balta1701-A

The tags will exist but no one really knows what they'll mean. The Tags are one of 2 things that I'll be really surprised if they're not at least partially reformed in the CBA talks (the other being the rookie contracts). The owners don't like the tag...particularly how the transition tag has become useless thanks to the poison pill technique, and the players hate hate hate the franchise tag. There's going to be some reform in that.

He couldn't have been an FA this offseason, so the team had no reason to get an extension done before they knew what the CBA was going to look like.

Then you gotta ask yourself..in the late 20's, do you pick the guy who's moving upwards because of a good showing, the guy who's moving downward and assume the bad showing was an aberration, or the guy who should have been around there anyway?

I don't think anything like that is going to happen. I'll be surprised, very surprised if they have any sort of agreement reached before the draft.

Here's some bits on the price that was being asked by the Chargers this year. Worth stressing again...players can not be traded, for draft picks or anything, until a new CBA is signed. Nor can they really be franchised until the Players agree to the existence of the franchise tag. Therefore, even if the Bears were willing to offer up a first round pick...if there is no CBA signed before the draft, then it is impossible to trade that pick for the player.

This of course assumes that something resembling the franchise tag winds up existing.

BTW, one other note...there can be no trades of players after March 3 until a Collective Bargaining agreement is signed. Therefore, if no CBA is signed before the draft, trading picks for any player is impossible.

Hanie's likely a FA, and the Bears aren't going to pay $20 million to franchise tag their backup QB. That said...are you kidding?

Link

At the end of the first round, sometimes that's the kind of thing you want...a guy that has dropped and been counted out.

If that was the price, I'd pay it, but I'd imagine that the Cards would be looking for the Cutler-level deal.

You're still not answering the actual question though...how much are you willing to give up for him? Everyone would love him, obviously, and he'd help. Would you be willing to give up say, the next 2 first round draft picks for him, and at the same time not be able to add a FA offensive lineman, and thus have to take what's available in rounds 2 and later?

IF that's not enough for him, then spend that pick on an O-lineman and go make Vincent Jackson or SIdney Rice an offer.

If that's not enough, then I don't think you do the deal; there's not much else that the Bears could/should give up (Unless they really want Hanie). I wouldn't give up 2 first rounders for him, 1 first round pick out of 5 years just sounds like a mess; way to keep making the team older, and there's other WR who can be had for just money.

Some of this though is the fact that management has made decisions that might not square well with the coach. For example, it's been repeatedly discussed that Fisher didn't want Vince Young, and that's a big part of the problem recently.

If he gets hurt next year, people will be right back to saying the same thing. If he stays healthy, I'll bet people will keep being amazed that he's still going.

Your rationale right here is why I don't think the Bears can get away with drafting a WR this year...they need a guy who can step in immediately and be that threat. Vincent Jackson and possibly Sidney Rice could do that. No one they're going to find at #30 is likely to do that this season, if ever. That said...I'm still sold on O-line being priority #1. Actually, the weird thing is, the Bears might be helped in this regard...if there's no FA period until after the draft, the Bears will almost have to go O-line in the draft, because they're not going to have the opportunity to even try to fix that through FA beforehand.

Wes Welker and Deion Branch really is a solid 1-2 punch at WR. They're not speedy, long-distance pass guys, but they are always going to get open. The Bears have guys who can stretch the field. It's guys who are always open, who the QB can throw the ball to for a guaranteed first down or to avoid the sack, that the Bears are missing. Those are the guys that take time to develop, because precise route running and good instincts for finding the seams in a defense are the key attributes.

For Johnson and Fitzgerald, it's worth pointing out...these guys were top 3 picks...and although they were above average, neither one of them really lit the league on fire as a rookie. 58 receptions for Fitz, 48 receptions for Johnson. Both of them nearly doubled their performance in their 2nd years. Yeah, they'd have been upgrades over what the Bears threw out there this season, but they weren't dominant, top of the league receivers until their 2nd years or later. Moss is of course a different beast, because all he does is run past people. But that's the exception that proves the rule; it's easy for a rookie receiver to run out on a fly pattern, do one move, and then have the ball lobbed to him. Guys legitimately do that every year. Maclin, Harvin, and hell, Knox come to mind as guys who had success as rookies doing that. Learning how to defense a pass, how to maneuver underneath, and how to get open on a route that is well defended is a much more difficult beast.

Name a big, fast, physical receiver who came in and made a real impact his first year?

What's worth remembering though is that WR's typically don't come out and dominate their first year. Most WR's take 2-4 years to really reach their top level, if they get there at all. Even top-tier ones, high-first round picks, etc. Drafting a WR highly next year isn't playing for next year; it's playing for 2012. If you want someone who can step in next year, I think you're a lot more likely to find that on the O-line.

Depending on what the CBA does, the Bears *Should* have an opportunity to be players on the FA market. They were reportedly in the middle of the pack this season in total salary despite buying out the FA market last year. They don't have any huge guys on their roster who are up for contract extensions (although Forte could be a guy that you sign this year). And they don't have a lot of their own big-time FA's who they need to franchise or risk losing.

How are you coming up with the list of unrestricteds? For example, Daniel Manning currently has 5 years of service. Prior to 2010, he could have become an unrestricted FA after 4 years. However, for the 2010 offseason he needed 6 years. If the rules from 2010 are carried over, Manning will still be a restricted free agent.

What else can be done? You can't sign a FA, you can start preparing vaguely for the draft but you can't make final decisions (in no small part because you can't fill any holes through FA before the draft), and you can sit at home and watch the Super Bowl. Until a CBA is signed, you can't really decide if you want to try to franchise tag any of your players, trade any of your players, cut any of your players, etc.

Worth noting about your timeline...the "March" part only happens once a CBA is agreed to.