Cooks Deal Elucidates Point I've Made About Jones' Ownership

[DanTanna]

One good move doesn't erase:

Quincy, Campo, Gailey, Chutch, Ryan Leaf, Galloway, Roy Williams, Carpenter, Jimmy Johnson, Zeke, Taco, Vinny, Spawn....infinity....

 

[Pass2Run]

The Jones ownership may well have made the correct decision, but it's not a sure thing. I wanted Cooks more than any WR on the free agent market (including Beckham) so I was very pleased with the signing. But Beckham if he can return to form is a step above Cooks. It's a gamble by the Ravens which could lead to the SB or will be go down as an expensive mistake. Sometimes you have to take those gambles.

It's never a sure thing.

What is almost definitely a sure thing is that not signing OBJ was a good move.

It's more about what they have not done to step on their own members that tells me they're doing a good job lately.

I don't worry about the nonsensical mantra of 28 years and the whole championship drought like much of the fan base.

Not only will whining about it never change anything, it doesn't matter. Because you have to think they've learned a thing or two during that time.

Plus, the other point I've made is that there is only one or two GMs or owners with more rings anyway.

Have they always done a great job?

Definitely not? I hated the job they were doing during Emmitt's last years, as he stunk up the joint and ruined the culture making the team about his record.

Jerry went along with it rather than trying to keep a winning team.

A lot of things have happened since then. But I gotta say they're doing a good job over the last 5 years.

 

[jterrell]

I think it’s not as bad as it seems, it’s just hard to conceive of how big the salary gaps are getting between the best players vs middling starters due to salary cap inflation.

Consider Amari Cooper’s 20m$ AAV deal 3-4 years ago. At the time he was second highest paid WR who ever lived. In that era, an above average starter making 10m$(half AC) may have been a little high, but it wasn’t outrageous. The comparison is the same today; the highest paid WR is making 30m$ AAV now. Within that ratio, a Ceedee Lamb is worth 23m$ AAV, a Christian Kirk is worth 19m$ AAV, and the hope an Odell Beckham will find some semblance of his former self is worth 15m.

Maxing him out at 15M would be fine.
Guaranteeing 12M for 1 year is absolutely nuts.
If he is anything like the prior 3 seasons you paid 12M for about 4M worth of production.
If he is good you have to renegotiate and pay him more GTD money next year. AND YOU SET THE BAR AT 12M!! Crazy.

It's a truly awful contract.
And only makes sense if you are 1 player away from a legit title run.

If you are in question over your QB as a deep passer why would you add this red flag deep threat??
This is truly a wild pairing at insane cost.
Ravens need WR help for sure but this is a massive overpay.
They could get much, much better Hopkins for less money with a late pick in trade.

 

[Pass2Run]

What do elucidate mean?

It means you're still better than Emmitt Smith, so show up.

 

[conner01]

The Jones ownership may well have made the correct decision, but it's not a sure thing. I wanted Cooks more than any WR on the free agent market (including Beckham) so I was very pleased with the signing. But Beckham if he can return to form is a step above Cooks. It's a gamble by the Ravens which could lead to the SB or will be go down as an expensive mistake. Sometimes you have to take those gambles.

I’ll take the guy who’s done it in the last 2 years over the guy who hasn’t done it in a long time
Much safer signing
Rather than bet on what’s possible the bet on what’s proven recently

 

[Pass2Run]

The Jones ownership may well have made the correct decision, but it's not a sure thing. I wanted Cooks more than any WR on the free agent market (including Beckham) so I was very pleased with the signing. But Beckham if he can return to form is a step above Cooks. It's a gamble by the Ravens which could lead to the SB or will be go down as an expensive mistake. Sometimes you have to take those gambles.

This is a myth.

You bought into OBJ's marketing machine.

It's hype.

Stats show Cooks is capable of more with less.

