Russell Okung signs with Broncos ($53m/5yr OR $5m/1yr)

[kearly]

Elway is one shrewd mofo. He sensed a player with a wounded ego and pounced. Okung didn't agree to this deal because it was smart for him, he agreed to it because on paper it looks like a $53 million deal. Okung wanted someone to show the world that he was worth LT money, and he wanted to prove that he could get a big contract without needing an agent. In Okung's own mind, the $53 million number feels like validation, even if it is likely a mirage.

It reminds me of when Revis insisted on $16 million a year and nobody would give him anything close to that. Bill Belichick sensed opportunity and offered Revis "$16m APY" on a 2 year deal that paid $12 million in year one but had a voidable 2nd year at $20 million. Revis knew he was actually only getting paid $12 million, but his ego was satisfied so he took the offer. It was genius move by Belichick, exploiting a player's ego for the benefit of the Patriots.

It's basically the same bag of tricks here for Elway. You really have to hand it to the guy, he knows a mark when he sees one.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

It's basically the same bag of tricks here for Elway, really have to hand it to the guy, he knows a mark when he sees one.

Other than the whole have to sign Buttfumble Sanchez cause I didn't have a plan for keeping Oseweiller, now I have to overpay for Kaeperstink, RG3 or Fitzpatrick.

 

[mikeak]

^Revis also bet on himself in a way that nobody else had. He had similar setup in Tampa - I would disagree that he was taken advantage off. He simply had a full belief in making more money that way

In three years he made $16M from Tampa, $12M from New England and then $16M from Jets -- he made more because of that move by NE. He made $44million in 3 years cash.....

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-york-jet ... -earnings/

From this article:http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2015/03/09/darrelle-revis-free-agency-market-contract/24675679/

"Just look at Revis' track record. He's not afraid to bet on himself. After he signed a $96 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2013 that was essentially a series of six one-year deals that allowed the team to pull out after any season without a major financial hit, he just shrugged and smiled when I asked at the time why he didn't seekto structure the contract with more security."

Not saying it is smart by Okung to do it but he may have the same mindset

 

[drdiags]

This deal sounds worse and worse the more details come out. Ouch!

[tweet]https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/710885041551908865[/tweet]

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Not saying it is smart by Okung to do it but he may have the same mindset

That'd make sense if Okung got 12M guaranteed in year #1 like a Revis type fully loaded one year deal type of contract.

But dude got 5M, with ZERO guaranteed and can actually be cut before the season even starts and get nothing. That all spells that Okung wasn't the no agent hero everyone was making him out to be, but got schooled by Denver taking a terrible deal.

 

[chris98251]

This deal sounds worse and worse the more details come out. Ouch!

[tweet]https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/710885041551908865[/tweet]

Glass jaw contract, his shoulder is suppose to be healed, if not and he can't work out he loses 1 M, he gets 2 M if he is available game 1 or for a game, another Glass Jaw aspect, the other 2 M is a base, so if they cut him early they are not going to have to pay that either and he won't get work out and or 1 game bonus.

OWNED!!!!

 

[DavidSeven]

It's hard to argue Elway's success in the free agent market.

He landed the biggest free agent of the past 10 years in Peyton Manning. He picked up Ware, Talib, and Sanders on nice deals and won a championship because of it. He refused to be held hostage by Osweiler, who I think may be the most overrated player in the NFL today. He fired John Fox at exactly the right time.

He's easy to hate on for his demeanor, but if you have a track record like his, it's hard to discount anything he does.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

Declining an option does result in a comp pick.

That's already been established in past years.

 

[SomersetHawk]

Big gamble from Okung. Injury was obviously a big factor in negotiations, with teams unwilling to give him a legitimate long contract.

I think big Russ is being really optimistic with this, at this stage I think it's really unlikely he spends more than a year in Denver. Best case scenario is he puts a solid year together and hits the market again next year as a 29 year old.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

It's hard to argue Elway's success in the free agent market.

He landed the biggest free agent of the past 10 years in Peyton Manning. He picked up Ware, Talib, and Sanders on nice deals and won a championship because of it. He refused to be held hostage by Osweiler, who I think may be the most overrated player in the NFL today. He fired John Fox at exactly the right time.

He's easy to hate on for his demeanor, but if you have a track record like his, it's hard to discount anything he does.

Well I know a lot of Denver fans that were ready to run Elway out of town after we destroyed them in the SB. They thought he made a huge mistake with Manning and not spending hardly any draft or FA resources on the defense.

So I guess give Elway credit for spending a bunch of money in free agency on defense modeling the Hawks big corner press cover with elite DE style of defense.

But I've yet to read where he's even in the upper tier of GM's from a creativity or innovation standpoint. In fact IMO he got lucky this year with sneaking into that #1 seed and stopping NE seemingly a dozen times while his terrible offense struggled in both the AFC Championship and SB.

 

[HawkFan72]

It's basically the same bag of tricks here for Elway, really have to hand it to the guy, he knows a mark when he sees one.

