**OFFICAIL** Bears 2024 Regular Season News & Schleisse - FTO Preferred - No ALTS! Derailing Is Discouraged!

[dennehy]

it makes no sense for the colts to trade buckner after restructuring his deal....he's not getting traded

Why not?

He's only got the $5m in dead money and that has been paid out. It was a really small restructure. He's got way more value this year than he will have next year, and it costs the Colts very little to trade him.

The only thing is if they wind up signing Lamar Jackson and make another run. There is no reason for them to keep him if they are going with a young QB and a rebuild.

 

[Discus fish salesman]

it makes no sense for the colts to trade buckner after restructuring his deal....he's not getting traded

Idk if they will or will not trade him but it appeared the restructure had pretty minimal cap savings for them

 

[gallagher]

The convo should be had especially since i'm pretty sure we made the trade out of the top spot before pro days came for either QB correct? If so then there could be new stuff that came up about those QB's and how they looked at their pro days and any new info that has come out on either besides what they did at their pro days.

Daniel Jeremiah is one of the, if not the, most respected "draft expert" out there and actually has NFL experience unlike many of the other so called "draft experts" and i agree that the convo should at least be had.

If it were me there's no way i'm taking Richardson or Levis over Fields but if i was Poles i would at least go over that convo with my other trusted front office people just to make sure we all agree.

Ok so you changed your point but they meld well enough together that they can make some sense combined (cost control on the first and new information on other QBs on the second).

But you're giving credit to an idea that doesn't make sense, because Poles shouldn't have moved out of the first pick at the time he did if he wasn't absolutely sold on Fields over any other possible QB draftee. He walked away from having his choice at QB because he was sold on Fields, and if new information on a different QB is there that could change his opinion of Fields, then he shouldn't have been sold on him in the first place.

To have that conversation now is the NFL equivalent of "I knew I should have taken a left at Albuquerque."

 

[Chicago4Life]

Why not?

He's only got the $5m in dead money and that has been paid out. It was a really small restructure. He's got way more value this year than he will have next year, and it costs the Colts very little to trade him.

The only thing is if they wind up signing Lamar Jackson and make another run. There is no reason for them to keep him if they are going with a young QB and a rebuild.

Idk if they will or will not trade him but it appeared the restructure had pretty minimal cap savings for them

why would you pay the guy 5 mill just to turn around and trade him?
also why would you trade a guy that is your best dline player when your seat is either at flaming hot levels or entering that level and for supposedly a day 3 pick?

 

[Discus fish salesman]

why would you pay the guy 5 mill just to turn around and trade him?
also why would you trade a guy that is your best dline player when your seat is either at flaming hot levels or entering that level and for supposedly a day 3 pick?

To increase his trade value. The point about Ballard is what actually sticks out. I can't imagine him trading win now players, but I also thought he'd do what was necessary to get a good qb and instead he'll probably take levis

 

[remydat]

His base salary is $13.75m, the Colts would eat the $5m restructure if they traded him. Buckner already got that money up front.

I think the last mil is a roster bonus, which I believe the Colts already had to pay as well on the first day of the league year.

Yeah if anything the restructure increases his trade value as basically a team trading for him would get him at an AAV of 17m a year ie 13.75m this year and 20.25m next year. Bears have the cap space where they can trade for him and not even have to restructure his contract.

Of course, the 13.75m also means Colts can easily keep him this year but the smart play is to move them because they really should go into a rebuild. The problem is Ballard might be on the hot seat and so may decided to keep him and delude himself into thinking Colts can compete and save his job.

why would you pay the guy 5 mill just to turn around and trade him?
also why would you trade a guy that is your best dline player when your seat is either at flaming hot levels or entering that level and for supposedly a day 3 pick?

See above. Prior to the restructure, his cap hit this year would be 18.75m which few teams can afford. 13.75 is doable and increases trade value. Having said that, it boils down to how safe Ballard is or whether Irsay simply tells Ballard to move Buckner for a pick regardless.

 

[bamainatlanta]

why would you pay the guy 5 mill just to turn around and trade him?
also why would you trade a guy that is your best dline player when your seat is either at flaming hot levels or entering that level and for supposedly a day 3 pick?

A lower salary cap price tag only increases the draft pick compensation

 

[bamainatlanta]

To increase his trade value. The point about Ballard is what actually sticks out. I can't imagine him trading win now players, but I also thought he'd do what was necessary to get a good qb and instead he'll probably take levis

Maybe he’ll trade Buckner just to spite Irsay, who has pretty much made him a bitch the last year.

 

[dennehy]

why would you pay the guy 5 mill just to turn around and trade him?
also why would you trade a guy that is your best dline player when your seat is either at flaming hot levels or entering that level and for supposedly a day 3 pick?

Increase trade value for minimal investment.

The arguments about Ballard, or potentially landing Lamar Jackson, are different arguments, and stronger ones. The restructure amount to 1% of the salary cap.

 

[dabears70]

Ok so you changed your point but they meld well enough together that they can make some sense combined (cost control on the first and new information on other QBs on the second).

