I know this is just me speculating, and I love Jake Long, but this could actually work for both teams.
Reasons this would work for the Bears:
1. Their offensive line is horrendous. Jake Long would keep Cutler upright a little longer and allow him to find his wr's.
2. If they miss the playoffs this year, they will become desperate. It has already been speculated that Lovie Smith is losing favor in Chicago, and if he is retained this is a move that should be considered.
3. Goes along with #2. They will not be able to get the kind of value out of two late first round picks that a healthy Jake Long would bring.
4. They owe us one after the discount on Marshall.
Reasons this would work for the Dolphins:
1. Jake hasn't been healthy for a couple years. After only 5 years in the league his body already seems to be leaving him. We might not be able to get complete value of what a healthy Jake Long would bring, but 2 late first round picks will suffice.
2. With how Jonathan Martin has performed, he obviously looks much more comfortable on the left side than right, and if he can improve his strength this off season to help against the bull rush I feel he can be a suitable left tackle.
3. Our team is young and improving. We can use the extra picks to really help us find some playmakers.
4. It is very cost effective.
Look I love Jake Long and would love to keep him in Miami for a long time, but I am left wondering if even as young as he is if his best years are behind him. If a scenario like this one would present itself in the offseason I think it would have to peak the interest of both Philbin and Ireland in pursuing a trade and getting a right tackle in the draft. JMHO, but what are your thought?
Page 1 of 3
-
We won't get 2 1st's for Jake Long, especially not in this draft class of offensive linemen. There are some good players at those positions so a team may feel better getting a quality player at a much cheaper price than what they'd have to pay to get Long in your scenario.
-
shula_guy Well-Known Member
Yeah, that offense is hummin' now. He wins where ever he goes. Defenders are afraid to get too close in fear they may catch a bullet.
Precisely. At this point you just be glad you drafted Martin, and that you're able to pay him peanuts to take over the position and play it about as well, and you spend the money Long would've made to improve the team at other positions.
Essentially you successfully used a second-round draft choice to be able to improve the team at other positions. If Martin wouldn't have been a good choice, you'd be stuck paying Long big and unable to improve as much elsewhere.
cdz12250 and P h i N s A N i T y like this.
Bears don't owe us nothing! They rightfully fleeced Ireland and that chapter is CLOSED.
That said, there's no way we'll get one first round pick for an oft-injured LT whose play has declined steadily over the past 3 years.
Ireland traded for MArshall himself 2 years prior, paid one round higher. :shifty: Also, you think new coaching had something to do with getting rid of him so quickly ? Two 3rds is about as good or better than a 2nd. You really think we could have gotten a 1st after he was stabbed by his wife, diagnosed, than allegedly punched a woman ? :shifty: He sucks anyway.
There may be more of a market for Jake Long than any of us realize considering he is only 27 and a Pro Bowler. His injury history is a concern but its not a major issue since it has been different injuries and not just a repeat of the same issue indicating a physical weakness such as a repeating Knee issue. If Healthy he is noted as being one of the best Left Tackles in the game and could be a major upgrade for several teams. He may not garner two first round picks but a sign and trade could still bring a 1st rounder and maybe more that would really put Miami in a position I don't remember them being in, in a long time, if ever. I like Jake Long and hate to see him go but $15 million is a lot of cap to tie up in someone we may lose anyway. Its better to lose him on our terms than to let him walk without compensation.
I have no desire to re-visit that in detail, all I'm saying is that the Bears aren't gonna let that trade effect any potential Long trade.
Demand a 1st, or settle for a 2nd and player. Sweet deal.
I think Long's ability to pass a physical will foul any trade up.
naw all you said is that we got hosed in that deal, i just disagree.
I think we should hold out for THREE 1st round picks! [wink]
shula_guy Well-Known Member
People have been saying that there is other quality FA OTs this year along with some depth at that postion in this years draft. With those things in mind, if we do let Long walk, what kind of deal would you expect him to be able to secure in this market?
It is possible... and we have the salary cap room to tag him and STILL play around in free agency. what $46m or so in cap space? Tag him... wait until he is healthy so another team can get excited and move on from there. I think 2 firsts is not going to happen, but if it did, would the Ireland haters at least acknowledge he did well? Doubt it. More realistically, a 2nd and maybe a later conditional.
I don't think he is going to get the Joe Thomas money that he would earn under better circumstances or his agent is going to want. I think it is more likely he gets a short-term or team protecting deal that pays him "franchise" money... something in the top 5 of his position, but not the 120% that the Dolphins would have to pay to franchise him. Especially if Long and his agent are confident he can return to form and then get that Joe Thomas money next year.
I would settle for a used toaster… because the reality of it is that is more than we are going to get for him….
Who knows maybe we get a good Comp pick from the NFL for losing him?
I don't understand this idea that the Bears owe us a deal because we screwed ourselves in the Marshall trade. They don't owe us a thing.
I don't doubt you'll get a first and third out of Chicago if you want it. But no one is giving two firsts for the privilege of a 15M cap hit and a guy off the IR.
Dave Wannstedt.
I think Spielman put a first round Tender on him, not the franchise tag. To my knowledge once the franchise tag is put on a player it cannot be removed that season unless a long term contract is agreed upon but that rarely happens.
I don't understand the idea that the Dolphins got screwed over getting two thirds for Brandon Marshall.
The only reason Marshall was available for any price is the fact that he has uncontrolled mental problems, and may be an ******* on top of that. You inherently were taking a risk, and the most realistic outcome of Marshall not changing his ways was getting nothing for him.
If you want to peg something on Ireland, it's the initial trade that was problematic. Getting your initial costs back with depreciation is way better than the more common outcome.
Two first round picks for Jake Long? Is this real life?
It's a bunch of things. Ireland paid and extended Marshall as if he was a top 3 WR, and his initial evaluation was correct. Then he turned around a traded him for far less than that value. Then he whiffed on the draft picks. Then he failed to replace him with someone competent in free agency and cut one of his former draft pick WRs. A position of strength turned to weakness and the only thing we really gained is cap room.
I think every non-Miami fan would agree that Chicago clearly won that trade. But there were multiple other things that Ireland did that were worrisome and call his competency into question.
Because a team may not want to give him the contract he's seeking PLUS a pick or two, especially with his recent rash of injuries.
Have you seen Gardner get beaten like a drum today? Long was bad this year, but still better with him at LT and Martin at RT
Salary allocation is the culprit for this more than anything.
Oh I agree salary will be a problem, but you need to try and sign him, if not he walks. No one will trade for him if you franchise him.
Threads like these make me hate message boards.
Page 1 of 3