Would you pay $4M/yr. to land Warren Sapp?

[phunkadelic]

That's reportedly the Bengals offer to him, in a new 4-year deal. As a Bengals fan, I'm not happy about this. I think he's all but lost his defensive dominance, and I think he'll be as much as a headache in the locker room as Dillion currently is.

What do you all think of him right now?

[Canadian Seahawk]

The price isnt right but he is still a presence,,,think about it,,,he actually still draws double teams,,,,think of the openings.

I sure would welcome him in Seattle,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

,,,,for 2mil though.

[Buckychudd]

He's not the dominating player he once was, but in the right situation he can still be a force.

But you don't pay a situation player $4 million.

[DUKE]

I think he's still a very effective D-lineman. Double teams and blocking schemes can manipulate Dlineman's numbers, but the focus usually means opportunities for fellow teammates. His presence and attention he draws are intangibles that the Bengals don't have enough of on the line, which is a big factor in not being able to stop the run. Securing a presence on the Dline would also be great for an anticipated young corps of CB's. But, i'm not getting my hopes up until a deal is signed. The Vincent/Taylor visits have me drained and weary of the old "leverage" visits.

[Flux]

He does draw more attention than the average defensive tackle, and he fills up holes with his huge ass. I don't think the bengals wanted him until the Vincent/Taylor thing fell through as they were really looking for a good CB. But now all the decent CBs are gone, and they need to improve their D. Signing Sapp would help like it or not. $4 mil seems a bit pricey, but hey if you got the money to spare why not give him a chance?

[phunkadelic]

The problem is, they don't have any money to spare. From everything I can find, they are 5.5M under the cap, the 3M allotted for draft picks, and 2M for Carson Palmer escalators, leaving 0.5M for FA. They'll have to drop at least two veterans to bring him in.

I don't know. I'm on the fence on this one. I just think 4M/yr. is way too much for a declining loudmouth, albeit a former stud.

[DUKE]

The problem is, they don't have any money to spare. From everything I can find, they are 5.5M under the cap, the 3M allotted for draft picks, and 2M for Carson Palmer escalators, leaving 0.5M for FA. They'll have to drop at least two veterans to bring him in.

I don't know. I'm on the fence on this one. I just think 4M/yr. is way too much for a declining loudmouth, albeit a former stud.

A Corey Dillon trade would free up some cap money. Also, the team was unhappy with Kitna's recent proposal, which leads me to believe that if he doesn't agree to a more cap friendly number, he could be gone via trade or even cut. Right now, he would be the most expensive backup qb in the league, though a great insurance policy with an unproven young qb. If he is to be gone, Shane Mathews would probably be resigned to be the backup with a much friendlier contract for a backup qb. I could also see a few other possible cuts between players including TJ Houshmandzadeh, Tony Williams, Carl Powell etc. Unfortunately, the Bengals will probably have to overpay to get a big time free agent to come, due to the previous decade of futility. I'm in favor of doing what it takes within reason to take a chance on a presence on the defensive line, which was obviously a HUGE hole in the defense, when looking at our numbers against the run. His attitude is also an issue, but sometimes you have to take those kinds of risks. His attitude ON the field would be great though, because there wasn't anyone who played with the kind of fire and emotion on the field that Sapp does. Their defense desperately needs somebody to fire up the rest of the D and give them some attitude.

[Flux]

The problem is, they don't have any money to spare. From everything I can find, they are 5.5M under the cap, the 3M allotted for draft picks, and 2M for Carson Palmer escalators, leaving 0.5M for FA. They'll have to drop at least two veterans to bring him in.

I don't know. I'm on the fence on this one. I just think 4M/yr. is way too much for a declining loudmouth, albeit a former stud.

There has to be money from somewhere if they were trying to sign Vincent/Taylor, Vincent was a bust, Taylor might be too (although talks have resumed) and like Duke said, Dillons departure will give them some more room to work with (Btw when the heck is that going to happen?).

I also agree that Kitna most likely will be gone. It is in his best interest not to take a paycut, b/c there are teams like SD who would love to have him, and if he is released they would pick him up in a second.

This would leave them w/ plenty of money to sign Sapp, their rookies and even a couple others. And there may be even more cuts as Duke said.

[The Sandwich]

I wouldn't pay him over 2.5 mil. I don't think many teams would. That's why he is still around.

Now if I wanted to sell Chunky Soup, I'd sign him as a spokesman for 12 mill. But not as a lineman.

[KingGhidra]

I think he's still a very effective D-lineman. Double teams and blocking schemes can manipulate Dlineman's numbers, but the focus usually means opportunities for fellow teammates. His presence and attention he draws are intangibles that the Bengals don't have enough of on the line, which is a big factor in not being able to stop the run.

Summed up rather nicely. He may not be getting 10 sacks anymore, but if he still commands a double team, that helps his teammates tremendously. Considering the Bengals run D was piss poor last season, it can't get any worse with him there.