Bengals tag Justin Smith

[Buckeye33]

Originally Posted by Redhook

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Ok, for all the folks that want to use that 8.6 million to get Thomas, what do you do when the Ravens tag Thomas and Smith then walks and you get nothing? Do you hope that some other player who is as good as Smith decides to sign with the Bengals?

Because that seems to happen every year, oh wait...we get Dexter Jackson and a 400lb Sam Adams who was worth having 4 years ago.

Smith had 82 tackles as a DE and 7.5 sacks. More tackles than Adalius Thomas, more sacks than Jared Allen and same amount as Alex Brown.

I do not believe anyone would argue that Smith is worth 8.6 million, but the Bengals need to keep him. He is a very solid NFL DE.

[TeamSelig]

good deal imo

[Ben]

I'd look for a deal somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 yr/35-37 million for Justin Smith. Hopefully they put the big money into the 2nd year of the deal thus lessening the cap hit this year. Also, a couple million could be saved if we cut Bryan Robinson. If the Bengals can find a smallish, speedy pass rusher in the later rounds of the draft (a la Mark Anderson of the Bears last year), the Bengals DE's might be very good next year.

All that said, I'm glad it was Smith rather than Steinbach. Steiny is a good guard but for the money he's going to get (Brownies fans fawn all over Steinbach) I think I'd rather keep Justin Smith.

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by Buckeye33

Ok, for all the folks that want to use that 8.6 million to get Thomas, what do you do when the Ravens tag Thomas and Smith then walks and you get nothing? Do you hope that some other player who is as good as Smith decides to sign with the Bengals?

Because that seems to happen every year, oh wait...we get Dexter Jackson and a 400lb Sam Adams who was worth having 4 years ago.

Smith had 82 tackles as a DE and 7.5 sacks. More tackles than Adalius Thomas, more sacks than Jared Allen and same amount as Alex Brown.

I do not believe anyone would argue that Smith is worth 8.6 million, but the Bengals need to keep him. He is a very solid NFL DE.

I don't have 2006's top salaries for DEs, but this is from 2005(based on cap value).

Simeon Rice(10.7)
Jason Taylor(7.8)
Darren Howard(7.8)
Adewale Ogunleye(7.6)
Reggie Hayward(7.5)

Last season-
Simeon Rice(14 tackles, 2 sacks in 8 games)
Jason Taylor(62 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 9 forced fumbles)
Darren Howard(35 tackles, 5 sacks)
Adewale Ogunleye(43 tackles, 6.5 sacks)
Reggie Hayward(33 tackles, 8.5 sacks)

Now for Justin Smith-(81 tackles, 7.5 sacks)

What does this prove?

All of the top 5 players are overpaid, with the exception of maybe Jason Taylor.

I would rather have Smith than Steinbach, because at least we have somebody who can step in and replace Steiny in Whitworth. If Smith left, we would have nobody(Adalius Thomas is a pipedream) and we are going to have to worry about replacing the secondary in the draft.

[WVRed]

Also, for the Cardinals to have franchised Leonard Davis, it would have cost 11 million. Think Steinbach is worth that much?

This is starting to look like a smart decision.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by Buckeye33

People who think the Bengals will just be able to sign Adalius Thomas aren't thinking clearly. The Ravens would be idiotic to not franchise tag Thomas, just like the Patriots are going to tag Asante Samuel. This tag is there so teams keep their best/better players. If Thomas got onto the open market, somehow I do not believe the Bengals would outbid every other team in the NFL.

Well, the Ravens are idiotic b/c they didn't franchise A. Thomas due to their salary cap numbers.

I have no idea what the Bengals numbers are, but I think they still have some wiggle room. The Bengals need a guy like Thomas....badly. I wonder if they'd have a shot at him???

[Hoosier Red]

I was also thinking, its smart to tag Smith this year to make sure you get the top 5 players in 2006 dollars as opposed to having to worry about the top 5 players in 2007 dollars when the cap will have opened up some.

