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Retaining Talent

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Galant, Mar 11, 2019.

  1. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Every year the FA contracts offered for talent seem to get crazier and this year is no different.

    The reality is that there will always be talent hungry teams with cap space willing to pay over the odds for quality free agents.

    What this means is that if the Dolphins want to retain their better players they need to get better at extending or resigning players before they hit the open market.

    Learning how to develop players and then acquire compensatory picks when they get taken also wouldn't hurt.

    Always painful to see the Dolphins lose talent and get nothing back.
     
    Tin Indian likes this.
  2. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Exhibit A






    .... 0_o
     
  3. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Exactly....
     
  4. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Sigh...

     
  5. invid

    invid Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    It takes two sides to do that. With the way players are commodified throughout the NFL, they're smart enough to use free agency to their financial advantage. Why would they NOT wait in this day and age?
     
    texanphinatic likes this.
  6. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Injury risk. Getting a chance to stay put rather than move their whole life - assuming they're happy where they are.
     
    Fame likes this.
  7. invid

    invid Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Injury did not prevent Jawaun James from being the most sought-after RT in football right now.
     
    texanphinatic likes this.
  8. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    My point is that a player might prefer guaranteed money, a deal for a few years, rather than a final year with no guarantees and the risk of a major injury.
     
    Pauly likes this.
  9. invid

    invid Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    This is a bad deal on the team-side then. I think the only time it's viable is if you absolutely know you have a veritable superstar year 1.
     
  10. texanphinatic

    texanphinatic Senior Member

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    Some players are fine settling down, taking less overall for more up front and be more secure. Some are willing to take a bit of risk in order to maximize their earnings. Can't fault either decision.

    Miami just needs to be good at identifying young talent, and locking up what we can, and getting comps for what we can't. Then just get some pipelines to replace guys as they leave. Contracts themselves aren't really the issue here - it's the amount of cap space that said contract takes up. They have to be doled out wisely and to players who will really impact the team in a big way, and we have to be smart using small rookie/first contracts on high end positions like QBs, pass rushers, etc.
     
    Galant likes this.
  11. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    I don't follow you. The scenario here is that the team has a player they'd like to retain. Before that player gets to free agency the team offers an extension or new multi-year deal. That player can opt to take that - assuming they're happy where they are - and might do so because they prefer knowing what their future holds, knowing they're going to get paid for years, even if in the next year or two they get injured.

    That's not a bad deal for the team. That's a normal deal any team makes, and it's a good deal in the sense that they can keep talent they want at a lower price tag. It's good for the player because they get security.

    A player could reject the offer in order to get more money in FA, but that's at the risk of getting less should they suffer an injury etc.
     
  12. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Yep, except to say that contracts themselves are the issue in an indirect sense. It's bad - over priced - contracts offered by other teams that can lure away quality players if they reach free agency. Thus the need to lock players up earlier, as you said.
     
  13. TheHighExhaulted

    TheHighExhaulted Well-Known Member

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    Landon Collins missed the last 4 games last year and had shoulder surgery and got $86 million.
     
  14. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Good for him. It doesn't mean no-one faces the risk of losing money because of a more serious injury, or even having a career-ending injury.
     
  15. TheHighExhaulted

    TheHighExhaulted Well-Known Member

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    I would bet that the ratio of career ending injuries before a huge payday to signed overpriced contracts is pretty low.
     
  16. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    I think you're missing the point here. The question was, why would a player sign an early deal rather than wait for FA? One of the answers was that it gives security. Regardless of the odds faced, a real, multi-year deal offered at a current and desirable team is real and certain, the future in one or two years is not certain. That's attractive. Thus the old saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
     
  17. invid

    invid Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I think we understand, I just think players are, vastly, more predisposed to taking the risk and the teams aren't.
     
  18. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    It only makes sense is if the player has not lived up to expectations.
    If a player has been playing well, he would be a fool to sign early. Unless he got a big contract or a lot of guaranteed money
     
  19. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I think that the Dolphins have often wanted to sign their own guys to deals before they hit free agency, but for various reasons, it didn't work out.

    From 2015, they look to be walking away from D Parker. They did resign B McCain. They traded away J Phillips and J Ajayi. No one else panned out.

    In 2014, J James is now up. We'll see what happens. J Landry priced himself out of being worthy and was traded. No one else panned out.

    In 2013, the whole draft was basically a bust.

    In 2012, they resigned Tannehill. They should have resigned L Miller, but let him walk, apparently with an internal disagreement about it. O Vernon priced himself out and was let to go. R Matthews had problems with the coaches.

    In 2011, they resigned M Pouncey. C Clay priced himself out and was let to walk.

    In 2010, Odrick priced himself out and was let to walk. They resigned R Jones (twice) and K Misi.

    IN 2009, they resigned B Hartline. They traded V Davis, and let S Smith walk when he priced himself out.

    So really, going back a decade, there aren't a lot of bad moves to be found honestly in that regard. Most of the guys who got big money elsewhere didn't end up being worth it.
     
  20. texanphinatic

    texanphinatic Senior Member

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    Yeah sorry my point in regards to the contracts not being a problem was more in the sense that I don't see a problem with players getting big salaries when you see what the league and the owners are making. The issue is the amount of cap space the contract takes up, and giving such massive contracts to players that aren't superstars. IMO Flowers is good, but he didn't really seem a game changer. Collins is a very good safety, but again, not sure he is a game changer. Those are the contracts you let other teams spend. The best teams seem to be those who can find the bargains, who can get cohesive team play, especially at QB. I mean, even the Patriots have a relatively cheap QB - Brady should be one of the top paid QBs but he has always taken a discount, which frankly seems really iffy considering that organization, but that's for another day.
     
  21. Patster1969

    Patster1969 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Also, you have to factor in that all these players have agents in their ears telling them that player X is worth this and you are better than him, so you can command $Y in FA. Galant is right in that some players would want the security of an extension the year before but many don't.
     
  22. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    As I stated in the James thread; if we want to do a better job retaining talent we’ve got to do a better job building a winning organization. Who wants to come, or stay here when you’re cycling through coaches, gm, and systems every handful of years.

    Guys at the top talent levels want to play somewhere they’re going to win. Sure, some guys chase the big money over winning but the majority want both. Until we can offer the opportunity to win regularly you’re going to lose talent and over pay to try and get it back.

    We can talk this off-season all they want about “building it the right way” but until they actually execute on that plan. It will be the same old cycle.
     
    Galant likes this.
  23. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Last edited: Mar 12, 2019

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