Yeah, I didn't really take the cap into account. Still, the Browns are a bit of a wildcard until we see what Johnny Football can do. All things considered, I'd probably give the Texans an equal, if not better, shot at winning the AFC South than I would the Browns winning the North. I don't see either team coming close to beating Denver, regardless.
I don't think the only thing you can take into account is being a contender, although it is certainly a factor. I think the Colts are the heavy favorite to win the AFC South, and the Texans are heavily loaded up with big contracts right now. They'd love to open up some space for Watt's extension coming next offseason, but they could probably get more trade value out of him if they wait until the first few weeks of the season. The Browns have have $29 million in cap space (before rookie deals) and Josh Gordon just got suspended. They didn't spend any high draft picks on WR's, so regardless of who is starting at QB they could use what Johnson brings to the table. Considering how big Johnson's contract is and his age, he probably can be had for a low round pick, maybe a 5th. The Browns are one of the only teams in the league who could afford to take Johnson without re-structuring his deal. Considering his age, re-structuring is less than ideal because it usually extends the length of the contract. The Packers could get him if they re-structure his contract, but considering they have Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, and Jarrett Boykin, and they just drafted Davante Adams and Jared Abbrederis, they don't really need WR help.
Everytime a wr becomes available everyone links them to New England yet New England never pursues. I'd love Andre here but will he want to come and are we willing to absorb his cap hit.
I'd be willing to bet no. Unless we have a very significant injury or 3 in training camp I don't expect us to make any more roster additions. Johnson will be 33 before the season starts and has a huge cap hit, and does not at all fit Idzik's mold of younger, value players.
Point Taken. Based on what he said about enduring so many losing seasons, and playing in so few playoff games, I think it's fair to say he wants to play for a contending team. I can't imagine he'd be interested in being sent to a Browns team that could realistically still finish last in their division. I'm too lazy to research the cap situation for the playoff caliber teams in the league, but I'm inclined to think there's be a better situation for a future HoF wide-out that most likely has a few good years left.
Well, unfortunately for AJ his huge contract is very limiting in terms of where he can go. I'll do some checking around for playoff contenders and what their cap looks like. As far as the Browns, I think they have a very good chance of being a surprise playoff contender. If Mike Pettine can replicate his defensive success the way I think he can, the odds are pretty good. The AFC North is actually a relatively weak division, for a few reasons. The Steelers are a pretty thin team in terms of depth, and they have about as much chance of being quite good as being quite bad. The Bengals can be beat; Don't forget that they lost their offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator to head coaching gigs elsewhere in the NFL. Marvin Lewis is a good coach, but often teams who lose key coordinators struggle the following year, and they lost both. The Ravens are annual playoff contenders, but they didn't go last year and struggled mightily for stretches of the season. If AJ wants out, the other team has to want him too.
Andre would fit our scheme perfectly and would free up space for Decker the same way DT did in Denver! The question is would Bill O'Brian trade him to us with his mentor and boyfriend Bill coaching the Pats?
I was gonna say offer a trade contingent on him restructuring his contract. It sounds like he's desperate to get out of dodge. Then again if he's tired of losing, why would he agree to come here...
Which IS worse because you're GIVING the LESS capable player the position without MAKING him EARN it... That's a Recipe for DISASTER. :/
He'll restructure his contract to play for free with falafel after each game and end up with the Patriots...then he will dial it back to vintage Andre Johnson and have 20 td's...sigh
fuck AJ. last year he sucked balls until I had to go against him in FF. Case Keenum threw like 5Td's to him. I make all my football decisions based on Fantasy Sports, Idzick does too, that's why we shoring up the back end to get some turnovers, Jets D sleeper pick this year.
I would love to have him if it could somehow be managed in a way that wasn't financially/contractually onerous but I can't realistically see it as ever happening unless by some long shot the Jets were among one of the few last teams standing in the running for a trade deal that also represented (in Johnson's eyes) the team that gave him the best chances of winning a title.
Even if he's getting old and slowing down, adding 75% of Andre Johnson is still 10x better than slumming it with Decker and Kerley as your only proven guys combined with guys like Stephen Hill, Greg Salas, and (worst of all, and inexplicably, still on the roster) Clyde Gates. Idzik won't do it though. He would offer the Texans' a conditional 7th, hope Andre gets cut (not happening), then wait 2 weeks after he's released to contact his agent. Andre has $34.5 M coming to him over the next 3 years. That's an average of $11.5 M per. We have the cap space. Even if he doesn't restructure, his 2014 salary is a bargain rate $6.5 M, less than what Idzik just gave to Eric Decker. From what I've heard, he's already received most of his guaranteed money, and he doesn't much if any guarantees left in 2015 and 2016. I think he has at least 1 or 2 good years left in him.
Well one thing I can tell you 100% for sure is the Texans won't cut him. He still has about $12 million in guaranteed money which would be accelerated to a 2014 cap hit that the Texans simply can't afford. If I can know that in 90 seconds, Idzik sure as hell knows it and won't "hope Andre gets cut." I'm not sure where you got the $34.5 million number, because over the cap has his remaining salary totaling $46.46 million over the next 3 years, which in fact is around $15 million per year. As far as his 2014 salary, it is in fact $15.6 million, not a "bargain rate" by any means.
Can't see Johnson wanting to come to the Jets. While I do believe that if things break right for the Jets, they could have a playoff berth, I think Johnson sounds like he wants to go to a real Sb contender. I don't think he even sees the Jets making the playoffs, let alone be an SB contender.
I only want him if Vick is our starter. No reason to put him with Geno if he is going to be gone in a year or two.
If you look at this guy's numbers, even from 2013, and consider the quality of the QBs he's played with since entering the league, it's kind of understandable why he wants out. Lots of people are mentioning New England but the Patriots aren't in any position to absorb his salary. Looking at all factors (cap space, playoff-caliber teams, quality of QBs), Dallas and Green Bay seem to make sense. To a lesser extent I could see a team like Carolina making a move for him. Deals can always be restructured but for some reason I feel like this is going to blow over, nothing will happen, and he'll be back in Houston this fall.
