(02-20-2020, 07:43 AM)Bullseye Wrote:

(02-19-2020, 04:31 PM)FBT Wrote: All of this seems pretty likely.  I think the team has to bite the bullet and move on from Ngakoue.  He has no intention of playing again for this team unless they back up the Brinks Truck, and this team simply can't afford to do that for a guy who is a great pass rush specialist, but a liability against the run.  I think they'll possibly franchise him and try to trade him, and if that's not successful, withdraw the tag an release him.  I don't expect to see him here for the 2020 season regardless of how that happens.

Bold prediction?  Minshew remains the starting QB, and some contending team has a significant QB injury in the preseason and we cook up a deal to get Foles off the books in a trade before the season starts.  The team then goes 2-14, and the new front office has an opportunity to draft Trevor Lawrence.

I have almost zero faith in this front office (including ownership) to get a deal done with Yannick.  Keeping Yan, from a positional and talent standpoint, is an absolute no brainer.  This diminished faith stems from years of decent at best drafting in the Shack era, to horrific drafting under Gene Smith, to good if not great drafting under Caldwell, but an inability to retain the best players.   As time goes by, I get the abiding sense-accompanied by overwhelming nausea-Yan will be traded away, or at the very least remain absent from camp this year.  

It is my deepest hope that we keep Yan.  If my fears are realized, my desire would be to have nothing less than a 2 this year in compensation for him.  Of course I would gladly accept a first round pick next year, because I would want to package a deal to get Lawrence.

Of course, as demoralized as I am about this team's state of affairs, my hopes for the promise of the draft is diminished given how poorly this team has been mismanaged over the years.  I have never had the fear that a guy would pull an Elway, Bo Jackson or Eli Manning on us, but I fear that even if we manage to acquire enough picks to get Lawrence, he would be averse to playing here, to the point of staying another year in school or simply refusing to sign with us.  To mitigate that possibility, part of me wants to stockpile talent on the offensive side of the ball this year.  Starting with a LT, taking a WR or two, getting a couple of interior OL, and spending another mid round pick on a TE.  This way, we know for certain what we have in Foles/Minshew (assuming we hit on the picks) and if we still need Lawrence when all is said and done, he will have a better sense he would have the tools to succeed here.

1000% agreement here.  However, I was just listening to the mouthpiece for the team on 1010XL, Frank Frangie, and he and Dempsey seem to think a deal gets done.  Yannick is asking for 22M a year.  The team has already offered him 19M a year.  Seems like there's room for agreement here.  

I also agree that they need to take their draft capital and draft big guys to protect the QB regardless of who that is.  If we decide to stick with Minshew and Foles, and Foles wins the job back, he needs a beefy line capable of protecting the QB.  I also would expect them to explore FA for a proven TE, and to draft another one in the mid rounds as well.

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