Is Red most likely going to be cut

after this season unless he has a terrific year? I notice that we can't really cut him this year as his cap hit would be 10.6 million this year. If we cut him after this year his cap hit would only be 3 million next season vs the 8.5 million if he was there at the start of the season. Am I wrong in any of this math? If I am I see almost no way Big Red is back for 2014 unless he take a major pay cut. I wonder if the plan is to give Bennett a shot at both 5T and 3T some and if he pans out as well as stays healthy to sign him to a longer term contract in place of Red. I would really really like to see a more versatile player at LDE. The way Bennett was rated the last last couple of years he could be an upgrade at both run and pass defense. Plus Bennett offers the ability to slide inside on passing downs and be an above average pass rusher from DT.

I would feel very comfortable if Bennett and Scruggs were our 2 LDE's who can slide to 3T for 2014-2015.

I wonder if a similar situation will happen with Clemons as well after this year? His cap hit in 2014 would be 8.166 million if he is on the team or 2.166 if cut. I think we could be set for 2014 and the next couple of years with Irvin and Avril as our LEO options. With both Red and Clemons cut after this season the team would save 11.5 million in cap room in 2014 allowing them to lock down Sherm and ET long term.

New defensive coordinator.

New defensive line coach.

Lots of "show me" short term contracts.

Room to experiment and realign the defensive line.

High expectations for high $$$ players. Both Clem and Bryant need to produce to stay on the team or at least, stay at that $$$ amount.

I don't think it would be a significant loss to release one or both. I would love it if we had a more versatile big man to take red's spot. Run D, check. Everything else? Not so much right now.

No way. He's a leader on the team. He stays.

Hell No, Red is a huge part of this team.

Yea I think Big Red and Clemons both have absolutely has been put on notice that they need to perform this year considering how much they get paid. If Michael Bennett gets double digit sacks you can bet the front office will want him back, especially if Big Red doesn't get any or if Clemons doesn't return to form.

SoulfishHawk":15ax4yek said:

Hell No, Red is a huge part of this team.

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Literally, or figuratively?

Red get cut......

Spare me

:141847_bnono:

If Red dominates and has his best year (2011) yet, he buys himself another year under his existing contract.

Team leader or not he has to perform, especially at the level of pay he is receiving. The other thing that makes him very expendable is he is basically good at one thing(and he wasn't even good at that last year.) and that is stopping the run from the 5T on obvious run downs. HE is making way, way too much money to be a 1 or 2 down player that can't move inside, can't provide any pass rush, etc... Even if he was a top 25 LDE against the run I don't think he is worth more than a couple million a year. If we are going to have a player that is only good at stuffing the run I would much rather have that come from the 3T position(McDaniel) at a couple mil a year.

My hope is that Scruggs and Bennett look good enough as 3 down players that are good against the run and pass that we don't need Red. I am thinking our future Dline could consist of a 6 man rotation that can play 90% of the snaps. That line would consist of Avril and Bruce as pure DE's/LEO's, Mebane and a big run stuffing 3T as pure DTs with Scruggs and Bennett being guys who can play LDE or DT depending on the situation.

One thing I think the consistantly good teams do is keep the core guys who really make the team go but are willing to cut/let walk/trade other pieces(especially when they are getting older) even if they are fan favorites. You have to know when to say good bye even if fans think it is too early.

Every player who's due a lot of money is in danger of being cut/restructured if they don't have a terrific season. This is how it works in the NFL. The sky is also blue.

You can apply this to Clem, Rice, Miller, Avril, Red... basically anyone with a big contract. Don't see any point in discussing this now. It's entirely dependent on Red's 2013 performance. He was slowed by injury in 2012, but still effective. We'll see how it goes.

DavidSeven":2gid25zn said:

Every player who's due a lot of money is in danger of being cut/restructured if they don't have a terrific season. This is how it works in the NFL. The sky is also blue.

You can apply this to Clem, Rice, Miller, Avril, Red... basically anyone with a big contract. Don't see any point in discussing this now. It's entirely dependent on Red's 2013 performance. He was slowed by injury in 2012, but still effective. We'll see how it goes.

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You are probably correct but this is a discussion board for fans and I think people are somewhat concerned on how guys like KJ, ET and Sherm get resigned long term. Now this is just my opinion but even if Red has a good season there is still no way in hell he isn't at least made to restructure his contract. Him getting cut is a huge, huge possibility.

I think it's WAY to early to be wondering if a player may or may not be cut due to salary NEXT off season. Red isn't going anywhere this off season for certain due to how his contract is structured. We have 16 games + Playoffs to determine Red's worth for the next season. He had a little bit of a down year this year due to injury. If that heals up and he gets back to the same player he was before the injury, then he stays and gets his bonus and full contract, if not, they may decide to talk to him about restructuring. This is really a "show me" year for Red. I love the guy, and believe that without the injury he's definitely worth every penny, but still will have to wait and see how that injury plays out and hope it doesn't linger on through this season as well.

There will definitely be tough decisions to make, and I certainly think that restructuring Red might be one option next year. But we also have flexibility with Avril and Bennett after 2013. I think the FO has left themselves a lot of options depending on who steps up in 2013. I'm interested to see how Red does with an off-season to get his foot right and with Quinn back in the mix.

Jville":1op091m6 said:

New defensive coordinator.

New defensive line coach.

Lots of "show me" short term contracts.

Room to experiment and realign the defensive line.

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Good way to look at it.

2013: Year of competition

The contract that Red got baffles me. Was it like 7 mill a year wow.

Honestly I feel like as far as the team and fans go, he is probably the most overrated player on the hawks. He is a situational player who makes our run D better when they run to his side WHEN he is healthy. And as the league transitions more and more into a passing league Big Red's impact with the team continues to decrease. You can say he's an important emotional player on the team, but is that worth the expensive contract we are paying for him on a team full of underpaid stars who will need to be paid eventually?

Jville":1yi7ckkt said:

New defensive coordinator.

New defensive line coach.

Lots of "show me" short term contracts.

Room to experiment and realign the defensive line.

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That "new" defensive coordinator is the same guy that moved Red to the 5tech. I'm sure he knows what he has in Red.

Atradees":2majwn8p said:

The contract that Red got baffles me. Was it like 7 mill a year wow.

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All we did was match the Patriots offer to him

Atradees":102medw2 said:

The contract that Red got baffles me. Was it like 7 mill a year wow.

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Didn't bother me at the time because there was real interest in Red Bryant after his dominate year in 2011. They didn't want to lose him so they signed him to a big contract that reflected an expectation that he would be even better in 2012 ..... with specific improvement in his pass rush. Injury derailed his goals for 2012. Red's contract was a two year guarantee followed by three option years. I expect all parties to revisit his contract after the conclusion of the 2013 season.

New defensive coordinator.

New defensive line coach.

Lots of "show me" short term contracts.

Time to experiment and realign the defensive line.