Exclusive Rights Free Agent. Essentially any player that has less than 3 “accrued seasons” (a season in which they were on the active roster/ir for more than 6 game), is an ERFA when their contract is ups. Basically means, if the team wants them back after their contract is up, they can get them back for pretty much league minimum. Off the top of my head, I think the ERFA contract is 985k this season.
Typically, you will see this with UDFAs. They get signed, ERFA’d twice, then RFA’d. In this case, it’s happening with Houston because he was cut his rookie season and signed to a new deal. (Same with Chase Lucas this season)
Oh…I want more of that. I feel teams will scheme around him and diffuse the effectiveness some…hope I’m wrong. I think Houston is a very valuable cat, as long as the injury didn’t change him.
My concern is will he be able to get the bend back. His injury was brutal for what he is specifically gifted at. What i have gleaned is they never planned on Bromart having a huge role this year. But i also agree we cant assume anything…mayhew always did that snd look where that got us.
…annnnd the handsome level just went up again! Good to see ya, man!
I can see that. I felt Commish, Paschal, Buggs, in conjunction with the injury to Houston → ALL of those cats underperformed last season (compared to my expectations)
Think they are what they are. Depth players who you love having behind your horses. Pascal is the only ??, everyone you know what you got. Are his injuries what have held him back or is he lumped into the same category as the rest? The organization, @LineBusy might be able to attest to this bc it was gleaned from pressers, viewed him going into this year as a guy capable of being a 10 sack player for them. Aaaand then he got hurt. He popped week1 and then missed serious time and then popped and went MIA intermittently when he came back. My concern is DE may not be addressed the way we all hope this offseason with the other needs that may be viewed as more pressing. IOL, CORNER, WR.
My draft philosophy is a hybrid. I am mainly BPA but do lean positions of need. IMO neither of these guys should influence the draft whatsoever. They may both end up being All-Pro but they aren’t now and haven’t shown any signs of being next season. There are some good D-linemen in this draft and some good edge rushers and if we get a chance at any of them we need to take them.
When I think of these discussion I just revert back to a really good talk by Dan Gable man years ago about how he was able to constantly get better and better at all the weight classes at Iowa.
His response was that he just tells everyone that his goal is to bring in someone better than them the next year. That the competition in the room drives the growth and not the other way around.
I will also add that I know a 12 year starter/player in the NFL that played Oline (not directly but I have met him and now him through a mutual friend). And he stated the thing about the NFL that he found exhausting was that you have to prove yourself about every practice. That there are no days off because everyone wants your job. So the pressure to get better and stay on point was mentally exhausting.
So based on the above I do not really see this as even a discussion point. You get the best players possible and you replace and look to upgrade all the time at all positions. So it is not a matter of those guys having an effect on the draft. It is more a matter of the Lions bringing in people that drive them out. FA and UDFA will be plenty and you just decide where to push.
While I do not agree with your take I have to agree that the theme is not wrong. Clearly the Lions should not feel the need is so great at QB and RB that they need to trade up to get a QB or RB. So there are positions that will not warranty spending draft capital. But I would suggest that the D-line has not earned that right by a long shot. The goal should be to get someone better than Hutch. Set the goals high.
Alim sure broke out in year 3. Hopefully Paschal can do the same. We have seen a few flashes at times. Consistency and injuries have really slowed his development.
I probably fall on the side of the team being content with their inside/outside players in Paschal and Commish. Where they’ve fallen short the most is OLB (Houston) and OLB/DE (Okwara) and 3T/DT (Levi). So, when they start getting all googly-eyed for DL, it’ll likely be someone that fills OLB better than Campbell so that Campbell can be the MIKE he was drafted to be, or a DT to play alongside McNeil that can take the feet away from the QB, or a more effective Hutch clone that contain and rush opposite him. The more I think about it, though, I’m guessing Paschal is that player they want to see opposite hutch in 4-down looks.
There’s a mix of what the player is good at… what the ideal that we’re aiming for is… and what’s necessary due to the incomplete nature of the front 7.
For instance, the Rodrigo interception had 5 Linebackers on the field with 1 DL (Paschal) and 5 DBs.
I tend to agree with Hater that they’ll try to fill out the group with what’s missing. I’m not saying that we should step over a dollar to pick up a dime, but I do think they’re going to love some players that will fill DL holes at 3T and OLB.
Kinda disagree with this. I don’t think they will ever view “all things fairly equal,” and IMO Brad is the opposite of a GM who will sit back and take the best of whatever the draft gives him.
Based on how he’s managed the draft so far, I think he and Dan identify a small (likely very small) subset of prospects they view as the right fit for the team–usually guys with elite traits, ALWAYS guys who embody the culture they’re building. Once they have that list, they’ll move up and down the board to target their guys.
I am super-high on Big BM. I think he’s going to make a huge leap, and hopefully next year. I think he’s going to have a body transformation of the same magnitude as Alim (though a different style). A full offseason with a professional strength and nutrition staff is going to make a world of difference vs. a low-level C-USA program.
I’m not as high on Houston. I think we saw a rare statistical clustering last year. Even without the injury and perfect usage, I don’t think he’d ever come close to that stat line again. Who knows what the injury did to his trajectory? I think he’s a bottom-of-the-roster guy for the rest of his career and an answer to a trivia question when all is said and done. I really hope I’m wrong.
I believe that, especially when it comes to Martin, you’re talking about a position where the snaps are split amongst three people, even if he’s playing at an All Pro level. Right now we have Martin, Benito, and ?. This season ? = Buggs, Bohanna, and Tyson Alualu. The real question is whether you want the guy splitting the snaps to be the guy offensive lines view as giving them a break from the other guy, or a fresh headache to deal with that continues the non stop nightmare they’ve been facing all day.
Put the hurt on the interior of opposing offensive lines and by the end of the game nothing goes right for their offense. I’m all for bringing in more premium beef at DT, I believe it’s the fastest way to making the defense better as a unit.
Houston will bear out one way or another. There’ll be some fresh faces there regardless, Charles Harris is unlikely to be back, imo.