mex

Shit no. He gets paid sitting on the bench too. Get his ass out there so he can play for his next contract.

I mean, that's a lot... but if the contract is 5 years we're only talking 2 mil per in guaranteed money to quibble about. That's not all that much these days but I see your point. At first I thought CJ was just wanting to avoid the hot days of camp. But if he's willing to sit out 8 games... it's gotta be WAY more than that. Unless his agent is a complete moron. CJ has his rings, and he's at the apex of his career coming off an absolute dominant performance in the playoffs. Can't blame him for focusing on the bag. That said, can't blame the fans for being critical either. We all act in our own best interest. I trust Veach to do what's in the best long-term interest of the team. That's what the fans expect. Personally, I think freeing up the $$ to solidify the future OL is way more important than one defensive lineman, even if he is all-world. Because our QB is all-universe... a once-in-a-lifetime player 10 times more valuable to this team than CJ. 3/5th of the OL is coming up for contracts. Gotta think that's what Veach is thinking about. Plus, our secondary will be more experienced, as will our LB corps and DL, and Veach also has THOSE guys to think about. That's a tough draw I don't care who you are. CJ is still under contract. A contract which he happily endorsed. Not playing out his contract is a big fuck you to the organization and to the fans. So I can't blame the front office nor the fans for being pissed. By mid-season, there will be contenders who need a good interior defensive lineman. If CJ sits out, we ought to be able to trade and get some draft picks, while freeing up the cap dollars to land a temp replacement. JMHO

He's already lost a million dollars just by missing camp. Takes me 10 years of working my ass off to make that. If he misses 8 games, he'll end up losing out on what... almost 10 million total? I'd sure like to know what his offer was...

They sure don't have many big name clients... Chris would be their biggest name, by far.

Would someone explain to me >cough xen, cough< what happens to the money we would have owed him if he sits out while under contract? I mean, if the team has him under contract, he's legally obliged to play. If he chooses not to, seems like they should be able to keep that money. Over 8 games, that's almost 9,000,000 we could sign several needed players for that.

I'm starting to grow fatigued of all this, and my sentiments are leaning towards 'fuck him, let's trade and move on.'

I would like to see this.

Good question. I would say no. Why? Many might be too young to remember, but there was a 3rd down where Manusky and DT were chasing Elway in the flat... they were going to hammer him about 3 yds short of the LTG. Right before they were going to hit him, he changed direction turning hard to the sideline, going OOB to avoid the hits... seeing this, they both let up... and when they did, he planted his foot and pivoted to stay inbounds... picking up the needed yards to move the chains. Everyone on the defense was flabbergasted... they even argued with the refs for an unsportsmanlike flag. To no avail. The guys in the booth did nothing but praise Elway for his 'competitive spirit' and his 'will to win' by abusing the rules to his advantage in a critical situation. Some of the older guys might remember that game... might have been the one where Shannon Sharp got the best of DT with his trash talk and got him ejected.

When he jumped in the air at the sideline... then threw the ball back into the field of play, almost completing it... he's sending a clear message to the league. "I don't GAF how y'all been doing it... I'ma do it my way from here on out."

Preseason is merely a 'Let's see if I can pull this off' session to Patrick. The behind the back pass will happen this year, bank it.

I'm telling you. This guy hasn't come close to showing all his abilities. He's changing the game.

Get him under contract for multiple years, and trade him for picks.

I like bacon.

From what I saw in the highlights, he could start for half the NFL.

Mike Cox is so big, York Hunt is scared to be near him.

As God intended.

Can't believe y'all forgot about Clark's nephew... Mike Hunt.

I think OTs point is other teams might see it like Veach. CJ is good, maybe the best... and he can definitely help out for a few more years. But is he worth all he's asking? If he's not willing to sign with his own SB contender team, really doubt he'd be willing to sign on the same terms for someone else. Maybe there is someone out there willing to go 30 million on a long contract. That's his gamble. If his agent is worth his salt... he's giving him both sides of the story. I still expect they'll sign a deal right before the season starts. He doesn't need to be playing preseason nor going to camp practices, as long as he's in shape, which Andy says he is.

That's an interesting way to look at it. The Pats, in spite of all those SB wins with #12 at the helm, only had one back-to-back win. Yet he was still 6-3 with the Pats. At the 5 year point in Brady's career he had 3 appearances and 3 wins. Patrick has had 3 appearances and 2 wins. Had Dee Ford not had his head up completely his ass, Patrick would have been 3-1 in his first 5 years, better than Brady. If we can stay healthy, I'm liking our chances. I think the lesson here, and what Belicheat has demonstrated, is that the only indispensable player is your franchise QB. Once you have that piece in place, everything else can be assembled, with good player evaluation, and smart manipulation of existing contracts. Which so far, