getnasty":2hh1mewn said:
To say Harvins contract will cost us Tate is wrong and is just hating on Harvin again. Sydney will be cut and there will be room for GT.
In a vacuum sure, but I don't think anyone is talking in a vacuum. Harvin is making 13.5 million next year. True that if/when they cut Rice the differential in salary and dead money between the two will add up to 5-6 million, but folks are talking holistically, not a one-to-one replacement.
Holistically == in the next two years Russ, Sherm, and ET3 going from making 5 million annually combined to somewhere around 45 million annually combined (if not more; 18 + 15 + 12) if they all stick around.
The question is, given those constraints, can the team afford to pay Harvin 13.5 million AND pay Tate 8-10 million.
If so, we're talking a QB, a CB, a FS, and two good but somewhat redundant WRs taking up > 50% of the cap.
That's not blaming Harvin for anything, it's just being pragmatic, IMO. Tate is the type of very good (but non-indisposable) player that frequently has to be let go in these situations.
I'm not just "hating" mind you -- I like Harvin, I like Tate, as a team I like the Hawks despite not rooting for them

-- but as a 9ers fans I've seen these types of players already been shown the door for the same reason (e.g. Goldson, Walker, Sopoaga, Francois). Everybody from the owner down through the coaching staff and all the way to the casual fan wanted to keep these guys, but it just wasn't feasible.