HereToRead":uu30xmdn said:
I think Fitzgerald suffered from not having a QB or O Line last year. Kolb, Skelton, Lindley, Hoyer i dont think any WR would be elite with those guys throwing the ball.
Would you trade Sidney Rice for Fitzgerald and it only cost 500k more against the cap?
I would also nominate Pierre Garcon as more overpaid than Fitzgerald.
I also feel like that lists logic is flawed, by just averaging their yearly salaries, some players are scheduled to make 20 mil in one season and they will never see it.
No, I wouldn't. And it's not even remotely close to being worth consideration.
#1: Fitz did suffer from QB play obviously, but it was the same group of QBs the year before when he had 1400+ yards. If you actually watched Fitzgerald closely, he was definitely having a down year. In the two games against the Seahawks, Richard Sherman had more catches and touchdowns covering Fitz than Fitz had himself. The year prior, he abused Sherman (who himself played a great game) and put the team on his back during a heroic week 17 victory over the Seahawks. Fitz's efficiency stats TANKED last season and he was actually among the worst receivers per target on his own team. He's a HoFer, a total class act, and I think he bounces back this year, but he legitimately struggled in 2012.
#2: Their cap hits are only similar this year. Fitz's cap hit leaps up to $18 million, $21.25 million, $18.25 million, $15 million, and $15 million over the next five years, and those are for his age 31-35 seasons. His dead money number is a whopping $23 million, which makes approaching for restructure difficult. Rice's dead money number is only $3.6 million. Those huge cap hits come at the same time that Seattle would need to find tens of millions for Wilson and Sherman, so I'd consider Fitzgerald to be a massively negative asset, even if he regained his previous form.
#3: Sidney Rice is (almost exactly) 3 years younger.
#4: Fitz is very likely to be released in the next couple years, IMO. I'd just wait til then to sign him on a Welker-esque deal.
I agree that Garcon is overpaid. I drafted him in fantasy last year and it was a major letdown. He did little to change my mind in the playoff game. Browner and Sherman made him their bitch.
Agreed that guaranteed money should have been a factor, but then deciding salary vs. guaranteed money becomes a balancing act and therefore arbitrary/subjective, which is something I think they wanted to avoid. Still, you make a valid point.
