- Joined
- Oct 10, 2006
- Messages
- 76,883
- Reaction score
- 66,866
I agree - as long as the WR contracts that are being signed don't carry significant amounts of guaranteed money, I'm fine with it. If our rookies can't beat out FA JAGs for roster spots, then that just means that they suck anyway.
This is also why I don't necessarily consider it a failure when the Pats bring in FA JAG WRs on low/no guaranteed money, and then they end up not making the roster. For all the bellyaching around here about Michael Jenkins last year, he served his purpose. He set a bar that Kenbrell had to clear to make the roster. Clearly it wasn't a very high bar, considering that Kenbrell wasn't very good, but he did serve his purpose.
Michael Jenkins was a stiff. That was known before he was signed. By signing him, the team cost itself money (not much, but it's still money) and a roster sport that could have been spent on an unknown player. Had he made the roster, it would have highlighted just how bad the Patriots offseason was in terms of WRs. The team got lucky when it found Thompkins, because it changed the narrative, in the minds of many, from "WTF?" to "Cool, we got kids to develop!".
It's fine, important and necessary to bring in camp bodies. It's stupid, as a rule, to bring in lousy ceiling-established veterans who aren't going to be good enough to make it, unless you've already got better options on the roster.