If Grant wants top 5 money (1 Viewer)

[fr3sh]

It seems like he doesn't show up every week. I.E. Inconsistency. One game he could have 2 sacks and 3 tackles for a loss. Next week he would get just 2 tackles. That's what it seems like to me. In my opinion, I love C Grant but if he wants to get the big bucks he has to show up every sunday.

 

[joe87]

Top 5 DE money is way too much for Charles Grant. Way too inconsistent.

 

[SaintAkira]

If a cap friendly long term deal can't be reached during the offseason, tag him. That'll give us a season to see if Ninkovich can hold down the job, while splitting time in the DL rotation.

 

[CitySaint]

It seems like he doesn't show up every week. I.E. Inconsistency. One game he could have 2 sacks and 3 tackles for a loss. Next week he would get just 2 tackles. That's what it seems like to me. In my opinion, I love C Grant but if he wants to get the big bucks he has to show up every sunday.

Especially since it is a contract year. I was under the assumption at the beginning of the season that Grant would play lights out to insure a big contract. His overall awareness has improved dramatically though.

 

[MLU]

So who do you replace him with if you let him go?

 

[bclemms]

So who do you replace him with if you let him go?

Sign Patrick Kerney to top 5 money. He is older (more experience) and has produced less (more upside).

IMO, you have to re-sign Grant. He is worth top 5 money because other teams are willing to give it to him. He may not put up huge sack numbers but the guy is double teamed nearly every play unless he is going against a top flight RT, he plays the run as good as any DE in football and he is a leader on and off the field. If you don't sign him to top 5 money then you are looking at getting an aging veteran and saving a million or two a year, drafting a guy and using the draft to replace players rather than improve the team or you find a cheap replacement and hope it works out.

Ninkovich is not the answer because he is better suited to play the other side since he is under sized. The RDE is typically a bigger guy that is also good against the run and Ninkovich is undersized for DE much less the right side.

MLU, of the guys you listed in your first post only Strahan, Peppers and Cole play the same side as Grant. Strahan is 35 years old and no way would I take him over Grant, Cole has only 3 sacks in his last 7 games. He racked up early in the year when the Eagles had huge leads on the Texans, Giants and 49ers. Then managed another 1.5 against Vince Young and both of those were on runs that Young was tackled behind the line and he rarely faces double teams on a team that blitzes more than any in the NFL. A big lead makes DE's look much better than they are sometimes.

 

[MLU]

Yeah, I tried to be generous including a lot of people. The jury is still out on Cole (IMO), but he's young and has a lot of upside. Grant's numbers compare favorably to Peppers, BTW (but I'm sure you already knew that).

The same people that are saying the Grant shouldn't be paid that money will be complaining the loudest when/if Willie Whitehead is getting pushed around at RDE next year.

 

[bclemms]

Yep, plus top 5 money this year will be top 15 money in a couple years.

 

[Nevimeister]

Here is a list of DE's that I'd rather have than Charles Grant:
1) Julius Peppers

Here is a list of DE's in the same class as Grant:
1) Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (Now, not two years ago)
2) Richard Seymour
3) Will Smith
4) Michael Strahan (Now, not three years ago)
5) Jason Taylor
6) Trent Cole (Still young, though)
7) Darren Howard
8) Osi Umenyiora (Still young, though)

Whatever you think he's worth, you get ready to fork over more because that's the way the NFL is when it comes time to sign contracts. By the end of the contract the player is underpaid.

Grant is worth top five money, easy. Don't point to last year. Last year doesn't count for anyone on the Saints roster. Those were uncontrollable circumstances that like it or not, have a huge impact on a player's performance. Pay him.

Grant is not even worth top 10 money. DE is one of the highest paid positions in the NFL

Last year Reggie Howard was the 5th best paid DE at $7.55m and that will have gone up this year and next with the cap rising to $109m

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2006-02-21-franchise-tag_x.htm

I also think you're missing out Jared Allen. He is a RFA and one of the most underrated players in the NFL.

