What I am saying is that, if Rams are going in different direction, they will cut Bradford as he carries too high a figure to just sit and rot.
There are too many teams looking for a QB right now. Somebody is going to give the Rams a draft pick for Bradford if that's what they decide to do. He's only getting cut if the rehab from the knee is going badly. The Rams have no bonus payment deadline with him. All his money this year is salary so they are under no pressure if they have decided to make a move.
I think they can certainly get a mid round pick for him. if there is a team that wants him they aren't going to take the risk over just a mid round pick that he signs with someone else.
So the question boils down to this: Bradford comes with his own medical rap sheet. That said, does he give the Jets more upside than whoever Jets draft with the said draft pick? If he does, then Jets should pull the trigger. I am saying he never will, unless it's low day 2 pick. Of course Rams are not trading their starting QB for that.
I would give more for Bradford than a low second day pick to be sure, because he is worth it. And I do not think the Rams would only be willing to part ways with him if they fear for his health. If they feel they can get a value pick at #2 for a Qb, they can do that and then Bradford is tradeable. I don't think that will happen, but it is clear to me he would be an upgrade for the Jets, and the Jets should offer reasonable value in return. If....
1. Ok. I get it. Bradford will be a clear upgrade over Geno Smith in the next few seasons. 2. That said, there is a very good chance that he won't be. Bradford on IR is not much of an upgrade over Geno throwing pick 6's afterall. 3. So, with all the medical rap sheet, AND probable overpaying - why do you even bother with such an ill-advised gamble in the first place? Don't you think you can do better by drafting a QB early if you are so down on Geno?
This is the main case for bringing him in. Either Geno blows away training camp next year or he's the backup QB as long as Bradford stays healthy. A mid-rounds rookie isn't likely to be much of an ugrade over the bad Geno either. You need somebody to come in and raise the bar here. If Bradford gets hurt he gets hurt, this is the NFL. Bradford would be far superior to other non-1st round options in terms of resolving the Jets QB depth chart moving forward. He is a gamble because of the magnitude of his compensation for the next two years. That's also the only reason the Rams would likely consider cutting and running on him at this point. They have cap issues. The Jets have a bunch of decent options moving forward on the QB front. They can stick with Geno Smith for a year while drafting a mid-rounds guy for the depth chart and to potentially push Geno. They can bring in a veteran free agent to push Geno and sit on the depth chart for a couple of seasons. They can do both of the above, which would be a bit complicated due to the need to give everybody enough reps to evaluate them while also not hamstringing Geno's second off-season. The Jets also have the choice of whether to make a real change in direction at QB, either by drafting a 1st round QB or by making a trade for somebody clearly not viewed as competition for Geno but more as supplanting him as the Jets starting QB. The latter two options, drafting up high or making a deal, are both likely to be expensive either in terms of draft value surrendered or monetary compensation or both. I think a deal for Sam Bradford if it was there might be the safest way to exercise the move on from Geno option. This assuming the Jets were able to leverage his high cap impact into giving up less value in the draft to acquire him. The Jets have cap space next year and moving forward to expend in the process of getting better. They don't have lots of draft value, not given the state of the roster at other positions than QB at the moment.
