BJ and the Bears
 

Washington Times is saying Bryan Johnson to the Bears, possibly for a 6th rounder

[url]http://washtimes.com/sports/20040329-010733-8669r.htm[/url]

[QUOTE=smootsmack]Washington Times is saying Bryan Johnson to the Bears, possibly for a 6th rounder

[url]http://washtimes.com/sports/20040329-010733-8669r.htm[/url][/QUOTE]

AH smooty you've done it again! bj and the bear's. :biggthump

Personally I didn't think BJ was really a big enough blocker to fit in with what gibb's want's to do, especially when you have a similar back in rock who may even be better than BJ, nice move by the front office if that's the case, I am surprised the new orleans didn't offer something up they obviously were the team most interested?

I'm just glad to see we're getting something for him, even if it's just a 6th rounder...

Yeah at least it's something.

I agree, who knows what we can get in the 6th round. It could be a August Casuality, but who knows, it could be a star. At least we have the chance of getting a good player if the deal goes through.

What an interesting way to play the RFA game. I just didn't think of it. If he's signed, we lose him for nothing; if we trade him for anything (asuming we don't have to give money), it's better. The risk: no one bites, and we have to pay him big or cut him to save cash. I get the feeling Danny boy just loves this part of the game.

Or maybe they just like BJ... Too bad he couldn't participate in the minicamp so we could evaluate him.

its official now....

[url]http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1771061[/url]

So instead of nothing, we get a 6th rounder. That's pretty nifty, if you ask me. Must be pissing the saints off.

Some nifty wheelin' and dealin' by Snyder!

Rather than letting him slip away to the Saints for nothing, we pick up a 6th rounder, and the best part is there's no cap hit and no dead money.

Kudos, FO. A little Gibbs smarts involved with this deal, anyone?

I guess Synder handled this Restricted FA thing alot better than the Jets GM was able to last year....lol

This sure feels like Danny and Vinny. They're the kings of RFA! Still, it's Gibbs lifting the level of everyone: even Vinny and Danny are feeling that Gibbs intensity!

Now if we can just get some more LB/DL help....Oh, and an H-back. If junior picks the right agent, he may well be wearing the burgundy and gold. (And NOT #81. Sorry, Kid. That's been taken, for all time. I don't care WHERE you went to college.)

We still dont get him for nothing. From what I understood he is due 1.1 million or somethign like that today as a roster bonus, which is why he counted for 2.2 millino in the first year. So unless they traded him last night he still counts a million against our camp this year.

No, he counts nothing, as far as I can tell. Here's a quote from Mark Maske at the Post:

Redskins Avoid Cap Hit, Get Pick in Johnson Deal

The Redskins continue to use the restricted free agent market better than any other team, with today's trade of fullback Bryan Johnson to Chicago for a sixth-round pick in next month's draft.

The Redskins had until Friday to match an offer sheet that Johnson, a restricted free agent, signed with New Orleans. The Saints tried to dissuade the Redskins from matching the offer by making it salary cap-unfriendly. The deal contained an $800,000 roster bonus due Tuesday that, unlike a signing bonus, could not be prorated over the life of the four-year contract for salary-cap accounting purposes. It also included a temporary no-trade clause that expired Sunday. Because Johnson entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, the Redskins would have received no draft-choice compensation for allowing him to go to New Orleans.

So the Redskins matched the offer sheet but then, between the period when the no-trade clause expired and the roster bonus became due, traded Johnson to the Bears to get something in return. Because the Saints' offer sheet contained no signing bonus, there was no salary cap hit for the Redskins to absorb in trading him. And they were left with three selections instead of two in the draft. . . . :biggthump

[QUOTE=JWsleep]No, he counts nothing, as far as I can tell. Here's a quote from Mark Maske at the Post:

Redskins Avoid Cap Hit, Get Pick in Johnson Deal

The Redskins continue to use the restricted free agent market better than any other team, with today's trade of fullback Bryan Johnson to Chicago for a sixth-round pick in next month's draft.

The Redskins had until Friday to match an offer sheet that Johnson, a restricted free agent, signed with New Orleans. The Saints tried to dissuade the Redskins from matching the offer by making it salary cap-unfriendly. The deal contained an $800,000 roster bonus due Tuesday that, unlike a signing bonus, could not be prorated over the life of the four-year contract for salary-cap accounting purposes. It also included a temporary no-trade clause that expired Sunday. Because Johnson entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, the Redskins would have received no draft-choice compensation for allowing him to go to New Orleans.

So the Redskins matched the offer sheet but then, between the period when the no-trade clause expired and the roster bonus became due, traded Johnson to the Bears to get something in return. Because the Saints' offer sheet contained no signing bonus, there was no salary cap hit for the Redskins to absorb in trading him. And they were left with three selections instead of two in the draft. . . . :biggthump[/QUOTE]
This whole deal sounds like something I'd work up in Madden 2004 ;)

It sounds like the Skins have a plan!!! The last ten years has been hell!!!! So what ever they do with the three picks they have I know the Redskins and Gibbs will get what they need!!! Beat Dallas!!! I am so tired of they winning ever game so now it's our time to run of some wins...Right?

yea looks like they got the trade in before they had to pay the bonus so it didnt cost them anything. Appears Winslow might be in our future. They may want to trade down but since the Lions picked up Marion they might want to snag Winslow, trading down might be a bad idea.

