West Ham Online

"Free agency started last night and was pretty crazy some huge money being spent. Osweiler getting £18m a year for the Texans, leaving the Broncos without a QB, Giants have spent a fortune on good but not great players, Oliver Vernon has more guaranteed money than JJ Watt. lots more deals but cant be bothered to list them all."

The NFL channel have done their mock draft for the first round: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOBhfunolwo&ab_channel=NFL

For the sake of the patrios SB i really hope the jets and fins brass agree with you

I'd start removing high-round draft picks (as well as impose the standard financial sanctions) from teams operating beyond the cap. It should be a more direct forfeiture system. Watch how quickly each team falls into line then.

"TM, it's a really good question. The league has been far too soft on some teams operating beyond the cap space. Don't even get me started on how many of them incentivise players (financially) in other ways. My take on it is that the NFL is now such a political body that it is worried about coming down hard on the Saints once again (after BountyGate) while it's under the same leadership, and while goldenballs Brees is still in play. Beyond the obvious, low-level sanctions, few sides have been walloped for operating beyond the cap - when that was the purpose of introducing it. Don't get me wrong, it has generally worked to level the playing field, but there are always ways around it if any franchise is prepared to play fast and loose with a few rules. The league needs to clamp down harder. But it won't - not under Goodell."

"SB, I'm sure I read the saints were in the bottom two in regards to cap room and were working against a deficit of about $90m. when goodell & the nfl are supposedly running a process that's supposed to even out the parity between teams, how can some franchises be so over the top in terms of outlay, surely it shouldn't be allowed?"

"Away from the potential Watson trade, the market for Matt Stafford is heating up. Many well-informed NFL pundits (rather than most of the glib idiots on the daily shows) were indicating that Belichick liked the look of a Stafford deal and would move quickly. But there seems to be some indication that two issues have arisen which might work against the Patsies. a) Satfford is due a $10m roster bonus in March, in addition to $31m in salary cap space for 2021. That might be a stumbling block for some teams, who might instead seek to make the Lions take part of the salary hit. b) An issue that's beginning to develop now...Stafford is indicating that he would prefer to go to a dome (indoor) team. He's spent his professional career playing mostly in domes. He wants to hit the ground running at his new franchise and feels that adjusting to outdoor venues/wind/mud again would slow that down. So his preference is an indoor home venue. It's a minor issue, because he would have had to play at Green Bay and Soldier Field every year, but apparently this is part of his thinking. That puts the likes of the Colts and Saints (if Brees goes) back into play. I could see him going to the Colts if he doesn't fancy the snow up in Patsie-land. They've got a half-decent offense, crying out for a good quarterback after Rivers' retirement."

"This kid is going to be a good NFL receiver - and looks like he might be available in the draft somewhere between #16 and #32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8WR9ngPT40 Forget Watson, I'm scouting from here on in..! Sewell at #2 and Marshall at #23 for us, thanks..!"

"TM, totally agree mate. When all is said and done, the price is just too high - even though I would have loved for the Jets to have a talent like Watson at QB. I like Darnold and think there is still some real talent in him. He just needs the right OC and a HC who understands how to take pressure off him. Saleh and LaFleur are a promising pairing in that respect. Draft-wise, I like the look of Penei Sewell (OL) and Terence Marshall Jnr (WR at LSU). I'd rather we spent our two first-rounders this year on those guys: one a nailed-on starter to protect Darnold on the other side of the line from Becton, the other a very fine receiver to give Darnold a proper #1 target alongside the fast-improving Denzel Mims (and Crowder)."

"Talent-wise, Watson is the best QB to hit the market ""in his prime"" since the salary cap was introduced (some better veterans have been traded, of course, but this kid is still just 25). So it will be interesting to see what happens to any NFL franchise if they go all-in for him. It's unprecedented, because he is a fecking good QB."

*Your mob*

"SB, totally agree. Your job should build the roster organically and use the picks you have. Darnold's more than capable, but if Saleh fancies another passer you're o directly positioned to draft one of the best available and then get extra picks for Darnold. I'd rather trade for someone like Darnold than give up my immediate future for Watson, even though he is top level talent. It will be interesting to see what happens in Washington and whether Ron does have full control, because a trade for Watson is typical of what Snyder pulls. he'd be happy to mortgage the short term on one player at the risk of losing other players to fulfil his ego"

Zeb - there's no way the Fish could afford all of those players in free agency if you traded for Watson. That would be the grim reality of doing a deal like this. It would tie the buyer to paying over the odds in free agency for average players. The better players would take you well beyond your salary cap and you'd most likely have to start asking established starters to take a pay cut to stay and win with Watson - or they'd start to leave. It's a really delicate situation. Even the Bears deal for Jay Cutler in 2008 affected them that way. And Watson is a significantly better QB with a much higher likely price.

