And 15 seconds after he rejected, they signed Monty.
They wanted to upgrade,But prioritized loyalty. Jamal turned it down and the Lions were secretly happy about it. Best case scenario
1 Like
He was a one trick pony but it was a good trick. DM allowed us to get younger and offer more from the position, I was all for the upgrade way before it happened but I also remember when we didn’t have a guy who could do what JW did. Hell, when Stafford was here we threw on 3rd and 1.
1 Like
Maybe more than Ben Johnson did.
That was especially a problem in this game:
I think that’s probably right.
What Holmes said about the offer…
"This week at the owners meetings, Lions general manager Brad Holmes gave his side of the story.
“From a budgeting and planning standpoint pre-free agency, we had an allotment of resources set aside really for Jamaal,” Holmes said. “Didn’t really even consider another running back higher than that amount of resources that we set aside for Jamaal.”
Right off the bat, Holmes seems to be suggesting that they put aside a specific amount of money for Jamaal and did not exceed that with Montgomery’s signing. He reiterates this point a little later.
“Business happens. That’s part of this business, and it just didn’t work (with Williams),” Holmes continued. “We tried, but when the market crystalized and it got to a point where David was in play—kinda within the range or resources that we had set aside—then that’s when we went ahead and went forward with David.”
3 Likes
Sounds like to me, that they spent more on Monty because he was younger and better, so they valued him more than JW.
1 Like
Then this meant nothing.
Right off the bat, Holmes seems to be suggesting that they put aside a specific amount of money for Jamaal and did not exceed that with Montgomery’s signing. He reiterates this point a little later.
1 Like
“Kinda within the range” suggests there was some flexibility there.
In any event, if JW misjudged the market and over-priced himself, which appears to be the case, that’s on him. He’s a NO Saint now, so don’t care about his success or lack thereof.
In the highly unlikely event JW ever came back to the Lions, I’d root for him again, but quite frankly, would hope he wouldn’t see the field much.
We obviously don’t have the details, but the most reasonable explanation to me is that Holmes had an upper bound he was willing to pay for Swaggy, and Jamal found a better deal with the Saints.
I don’t buy the dramatic soap opera stories that make Williams look bad, nor do I think Brad just “got lucky” that Monty panned out.
I loved Swaggy on our team, and I wanted him re-signed even at a slightly unreasonable cost. I don’t think Holmbell agreed with that position.
Lions leadership has said from the outset that they feel like a lot of yards were left on the field in the run game last year, they specifically addressed it, and the offense is markedly better as a result. It’s been a long time since there’s been that kind of clear vision in Detroit, and we should be happy about that.
1 Like
+1000
1 Like
That’s my understanding too.
In which case we gotta low-key thank JWill for over-valuing himself. A VERY significant upgrade for the same price the Lions were willing to pay JW?
3 Likes
Yuuuup
DMo to everyone he plays:
.
.
Followed immediately by:
.
Perfection
1 Like
This is the over-dramatized soap opera part that I think is an invention of the fans. The whole “Swaggy turned down a big Lions offer only to panic and sign for less with the Saints” is pure speculation.
While that storyline loosely fits the few facts we know, it doesn’t fit it any better than the very simple, professional explanation of the Lions offering Jamal less than what he thought he earned and less than what he knew he’d be offered elsewhere.
We won’t likely ever have all of the facts, but it seems far more rational to believe the simple explanation that is consistent with other behaviors of the individuals involved unless proven otherwise.
1 Like
He’s definitely got some Marshawn Lynch Beast Mode going.
Who the hell goes for it on 4th and 5 and just hands it off? … the team that has D-Mo. That’s who.
1 Like