A franchise tag would only be temporary until we signed or traded him. We could not carry that tag price for a whole season. I think Sam is just betting on himself to reestablish his value for a better deal.
If either he or Branch plays well enough to justify a 20M plus AAV (or close to it), then we likely have a pretty good season. We are scoring 31 per game and Sam is on pace for 770 yards and 5 tds or so.
Letās say we tag him at 17Mā¦ we save AAV and major savings in guaranteed money vs huge premature extension. Then consider a tag and trade. If heās gone, sign a few guys like Dulcich and Parkinson and draft a guy in round 3.
If he and Branch are gone, we should net a 2nd via trade (at least) and a 3rd via comp pick.
CB- 1st
S- 2nd
OG- 2nd
TE- 3rd
RB- 3rd
DT- 4th
WR- 5th
OG- 6th
K- 7th
Let Brad cook with those beans and a shot load of cap space. Seems like a legit CB, vet RB, solid DE, and vet coverage LB could easily be had in FA
The only way this story gets out is if an agent leaks it and the only reason for an agent to leak it is to try and manufacture leverage in the negotiation.
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Laporta was the person I felt was most replaceable previously though we arenāt the same team when he isnāt playing. He is just such a great 3rd down safety net. I donāt want to see him go but I know you canāt keep everyone.
People are vastly underestimating the importance of Laporta to this offense!
Itās not as easy as replacing as some are thinking for some wild reason.
Heās a very important piece to this offense
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Nothing wrong with letting this play out. Can always tag him if need be.
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I serve you up so many easy ones bud 
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hope another team doesnāt swoop in and take him while we play around with his contract.
Yes they can.
The tag number is $17.5 million.
If Laporta signed an extension for $18-20 million AAV, his 2027 cap hit would still be at least $5 million wven with maximum proration of his SB money.
They can easily restructure several playersā¦ considering that Goff, Sewell, ARSB, and Alim have over $100 million in base salary that can be restructured if needed.
As Deadstroke would have saidā¦ Itās just accounting measures.
LaPorta will likely make a MINIMUM of $17.5 million in cash for 2027 if healthyā¦ and probably over $20 million in cash for 2027 if he gets a long term deal after the season. Keep in mind all of the other young guys were extended before their contracts expired, which meant the ānew moneyā didnāt all get paid as quickly as it will for LaPorta if he doesnāt get extended before their contracts expired wnd of season.
It doesnāt matter which year they āaccountā for it. Itās still cash paid, and counts the same against the cap eventually.
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I have no idea how it works. I would just ask Deadstroke any salary questions I had. Would a franchise tag mean a 17 mil cap hit since there are no bonuses involved to spread it out?
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Yesā¦ it would be full $17.5 cap hit for 2027 on the tag.
.
A long term deal of 4 years and $72 million ($18 mill AAV) would likely contain ~ $18-20 million in cash for 2027. It would possibly have a vet minimum base salary in 2027 and a small Roster bonus amount that would be near $2 million, plus a SB in the $16-18 million range. If a void year were added to spread the SB over the MAX of 5 yearsā¦ that would be a cap hit ~ $5 to $6 million for 2027.
I could see them playing hardball with LaPorta, we did with Hockenson, and Dan may believe that he can draft TEās pretty well. It just may be one of those positions where we churn younger cheaper options for 3-4 years. We canāt pay everyone and LPorta might be the odd man out, with a good comp pick coming in. I only wish there was a way to shield Brad from the knowledge that we may be getting an extra third rounder.
I didnāt see this posted yet. This seems worse than I thought. He doesnāt sound very happy at all.
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I would prefer to keep him. But no chance I let him hit free agency. Use the tag. Keep your asset. And potentially even trade him once tagged. We can get more than a 3rd round comp pick for a stud tight end.
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Thanks for sharing. Had not seen that. I appreciate his honesty. He sees guys like Branch and Kerby having career threatening injuries and he wants to get paid. He wasnāt sugar coating anything. He did break his back as he said. Maybe Holmes has long term concerns health wise. He has looked good through 5 games though.
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The smart move was always to see how he responded this year(same for Branch) and thatās exactly what weāre doing. We have two years of complete control with the franchise tag if need be. Assuming he finishes the year healthy(or at least no serious injury), he will be re-signed.
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LaPorta is far and away the best TE the Lions have had in my lifetime. And Iām not young. Hockenson was tiers below him. Laporta has been just as good as Saint has in a Lions uni. Someone else needs to be the odd man out.
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Yeah, thatāll work.
Yeah Iād put him only behind Charlie Sanders, whom I saw. I guess that makes me not young either. Brad may be waiting for Branch to play to see how he does. Maybe Branch will be the odd man out, but if heās anywhre near his former self, Iād keep him over LaPorta if we had to choose.
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i couldnāt make out one key part of that interview ā
āThis year, Iām going out there, and Iām falling, and maybe Iām not showing -???-ā. Showing what?
Honesty was good. The part that if heās not with the Lions, its all goodā¦not so much.
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