[Z-Fly]

Originally Posted by DTCromer

How much longer until Bengals fans realize Mike Brown is the same old Mike Brown? This further proves it.

I don't know what you mean by this. Mike Brown is known for not spending money. Or at least I thought. So wouldn't this disprove that?

This is a great way to use Justin as a one year stop gap.

[HotCorner]

Yeah the Bengals are cheap. Re-signing Carson, Chad, Levi, Willie, and TJ must not apply.

Please tell me who the Steelers, Patriots or Colts overpaid for in free agency?

[Buckeye33]

Originally Posted by Redhook

Well, the Ravens are idiotic b/c they didn't franchise A. Thomas due to their salary cap numbers.

I have no idea what the Bengals numbers are, but I think they still have some wiggle room. The Bengals need a guy like Thomas....badly. I wonder if they'd have a shot at him???

The Ravens really must be hurting on the cap (don't have exact #s) because allowing this guy to leave for nothing is really bad. Maybe the Ravens think they can actually sign him on their own without using some sort of tag on him.

Could the Bengals sign Thomas? They probably could as long as they got Smith signed to a long term deal. I do not think it will happen though because some owner will pay Thomas some insane amount of money up front. Rumors are the 49ers are going to break the bank to sign him.

[Redhook]

Originally Posted by Buckeye33

The Ravens really must be hurting on the cap (don't have exact #s) because allowing this guy to leave for nothing is really bad. Maybe the Ravens think they can actually sign him on their own without using some sort of tag on him.

Could the Bengals sign Thomas? They probably could as long as they got Smith signed to a long term deal. I do not think it will happen though because some owner will pay Thomas some insane amount of money up front. Rumors are the 49ers are going to break the bank to sign him.

I did read it was about cap room.

Listening to Marvin Lewis it doesn't sound like the Bengals will go after Thomas. That's a shame b/c he is the type of guy that couild really make a difference on their defense. They desperately need a difference maker on defense.

[JaxRed]

Smart move by Bengals, they hold all cards. Smith won't want a one year deal, and if he goes FA, the Bengals get two picks. Hell, I'd like him to sign elsewhere for 2 first rounders.

[Boss-Hog]

Originally Posted by JaxRed

Smart move by Bengals, they hold all cards. Smith won't want a one year deal, and if he goes FA, the Bengals get two picks. Hell, I'd like him to sign elsewhere for 2 first rounders.

I don't see any team giving up two first round picks for Smith; instead, I see him playing here for another year at a top five DL salary. I hope I'm wrong and they do work out a reasonable long term deal or a trade that brings compensation.

[hebroncougar]

Smith is very overrated IMO, but this wasn't a terrible move. As long as they trust someone else like Whitworth at guard. It bothers me a bit though, Steinbach seemed like a trooper, playing all sorts of positions after guys got hurt. And it wouldn't surprise me to see him end up in Cleveland, which won't help us.

[BuckWoody]

Originally Posted by hebroncougar

Smith is very overrated IMO, but this wasn't a terrible move. As long as they trust someone else like Whitworth at guard. It bothers me a bit though, Steinbach seemed like a trooper, playing all sorts of positions after guys got hurt. And it wouldn't surprise me to see him end up in Cleveland, which won't help us.

I agree that in the grand scheme of things Steinbach is a more valuable player than Smith but when talking about the Bengals' specific needs, Justin wins out. I don't think he's lived up to being the #4 overall pick in the draft but he's solid and a very high-motor guy...a good example for some of the other knuckleheads on this team. I think they have people in place to step in for Steinbach but their needs on defense are numerous and keeping a good solid DE on the club is better than letting him walk and opening up yet another hole. The gameplan is to get him and his agent to the negotiating table and get something long-term and cap-friendly worked out.

If the Bengals can just get close to the top half of the league in team D, I think we've got something special here.