But you're giving credit to an idea that doesn't make sense, because Poles shouldn't have moved out of the first pick at the time he did if he wasn't absolutely sold on Fields over any other possible QB draftee. He walked away from having his choice at QB because he was sold on Fields, and if new information on a different QB is there that could change his opinion of Fields, then he shouldn't have been sold on him in the first place.

To have that conversation now is the NFL equivalent of "I knew I should have taken a left at Albuquerque."

It's both, cost control and new info.

 

[dabears70]

Chicago Bears: 4 moves to make before the 2023 NFL Draft

If the Chicago Bears want to be set up for the most possible success this season, they should consider these moves before the 2023 NFL Draft.

email.fansided.com

 

[Chicago4Life]

To increase his trade value. The point about Ballard is what actually sticks out. I can't imagine him trading win now players, but I also thought he'd do what was necessary to get a good qb and instead he'll probably take levis

yea i get that but it wasnt that much of a difference in what teams would have to absorb...there are only a handful of teams that can take on his contract...
whatever ballard thinks about the qb's is moot unless your saying you had it right on every qb that came out thus far? if he has conviction on levis so be it, noone here knows who will be successful in a few years time...ballard could have it right and everyone else has it wrong and vice versa...point is, i dont see ballard trading him unless a team overbids for his services and by that i mean a 2nd rd pick

 

[dennehy]

yea i get that but it wasnt that much of a difference in what teams would have to absorb...there are only a handful of teams that can take on his contract...
whatever ballard thinks about the qb's is moot unless your saying you had it right on every qb that came out thus far? if he has conviction on levis so be it, noone here knows who will be successful in a few years time...ballard could have it right and everyone else has it wrong and vice versa...point is, i dont see ballard trading him unless a team overbids for his services and by that i mean a day 2 pick.

You think a 3rd round pick is an overbid?

 

[maxhatter]

Not so sure about that:

"Wednesday also brought about more assurance that Buckner would be sticking with the Colts. The Colts restructured Buckner's contract by converting $5 million of his 2023 salary into a signing bonus. The restructure creates $2.5 million in cap space for the Colts and fully guarantees Buckner's $19.75 million salary for 2023."

https://www.si.com/nfl/colts/news/colts-deforest-buckner-trade-rumors-shane-steichen

I get it, and that might be the case, but the Colts had over $20M in available cap space. Reducing his salary and converting it to a signing bonus only adds $2.5M of additional cap space. However, in a trade, the acquiring team will only be on the hook for $13.75M versus $18.75. I just don't think the restructuring changes the calculus to the point where it means they are keeping him. The underlying issue remains the same. He's entering the final year of his agreement, with a cap hit of $23M. The reason the trade rumors started was that many don't think the Colts will make that commitment to a 30 y/o defensive tackle. For the record, I don't see the Bears being interested in pursuing him. They weren't interested in pursuing Hargrave, who's a similar age, and signed a contract that was really a 2-year $40M fully guaranteed deal which would be close to the same cash outlay for Buckner.

 

[Chicago4Life]

You think a 3rd round pick is an overbid?

i was thinking day 2 is 2nd rd only, fixed it

 

[dennehy]

I would definitely trade a second rounder for Buckner. I think he's a top 5 IDL in the league and has been elite in this system with this coaching staff.

 

[Discus fish salesman]

yea i get that but it wasnt that much of a difference in what teams would have to absorb...there are only a handful of teams that can take on his contract...
whatever ballard thinks about the qb's is moot unless your saying you had it right on every qb that came out thus far? if he has conviction on levis so be it, noone here knows who will be successful in a few years time...ballard could have it right and everyone else has it wrong and vice versa...point is, i dont see ballard trading him unless a team overbids for his services and by that i mean a 2nd rd pick

The restructure feels much more meaningless for the Colts than a team that would acquire him

 

[SugarWalls]

Maybe he’ll trade Buckner just to spite Irsay, who has pretty much made him a bitch the last year.

He'll effectively make himself unemployed by the NFL if he does something this stupid

 

[gallagher]

It's both, cost control and new info.

Then allow be to address both directly:

There is not a current issue on cost control specifically because every unproductive an prohibitively long contract has been purged. He knows his finances already and there is no need to control cost for being as cheap as possible.

There is not an issue of new info, because new info should not change Poles' mentality. This us because the conversation was already had that Fields was the man moving forward. Nothing that any other draftee can show changes their opinion on Fields. And Fields is the center here because his employment is the variable you can control (the other variable, the rookie prospects, were handled when you had the first overall pick, which is why you decide to invest time and resources on looking elsewhere then and there).

I have a lot of professional experience with multi-year budgets exceeding the NFL salary cap. I am telling you, the time for that conversation was when they determined if Fields was their QB, and that decision was made before they sold off the first overall pick.

 

[Chicago4Life]

I would definitely trade a second rounder for Buckner. I think he's a top 5 IDL in the league and has been elite in this system with this coaching staff.

i'm more in the cautious category with him, he's been in the league a long time and also needing an extension having just turned 29, a lot would depend on what his price tag is...if payne got aav of 22.5 mill what is buckner looking for and for how many years. i'd be ok with a 3yr 60mill deal with 50 gtd but thats prob the most i'd be willing to give.