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The dilemma that is Shawn Springs


TrumanB

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Shawn Springs is one of the best corners in the NFL. He really is a shutdown corner. And he's also one of the top tackling corners in the league too. If a receiver happpens to catch a ball in front of him, you almost never see the receiver get by Springs. Obviously, the dilemma is that he can't seem to stay on the field. That he's always injured. But, if you look at the numbers a little closer, it's not as bad as it seems.

In the 4 seaons before this season (2004-2007 seasons), Springs has played in 55 of 64 regular season games. Contrast that with Fred Smoot, who has played in 53 of the 64 games. Or with DeAngelo Hall, who has played in 57 of the 64 games. Or with Carlos Rogers, who played in 34 of 48 regular season games. Now, to be fair to Hall and Rogers, some of those missed games may had to do with their rookie years, although I believe both of them were designated starters on day 1 of their rookie season. And of course, Rogers had the season ending injury last year.

So, having said all that, do the Redskins look at the injuries Springs has suffered this season as an "exception"? Can we give the guy the benefit of the doubt? Taking into account his cap number next year ($8.5 million), it does make business sense to keep him. And there is no question in my mind that he's one of the best at his position.

I would vote to keep him. Thoughts?

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It makes no sense at all to keep him, period. He will be too burdensome on the cap, considering the amount of on-field time, and we all know he won't renegotiate. He had injuries in Seattle and has really only had one fairly ding-free season here, his first in 2004. Time to get younger and more healthy in a few key areas, Springs being no exception.

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I think it would be a tough argument to keep him with all the depth we have collected at DB. That being said, another option is to see if he has trade value out there. Even with the injuries, he's still one of the best CBs in the league, and there are teams that could be interested in renting him for 1-2 seasons.

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It makes no sense at all to keep him, period. He will be too burdensome on the cap, considering the amount of on-field time.

So, you would be ok with $8.5 million in dead cap money? If I'm not mistaken, wouldn't that be the consequence of outright cutting him?

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So, you would be ok with $8.5 million in dead cap money? If I'm not mistaken, wouldn't that be the consequence of outright cutting him?

It's not my checking account, so I don't care how much money Snyder is out.

I think next year is the last year of his contract, but it all depends on what his bonus situation is. I don't know how much of his signing bonus is left, so it all hinges upon that. He's likely to miss a bunch of time for some reason or another next year, anyway. Regardless what happens, no one will be getting any money's worth from him.

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The team has a decision to make in regards to the corner situation. Carlos and Hall need to be resigned and Hall is going to get first priority. Carlos while good in coverage does not make the plays neccessary to be considerd a number one corner in this league. The skins cant put to much money into the corners and if you have to pick one to run with there going to pick hall.

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No. 2009 is the last year of his contract, so we don't suffer any accelerated hits if we cut him in the offseason.

You would, but the impact would be minimal because of the last year of the contract. Don't know the details of Springs but the hit would be the signing bonus, multiplied by the number of years left on the contract and divided by the total number of years. The Redskins can even spread out that out over 2 years if they wanted.

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It is hard to throw a blanket statement out and say he must be cut. If you cut Shawn Springs and don't resign Hall you have created a need at CB. Now you take that 8.5 and look at where to spend it. One route would be to spread that money out over several free agent offensive linemen. Surely even Vinny Cerato realizes that depth on the O-line has to be solved. Can't keep trotting Jason Fabini out there, not to mention that guy that pulled his labia in fear of Terrell Suggs.

If you add depth on the O-line you are going to have to get rid of some current roster spots. Jansen should be gone and be replaced with Chad Rinehart. Still no extra roster spots in that case. Now you have to create roster spots for your draft picks. Not to mention a roster spot for Malcolm Kelly. I assume they plan to use him some in his sophomore year. Probably have to get rid of James Thrash and Atawaan Randle El.

The problem that the machine has created is an uneven distribution of wealth and talent. Roster spots more so than money are wrapped up in the wrong places. The Redskins can go one of two routes. They can formulate what they want the roster to be and then slice and dice to get there. Or they could slice and dice first and then formulate a roster. This is the dilemna that good organizations avoid. The current regime doesn't have the knowledge or foresight to make this tough decision. They don't have the cohesion needed to accomplish a sustainable 53 man roster. Shawn Springs is just the tip of the Iceberg.

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You would, but the impact would be minimal because of the last year of the contract. Don't know the details of Springs but the hit would be the signing bonus, multiplied by the number of years left on the contract and divided by the total number of years. The Redskins can even spread out that out over 2 years if they wanted.

No. This is the last year of his contract. That means that his signing bonus allocation for the 2009 stays the same regardless of whether or not he is on the roster.

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According to USA today Springs was paid a signing bonus of $3.1 million per year for the past three years. Assuming that is schedule to be paid out next year as well, I think that would be the cap charge for cutting Springs. It could be spread out over 2 years if the Skins designate him as a June 1st cut.

http://content.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/salaries/playerdetail.aspx?player=2161

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No. This is the last year of his contract. That means that his signing bonus allocation for the 2009 stays the same regardless of whether or not he is on the roster.

2008 is the last year or 2009? If 2009, there should be a cap charge due to signing bonus money.

Edit: OK, now I see you're point, you won't suffer any "accelerated" hits. "Accelerated" meaning more than one year. There will be a "dead" cap hit, but it will be much less than if Springs stayed on the roster. I think that would have been true this year, as well. His hit was $8 million and the cap charge would have only been $6 million if the Skins had cut him this year.

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I think it would be a tough argument to keep him with all the depth we have collected at DB. That being said, another option is to see if he has trade value out there. Even with the injuries, he's still one of the best CBs in the league, and there are teams that could be interested in renting him for 1-2 seasons.

Given his age and salary what do you think his trade value is? I'd say 3rd tops. A 4th is probably more realistic.

But I would take it.

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