"The one thing I've learned about our lot in Gotham, is that you never know with the Jets. We have a mad ownership who don't have a clue what they are doing and they may like the idea of a marquee megadeal... ...but...that said...I can't see our lot going all-in for Watson. Our GM and new coach will rate him very highly (who won't?), but Saleh is a brand new HC with a house full of high draft picks and, for probably the only time in his coaching life, has the chance to build a team and roster his way. Likewise, our GM Joe Douglas is relatively new to the job and, incredibly for a Jets GM under this ownership, appears to be well-respected by our boisterous and cynical fans. Believe me, that is an unusual situation. We've tended to be very sceptical about past GMs, because they were either useless or seen as an extension of the poor ownership (or both). Douglas seems to be grounded in the realities of the NFL and, touch wood, appears to be somebody we can trust to scout properly and make sound judgement calls in the draft and free agency process (not least because he actually talks to his coaches). I'm not sure that either the GM or new HC will want to risk everything on a megadeal that gives away a shed-load of high draft picks and ties the franchise's entire short and medium-term future to one man: albeit a very fine player. Given how quickly our fans have turned on past coaches and GMs, and given the constant discontent with the ownership, it would be a huge risk for a franchise to take. That said, our owners know little about the NFL and they might just think that going all-in on a megadeal for a very good QB is the way to catapult the franchise forward - and deal with some likely crippling consequences later. Don't forget, giving away so many draft picks - whichever team does it - doesn't just mean that you lose those picks for several years. It also means you are forced to use free agency to bring in additional talent. And the price of any player in free agency is generally much higher than a top, good draft pick. So any Watson deal would be a triple hit: on your draft picks, on your immediate salary cap and on your future salary cap even after you've signed him. He's an exciting player. I was amazed when the Jets passed on him in the 2017 draft, when we desperately needed a QB. But this price tag now seems too high. I'd let the Fish take the financial hit and then go after him with a proper Saleh defense!"

"From my Fins mate on Watson: ""He won't come to us. We're all in on Tua. Even if there was a thought process to bring him in, what it would cost to get him pick wise would be pointless as we'd spunk all our picks to build the team and all the salary cap... which would go against the rebuild we've bought into over the last 2 years.... I'd be very surprised if it happened.""ù"

No chance the texans trade him inside the division to the colts. In sure they'd rather trade him to the NFC if they can but the jets and fins may trump any other offer. But Watson does have a no trade clause so he can essentially veto any move he doesnt like.

"The Colts have to go in for someone. Rivers was a reasonable stop gap after Luck's retirement leaving them fucked for the previous season - but he's retired himself now, so they have to go in somewhere. Hack (remember him) reckons they'll try and get Stafford."

"I think it makes sense for the Dolphins. Last year's free agency finished building a solid defence. Do a smiliar job this year to sort some proper receiving support for Devante Parker - The likes of Chris Godwin, Kevin Golladay, Will Fuller (Hi DeShaun) and Juju Smith-Schuster could be up for grabs and a top class RB (Aaron Jones please) and Watson will have plenty of weapons.."

"we've got o-linemen on better money for the 2021 season, his deal for the first year is peanuts. it's all about the picks, not the contract"

"Watson is brilliant and would make a good team a SB contender no doubt. What Southbank says is right though, with the money he is on and the fact that he signed it last year, his behaviour recently should put off any team. For that money, at the position, you are paying for someone to lead the team, not throw a bomb in it."

I do think its between the fins and jets as they have the most draft capital. Dolphins ironically would be trading back the picks the Texans gave them for the left tackle Tunsil a few years back and could probably throw Tua into the deal as well.

"considering his talent, I think his terms are very reasonable. it's the extra demands that will rule many teams out, we gave up 3 1sts & 1 2nd just to move up in the draft for Rg3, so I think they'll want more than that and they can fuck off. the dolphins/patriots are welcome to him, the colts makes the most sense financially but like us don't have a high pick"

"Remember, the Jay Cutler deal in 2008 and the Herschel Walker deal in the 80s did not end well for either player. Admittedly, Watson is significantly better than Jay Cutler (the last starting QB to hit the market in his absolute prime). Watson is a proper franchise QB, no doubt. But these megadeals rarely work out for both parties. I'd also be worried that Watson seems to be trying to run the Houston franchise. They gave him the Earth, wages-wise last year, and he's still not happy. If you're a GM elsewhere, that should ring alarm bells. Is that the sort of player you want to spend your entire future on?"

"I think Watson is an excellent QB, but I fear he'd be making a bit of a mistake if he left (it's not guaranteed, even at this stage). The pressure he would heap upon himself would be gigantic, even by the standards of a high-class NFL QB. He's already on the second biggest deal in NFL history in Houston. So not only is any buyer going to have to cough up a LOT of current and future draft picks, they're also going to have to give away most of their salary cap space: limiting the weapons they can put around him. And the buying team is going to absolutely expect play-off appearances - no excuses for him at any point. He's a very good player, so he maybe won't be too worried about that. But the pressure will be huge. The likely starting price for the trade is at least two first-round picks (most likely three), at least one second rounder and most likely two thirds. That's six of the top-100 college players. You could build a proper team with that. PLUS an effective guarantee that the trade will take Watson to his new side on an identical or almost-identical huge wage deal: $156m over four years. There are few franchises which can afford that bill, even if the Texans have covered his big payment for this winter. It's off the scale, which is why you don't see franchise QBs in the prime hit the market very often. Watson has a ""no trade"" agreement with the Texans, which effectively means he can choose where he goes (the team can't), so that gives him an unusual amount of control over this process by NFL standards. But I still think it's a risk - for him. The buying team is going to have to give up everything for him and he will need to walk in there and deliver from day one. The moment he doesn't, the trade becomes problematic because there will be no other wriggle room for whichever franchise takes him. If I was a GM, I'd look away. Just my opinion, but I wouldn't be a buyer in that market. It would be like the Jets spending everything they had on a space shuttle - and having to park it inside an out-of-town trailer park."

crystal falace 5:54 Thu Jan 28 I still think the Dolphins have the best chance to pull this off. The Jets perhaps?

Desean Watson has officially requested a trade from the Texans. Could end up being the biggest trade since the infamous herschel walker deal. Would take at least 3 first round picks you'd imagine