Very well - if I am the GM, and let's just say [for the sake of argument] that I draft someone during the draft - let's say Bortles falls into the laps during 2nd round. First and foremost, I do not think Bortles [or any other 1st/mid round pick QB] would be competing for a starting job. You should know this by now - that flies directly in to face of what I believe in. I do not want to rush the prospect QB into the starting role. This necessarily means I am going with Geno as the starter next season. The rook can use that year to 1. fix up the mechanics, 2. learn the offense and 3. get used to the speed of the NFL. On top of that, I do not think Jets OL is done building, and heaven knows Jets lack skill players at receiving end of the roster. Jets should use that one year window to develop the OL and WRs as well. Bradford will be an improvement, but how much? I don't think he will be the world beater either. With rookie receivers, he struggled mightily this year before he went out with injury. With shaky protection up front, I expect same struggle from Bradford if he tags along. Exactly - and my stance is on him is same for everybody else; if he presents a value that you can't refuse, you pull the trigger. With his health issue, and his struggle of late, I do not think he's worth day 1 pick compensation. If he can be had at round 4 or lower, be my guest. I am all for it. As for current Jets roster, I strongly believe that Jets should get 4 starter quality prospect out of the top 4 picks, and that's still too little. [I really hate that Tannenbaum guy come every off-season. Boy, did he fuck it up.] And, the upside with not trading for Bradford is, Jets won't have to deal with that massive salary. That's a huge factor. The problem I have with the Vet option is that, you just don't sit a kid who started full season a year ago. That simply means Jets should have allowed Geno to grow on the pine last season. That also means they did real stupid thing with Sanchez, when Idzik [either directly or indirectly] forced Rex's hand with the starter QB bullshit. Seriously what kind of message do you want this franchise to send to Geno? That we have suffered a full season worth of his sucktitude? That he sucks and we want to find better options till he learns how to backpedal? It's all wrong, wrong and wrong. That shouldn't happen. The moment Bradford tags along, Geno is also done here in NY. Bradford is 26 this year - Ok? If Bradford finds his second wind in his career, then Geno's career in NY as a starter is practically done. Of course this is the best possible scenario. Worst case scenario? Bradford goes on to IR and Geno doesn't find the chance to fix his mechanics and grow. So... it all comes down to how committed Jets are to Geno - or that's my take. Two sucky QBs battling it out is not what you want - which is why Sanchez should go. If Jets think Geno is their guy, then they should commit to that idea and move accordingly [i.e. drafting WRs and TEs and OLs] If they are not convinced with what Geno has to offer, then maybe we will see the Jets pulling the trigger on Bradford or better yet, draft a QB next spring. Whatever the decision is, Jets cannot stay non-committal as you describe above. P.S. If Jets can get Bradford with the TB 3rd, I wouldn't be raising my arms up in protest. Actually, that would be pretty sweet. And some food for thought: http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/4792/on-the-cutler-contract-and-sam-bradford Also, if what Over the Cap reports is true, then they have $120M committed to 47 players next season, and from the way the cap is structured, they won't have a lot of relief coming in unless they restructure the contracts of Bradford, Jake/Chris Long and Cortland Finnegan. Cap relief coming from releasing isn't much help either - Bradford comes with 10M relief, and then Finnegan at 4M. Other cap savers [Langford/Wells] are not severely overpaid and cutting them for the sake of cap relief is more than stupid. [Both carry around 6M figure, slightly above 5M mark. Unless you are convinced you can get a starter production out of the draftees, you shouldn't be touching these.]
Bradford's biggest issue has been the dearth of offensive talent around him. No line, no WR's, no TE, only a single, solid, running back. How does going to the Jets change that? He'd be no different than any other quarterback that has started since 2011 for the Jets. No line, no WR's, no TE, and an average RBBC approach (nearly a 5th of the yards were by QB's which would cease to exist with Bradford at QB).
It's pretty obvious at this point that the Jets need to go heavy on play makers on offense between the draft and free agency. Either Geno or Bradford is likely to be supported better than any Jets QB since 2010. The big issues for me in acquiring Bradford are the compensation, which is large, and the potential injury factor. I'm guessing that Marty Mornhinweg would turn Bradford into a very strong QB if Bradford managed to stay healthy. He's already a decent QB and that's playing in a black hole of an offense with subpar talent around him.
It was but there was one offensive play maker in the draft who looked like a top 13 pick, Tavon Austin. This year you have at least a half dozen guys pre-combine that look like potential top 18 picks. Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Marqise Lee, Eric Ebron and maybe Jace Amaro, Kelvin Benjamin and Jordan Matthews. Then you have 2 or 3 QB's, a CB and S and the usual assortment of big talent. The Jets chances of finding a play maker on the 18 worth the pick are real. Last year once Austin was off the board the best use of the 9 and 13 didn't involve offensive play makers because there were none left on the board at that point worthy of the pick.
I don't watch the Rams, so I don't claim to be a Bradford expert, but do remember that 2 of these 4 years we are talking about have been under the GREATEST OC in football history. Seriously, Schotty could prolly have ruined Montana. I think peeps need to factor that in to assessing Bradford.
Brad, Nice posts here analyzing Bradford. I agree with all you said. Once Cutler was signed up by Chicago, I think Bradford would be the best option for an upgrade at Qb. But it remains to be seen what the Rams do about him. It is something to keep track of, though.
