Interesting discussion this morning between LZ and Granoto regarding Tunsil and Watson: Evidently, Tunsil has already turned down a contract offer from the Texans that would have made him the highest paid OLman in the league. Gulp. The more interesting part was discussing whether Watson and Tunsil realize (and maybe they do) how much they might genuinely hamstring this franchise’s ability to not only retain other key players but also surround them with winning talent. Yes, we talk about it frequently here. But they were coming at it from the player’s perspective. How does a player balance a desire to win against getting PAID?
I was listening and the answer is... Young players want to get paid. Yes, they may want to win but in their eyes, they may never get that chance to get paid top dollar again so they’re taking the money. Patriots became super lucky that arguably the greatest qb of all time (Tom Brady- & to me he is the greatest) married a supermodel and didn’t have to sign the richest contract ever. Lance & Granato were definitely on point in the fact that if Mahomes signs first, Watson needs to know he’s not getting more than that. Mahomes already has a LMVP & SMVP. He can’t ask for that money since he has neither.
Conklin and Trent Williams may push that number higher. If 5/95 is the going rate the texans need to go ahead and make it happen.
Tunsil and his agent have the Texans by the balls Bigtiime. Either the Texans cave to his demands or they let him walk and look like fools for devestating 1 to 2 drafts for him. I can see him playing out his 5th year and the Texans trying to throw the the franchise tag on him.
Fretting over a player being the highest paid is silly. A cornerstone tackle was needed. The function of paying him was a cost of getting a proven young player. it’s also worth mentioning that an extra game each season means extra money on the cap. If Texans resign both players this offseason - their deals will look small next year. Both sides know this.
He was not in the last year of his deal when he was traded for. This is the last year of his deal and he can be franchised next year.
[Caplan] Eagles are expected to be all-in on CB Byron Jones at the start of free agency: “They’re gonna be the first team up when they’re allowed to talk to the agents. I would say that deal when it comes in could hit 17 million a year.”
