Yup...
You just misunderstand the salary cap a little here. Yes, you're right Jimmy Graham's contract averaged about $10 million per season, however, that is not how the salary cap is calculated. Graham's first year cap hit was just under $6 million and Mo Wilkerson's was $5 million for 2018 season.
Graham's cap hit's for 2019 and 2020 are $12.6 million and $11.6 million respectively.
This is why I believe so many Packers fans were pissed off the Packers paid Graham that bonus (~$5 million?) in March '19 because we had an "out" and didn't take it.
As for keeping Randall Cobb over Jordy Nelson. I think both are done and finished so if we had got rid of both I would have been okay. If I had to take one or the other??
Players tend to play really well the first year away from their long tenured franchise relative to the second year so while hindsight makes me wanna say Nelson, I think I'll have to say Cobb only because he got us that win against Bears. I actually can't remember another play from 2018 with him off the top of my head.
Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool
Nope I didn't misunderstanding the cap, I just understand the fact that looking at a single year of the cap is set up to lie and your spreading the lie as truth.
Nelson being released saved 10.2 million
The second Graham signed (and didn't retire) cost the Packers $11 million in guarantees spread over the first 5 years or the life of the contract, which ever is shorter.
You're falsely arguing that since it's spread out over the 3 years it's not as much, but that's a lie as the fact is it's still $11 million dollars that you can't get back (unless he retires).
Which is why there would be a $12.5+ million dead cap hit if we release him which you have totally failed to calculating to your numbers, as that money is already in Graham's pocket and has to hit the salary cap too)If you only look at a single year then you fail to correct account for entire signing bonus... and the cap is nothing more than a delayed accounting system, the delayed part is way you need to look at more than one year.
Graham's first year of the contract cost the Packers more Nelson's final year... unless you put the single year blinders on... but money and available money can be moved from one year to another year, so there is no need for those blinders unless a team is over the single year limit (which isn't allowed) so the total money amount should be the focus than any single year (unless someone is over the limit).