Apparently On 790Thezone At 9:30 Today Td Reveals Who's Franchised

[Xfactor 3,980]

if i remember correctly, they were negotiating a contract last training camp, so it's been an ongoing process for upwards of a year. you don't just sign a contract over lunch.

They did Robinson's contract over lunch and were drinking I think. If you try and steal a player it will drag out. To be fair I have no idea if that's the case it just feels like Grimes wasn't a top priority with TD. Then TD has an Oh Sh%$ moment after meeting with Nolan and slaps the tag on him.

[aerosmith67 2,468]

He wasn't talking about FA early last season it only started after he thought he was being ignored.

...and you know this how exactly?

[aerosmith67 2,468]

If that's the case, Brees and Nicks shouldn't be FAs neither. Nor should any other top FAs. I'm sorry but I hate hearing that reason. It's not like we're the only team with good FAs about to hit the market.

It comes down to this poster just wanting to dismiss TD as a GM and totally disregard the fact that most franchises would have done the same thing with Grimes.

People tend to forget that Grimes was benched several times in 2009, he proved his worth in 2010 and early 2011. There was no way the Falcons were going to extend his contract after 1 season worth of production.

[slamee101 7,143]

I question the football IQ of many posters on this board.

[RHEC 4,069]

Or was held out, but nobody's keeping score.

Yeah that's it, we held out our best CB in the playoffs.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Skar

[FalcoChicquera 273]

Agree but Grimes did everything but climb a **** mountain and annouce he wanted a new deal last year. Yeah and I hate seeing a team using the franchise tag unless the player is being unreasonable it usually means the GM or FO dropped the ball like in this case which 99% of the time cost the team more money even if a deal is reached.

Grimes was paid $2.6m last year, and we were about $1m under the cap.

I'm not sure how you would have structured a multi year contract that only counted $3.5m against the cap in the 1st year and that Grimes would sign?

Without putting ourselves in cap trouble down the road (giving him a 6 year contract or something like that), and still giving him a reason to sign - he is guaranteed $13m over the two years using this approach (2x tag), so you'd have to be giving him more than that - but please let us know how you would structure it.

The closest I can see would be a $12m signing bonus over 5 years with a 1st year salary of the minimum (750k), then a substantial roster bonus this year (say $8m to bring him over the $20m guaranteed threshold) twinned with several LTBE incentives that kick in this year with a $1m salary. You could then step up the base salaries but with little SB proration after year 3.

Unfortunately, that still gives us almost the same cap number for this year as we have under this approach (would be $9.5 under my proposed deal vs. $10.4m for the franchise tag). Is that $1m saving really worth the risk of Grimes getting hurt last year? In addition, we would have been so tight against the cap last year we would not have been able to bring any money forward, so the net effect is in fact a wash this year.

I really don't understand how you would structure the deal - please, enlighten me.

Edited March 2, 2012 by FalcoChicquera

[slamee101 7,143]

Yeah that's it, we held out our best CB in the playoffs.

If it would have risked making the injury more serious or his effectiveness would have been limited is it that far fetched? Guys get hurt and miss big games sometimes...including playoff games.

Even if it was highly risky and the team wanted him to play I can't see how anyone can be mad and suggest he should have just played anyway.

[HASHBROWN3 16,757]

The move shows we respect Grimes and recognize his talent. 10.6 mil is a hefty amount of money. I am sure both sides would like to see a long term deal but Grimes camp wanted it to go out for bid which is not a problem either.

With the tag, it forces the Grimes camp to deal exclusively with the falcons. Brent and his agents understand anything can happen during the year injurywise as well.

Some leverage has been lost, which forces both sides to perhaps become more reasonable. The benefit of a long term deal on the falcons side would be they may be able to take less of a cap hit if a deal gets done, and the benefit of grimes side would be more guaranteed money and long term security... Am I wrong?

[g-dawg 42,273]

The move shows we respect Grimes and recognize his talent. 10.6 mil is a hefty amount of money. I am sure both sides would like to see a long term deal but Grimes camp wanted it to go out for bid which is not a problem either.

