Smoot Has Gut Feeling He'll Be a Free Agent

[CrazyCanuck]

Like most of you I love Smoot. I think he is a core Redskin, a team leader, and a great CB. Not to mention smootsmack is a great tag name. I really hope we sign him.

But as always I have to look at the numbers.

From the article:

"We've offered Fred to be a top-10 paid cornerback in the NFL." said Vinny Cerrato, vice president for football operations.

Last year the average cap hit of the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL was $5.7M. It probably went up this year so let's call it $6M cap hit a year. To compare, Springs average cap hit is $5.2M.

Does Smoot deserve more than Springs?

IMO SS outplayed Smoot this year. Not to metion he already had his money, Smoot was playing for his (not a shot at Smoot, just a fact). Nevertheless Smoot has 'earned his stripes' as a Redskin and deserves some goodwill. He's also younger than Springs. So I don't think it would be unfair for Smoot to make a little more than Springs.

Does Smoot deserve to be paid like a top ten CB?

I think Smoot is a great CB and maybe top 10. He's also a team leader and always comes to play, even when he's hurt (except this week LOL). But he isn't infallable, as we saw when he went up against Keyshawn. To objectively say he is more than a top-10 CB I think is a stretch. In all, the $6M number sounds about right to me. It's more than Springs and puts him in the top-10. How much more does he expect?

As for the franchise tag, last year's tag price was $6.8M. This year should be $7M+. I'm not sure if we can really afford that, but then again we can't afford to lose Smoot and get nothing in return. If we can't resign him, I think tagging him is the only move.

At the end of the day, I can't see Snyder letting him go over a little money, but it all comes down to Gibbs valuation of Freddy. If Gibbs wants him, Snyder will find a way to keep him.

I also hate that Smoot is getting advice from Champ on contract negotiations. If Smoot really wants to be a Redskin (unlike Champ) I see no reason why he can't be. Snyder has never been known to be cheap, so what's the holdup? Smooty, Mr. Snyder, let's make this happen!