Just a random thought...

I have some feeling inside me that this whole BJ was a little game involving Snyder and the league....

I think the Saints overpaid for Johnson, trying to "stick it" to Snyder and the 'Skins for playing the RFA game on the Jets last year...

So then Snyder PROBABLY got pissed, because he is one hell of a smart business guy and competitor and said, ok, you wanna play that game? We'll match that offer and deal him somewhere else BESIDES you and GET a draft pick in the process...

Anyone notice that of the 3 teams trying to trade for BJ, the Saints weren't mentioned??

Nice work FO... we ARE the official kings of the RFA game... :D

nice observation Hail

Snyders move on BJ's sign and trade could it be done again. Now that teams know the hole in thier deal. Can those holes be taken care of?

It could only be done again if a team makes an offer sheet w/o a signing bonus. It was a surprise the Saints didn't think of this when they made the offer (I thought there was one as nothing either way had been mentioned).

If clubs put a SB on the deal, the trading team must take the financial and cap hit on the bonus even if they are traded. Makes the deal very doubtful as they'll be paying cash to make the trade happen and creating dead space in to the bargain. Unless the trade is too good to turn down, I'd expect to see more SB's on offer sheets from here on out.

Let's see, we lose a potential starting H-back in Bryan Johnson for a sixth round pick who's most likely headed for the practice squad?

I'm not as enthused about this deal as everyone else.

[QUOTE=Beemnseven]Let's see, we lose a potential starting H-back in Bryan Johnson for a sixth round pick who's most likely headed for the practice squad?

I'm not as enthused about this deal as everyone else.[/QUOTE]
We were going to lose him anyway Beems, and at the hefty contract the Saints offered him it put the Skins right up against the cap limit. At least they got something instead of nothing is the main point.

Gibbs apparently has a plan. Was Rock at the minicamp? Anyone know how Gibbs plans to use him? I dont know if Rock would be as good of a blocker for Portis. If we had Winslow, a play action fake to Portis or Winslow out of the backfield would have defenses scambaling to decide who to cover

plus a few reports r saying that Sellars did pretty well at the mini camp and could fill that role.

I don't know if anyone has read this 2 or not but on espn's john clayton's quick hits, he talks about how the saints were willing to send a 5th round pick to washington for johnson but because of a rule stating that when a team matches an offer for a restricted player, they can't in turn trade said player to the team who offered the matched contract. Kinda sucks but I'm not sure how many spots different the two picks r. I'm just glad we got something for losing him.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]We were going to lose him anyway Beems, and at the hefty contract the Saints offered him it put the Skins right up against the cap limit. At least they got something instead of nothing is the main point.[/QUOTE]
That's exactly why the trade made sense. Yes, it sucks that the Skins lost Johnson, but if they had retained him, it would have caused too many problems with this year's cap. They were able to get a small consolation prize out of the loss, at least.

In hindsight (which, as we all know, is always 20/20), the best thing for the Skins probably would have been to give Johnson the 1st-round tender, which would have cost them $1.115 million against this year's cap (assuming he wasn't signed to a long-term deal), instead of the $2.2 million cap charge he would have carried under the Saints' deal, which the Skins were forced to match. Though there was a good market for Johnson's services, there's no chance anyone would have sacrificed a 1st rounder for Johnson, so the Skins would have had their man-- at half the cost he would have been.

Id love a first round pick for Johnson. It wouldnt have happened but just think, we could have had two picks on teh first day!!

[QUOTE=SKINSnCANES]Gibbs apparently has a plan. Was Rock at the minicamp? Anyone know how Gibbs plans to use him? I dont know if Rock would be as good of a blocker for Portis. If we had Winslow, a play action fake to Portis or Winslow out of the backfield would have defenses scambaling to decide who to cover[/QUOTE]
Yes, Rock was at minicamp, but he was used exclusively out of the runningback spot, rather than the H-back spot where a fullback-type player would normally fit. This probably has a lot to do with Cartwright's frame, which at 5-7, 223 lbs, is much smaller than than the prototypical H-back. The guys Gibbs has been primarily using at H-back (Sellers, Chamberlain, Royal) average over 6-2, 255 lbs.

In blocking mode, the H-backs are frequently matched up against defensive ends and linebackers, working in tandem with the tight ends to negate a defensive overload or blitz. Cartwright doesn't have superior blocking technique to make up for his lack of size, and therefore is a bad fit for the H-back spot.

He looked okay at runningback, but didn't do anything special, really. In all fairness, though, it was difficult to take a whole lot out of the runningback's performances, since these were limited-contact practices.

I agree with you on the Winslow scenario. The possibilities for this offense with that kid in there are just mind-boggling.

[QUOTE=skinsfanthru&thru]plus a few reports r saying that Sellars did pretty well at the mini camp and could fill that role.[/QUOTE]
Sellers was far and away the leader at the H-back spot. I think Bugel and Gibbs are pretty enamored with him. He was made to be an H-back.

I don't think Gibbs' desire to keep Johnson was so much an indication that he wasn't confident in any of the other guys at the position, so much as it was a desire to have at least two very solid guys in there that he could rotate and keep fresh, as well as provide quality depth at a critical position.

Sellers was the starting FB here before he left and helped pave the way for Davis, so he's a proven vet. It's good to hear he looked sharp in minicamp. Unless Chamberlain straightens out his act quick Sellers will easily beat him out.