Levi Jones released by the Bengals

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

Jones was due to make $3M this year in Cincy. He will not be signing for chump change wherever he goes.


There is something strange going on here. Levi Jones can still play; he is not old and he's not wracked with injuries. He does not have the reputation for being "felonious". So, why are the Bengals - - not a team with a real deep roster - - so anxious to draft his replacement and move him out?


Is there something dark here? Or is this just an example of why the Bengals are the Bengals?

Money. In the NFL, the fact that contracts are not guaranteed is secondary to the fact that if you have talent you keep it, usually. The Bengals however, feel that their 3 million could be better spent elsewhere or pocketed. So though Levi Jones has value to his team, the team feels like they can spend .8 million and get the same effect. So he's out.

I think of Levi Jones as the perfect backup LT. Injury prone, but he can come off the bench if Samuels gets hurt, so the fact that he's injury prone doesn't matter. Then, we can go with anyone at RT.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Money. In the NFL, the fact that contracts are not guaranteed is secondary to the fact that if you have talent you keep it, usually. The Bengals however, feel that their 3 million could be better spent elsewhere or pocketed. So though Levi Jones has value to his team, the team feels like they can spend .8 million and get the same effect. So he's out.

I think of Levi Jones as the perfect backup LT. Injury prone, but he can come off the bench if Samuels gets hurt, so the fact that he's injury prone doesn't matter. Then, we can go with anyone at RT.

What? The Bengals being cheap? Again?

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Money. In the NFL, the fact that contracts are not guaranteed is secondary to the fact that if you have talent you keep it, usually. The Bengals however, feel that their 3 million could be better spent elsewhere or pocketed. So though Levi Jones has value to his team, the team feels like they can spend .8 million and get the same effect. So he's out.

I think of Levi Jones as the perfect backup LT. Injury prone, but he can come off the bench if Samuels gets hurt, so the fact that he's injury prone doesn't matter. Then, we can go with anyone at RT.

Me too...but would you play him at RT while Samuels was healthy or just let him ride the bench?

...btw what is the extent of Jones' injury history? Is he on the downward slide or did he just hit a rough patch.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Me too...but would you play him at RT while Samuels was healthy or just let him ride the bench?

...btw what is the extent of Jones' injury history? Is he on the downward slide or did he just hit a rough patch.

There's not enough information really to say whether he's going to be injury prone until he retires or if he's just been down for the last three seasons, but that's a rough trend.

Thusly, I wouldn't even play him at RT if we got him. I would put him right behind Samuels on the depth chart, and hope he never, ever has to see the field. If he does, then you have a guy in there who doesn't at all need a reduced playbook. Unlike someone else I can think of.

I think we're better off at RT now than we were last year easily, but OT remains a need if only because you can't assume any player is injury proof...especially a guy coming off of injury.