I'm with Ric that franchising Mario is the best move. That allows you to see if Mario can bounce back from injury, gives you flexibility and depth on the DL, and if you get a decent offer before the trade deadline, you have the option to trade. (I don't think that new rule is enforceable, fwiw) Seems like a win-win. You've invested too much in the guy to just let him walk for nothing.
by making that investment in Mario, you basically exclude the team from any other FA acquisitions outside of their own. the question becomes, could the team as a whole improve by investing that money at other positions. IMHO, the answer is yes.
I'm not convinced Mario is the better player at this point. Seriously. And if franchising him means a $22 million number, I'm absolultely certain the gap between the 2 isn't worth it (even if Mario is better) to justify it if it impacts your ability to improve weaknesses.
that's sunk cost analysis...you're talking about paying more to justify what you already paid. not a great way to run any sort of organization. the question going forward is cost/benefit analysis.
Forgive me if this sounds stupid, I don't know much about the difference in the OLB positions, but how come people are debating over Mario/Brooks at the SLB spot? Is Connor Barwin's WLB spot safe? Can Mario and/or Brooks not play that side? If they can play the WLB, would y'all play Brooks over Barwin? If all of this is too complicated to learn, or an automatic 'No' due to Barwin's great performance this season, then I guess you have to part ways with Mario and spread that money out to improve depth at other positions. Sucks that you can't sign and trade in the NFL.
if the cost was $22 million to have Mario start in place of Barwin, would you do that if it meant you couldn't use that money to address other areas of concern on the team? i absolutely would not. Barwin was the AFC's defensive player of the month for November. He and Reed are still scratching the surface of what they can be. There's no way I could be convinced that it's worth $22 million for one of them to sit down so that Mario Williams can get in the game.
No, it's smart investing. Letting him walk is pointless and guarantees a loss on your investment. If you retain him, you might either 1) get an all-pro player back or 2) get decent value in a trade. Even if he craps out and you let him walk next year, at the very least I think it's worth spending that extra coin to see how it plays out. Unless, of course, you can land someone in FA with that money before you have to apply Mario's franchise tag. I personally don't think this is very likely, and I see franchising Mario as the "safe" move that this franchise is known to do. Especially when it comes to being loyal to players. In either scenario, it's about getting the most out of your dollars.
Obviously, I disagree. If you're letting the past dollars in affect how you invest future dollars, you're talking about sunk cost. No need to compound it. There's no loss of investment if he leaves...you paid him for those years he was here. He gave you what he gave you for that price. If the goal is to sign and trade, my understanding is there are some real limitations on that in the NFL. Do we still get stuck with his $22 million franchise tag number? Does that keep us from addressing real needs of this team? -- because honestly, the defensive line is the very last place I want this team investing their dollars right now, particularly when you're talking about the kind of dollars you obligate yourself to spend by franchising him.
It isn't smart investing to look at what you've invested him in the past. NFL trades during the season aren't that common, and usually won't involve players that will potentially leave at the end of the year (while currently making big money). $22 million is better spent on need positions.
I'm talking about the future. What he may be worth coming back vs. what you might be able to get with that money in FA. Unless you can be assured you're going to get someone of equal or more value to your team in FA, then letting him walk is a guaranteed loss. P.S. Where is this 22MM number coming from? Anybody got linkage? http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...-values-will-be-down-across-the-board-in-2012 Franchise-tag values for 2012 Defensive end: $10.6 million (down from $13 million in 2011, $12.4 million in 2010) Linebacker: $8.8 million (down from $10.1 million in 2011, $9.7 million in 2010)
Barwin is the OLB who took over for Mario when Mario got injured. Reed took Barwin's place. Barwin played both OL positions last season and would then be the guy to rotate.
Nah brah, best player would start. Mario and Barwin began the season starting. Nobody's sitting Barwin for Reed.
In Wade's system I think flexibility is key. Guys like Barwin and Williams can play up or down. Reed is a purely up kind of guy. If Watt or Smith gets hurt, Mario can fill in their spot, and Reed can step in for him. That's huge, IMO. You can't expect your entire OLB and DE corp to stay healthy the whole season. Having interchangeable parts is great.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franchise_tag#Types_of_franchise_tag An "exclusive" franchise player must be offered a one-year contract for an amount no less than the average of the top five salaries at the player's position as of a date in April of the current year in which the tag will apply, or 120 percent of the player's previous year's salary, whichever is greater. Exclusive franchise players cannot negotiate with other teams. I realize the source is a bit lacking, but I have heard the "great of league average or 120%" rule discussed before. Mario makes $13.8MM this year. so that puts him at a minimum of $16.56 if he were to be franchised (pending the league avg $$ being finalized).
People are overlooking the depth aspect. If Barwin or Reed had went down we were going to be seeing Braman. And although i like the guy, he isn't ready to be seeing significant time on D. I've said it before but i'd love to see a the texans trot out Barwin, Reed, Smith, Watt and Mario on passing downs.
You know what sucks about that? Mario was getting paid 3 million last year. His contract was ridiculously back loaded. Talk about screwing yourself over when it comes to franchising him.
I heard ND Kalu (or whoever you spell his name) say on the radio that Reed is a type player that Wade needs to set up schemes in order for him to get sacks, Mario isn't, Mario does it on his own. If we were to trade Mario, what's best case scenario we can expect as far as what the Texans can get for him?
