In a hypothetical do-over, do we trade for Watkins?

[Zaphod]

No way could I question any move that took this team's receiver core from a liability to a strength such as it is.

 

[Boston Ram]

I wouldnt change a thing about this year. This year has been amazing! So yes, I make the trade because I love what has happened so far.

 

[BonifayRam]

Not a strong Yes on the trade but I am far from being a fan like I am of Woods & Kupp. I do not miss EJ Gaines. Sammy has not shown me that he can deliver like the top 10 paid Wide Outs do. Sammy will be a top 10 paid wide out in 2018. I know Sammy is going to cost big & that cost will hurt this team in the long run more than what he will give back in his weekly performances. He will not be worth the cost IMO since you were asking.

I prefer to let him depart & get his 65 to 75 million contract elsewhere & work with the seldom utilized young deep WR's Josh Reynolds & Mike Thomas & look for a long ball deep WR in the future drafts. Woods is no slouch in the speed department either. This team is well stocked in good young ball catchers....Woods, Kupp, Cooper, Higbee, Everett, Reynolds, Thomas, Gurley, Brown, Hemingway & others.

I prefer the cap funds be used to sign back four of our starting UFA OL'ers in 2018/2019 in order to keep Goff upright & unmolested. I have no ideal where we will find a new LT if he retires @ the end of the season. Signing Sammy Watkins to long term contract is one serious luxury! I might consider a large one year contract though.

 

[fearsomefour]

Couple of things...

It seems that the voters overwhelmingly consider Watkins’ decoy value worth the cost of the trade. Geez, that hits a nerve since we already have one decoy WR.

Here’s a follow up question. I didn’t include it originally because I wanted to keep things as simple as possible.

Can Watkins be signed at a reasonable price? ‘Cause if not, this deal looks like a very costly one year rental.

And what is a reasonable price? $8 million per? $10 million per? Or more?

I mean, we got Woods for $7 million per, didn’t we? Wouldn’t another FA like Woods draw coverage in this McVay O scheme, too?

Don’t we have to get bang for our buck considering all the upcoming UFA’s?

Well one "decoy" receiver is averaging almost 16 yards a catch and has 8 TDs.
Things don't operate in a vacuum. If Watkins were gone don't you think that would affect Woods? Kupp? Of course.

 

[fearsomefour]

Not a strong Yes on the trade but I am far from being a fan like I am of Woods & Kupp. I do not miss EJ Gaines. Sammy has not shown me that he can deliver like the top 10 paid Wide Outs do. Sammy will be a top 10 paid wide out in 2018. I know Sammy is going to cost big & that cost will hurt this team in the long run more than what he will give back in his weekly performances. He will not be worth the cost IMO since you were asking.

I prefer to let him depart & get his 65 to 75 million contract elsewhere & work with the seldom utilized young deep WR's Josh Reynolds & Mike Thomas & look for a long ball deep WR in the future drafts. Woods is no slouch in the speed department either. This team is well stocked in good young ball catchers....Woods, Kupp, Cooper, Higbee, Everett, Reynolds, Thomas, Gurley, Brown, Hemingway & others.

I prefer the cap funds be used to sign back four of our starting UFA OL'ers in 2018/2019 in order to keep Goff upright & unmolested. I have no ideal where we will find a new LT if he retires @ the end of the season. Signing Sammy Watkins to long term contract is one serious luxury! I might consider a large one year contract though.

Garoppolo to Watkins....bank on it.

 

[Jorgeh0605]

I think we sign him to a 2 or 3 year deal that is good for us and also lets him test free agency again when he is a more proven #1 WR. I don't think he'll want a long term contract at this point in his career unless it is elite WR money which we are not going to give him.

 

[FrantikRam]

EJ Gaines is one of the most underrated-ly overrated players I've ever seen.

Not only is he injury prone, but he was at best an average starter. No better than Troy Hill.

Having a good record makes that 2nd round pick much less valuable (I'm sure the Bills though this would be a bit higher).

So yes, easily.

 

[Zodi]

I think any player we keep and goes though the whole off season program and camp again in the second year in the system, will improve greatly. .... if we resign Watkins... I bet he explodes next year...

Agreed 100%.

I mean this dude is kinda having to learn the playbook week to week. He didn't have the offseason to develop with Goff and McVay like Woods, Kupp, etc. He's also a HUGE part of our redzone offense.

Watkins, Woods, Kupp, Reynolds, and Cooper is one hell of a WR corps to have.

 

[FrantikRam]

Also, Goff had all offseason and training camp to get to know Kupp and Woods. Re-sign Watkins and next year watch out..

 

[bluecoconuts]

Watkins, like Gurley, keeps defenses honest.

 

[TexasRam]

I think he will cost more than the Rams are willing to commit. This coming up Free Agency has some solid WRs available. If Watkins leaves there are other options. I wonder if Allen Robinson coming off a down 2016, and missing all of this season, will bring his price down to below Watkins’ price tag?

