No brainer to get Skinny Batman locked up ... they typically do this with the players they want around long term rather than use the 5th year option, so this makes sense to get this done now with the deadline to exercise that option coming up in the near future (May 2).  

 

 

As they should, and expected. Get it done.

I’ve got some spare change laying around if it helps. 

Just gotta wonder how AJ Brown will take it and if he will demand a new deal.

Even though he's our #2 I expect it to be a big number because he'd be a #1 on other teams

Glad to hear there is progress but I always assumed this was definitely going to happen.  Even if they decide they can't afford both him and AJ, they would move AJ to keep and pay Smith.  Howie would never let one of his best draft successes walk out the door.

24 minutes ago, Mike030270 said:

Even though he's our #2 I expect it to be a big number because he'd be a #1 on other teams

As I said in the blog, there's a chance that this could drag on a while because Waddle and Chase are due extensions too and whoever goes first is going to set the baseline.

25 minutes ago, Shepard Wong said:

Glad to hear there is progress but I always assumed this was definitely going to happen.  Even if they decide they can't afford both him and AJ, they would move AJ to keep and pay Smith.  Howie would never let one of his best draft successes walk out the door.

Yup. Keep the draftee in house. But I do believe Howie will work out how to keep both at least for a championship window.

10 minutes ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

As I said in the blog, there's a chance that this could drag on a while because Waddle and Chase are due extensions too and whoever goes first is going to set the baseline.

Damn I didn't realize Waddle and Chase were up for contracts as well

The team can keep him around for the next three years for around $48 million. Personally I would rather see them do that than to extend him right now.

7 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

The team can keep him around for the next three years for around $48 million. Personally I would rather see them do that than to extend him right now.

They could do that, but you'd be pissing the player off for no other reason than being cheap at a time when your TV revenues are going up by 80%. I'm not sure how that plays with the rest of the roster / free agents.

15 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

The team can keep him around for the next three years for around $48 million. Personally I would rather see them do that than to extend him right now.

It'd kind of be insulting and out of character because Howie is all about getting contracts done before the market increases

27 minutes ago, Mike030270 said:

It'd kind of be insulting and out of character because Howie is all about getting contracts done before the market increases

This is true, but if you are okay with Howie doing that, you can't get bummed out when he signs bargain-basement guys to play linebacker and safety like he did last year. That's the tradeoff with his approach.

6 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

This is true, but if you are okay with Howie doing that, you can't get bummed out when he signs bargain-basement guys to play linebacker and safety like he did last year. That's the tradeoff with his approach.

He's already done that so

2 hours ago, jsb235 said:

This is true, but if you are okay with Howie doing that, you can't get bummed out when he signs bargain-basement guys to play linebacker and safety like he did last year. That's the tradeoff with his approach.

This seems like a false dichotomy. I think most realize you can’t have high priced free agents at every position, but, if Howie had a better acumen for drafting in the back 7, then he could have better talent there on cost controlled contracts for a few years and doesn’t need all the bargain basement guys. 

No brainer

1 hour ago, EagleJoe8 said:

This seems like a false dichotomy. I think most realize you can’t have high priced free agents at every position, but, if Howie had a better acumen for drafting in the back 7, then he could have better talent there on cost controlled contracts for a few years and doesn’t need all the bargain basement guys. 

Howie does a lot of great things ... drafting has never been one.  If only he could realize his shortcomings there and let the talent evaluation to someone who has a better eye for it we'd be in an even better position (and dare I say likely have more than 1 Lombardi in the trophy case).  

Going to be very interesting to see what he gets. He absolutely deserves that contract and he’s a player we need to lock down but it’ll be very interesting to see how much he gets. Is he going to get more than AJ? And how will AJ handle that?

On the one hand AJ is generally the #1. On the other hand his deal was a couple of years and markets move.

If we get this deal done soon, it will make the whole Cee Dee / dallas drama even more interesting. 

Need to get this done ASAP.

Before JJ, Chase, Higgins, and CeeDee get paid.

I think Howie gets in before the other GMs do. It will be similar to the deal with Hurts - set the market, don´t let the market determine what you do

39 minutes ago, kiwinavega said:

I think Howie gets in before the other GMs do. It will be similar to the deal with Hurts - set the market, don´t let the market determine what you do

Signing Hurts early was a pretty clear mistake. 

Not sure about that. He´s shown enough over his time here that he can get it done. That collapse last year was everyone. Hurts should take his share, of course, but I back him to be closer to his old self this year

1 hour ago, jsb235 said:

Signing Hurts early was a pretty clear mistake. 

This reminds me of some of the posts not long after signing Wentz to a big 2nd contract and then falling apart.  I'm not ready to go there yet with Hurts ... not even close.  He seems much less mentally fragile (obviously everything TBD).  But even if it does turn out we repeated that mistake, Howie managed to get us out of that mess so I have faith he'd be able to do so again.  

4 hours ago, time2rock said:

This reminds me of some of the posts not long after signing Wentz to a big 2nd contract and then falling apart.  I'm not ready to go there yet with Hurts ... not even close.  He seems much less mentally fragile (obviously everything TBD).  But even if it does turn out we repeated that mistake, Howie managed to get us out of that mess so I have faith he'd be able to do so again.  

I am not worried about Hurts. But he wouldn't be getting top of market money if we waited to extend him.

The same is true with Smith. If we extend him now, he's going to get near top of market value. It would make some sense if he was about to hit free agency, but we have three years of team control. 

I get the whole "keep the player happy" argument, but extending him will also have a negative impact, and in this case there is a pretty big gap in what he would make over the next three years with an extension versus what we would pay him on his option/franchise tag.