Other than the whole have to sign Buttfumble Sanchez cause I didn't have a plan for keeping Oseweiller, now I have to overpay for Kaeperstink, RG3 or Fitzpatrick.

Exactly. Elways made a good move here taking advantage of Okung, but let's not act like he's had a perfect offseason. He messed up the Osweiler deal (wasted 4 years of development on their QB successor only to get cute and watch him walk away) and the CJ Anderson deal (ended up having to match a deal that is a few million higher than his tender would have been). If they weren't reserving the money they were for Osweiler and hadn't thrown away a few million on Anderson that they didn't need to, they might have had enough to keep one of their other guys who left, like Malik Jackson. Or they could have locked up Von Miller long term before the price for pass rushers went out of control at the start of free agency. He's going to have to pay for that now too.

 

[Jville]

If someone placed me in an arm lock and demanded an opinion of Russell Okung's performance as a player agent, I would be force to assign the agent an "F".

 

[kearly]

Other than the whole have to sign Buttfumble Sanchez cause I didn't have a plan for keeping Oseweiller, now I have to overpay for Kaeperstink, RG3 or Fitzpatrick.

Sanchez is probably just a backup QB in Denver making backup money.

I think Osweiler simply made more sense for the Texans than for Denver. Denver probably felt that they needed a better QB to push them over the top again in 2017 and 2018 before their elite defense crumbles. Kaepernick is riskier but might have a better chance to win a SB in Denver's current situation than Osweiler would. He has significant postseason experience and is a fixable QB. A year ago everyone would have agreed that Kaepernick was a more valuable QB than Osweiler and in reality very little has changed with those two players since then, other than Kaepernick needing a change of scenery.

RG3 is more of an emergency option, as is Fitzmagic, and they are roughly on the same plane as Osweiler as QBs.

Those options also cost less money than what Osweiler got. Denver drew a line in negotiations and stayed disciplined to not cross that line because they knew they had several fallback options. The best GMs are generally the most disciplined ones, even if it results in some tough decisions.

It also sounds like Osweiler didn't really want to stay in Denver all that much. If I was a GM I wouldn't want to fork over $18m APY to a player who felt indifferent about staying.

^Revis also bet on himself in a way that nobody else had. He had similar setup in Tampa - I would disagree that he was taken advantage off. He simply had a full belief in making more money that way

In three years he made $16M from Tampa, $12M from New England and then $16M from Jets -- he made more because of that move by NE. He made $44million in 3 years cash.....

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-york-jet ... -earnings/

From this article:http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2015/03/09/darrelle-revis-free-agency-market-contract/24675679/

"Just look at Revis' track record. He's not afraid to bet on himself. After he signed a $96 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2013 that was essentially a series of six one-year deals that allowed the team to pull out after any season without a major financial hit, he just shrugged and smiled when I asked at the time why he didn't seekto structure the contract with more security."

Not saying it is smart by Okung to do it but he may have the same mindset

I never said it was a mistake by Revis. $12 million was all anyone was going to give him. The trick was getting Revis to agree to a $12 million deal.

Revis made a show of asking for $16 million and nobody gave it to him. So he took a deal that was a fake $16 million deal to satisfy his ego. Belichick benefited from Revis' willingness to take a fake contract.

 

[kearly]

Exactly. Elways made a good move here taking advantage of Okung, but let's not act like he's had a perfect offseason. He messed up the Osweiler deal (wasted 4 years of development on their QB successor only to get cute and watch him walk away) and the CJ Anderson deal (ended up having to match a deal that is a few million higher than his tender would have been). If they weren't reserving the money they were for Osweiler and hadn't thrown away a few million on Anderson that they didn't need to, they might have had enough to keep one of their other guys who left, like Malik Jackson. Or they could have locked up Von Miller long term before the price for pass rushers went out of control at the start of free agency. He's going to have to pay for that now too.

CJ Anderson was really the only mistake he made. He could have given Anderson a 2nd round tender and nobody would have tried to sign him, instead he got cute and did the lower tender and new he's on the hook for a front-loaded 4/18 contract instead of the 1 year, $2.6m RFA deal he would have had with the 2nd round tender.

I think Osweiler is a serviceable zone killer QB, similar to Matt Schaub when he went to Houston from Atlanta. For Houston it's a decent move, but for Denver I don't think value was quite as good, and it sounds like Osweiler wasn't all that enthusiastic about staying. Denver also gets a 3rd round comp pick out of it.

With Jackson, he got insane money, literally about twice what he's worth. Denver will get a draft pick out of that too.

It's even theoretically possible that they could rent Okung and gain a shiny draft pick after he leaves in 2017.

IMO, Elway is killing it this free agency, just like he always does.

 

[Hawkboi]

If Ryan Clady is or could be health, he'd be our to go to guy... I obviously saw him play at Boise State and I know what he is capable of doing... I personally think he's better than Okung, only time will tell what happens... My intelligent guess is; I don't know... However, I just thought I'd participate...

