Is Trotter Worth the Money?

[SkinsThug]

The guy is 25, a two time pro-bowler, and a bonifide ML. But signing him will be VERY expensive, and will mean re-writing several contracts, some of whom won't be happy about it (duh).

I think he is a little too costly considering our other needs right now -- mainly at DT, where I would rather see us go after Sam Adams or another quality wide body in the middle.

[Art]

I think Adams is a nice player to consider, though, let's remember now, he's not asking for a pittance. He wants big money too, and, he's older. Trotter is, again, 25-years-old. This is a guy you can commit pretty big dollars to and NOT be hamstrung elsewhere due to the fact that an $8 million bonus for him likely won't be wasted like it was for a Deion or it would be for an Adams. Not that Adams is getting that big a bonus, but, Trotter is a guy you get. You commit resources to getting him. If you fail in getting him you can turn elsewhere. But, when the opportunity to get a young, multiple Pro Bowl player presents itself, you want to be among the teams that goes out and makes the move for that player.

Other teams are in better position to make these moves. But, if paying Philly back is an overriding concern for Trotter, I think playing on this team with that linebacking group might be the best option there is in football.

[PCinOz]

We can afford both Trotter and Adams.,,..............if you read my thread down the page a little it explains how.

Davis always knew his contract would have to be reworked and I can't see Coleman balking at the thought of getting guaranteed, upfrnt bonus money.

[@DCGoldPants]

I think this thread is premature and it will really be a topic IF we sign him.

[Art]

PC, I realize we can afford Adams and Trotter. But, the thought process I'm going through is perhaps also making sure we have reworkable dollars for Lavar, Champ, Smooty, Jansen and Samuels pretty soon. Smoot, I'm guessing, needs to be handled quickly. If he's as strong as he was last year, he won't be happy playing on a second round contract for too long. Obviously, if Adams wants less than he was rumored to have wanted, I'm all for it, but, if not, we might want to focus those dollars inward.

But, I'm not concerned with affording these guys. As long as Snyder has cash, the cap will take care of itself IF we're using cap dollars and cash on young players like Trotter. I'm going to become a one-trick pony in dreaming up ways to get that guy .

[Utah]

One thing is guarenteed in the game of football. Out of all the positions on defense, MLB can make the biggest impact on any given down.

He is worth a very large effort to try and sign.

Plus, send him to dinner with Arrington and Armstead and let those 2 work on him.

[Awesome]

Thinking about trotter lining up with lavar and armistead with marvin lewis calling the shots gives me wet dreams. i would rather get trotter and fill DT through the draft than go after sam adams. not sure why, but i see adams getting lazy and unproductive after getting his big contract, kinda like stubblefield

[PCinOz]

Art - the primary concern as far as extended contracts is concerned is Jansen - he can elect to be a free agent after the 2002 season. So look to get him in the fold before the season starts.

Then next year when we eliminate $12.2m in dead cap money (inc. Westbrooks $1.1m in incentives), we can renegotiate with Bailey , Smoot and co.

I don't want Adams on a long term deal. A one year special would be fine if we draft a Weaver/Freeman/Triplett type until they are ready to start.

[VoR]

We can't afford Trotter.

He wants at least a $12m signing bonus.

He wants a contract averaging $6m a year.

And he wants his money now...He wants the money front-loaded in his contract.

That was the whole sticking point with the Eagles.

The only way we could possibly sign him is give him a 1-year deal (like they did for Barber). Unfortunately, he's gonna want $4 or $5 million for that, so we'd have to start slashing and burning to fit him in.

Conclusion...Spend the dough on a DT.

[Skins24]

To answer the title of this thread.

Yes, he is worth the money.

Whether we can afford him or not is different.

I couldn't agree with you more mphillips.

Imagine what they Lavar Trotter and Armstead can do under Lewis :drool:

[indyskinsfan]

Let's see. I do recall Wilbur Marshall, with a pinky ring with 1985 SB winners, on the meanest and arguably the best of all time defense. We haggled back and forth, but all said and done, he gave in to a leverage consideration.

Now Trotter appears to be in that position, because we want the supply and he's making what appears to be outrageous demands. So here's how I'd do it, based on conditions as well.

1. Trotter is basically making the demand of 12 million from the Eagles. THEY and THEY alone should covet him MORE than anyone. However, the Skins or anyone else for that matter, should not be forced to pay, what they would consider a contending amount, since the Skins weren't courting him to leave the Eagles from jump.

2. The jack amount Trotter wants can be done this way, some information held back due to Packer sneaks and other geeks

Incentives - bonus (do it). details will hit you in your mind. The contract is doable, because the player KNOWS what he can do and the kickers come alive in his wallet, week after week, after week, each year and the 4th year begins to lean in the all sides being equal area (Art mentioned something in that area, on how the 4th year works itself out).

What the 12million does, is lock him in the Skins organization to perform his a** off, and while he's proving he's as good as he says he is, we don't take the cap hit as bad it would have first appeared, still leaving room to sign at least 2-3 more FA's and overall budget wise have room the following year, when it's time to cover our cherished players, like Champ, Jansen, Samuels, etc.

Trotter's deal could backfire coming in with such big demands, at his current asking, so we'd have to pass him up, if he's still in that holding pattern. We can't have everyone, otherwise we'd have signed people with headlines names all over the place, the last two years, not just a handful.

Strahan is watching

[NavyDave]

I just dont see us giving him a contract with an annual salary above 5 mil when we have or on budding pro bowlers in their contract years (Champ and Jansen) in 2k2 and 2k3.

Give him the 7 to 8 mil SB but make sure its with a 7 to 9 year contract so it can be renegotiated in year four or five

[Gamebreaker]

Although Trotter is an amazing MLB, we must all remember that if we don't have good tackles in front of him, he won't play as well as he did for the Eagles.

Now if we draft a DT in one of the first two rounds, I'll sit down and shut up, but nobody knows what we're going to do. We could very well draft a WR.

I say we continue to work on both of our lines, and Mitchell's play will be better than last season's, simply because the tackles will keep the blockers off of him and he can be free to make more plays.

[redman]

We aren't one MLB away from defensive success. Kevin Mitchell, while no pro-bowler, did good work for us there last year. What we do need is a DT and maybe even one more DE. It seems like a silly expenditure of money as a result.