Who wants to bet Cooks has a better season than OBJ?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Not the first we got starting safeties the same way Hooker and Kearse are vital to our D..Hankins resigning also in that convo ie like last year.., imagine if TY was here from game 1 would have been a lot better IMO.. other team do do this .. I mean the all in isn't a blue print and hardly used.. the way JJ does things is more normal. look at last year both sides og the spectrum made it to a sb but the team who did far less in the offseason didn't sign any bog name FAS lost 2 great payers won sb against the team that made all the moves.

fine line maybe walk the middle at times is the best approach.

I more so have an issue with spending on the Cedric Thortons and Nolan Carroll’s….I have zero issue with kicking the tires on proven players.

 

[Pass2Run]

Prudent is fair. Its also the only option short of piecing together an actual big trade, and it comes on the heals of the botched Amari Cooper severance, Its not like Jamar Chase was out there this offseason. Cooks is the best WR we could have got without giving up anything. The smarter play was what the Bears did prying DJ Moore away from Carolina in a big trade, but Jerry and Stephen don't have the gumption to wheel and deal. They are basically returning last years failed playoff team, sprinkling in a few aging veterans, and calling it improvement. I guess we will see but they sure as heck haven't earned the benefit of the doubt.

Wholly disagree here.

Everyone available is an aging veteran. That's typically who's on the market this time of year.

It was a smart decision. Just swallow your pride and admit it.

 

[Pass2Run]

You mods don't know anything do you?? Lol jk

Big dog likes to bust my chops... he means no harm.

 

[Pass2Run]

I have literally never heard or seen that word used in my life. I had to look that one up.

You mustn't read much.

 

[JohnsKey19]

You mustn't read much.

Not enough apparently...

 

[Rockport]

In summary, OBJ gets $15 million with $18 million potential in a deal negotiated by Zeke Sandhu.

Beckham hasn't averaged more than 65 yards per game since 2018.

Cooks broke 1,000 yards in 2,020 and 2021, and we signed him for $12 million, even though he has a proven history of production in recent years, minus the injury.

While defending my reason for supporting the job the current Jones ownership is doing, I've said that I like what they're doing a lot because of what they have not done, such as signing OBJ in this case, when they could get Cooks for as much as $6 million less.

Our fans will say this is cheap. I call it being prudent.

LINK: https://thelandryhat.com/2023/04/10/odell-beckham-jr-contract-details-ravens-cowboys-brandin-cooks/

Great points.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Maxing him out at 15M would be fine.
Guaranteeing 12M for 1 year is absolutely nuts.
If he is anything like the prior 3 seasons you paid 12M for about 4M worth of production.
If he is good you have to renegotiate and pay him more GTD money next year. AND YOU SET THE BAR AT 12M!! Crazy.

It's a truly awful contract.
And only makes sense if you are 1 player away from a legit title run.

If you are in question over your QB as a deep passer why would you add this red flag deep threat??
This is truly a wild pairing at insane cost.
Ravens need WR help for sure but this is a massive overpay.
They could get much, much better Hopkins for less money with a late pick in trade.

What do you mean Hopkins for less money?

 

[Rockport]

Jones front office is 1.8x more intelligent in decisions than the garden variety critic around here.

Still doesn't fix cultural issues where Jerry undermines accountability. Still doesn't fix never-ending-below-average-head-coach selections. Still doesn't address Goodell's trained zebras running as trained.

So the refs are fixing games?

 

[Proof]

Considering Dallas did everything but fly a blimp proposing to OBJ, I'm not ready to celebrate their decision making just yet. They would have loved to have him and likely would have over paid him as well.

 

[Majic]

This is a myth.

You bought into OBJ's marketing machine.

It's hype.

Stats show Cooks is capable of more with less.

Who wants to bet Cooks has a better season than OBJ?

Not sure what makes you say this but it simply isn't true.

OBJ is a good WR talent with very real concerns and issues.
His play has been below WR1 level for 6 years now.
He has totaled 850 yards receiving in the last 3 regular seasons (missing all of last year).

He is never returning to 23 year old OLB. And hasn't been there in a long, long time.
He hasn't even averaged 50 yards per game since 2019.

I am SHOCKED he got that much money.
I truly figured he'd sign for like 5-6M GTD with a lot of escalators.
12M GTD that can rise to 15M for 1 year is nuts.

You guys aren't understanding what I am saying. I wanted Cooks over OBJ and any other free agent. I've always liked Cooks, but there is a ceiling to his play. Also he's not particularly great after the catch.

OBJ is a weapon that needs to be used tactically over the season. Cooks will have the better season statistically I'm sure.

The Ravens know he's not the 2019 version. But if used correctly OBJ can make a big impact in big games. They are not after 1200 yards production.

 

[gtb1943]

You guys aren't understanding what I am saying. I wanted Cooks over OBJ and any other free agent. I've always liked Cooks, but there is a ceiling to his play. Also he's not particularly great after the catch.

OBJ is a weapon that needs to be used tactically over the season. Cooks will have the better season statistically I'm sure.

The Ravens know he's not the 2019 version. But if used correctly OBJ can make a big impact in big games. They are not after 1200 yards production.

whatever your defense of the deal, it is lipstick on a pig.

 

[gimmesix]

In summary, OBJ gets $15 million with $18 million potential in a deal negotiated by Zeke Sandhu.

Beckham hasn't averaged more than 65 yards per game since 2018.

Cooks broke 1,000 yards in 2,020 and 2021, and we signed him for $12 million, even though he has a proven history of production in recent years, minus the injury.

While defending my reason for supporting the job the current Jones ownership is doing, I've said that I like what they're doing a lot because of what they have not done, such as signing OBJ in this case, when they could get Cooks for as much as $6 million less.

Our fans will say this is cheap. I call it being prudent.

LINK: https://thelandryhat.com/2023/04/10/odell-beckham-jr-contract-details-ravens-cowboys-brandin-cooks/

For every Cooks vs. OBJ deal (and even more so), there are good sound deals that are made each year to improve teams that the Joneses don't even try because they choose to stay out of free agency unless it's bargain basement. Prudent and cheap do not necessarily go hand in hand. Could we have improved WR last year prudently without going cheap?
A proven receiver Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster signed for a $3.25 million base, while we went for James Washington at a lower cost and much lower production. Yes, there were questions about Smith-Schuster as well, but Dallas has consistently shown that it wants to find outside FAs for under $2 million.

The only way you get more money with this team is if we trade for you or you've been here a year or two and we decide to re-sign you. That's just not good business if you want to win titles.

Most of us don't want Dallas to just throw money at the most expensive free agents no matter what. We want the team to be willing to not box itself in with a philosophy that doesn't allow it to seek a D'Onta Foreman for 1 year, $3 million after he rushed for season highs and instead stick with being as cheap as possible by signing Ronald Jones II for 1 year, $1.25 million coming off a season where he sunk to the back of a pack of backs.

 

[DandyDon52]

What does elucidate mean? Not Do

So dak will elucidate this year ??

 

[joseephuss]

Prudent is fair. Its also the only option short of piecing together an actual big trade, and it comes on the heals of the botched Amari Cooper severance, Its not like Jamar Chase was out there this offseason. Cooks is the best WR we could have got without giving up anything. The smarter play was what the Bears did prying DJ Moore away from Carolina in a big trade, but Jerry and Stephen don't have the gumption to wheel and deal. They are basically returning last years failed playoff team, sprinkling in a few aging veterans, and calling it improvement. I guess we will see but they sure as heck haven't earned the benefit of the doubt.

Just because it is a "smarter play" doesn't mean it is a move Dallas could have accomplished. It just wasn't a realistic option. Dallas didn't have the draft capital to make that type of trade. The Bears gave up the #1 overall pick. The Cowboys would have to give up lots of draft picks and perhaps a player in order to come up with an equivalent package. And even if they did, I doubt they would also gain the draft picks the Panthers also sent to the Bears in their deal. It is more accurate that the Cooks deal was one of the few options Dallas had available to them. It should also be noted that while Moore is a good WR, a $20 million cap hit this year is extreme in my opinion.