With the tag, it forces the Grimes camp to deal exclusively with the falcons. Brent and his agents understand anything can happen during the year injurywise as well.

Some leverage has been lost, which forces both sides to perhaps become more reasonable. The benefit of a long term deal on the falcons side would be they may be able to take less of a cap hit if a deal gets done, and the benefit of grimes side would be more guaranteed money and long term security... Am I wrong?

Well said. I also think applying the franchise tag puts more pressure on the player and the player's agent to bend in their demands - sure the player gets $10.6 million guaranteed now - but a new deal could bring a guarantee of more than double that figure - in the NFL where career-ending injury is always "one play away" - these players want as much guranteed money as they can get.

Also, keeep this in mind - Brent Grimes is a short(5'8") fast corner who will be 30 years old going into next offseason. His value will start diminishing over next two years. While big corners like Champ Bailey can still play at a high level into their mid 30's when they lose a step - Grimes won't be able to pull that off most likely. The next three years will be Grimes' top earning years.

If I was Falcons, I would not offer more than 4yrs and $34million with $18 million guaranteed. That basically guarantees the first two years of contract and Grimes and his high maintenance wife get an extra $7.5 million in guaranteed money. If Grimes does not like it, let him feel the pressure of playing under short term deal - and playing at a high level and risk injury - under the one year franchise tag.

Falcons hold the cards now - not Grimes - good move by Dimitroff!

[HASHBROWN3 16,757]

Well said. I also think applying the franchise tag puts more pressure on the player and the player's agent to bend in their demands - sure the player gets $10.6 million guaranteed now - but a new deal could bring a guarantee of more than double that figure - in the NFL where career-ending injury is always "one play away" - these players want as much guranteed money as they can get.

Also, keeep this in mind - Brent Grimes is a short(5'8") fast corner who will be 30 years old going into next offseason. His value will start diminishing over next two years. While big corners like Champ Bailey can still play at a high level into their mid 30's when they lose a step - Grimes won't be able to pull that off most likely. The next three years will be Grimes' top earning years.

If I was Falcons, I would not offer more than 4yrs and $34million with $18 million guaranteed. That basically guarantees the first two years of contract and Grimes and his high maintenance wife get an extra $7.5 million in guaranteed money. If Grimes does not like it, let him feel the pressure of playing under short term deal - and playing at a high level and risk injury - under the one year franchise tag.

Falcons hold the cards now - not Grimes - good move by Dimitroff!

Yep, if he signs only for the tag, he must perform at an extremely high level because he knows its for next years payday. That is another reason it is a smart move by TD.

Plus he is yet another year older. If he signs long term, he can play stress free, enjoy the game, and be financially secure... win/win...

[RHEC 4,069]

If it would have risked making the injury more serious or his effectiveness would have been limited is it that far fetched? Guys get hurt and miss big games sometimes...including playoff games.

Even if it was highly risky and the team wanted him to play I can't see how anyone can be mad and suggest he should have just played anyway.

The thing is, he wasn't hurt anymore when the playoffs came, he was going to play and all of the sudden he sat out.

[Dominique is Manufique 638]

there are some well thought-out posters on these boards after all. i'm pleasantly surprised.

[HASHBROWN3 16,757]

The thing is, he wasn't hurt anymore when the playoffs came, he was going to play and all of the sudden he sat out.

Since no-one can determine the facts, I hate speculating..

[Thiccolas Cage 1,341]

I was hoping that they would kick the man a new deal. Hopefully that will be underway after TD sorts through the rest of our FA and draft.

[Dominique is Manufique 638]

I was hoping that they would kick the man a new deal. Hopefully that will be underway after TD sorts through the rest of our FA and draft.

i think they'll work out a long term deal prior to training camp, but what do i know.

[slamee101 7,143]

The thing is, he wasn't hurt anymore when the playoffs came, he was going to play and all of the sudden he sat out.

We hoped he would play, but nobody knew. You know how teams are with injury reports going into games.

[RHEC 4,069]

We hoped he would play, but nobody knew. You know how teams are with injury reports going into games.

Yeah, its like every week, half the team is on the injury reports when most of them are just fine.