Personally, I don’t want to go after a WR this offseason. I want my money used in other areas.

 

[PhillyRam]

Another thing to consider is that next year expect Everett to get more targets. So who is he taking those targets away from? So could a combo of Reynolds, Cooper, and Everett make up the production and actually surpass what Watkins could provide? Plus all 3 would have a lower combined cap hit than Watkins would.

 

[Ants]

..., if Paul Richardson is only going to cost $7 million or $8 million per year, it would be worth it to let Watkins walk if he's asking for $11 million per year. That's because Richardson can play the same role. He doesn't have Watkins's potential, but with how much we spread the ball around in our offense, that's not a huge deal.

This is an important point - I like Richardson (and Sammy). Nothing against Sammy, but we have to look at the team as a whole.

 

[Petrowsky]

Personally, I don’t want to go after a WR this offseason. I want my money used in other areas.

I would prefer the Rams fill other more pressing needs with the cap space they have. However, I wouldn’t mind the Rams adding another proven WR who is in the 5 to 8 million per year range. Maybe like a Marquise Lee.

 

[Mackeyser]

Garoppolo to Watkins....bank on it.

There are other WRs out there that will be what Shanahan wants. And don't underestimate Watkins looking at the SF situation and seeing Buffalo all over again, but with a better QB.

That team is a year or so away from really being a contender and how many years does Sammy have left? WR years are almost as bad as RB years.

Pretty sure Sammy will stay home especially when we go deep in the playoffs.

 

[fearsomefour]

There are other WRs out there that will be what Shanahan wants. And don't underestimate Watkins looking at the SF situation and seeing Buffalo all over again, but with a better QB.

That team is a year or so away from really being a contender and how many years does Sammy have left? WR years are almost as bad as RB years.

Pretty sure Sammy will stay home especially when we go deep in the playoffs.

I don't disagree with this actually.
My bigger point.....and I should have just said this....is we need to keep our own. Any teams realistic window is limited unless the FO can pull off magic tricks (see Pitts and NE). So invest now to take a shot at some titles? Hell yes. At the risk of some cap issues in a few years? Hell yes.

 

[Mackeyser]

I don't disagree with this actually.
My bigger point.....and I should have just said this....is we need to keep our own. Any teams realistic window is limited unless the FO can pull off magic tricks (see Pitts and NE). So invest now to take a shot at some titles? Hell yes. At the risk of some cap issues in a few years? Hell yes.

Well, that's gonna happen because Donald's gonna take the money this time now that Fisher's gone and we're winning.

Winning changes things ESPECIALLY for a hypercompetitive dude like AD. He outright complained that "losing sucks" and wasn't a happy camper.

I'm going to DM some folks on twitter and ask some questions. I have a feeling AD gets done and it'll cramp us a bit, but they're going to have to REALLY front load his contract. I expect his cap hit next year to be above $30M so they have room for Gurley next year and Goff year after that.

We're going to lose some LBs because there's just too much money at the position, but we'll see how that shakes out.

 

[fearsomefour]

Well, that's gonna happen because Donald's gonna take the money this time now that Fisher's gone and we're winning.

Winning changes things ESPECIALLY for a hypercompetitive dude like AD. He outright complained that "losing sucks" and wasn't a happy camper.

I'm going to DM some folks on twitter and ask some questions. I have a feeling AD gets done and it'll cramp us a bit, but they're going to have to REALLY front load his contract. I expect his cap hit next year to be above $30M so they have room for Gurley next year and Goff year after that.

We're going to lose some LBs because there's just too much money at the position, but we'll see how that shakes out.

Let's say it's $30M hit next year.
They are $51 under now, I think that is before the projected cap increase.
Sign AD and frontload a bit.
Resign Joyner, Tru another CB, Watkins and few key backups. And we are broke haha.
A LB like Davis from Denver should be "relatively" cheap and thenkid from Detroit too....can't remember his name.

 

[CGI_Ram]

If I had to predict; the Rams will do something with Tavon Austin to allocate those dollars to Sammy.

Draft a speedy gadget type guy later rounds to fill the role of Austin.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Let's say it's $30M hit next year.
They are $51 under now, I think that is before the projected cap increase.
Sign AD and frontload a bit.
Resign Joyner, Tru another CB, Watkins and few key backups. And we are broke haha.
A LB like Davis from Denver should be "relatively" cheap and thenkid from Detroit too....can't remember his name.

The $50mil. includes about $9.mil. in anticipated CAP rise at Spotrac. There may be another $1.mil or more to be added later as we don't yet know whether the raise for 2018 will match that of 2017. This figure also includes our 2017/18 estimated rollover of about $5.mil.

No way will Donald's first year CAP hit get close to $30.mil. Suh, who received a $114mil contract only had a first year CAP hit of just over $6.mil. Donald's larger guaranteed money will have his first year hit well over Suh's, but i'm estimating it closer to the $14 - $15mil. range year one, and half of that is already in the 'books' as his 5'th year option has already been calculated into his 2018 CAP. jmo.