Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Green Signs with Rams

It's a three year deal, but the last couple of years of most NFL contracts are like selfless politicians--rarely glimpsed and mostly theoretical. Even with that, this makes little sense to me. You won’t pay Isaac Bruce a 2 million dollar roster bonus, because you feel that’s too much for an aging #2/#3 receiver. Fair enough. But then you turn around and give a 4 million dollar guarantee to a 38 year old quarterback who’s suffered two concussions in the last 13 months? What, was Troy Aikman unwilling to leave the broadcast booth?

This signing, at this price, says Marc Bulger is our quarterback, but only kinda. Maybe you believe he needs to be pushed, to play with a little fear of losing his job (ala Bernie Miklasz), so you bring in a quarterback whose had a lot of success with the new OC (you can hear the locker room chants now: “Coordinator’s Pet, Coordinator’s Pet”). Or maybe you are worried about Bulger’s durability, and anticipate him missing significant playing time. Given your offensive line, that’s good thinking. But what makes you think Green is the answer to those troubles? He must be considered concussion prone at this point, and he’s about as mobile as my dining room table.

I think the only defense of this is the paucity of options—that is, if you believe you have to have a back-up who can be a credible starter, Green was the best option available, and you had to overpay for him. Maybe, but unless the offensive line is much improved (and not just somewhat), you’re going to end up paying Green 4 million dollars to recover from his next concussion.

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