?

 

[Triumph]

Take MHJr and be done with this crap.

Have a legit # 1 WR on this team and F all this dealing with JAGs.

 

[mgteich]

I’m confused man. What exactly are you trying to say? That we should carry 6 wr’s? Are you trying to spark a discussion about roster spots?

We should all look forward to the possible success of Shuster this year and next. We shouldn't look to dump him to save a roster spot for another developmental WR.

If we find that we need another WR for a developmental WR with little chance of succeeding this year, then we should carry a 6th WR. I'm fine with having 2-3 spots on the 53 for developmental players.

BOTTOM LINE - TWO WR ROSTER SPOTS
2 of our 5 WR's are Douglas and Shuster.

COMPETING FOR 3-4 WR ROSTER SPOTS
Parker - [likely gone]
Thornton
Reager
Boutte - [likely gone]
Nixon
early draft pick (1st-4th round) - [not likely]
late draft pick or UDFA
pre-draft free agents
post-draft free agents
trades

AN ASIDE
Even if we brought two free agent WR's, say Ridley and Bourne, I would still expect Shuster to on the 53.

 

[jmt57]

I’m confused man. What exactly are you trying to say? That we should carry 6 wr’s? Are you trying to spark a discussion about roster spots?

I believe what mg is trying to say is that the benefit of cutting JuJu is negligible in terms of the cap: only $647k as a post-June 1 cut.

The upside is comparable to taking a flyer on a free agent who used to be a star, but is coming off an injury. Add other WRs so the team is not dependent on Schuster (ie he is WR5 on the depth chart).

Two other things to consider. One is that a WR5 is typically expected to be a core special teams player. JJSS has never been a special teamer, and given his injury situation that role probaly would not suit him. Secondly his place takes away a roster spot and reps from some other younger player the team may want to attempt to develop.

Given the fact there is no cap benefit to getting rid of him, I can see the argument of giving him another chance. But that would be based on what he shows in training camp and preseason. Have another player or two ready to take his place on the 53 man roster at the end of August. Depend on him as little as possible.


Unfortunately the roster rebuild is going to take more than a single offeseason. The entire offensive depth chart is evidence of that.

 

[mgteich]

I believe what mg is trying to say is that the benefit of cutting JuJu is negligible in terms of the cap: only $647k as a post-June 1 cut.

The upside is comparable to taking a flyer on a free agent who used to be a star, but is coming off an injury. Add other WRs so the team is not dependent on Schuster (ie he is WR5 on the depth chart).

Two other things to consider. One is that a WR5 is typically expected to be a core special teams player. JJSS has never been a special teamer, and given his injury situation that role probaly would not suit him. Secondly his place takes away a roster spot and reps from some other younger player the team may want to attempt to develop.

Given the fact there is no cap benefit to getting rid of him, I can see the argument of giving him another chance. But that would be based on what he shows in training camp and preseason. Have another player or two ready to take his place on the 53 man roster at the end of August. Depend on him as little as possible.


Unfortunately the roster rebuild is going to take more than a single offeseason. The entire offensive depth chart is evidence of that.

I agree. Thak you for your comments.

With regard to special teams, I agree that Shuster should be able to be the #4 WR. The #5 should be a special teamer. This is based on having a core of four WR's. Posters here almost always talk about 5 or 6.

 

[oldrover]

Take MHJr and be done with this crap.

Have a legit # 1 WR on this team and F all this dealing with JAGs.

Except you’ve got only JAG’s to throw him the ball. LOL

 

[stinkypete]

We're going to pay the suck tax hard when it comes to luring WRs - especially now that Higgins and Pittman are off the table. Ridley becomes a much hotter commodity.

I don't see anything too exciting. Maybe we overpay Mooney to come here. After that, expect some Wolf reclamation projects - Valdes Scantling, Lazard, Peoples-Jones, those types.

Just being a realist here,

 

[signbabybrady]

Basically it's sunk cost so anything he contributes now is of value.

Health aside you make a lot of sense. Not sure I'd go as far as automatically giving him a roster spot on the 53 roster. Roster space might be more important than cap space. But certainly very much worth another TC and go from there.

 

[Scotty]

Maybe I have missed a report but as far as I know JJSS is still an option for camp etc. and can prove he is a viable option. If he is found to have chronic knee issues during camp then eject him from a roster spot at that time.

 

[Toofy]

We're going to pay the suck tax hard when it comes to luring WRs - especially now that Higgins and Pittman are off the table. Ridley becomes a much hotter commodity.

I don't see anything too exciting. Maybe we overpay Mooney to come here. After that, expect some Wolf reclamation projects - Valdes Scantling, Lazard, Peoples-Jones, those types.

Just being a realist here,

I would much rather roll the dice on Thornton and a rookie and hope they develop.

That's what packers did . No need to sign middle of pack veterans when you can get a rookie at 1/5th the salary doing 80% of what the vet could do. Save money for wr1 and fill rest with rooks or vet minimum candidates.

 

[BTTA]

There are some guys who weren't going to develop and thrive under the prior coaching regime who may under the new one. We can't predict from outside the walls but there's a reasonable chance one or two will perform significantly better than in the past. And no, this is not a criticism, just as acknowledgment of reality.