Rams sign QB Blake Bortles to one year deal

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Kevin

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Fine. Just remember...free agency is unreasonably EXPENSIVE. Just like pistachios, eyeglass frames and handbags.
For a backup QB who isn't going to do anything in a meaningful game, it doesn't have to be expensive. Lots of clipboard holding gum chewers on the market.
 

Mojo Ram

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For a backup QB who isn't going to do anything in a meaningful game, it doesn't have to be expensive. Lots of clipboard holding gum chewers on the market.
Sure Kevin, but is that who you want entering a playoff game if Goff gets dinged? Some guy on a minimum contract who's never played?
 

Psycho_X

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Ok I haven’t kept up on contract rules as much as I should last couple years but when did they decide players can’t earn new money after being cut? So the Jags cut him but still owe him the $6.5 million. But why does our contract for him matter with that? I’m assuming the $6.5 is guaranteed money from jags. So anything he gets from a new team would be a new contract and thus new money. So if we gave him $5 mill he’d be earning $11.5 mil. Otherwise, what’s the point if a player can be cut from a team and the guaranteed money he got hurts him from earning new money? Just seems like a loophole that would piss off the players union.

I know that’s how coaches pay works... it’s guaranteed for life of contract minus whatever a new team might sign them for. But never remember that being relevant to players contracts.
 

Akrasian

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Ok I haven’t kept up on contract rules as much as I should last couple years but when did they decide players can’t earn new money after being cut? So the Jags cut him but still owe him the $6.5 million. But why does our contract for him matter with that? I’m assuming the $6.5 is guaranteed money from jags. So anything he gets from a new team would be a new contract and thus new money. So if we gave him $5 mill he’d be earning $11.5 mil. Otherwise, what’s the point if a player can be cut from a team and the guaranteed money he got hurts him from earning new money? Just seems like a loophole that would tick off the players union.

I know that’s how coaches pay works... it’s guaranteed for life of contract minus whatever a new team might sign them for. But never remember that being relevant to players contracts.

Teams and players can negotiate a clause where a player's new salary reduces what the old team owes him. Teams like it, and players sometimes give in in order to get a larger contract. Apparently, that has occurred in this case.

It means that the team is willing to guarantee a little more money, since they know at least part of it is likely to be paid by another team if the player is cut. The union is in favor of more money being guaranteed, of course.
 

OregonRamsFan

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And therein lies the problem and I'm glad we have McVay and Snead running things. We signed a backup QB to a 1 year deal. They aren't just planning for this year but for the future. Our 2, hell our top 5, draft picks weren't needed to and didn't start last year. But they all may start this year. 2019 draft and free agency isn't just about the 2019 season.
Uh, I was just stating my opinion. I stand by it. I don’t like the signing that much, but I am fine with whatever McSnead does. They do a great job. My opinion is neither right or wrong. It’s just my opinion, bro. I would have preferred Fitzmagic coming home. But that’s just me. Cheers!
 

XXXIVwin

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Fine. Just remember...free agency is unreasonably EXPENSIVE. Just like pistachios, eyeglass frames and handbags.

Which is why I'm a fan of this Bortles signing. It *could* be one of those rare deals where we get a free-agent backup QB at a bargain basement price. Sounds like Bortles might have commanded 5M or 6M on the open market, but we will probably get him for much less... we'll see when they release the final numbers.

In the meantime, the cap savings on Bortles means the Rams can overspend for a flashy big -name aging LB with long golden locks...
 

dang

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No matter what Bortles was guaranteed by the Jags to get paid $6.5M in salary this year. There was no chance that any team was going to sign Bortles as the starting QB for 2019. Which means he had no chance of getting an offer for more than $6.5M. With that said, Bortles chose the team that he would most enjoy being the backup for without any chance of making more or less than $6.5M this year. I believe the Rams convinced him they were the best spot for him as a backup QB and offered the vet minimum (somewhere around $1M) to seal the deal. If this is true its a great deal for the Rams and puts Bortles in a great environment to refine his marketability.
 

Farr Be It

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My, how things have changed. Imagine how this signing would have been perceived going into the 2017 season:

Rams Admit Goff Gaffe, Sign Bortles in Major Upgrade.
 

OldSchool

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So we’re paying our backup QB $1 million and the ajags are contributing another $5.5 million. Genius!