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Bobby wants his extension before the start of the season and to show his resolve, he's not participating in OTA's:

https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/n ... 68399.html

Word is that he wants to be the highest paid Mike, north of $17M/year.

We signed the leader on offense to a new record contract and right now is the year and cap to give it to our leader on Defense. This year + 3 to total out at $70 million? -

By the way... your information is wrong and, if fact, BWags was at VM today and is participating in OTA's.
Get it done!

Well, hopefully he doesn't hold out if they can't get a deal done. OTA's are optional and there's a bunch that are not participating for various reasons, and some of the language Bobby is using would indicate that he plans on honoring his contract. They say that they are close to terms, but we heard that a few weeks before we traded Clark.

But we'd better plan on budgeting for $55M for two players, or roughly 25% of our salary cap.

I love what Bwags brings and I have his jersey, but I'm not sure I want to put up $17M/yr for more than 2 years for him. The dropoff for Mike's is steep and I wouldn't want to be caught in a longer contract that mortgages our future.

Some LB's last a long time like Lewis from the Ravens and Urlacher of the Bears, and maybe Wagner is one of those. He doesn't seem to be slowing down. Yet.

Regarding spending 25% on two players doesn't concern me in the least. In 2 years it will be down to around 20% and most contracts have ways out if his performance
severely declines. As well, next year we expect to have between $60 and $70 Million in Cap space. We could dump a bunch of salary into that year when we have that
room to lessen the impact down the road and if we have some good drafts, we will be displacing more expensive veterans with cheaper draft picks. Add in what might
be a bonanza from the gambling industry, and it might not matter that we paid both Wilson and Wagner big contracts.

Bobby is the only one other than Russ I think we have to pay what he's worth. The rest of the team can be role players and youngsters hungry to earn a big contract when their time comes.

c_hawkbob wrote:Bobby is the only one other than Russ I think we have to pay what he's worth. The rest of the team can be role players and youngsters hungry to earn a big contract when their time comes.

I hate to admit it but I think you might be right on this one Bob. I just really don't like the exposure we have in those two players.

NorthHawk wrote:Some LB's last a long time like Lewis from the Ravens and Urlacher of the Bears, and maybe Wagner is one of those. He doesn't seem to be slowing down. Yet.

Regarding spending 25% on two players doesn't concern me in the least. In 2 years it will be down to around 20% and most contracts have ways out if his performance
severely declines. As well, next year we expect to have between $60 and $70 Million in Cap space. We could dump a bunch of salary into that year when we have that
room to lessen the impact down the road and if we have some good drafts, we will be displacing more expensive veterans with cheaper draft picks. Add in what might
be a bonanza from the gambling industry, and it might not matter that we paid both Wilson and Wagner big contracts.

I am thinking that Singletary, Urlacher, Lewis and others performed really well right up to when they fell off the face of the earth. My point which I probably didn't state so well, is that Mike is so key to a team that when the slightest fall off happens it has a HUGE impact on the overall defense. Thus, when they fall off, they fall off like a hockey stick.

Wagner will be 29 in June, so injuries not withstanding, he could be able to play another 4 years at a very high level.
That would mean his next contract would be at 32/33 where it would be more of a concern.

idhawkman wrote:I am thinking that Singletary, Urlacher, Lewis and others performed really well right up to when they fell off the face of the earth. My point which I probably didn't state so well, is that Mike is so key to a team that when the slightest fall off happens it has a HUGE impact on the overall defense. Thus, when they fall off, they fall off like a hockey stick.

Although I don't think it's analogues to the situation we have with Bobby, I can't help thinking about how Lofa dropped off the face of the planet in such a short time.

idhawkman wrote:I am thinking that Singletary, Urlacher, Lewis and others performed really well right up to when they fell off the face of the earth. My point which I probably didn't state so well, is that Mike is so key to a team that when the slightest fall off happens it has a HUGE impact on the overall defense. Thus, when they fall off, they fall off like a hockey stick.

RiverDog wrote:Although I don't think it's analogues to the situation we have with Bobby, I can't help thinking about how Lofa dropped off the face of the planet in such a short time.

yeah, I was thinking of him too when I wrote that but I think his was more of a injury thing. I think the average NFL career for those players who make a starting roster in their rookie year is like just over 6 years. (those that don't start in their rookie year is 3.3 years.).

This whole contract for Bobby will be past that 6 year mark so we are playing with borrowed time. Urlacher, Singletary, Lewis all made it past 12 years so it isn't out of the question but I think the logic on NFL teams is shifting from when they all played. Sinking tons of money in non-franchise QB players is getting harder and harder to justify on teams. There's an argument that can be made that he's the "Franchise QB of the defense" but he isn't hands off like the real QB is in today's rules.

There's something about crossing that 30 year birthday that makes people realize they are NOT indestructible.

I'm really conflicted on this one as I truly like Bobby and would love to see him here but I'm just as committed to not mortgaging our future on a less than even money bet. Bobby is on that line for me - not because of his heart but simply because NO ONE CHEATS FATHER TIME!!!!

This is ridiculous.
It's the same discussion we had about Wilson and too much money.
The Cap can easily handle both contracts going forward and nobody
offers a solution of how we replace Wagner.

For years we looked for a MLB, and now we have one some don't
want to give him a 3rd contract because his production might
fall off. His next contract will get him to 33 years old. That's
not old for a dominating MLB and we would get 4 years of All
Pro or Pro Bowl play. That's worth it, on any team.

NorthHawk wrote:This is ridiculous.
It's the same discussion we had about Wilson and too much money.
The Cap can easily handle both contracts going forward and nobody
offers a solution of how we replace Wagner.

For years we looked for a MLB, and now we have one some don't
want to give him a 3rd contract because his production might
fall off. His next contract will get him to 33 years old. That's
not old for a dominating MLB and we would get 4 years of All
Pro or Pro Bowl play. That's worth it, on any team.

I don't think anyone has said that they don't want to give Bobby a 3rd contract. We're just discussing the pro's and con's.

I do like Bobby's attitude vs. Earl and Kam. He showed up at OTA's to honor his contract but is exercising his right not to actively participate. Even Pete is good with how he's approaching it.

NorthHawk wrote:This is ridiculous.
It's the same discussion we had about Wilson and too much money.
The Cap can easily handle both contracts going forward and nobody
offers a solution of how we replace Wagner.

For years we looked for a MLB, and now we have one some don't
want to give him a 3rd contract because his production might
fall off. His next contract will get him to 33 years old. That's
not old for a dominating MLB and we would get 4 years of All
Pro or Pro Bowl play. That's worth it, on any team.

Well they sure are giving BBK a long look while Bobby is out. "IF" BBK starts to really perform on the pre-season and OTA front, it might make Bobby more eager to sign. If BBK doesn't do a good job, then Bobby can hold out for what he wants. Bobby, the gambler?

RiverDog wrote:
I don't think anyone has said that they don't want to give Bobby a 3rd contract. We're just discussing the pro's and con's.

I do like Bobby's attitude vs. Earl and Kam. He showed up at OTA's to honor his contract but is exercising his right not to actively participate. Even Pete is good with how he's approaching it.

I think this plays well in Bobby's favor especially if he is helping BBK learn the defense.