See I'm fine if this is the direction they want to go. But if this is our direction, let's approach it as an attempt to get a longer deal inked instead of overpaying on a rental. If you want him, show it.

If they tag him and that's all, I don't say with much confidence that it changes our darft plans. It gives us wiggle room for sure, but if they see Neal, Ikem, or anyone else as a star tackle in the making, take him and keep building.

Why? I want Cam this year, because there is no better option, but I want him this year only. I don't care what it cost, it would only be a one year deal and we have tons of cap money. It's not like we can't afford it. It's not brain surgery here. Fix as many long term issues as we can, but some problems are gonna have to get a band-aid for now (Cam Robinson,) because the alternative is worse. Not every major problem is gonna get a long term fix this offseason.

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This is the maddening thing about our prolonged losing.

It seems like no matter what direction we go with Cam, it's the wrong one.

Last year, we tagged him.  Observers were shocked.

It would seem now that to sign him to a longer term deal, the money would have to be comparable.  I can't see too many people applauding that, even if the money somehow comes in at lower than the franchise tag rate for this year.

If we simply tagged him again, we're putting a band aid on the position,and if we fail to sign him at all, all we do is perpetuate the "crime" of being unable to retain key contributors at key positions who are actually productive, and locking us into a position early in the draft, as opposed to being free to taking the BAP.

Is that such a bad thing though? Considering how many major needs this team has, some issues are not gonna get a long term fix this offseason. Some areas are gonna have to get band-aids. Why not OT? If we tag Cam, at least we will have 2 competent, yet unspectacular starting OT's (Robinson and Little.) Just getting rid of Jawaan Taylor is an improvement. From there we can focus on truly upgrading the O-Line via the interior.

Why? @because I knew it would aggravate you@
My thought is that instead of dropping $16 for one year, pay a little more up front, spread the hit over a few years at a comparable rate, and have him around for a few seasons. Cam is good, not great. He may not be all-pro, but I'm happier to have him in the fold when we're still not sure how Little's health will be over a full season starting at either T position and potentially drafting more unproven players to shore up the line. How horrible would it be to have good depth, potential trade fodder, or less desperation this time next offseason?

Two of the biggest personnel complaints about our team are that Baalke's ability to draw players is a question mark and when we do get decent players, we fail to keep them around. Giving Cam a multi-year deal over a second tagging might help with both of those issues.

But, your mind is made up, everyone else is wrong, and I've wasted a whole bunch of keystrokes.

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Why? I want Cam this year, because there is no better option, but I want him this year only. I don't care what it cost, it would only be a one year deal and we have tons of cap money. It's not like we can't afford it. It's not brain surgery here. Fix as many long term issues as we can, but some problems are gonna have to get a band-aid for now (Cam Robinson,) because the alternative is worse. Not every major problem is gonna get a long term fix this offseason.

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Is that such a bad thing though? Considering how many major needs this team has, some issues are not gonna get a long term fix this offseason. Some areas are gonna have to get band-aids. Why not OT? If we tag Cam, at least we will have 2 competent, yet unspectacular starting OT's (Robinson and Little.) Just getting rid of Jawaan Taylor is an improvement. From there we can focus on truly upgrading the O-Line via the interior.

Why? @because I knew it would aggravate you@
My thought is that instead of dropping $16 for one year, pay a little more up front, spread the hit over a few years at a comparable rate, and have him around for a few seasons. Cam is good, not great. He may not be all-pro, but I'm happier to have him in the fold when we're still not sure how Little's health will be over a full season starting at either T position and potentially drafting more unproven players to shore up the line. How horrible would it be to have good depth, potential trade fodder, or less desperation this time next offseason?

Two of the biggest personnel complaints about our team are that Baalke's ability to draw players is a question mark and when we do get decent players, we fail to keep them around. Giving Cam a multi-year deal over a second tagging might help with both of those issues.

But, your mind is made up, everyone else is wrong, and I've wasted a whole bunch of keystrokes.

Correction, Cam is average, not good. I don't see us in any desperation mode. Desperation is when you have one or two holes to fill in order to take the next step and you "must" hit on those players. We have a ton of holes to fill and many of us realize they can't all get filled in one offseason. We are in a re-build mode. That takes time. There currently is not an option for a major upgrade over Robinson even though he is average. If we re-sign him to a long term deal and he keeps on being average, but there would be a major upgrade in the 2023 draft, we'd be screwed. I want Cam back for 2022, but I wanna leave our options open for the future. Therefore, I would tag him again. 

I'm not saying everyone else is wrong. I'm just saying my mind will not change on this matter. Why commit long term to an average player when we can simply rent him for another year?

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I would be ok with committing to him long term if he was being paid like an average OT (say 12-13M AAV) and it was understood that he was moving to RT.

He's going to demand, and likely get, a lot more than that from whoever pays him though. I wouldn't do it for what he is likely to get.

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I'll believe they will switch either Robinson or Little to RT when I see it. Signing Robinson then means the coaches don't trust Little.

No, it doesn't. It just means we'd have 2 competent OT's for the 2022 season. Nothing more. You're reading way too much into this.

I still don't get it.  

Let's take one step back: do you consider Walker Little the LT of the future? Yes/No. If Yes, why do you want to pay Cam Robinson 16 million to try RT for the first time? If No, why don't you try to get something for him when you can?