Allen, Adewale Ogunleye, Terrell Suggs, Aaron Schobel, Aaron Kampman, Derrick Burgess, Leonard Little, Javon Kearse (when healthy), Alex Brown, Patrick Kerney are all better than Grant in addition to your list

So are arguably Bertrand Berry, Mike Rucker, Kyle vanden Bosch, Trevor Pryce and John Abraham (that's 24 names who are better or as good as Grant including your list)

That's a lot of DEs out there better than Grant. True most won't be available but there's no way we should pay a guy who will be 29 at the start of next season and has 6.5 sacks the last year and a half $8m a year

 

[SW Saints Fan]

I don't see him worth top 5 money. At the most I would price him at the low end of the top 10 scale. If we can't work out an extension in that price range, then we should probably tag him and see what happens next year. Ninkovich may show enough that we are comfortable letting Grant go after next year or maybe it gives us another year for Grant and NO to establish where he should fall in the salary range

I hope Loomis reads the above post. I too hope to see a healthy Ninkovich on the field and lets see what he can do to help the team...he looked pretty good in the preseason. IF Grant were more consistent, I could see giving him top 5 money. Sadly I read in our local paper yesterday that the cap is going to 107 million next yr and someone will likely throw "mad money" at him if we don't tag him or sign him to an extension.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Here is a list of DE's that I'd rather have than Charles Grant:
1) Julius Peppers

Here is a list of DE's in the same class as Grant:
1) Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (Now, not two years ago)
2) Richard Seymour
3) Will Smith
4) Michael Strahan (Now, not three years ago)
5) Jason Taylor
6) Trent Cole (Still young, though)
7) Darren Howard
8) Osi Umenyiora (Still young, though)

Whatever you think he's worth, you get ready to fork over more because that's the way the NFL is when it comes time to sign contracts. By the end of the contract the player is underpaid.

Grant is worth top five money, easy. Don't point to last year. Last year doesn't count for anyone on the Saints roster. Those were uncontrollable circumstances that like it or not, have a huge impact on a player's performance. Pay him.

Seymour and Strahan are on a different planet than Grant.

You also left out Freeney, Abraham, and several others.

 

[Large Saints Fan]

I think you all missed one of the biggest reasons for keeping Grant. DURABILITY.

What use is Abraham. Kerney, Berry, Strahan or any of the other "greater" de's you list if you pay them to sit.

Grant always plays and he hustles against the run all the time.

He may not be the best but he is actually on the field playing which seems to me to have more value.

How many years in a row have Freeney, kerney, Abraham et al missed significant playing time?

 

[Saintuary]

Has Grant asked for top 5 money?

 

[Koketsu_Sama]

Hmmm, Grant doesn't always dominate the game, but He's always in the game. Dude doesn't get hurt, doesn't complain, and the only teammate he got into it with was AB. Also, while the rest of the team was having their issues off the field last year, all Grant said was "11 and 5, print up the T-shirts", how can you condone getting rid of this guy. Pay the man!!
Oh yeah, and pay his mom to call him every pre-game.

 

[SaintJ]

MLU, I think you've got to true up that list a little bit. Dwight Freeney needs to be on there somewhere, no, as does Derrick Burgess?

And Charles Grant has never, ever played as well as Jason Taylor. Taylor was an outspoken clubhouse leader while the Dolphins tried to right their ship (never, ever bring Culpepper on any kind of boat, actual or figuratively speaking), and he keyed their blowout of the Bears and has not one, but two INTs returned for touchdowns in that span. If the Dolphins make any kind of playoff run, he's got to be an MVP candidate.

I like Grant. He's played hard this year, IMO all year, and he's as good against the run as I've seen this year. He doesn't get to the QB like a superstar, he's not frighteningly quick off the snap, but I'm not sure how much of that is rush scheme, lack of other talent on the DL, etc. He's very strong at the point of attack and made the last two decent SLBs who played with him (James Allen and Scott Fujita) look like pretty darn good football players. It's a real dilemma. He's a top 15 guy, but when guys sign three and four year deals, about 1/3 of these guys a year get a chance to bump to the top, so he'll probably get what is NOW top five money, but won't be close to top 5 money as the contract rolls on.

I think I try to sign him now if I can, but if he gets to FA and the bidding war starts, I make other plans immediately. FWIW the Eagles would have extended this guy after year two, which is how they stay in such good cap control without ever losing good young players. The only thing killing them now is whiffing on a number of high draft picks (McDougle, Freddy Mitchell, Bunkley) in the last few years, and having others (Patterson, Andrews) be more top-quartile guys than Pro Bowl candidates.