I don't think we can say that for sure. Savage hasn't shown anything worth a damn and we don't know who else will be brought in. I'm sure it'll be a hotly debated topic during camp.
What does this have to do with anything? One player had a good defense and decent QB-play earlier in his career, the other was on an expansion team whose offense set a record for most sacks.
They need to pay Hopkins sooner rather than later. Plus you gotta replace Cushing and need corner depth if you cut Joseph. And now you have to find a starting right tackle. That cap money is going to disappear so quickly.
Well, if they want to trade a bunch of draft picks for a QB.... that will save them from having to pay the draft picks.
I will be most impressed if they do this. Dude is due to paid and other teams are going to make offers.
I don't see them cutting Cushing. Only save $5mil in capspace. Next year most likely unless he's just a complete beast next season
I hate seeing our really good free agents go to other teams because we can't afford to keep them. Tough decisions will have to be made for sure, and the one thing we didn't need to screw it all up was instability at our QB position. It's a shame this whole idea of bringing in Osweiler turned out to be such a controversial mess, with fingers pointing the blame in all directions. Now we are stuck in a money situation we have no control over this year, and won't have the money or ability to trade, even if we want to. We rushed to find the answer, snagging an opportunity, and thinking we got one over on Denver. It just didn't feel like a winning year, even though we made it to the second round of the playoffs. There will be no quick fix now, so let's hope some luck comes our way in this draft. Maybe, just maybe, we will finally find that diamond in the rough, who will eventually shine as our QB.
Sure, it'll disappear quickly, but you have more than enough options or ways to replace those guys you mentioned. Hopkins will get his extension and bonus money... His base salary will increase significantly starting in 2018. He'll be fine. Cushing, although he plays with with all his heart, is replaceable on the field. You can spend a 3rd round pick and get quality production, if not happy with FAs. Losing Joseph can hurt, but he's getting to the point in his career that he's not really a reliable option. Having Kevin, Kareem, and Bouye... That's more talent at CB than 90% of teams. We roll with that and either draft or sign a backup CB. The players I suggested to cut aren't crucial to the success of the team...yes,we have emotional attachments to them, but we value them much more than they're actually worth. Now, if there isn't a Rivers or Romo that you have a chance at, then no reason to make those cuts bc we'll have enough. Regardless, I'd rather wrap Bouye up and send JJo packing.
Bouye's salary and Hopkins salary will be on the books at the same time. You can't front load Bouye's too much because you still have Brock and then you'll have Hopkins the next year. My thing about Bouye, is can he sustain his production past this year? I mean we've seen a huge jump between this year and the last; was it a fluke? He sure timed it perfectly and he is going to get paid. Most likely overpaid. I'll love to keep him here but with a good cap hit. It'll be a long season if you're depending on quality production from a 3rd round LB. McKinney was a 2nd rounder and he didn't really contribute till his 2nd year. I have no attachment to Joseph but I don't see where people are saying he is not really a reliable option. At his age, he was still the 2nd best CB on the field at worst. Sure he is not who he used to be but he'll be the best #2 or #3 CB in the league. Cushing is even in a worse position. At least with Joseph, you have the grooming replacement on the roster. The Texans hoped Max Bullough could be that guy but it hasn't looked that way at all.
Let's deal with Joseph and Cushing first. Joseph is good...but he's getting older and injuries are a concern with him. As far as his play on the field, he's slightly above average. He's very replaceable, with Kevin Johnson returning from injury. Also, Bouye might have played better because of a contract year, but he was one of the better corners in the league. You don't keep an aging, slightly above average CB and risk losing a young, up and coming, excellent CB. It's nice to have both on the roster, but that's not going to happen because Bouye will get paid handsomely. Cushing is solid, but he's no longer the best MLB on the roster. His cap hit is 9.5 million, which makes him the 3rd highest paid ILB in the NFL for 2017. Sorry, you cant build your team like that. When their contract exceeds their value, they need to be released or restructured...cant win in the NFL by overpaying when there is a hard cap. You can find equal value on the field by nabbing a FA for half the price. Hopkins can sign an extension...meaning he gets his bonus money in 2017 without a significant rise in salary cap hit for 2017. Just like when JJ Watt signed his 6 year extension at the beginning of the 2014 season, we didn't see a rise in his salary cap until 2015, but he got his bonus money. Same thing here...we sign Hopkins to an extension, he gets paid, but the salary cap rises significantly with him in 2018, when Brock's contract comes off the books. It will be a slightly net gain, in terms of cap space. That brings us to Bouye...5 years, 60 million...with 30 guaranteed? Assuming this is the case, we can have it be a salary cap hit of 8 million in 2017...then 10-12 million in 2018. So let's say we cut Cushing and replace him with a FA that brings the same amount on the field at half the price (4.5 million), get Hopkins his extension, pay Bouye (8 million in 2017)....and 7 million for our draft class. That leaves us with about 20 million left over in cap space for free agents. There are a lot of ways to play this...we have a lot of poor contracts that we can eliminate, creating flexibility for roster changes, whether that means acquiring depth, skill positions via FA, attempting to get a QB, etc... For those wanting a QB like Romo, it's almost better to dangle a 5th round pick for him rather than waiting for the Cowboys to release him (if you trade for him, you're on the hook for 14 million, rather than signing him as a FA for upwards of 20 million). And if you take that route, you've instantly eliminated one of the biggest holes on this team, replaced Cushing, resigned Bouye, given Hopkins what he wants, and go into the offseason shoring up the team via the draft and back up FAs (~6 million remaining).