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No, it doesn't. It just means we'd have 2 competent OT's for the 2022 season. Nothing more. You're reading way too much into this.

I still don't get it.  

Let's take one step back: do you consider Walker Little the LT of the future? Yes/No. If Yes, why do you want to pay Cam Robinson 16 million to try RT for the first time? If No, why don't you try to get something for him when you can?

I don't know. I haven't seen enough of the guy to commit to to him. That's part of the reason why I wanna keep Cam. If Little can't cut it as a LT, we can play Cam there and move Little to RT and Robinson to LT. It gives us flexibility. 

What do you mean get something for him if you can? Little hasn't even had a chance to be a full time starting OT. I wanna see what he can do before I just get rid of him for no reason. How are we supposed to form an opinion of Little when he was out of football for 2 years and then he gets drafted, only to play in a handful of games? I wanna see how he does as a full time starter while having an adequate starter like Robinson opposite him, that I can shift around if needed. Why is the $16 million such a big deal? It would be for 1 year and we have tons of cap space.

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Why? @because I knew it would aggravate you@
My thought is that instead of dropping $16 for one year, pay a little more up front, spread the hit over a few years at a comparable rate, and have him around for a few seasons. Cam is good, not great. He may not be all-pro, but I'm happier to have him in the fold when we're still not sure how Little's health will be over a full season starting at either T position and potentially drafting more unproven players to shore up the line. How horrible would it be to have good depth, potential trade fodder, or less desperation this time next offseason?

Two of the biggest personnel complaints about our team are that Baalke's ability to draw players is a question mark and when we do get decent players, we fail to keep them around. Giving Cam a multi-year deal over a second tagging might help with both of those issues.

But, your mind is made up, everyone else is wrong, and I've wasted a whole bunch of keystrokes.

Correction, Cam is average, not good. I don't see us in any desperation mode. Desperation is when you have one or two holes to fill in order to take the next step and you "must" hit on those players. We have a ton of holes to fill and many of us realize they can't all get filled in one offseason. We are in a re-build mode. That takes time. There currently is not an option for a major upgrade over Robinson even though he is average. If we re-sign him to a long term deal and he keeps on being average, but there would be a major upgrade in the 2023 draft, we'd be screwed. I want Cam back for 2022, but I wanna leave our options open for the future. Therefore, I would tag him again. 

I'm not saying everyone else is wrong. I'm just saying my mind will not change on this matter. Why commit long term to an average player when we can simply rent him for another year?

The problem isn't that people are trying to change your mind. It's that if anyone voices an opinion, you immediately tell them their opinion is wrong, because it doesn't match yours, and that your way is the only way that the team can dig their way out of the cellar.

I explained in my post why I am willing to commit to a player who in your words is deemed average. I'm ok with keeping him around a little longer, it's not like we don't have the money and have never let a guy go before his contract is up, anyway. If Cam is gone next season and our projected RT is fourth-year Jawaan Taylor, you tell me that's not a desperate situation? Really? After all the dumping (justified) you've done on that dude?

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Correction, Cam is average, not good. I don't see us in any desperation mode. Desperation is when you have one or two holes to fill in order to take the next step and you "must" hit on those players. We have a ton of holes to fill and many of us realize they can't all get filled in one offseason. We are in a re-build mode. That takes time. There currently is not an option for a major upgrade over Robinson even though he is average. If we re-sign him to a long term deal and he keeps on being average, but there would be a major upgrade in the 2023 draft, we'd be screwed. I want Cam back for 2022, but I wanna leave our options open for the future. Therefore, I would tag him again. 

I'm not saying everyone else is wrong. I'm just saying my mind will not change on this matter. Why commit long term to an average player when we can simply rent him for another year?

The problem isn't that people are trying to change your mind. It's that if anyone voices an opinion, you immediately tell them their opinion is wrong, because it doesn't match yours, and that your way is the only way that the team can dig their way out of the cellar.

I explained in my post why I am willing to commit to a player who in your words is deemed average. I'm ok with keeping him around a little longer, it's not like we don't have the money and have never let a guy go before his contract is up, anyway. If Cam is gone next season and our projected RT is fourth-year Jawaan Taylor, you tell me that's not a desperate situation? Really? After all the dumping (justified) you've done on that dude?

Everyone has a right to state their opinion. I'm just stating mine. I don't name call or get angry at other posters, I just state my opinion. Maybe you're just a little thin-skinned. It's a message board. Lighten up. We all have different opinions and some of us are passionate about wanting to turn things around. Not everything is an attack. 

As far as me calling Cam Robinson an average OT, I didn't think that was even up for debate. I thought everyone with eyes could see that. I bet if you took a survey of the board, the vast majority would say he is average. Some people on here say he's below average, which I disagree with, but whatever. 

If Cam is up next season and our projected RT is Jawaan Taylor then we did something very, very wrong. I would cut Taylor now. We should be able to find someone better in the middle rounds of this draft or in 2023. It shouldn't be that hard to replace a player that bad. I've also stated that one of my free agent targets this year would be OT Joseph Noteboom. I'd bring him in to compete for a starting OT position and between Cam Robinson, Walker Little and Joseph Noteboom we should find 2 dependable starters and a good swing Tackle. Taylor would definitely not be part of my plans moving forward. He is a huge liability.

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