 

[Basis4day]

Exactly. Elways made a good move here taking advantage of Okung, but let's not act like he's had a perfect offseason. He messed up the Osweiler deal (wasted 4 years of development on their QB successor only to get cute and watch him walk away) and the CJ Anderson deal (ended up having to match a deal that is a few million higher than his tender would have been). If they weren't reserving the money they were for Osweiler and hadn't thrown away a few million on Anderson that they didn't need to, they might have had enough to keep one of their other guys who left, like Malik Jackson. Or they could have locked up Von Miller long term before the price for pass rushers went out of control at the start of free agency. He's going to have to pay for that now too.

CJ Anderson was really the only mistake he made. He could have given Anderson a 2nd round tender and nobody would have tried to sign him, instead he got cute and did the lower tender and new he's on the hook for a front-loaded 4/18 contract instead of the 1 year, $2.6m RFA deal he would have had with the 2nd round tender.

I think Osweiler is a serviceable zone killer QB, similar to Matt Schaub when he went to Houston from Atlanta. For Houston it's a decent move, but for Denver I don't think value was quite as good, and it sounds like Osweiler wasn't all that enthusiastic about staying. Denver also gets a 3rd round comp pick out of it.

With Jackson, he got insane money, literally about twice what he's worth. Denver will get a draft pick out of that too.

It's even theoretically possible that they could rent Okung and gain a shiny draft pick after he leaves in 2017.

IMO, Elway is killing it this free agency, just like he always does.

Better get your fax straight. (See what i did there?)

 

[jammerhawk]

I'm sort of glad the Hawks didn't re-sign Okung. The weekly questions of whether he is hurt, will he show up, or will will he be able to handle the speed rusher of the week that he faces are now gone. He wasn't the same player the team drafted the last few seasons and his decline was obvious.

It was totally clear that the team let him go once the FA tour started as they needed sureity and he wasn't about to give it to them.

Time to move on. I wish him luck, but would advise him he cost himself a good deal of guaranteed money as he had a fool for an agent.

 

[ctrcat]

If Ryan Clady is or could be health, he'd be our to go to guy... I obviously saw him play at Boise State and I know what he is capable of doing... I personally think he's better than Okung, only time will tell what happens... My intelligent guess is; I don't know... However, I just thought I'd participate...

Cordy Glenn is also better, younger, and has played 61 of 64 games. He'd cost two firsts but no clue why that's not mentioned as the obvious play if you insist on reliability and production. Buffalo's cap is shot and they would not match IMO. If the Hawks did make the playoffs again it'd only be two late firsts for a long term sure thing.

 

[BlueTalon]

It also sounds like Osweiler didn't really want to stay in Denver all that much. If I was a GM I wouldn't want to fork over $18m APY to a player who felt indifferent about staying.

For Houston it's a decent move, but for Denver I don't think value was quite as good, and it sounds like Osweiler wasn't all that enthusiastic about staying. Denver also gets a 3rd round comp pick out of it.

I could be wrong, but I think you have the cause and effect backwards. Osweiler wasn't enthused about staying in Denver because Denver wasn't enthused about having him stay. They demonstrated it by not trying to keep him, and not even really wanting to talk about it, until way late in the process. They might have wanted to keep him, but they wanted a discount and I think they were betting they would get it.

Really, it kinda reminds me of the Hutch situation. The feelings of both players were hurt by the perception of being undervalued, and it had the effect of pushing them out the door.

 

[BlueTalon]

Exactly. Elways made a good move here taking advantage of Okung, but let's not act like he's had a perfect offseason. He messed up the Osweiler deal (wasted 4 years of development on their QB successor only to get cute and watch him walk away) and the CJ Anderson deal (ended up having to match a deal that is a few million higher than his tender would have been). If they weren't reserving the money they were for Osweiler and hadn't thrown away a few million on Anderson that they didn't need to, they might have had enough to keep one of their other guys who left, like Malik Jackson. Or they could have locked up Von Miller long term before the price for pass rushers went out of control at the start of free agency. He's going to have to pay for that now too.

CJ Anderson was really the only mistake he made. He could have given Anderson a 2nd round tender and nobody would have tried to sign him, instead he got cute and did the lower tender and new he's on the hook for a front-loaded 4/18 contract instead of the 1 year, $2.6m RFA deal he would have had with the 2nd round tender.

I think Osweiler is a serviceable zone killer QB, similar to Matt Schaub when he went to Houston from Atlanta. For Houston it's a decent move, but for Denver I don't think value was quite as good, and it sounds like Osweiler wasn't all that enthusiastic about staying. Denver also gets a 3rd round comp pick out of it.

With Jackson, he got insane money, literally about twice what he's worth. Denver will get a draft pick out of that too.

It's even theoretically possible that they could rent Okung and gain a shiny draft pick after he leaves in 2017.

IMO, Elway is killing it this free agency, just like he always does.

Better get your fax straight. (See what i did there?)

Was Elway the GM for that debacle? Not that it matters, it was the agent's fault, not the Broncos GM's fault, for not getting the fax sent on time.