FanPost

The serious and unanticipated quandary of franchising Grady Jarrett and signing Vic Beasley

In a perfect world these two signings should be without question yet there is a slippery slope with both the Grady Jarrett and Vic Beasley signings that could have far-reaching ramifications. Let's take Jarrett for example. If the sources are correct he wants a contract similar to Aaron Donald, which is in the 20 million-plus stratosphere.

To date, his performance has merited a 16-18 million dollar deal that the Falcons would in all probability pay, yet his camp has apparently rejected, or so we can infer. Now, what if Jarrett signs the franchise tender and has 10 sacks. Do you now pay him the 20 million? What if the opposite happens and he trends downward to, say his historical average of 2-3 sacks, do you still pay that exorbitant contract? Hmmmm.

And what of Beasley; what if he has a "contract performance" under Quinn's tutelage and gets 12-15 sacks, do you pay him a huge contract now? By keeping Beasley that is a gamble they probably cannot win long-term as signing him long term is the very definition of a gamble. He too could regress to his mean of 4-5 sacks. With the signings of two productive players prohibitively you then will run into the contracts of Deion Jones, supposedly the most important cog on the defense and its enforcer, Keanu Neal. If Jarrett is worth 20 million then Jones would most assuredly be worth as much or more, or so will say his agent. What about the contract of the potential rising star, Pro Bowler Austin Hooper?

You see, by paying Jarrett and Beasley now and possibly in the future, they are setting the argument for paying everyone else of value. The Falcons already have eight major contracts in tow with the abject potential for 2-3 more. At some point the Braintrust has to follow the vaunted "Patriot Way" and let some talented players walk for the sake of the salary cap and the team's future; as I have said on a number of occasions, you just cannot pay EVERYBODY.

<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>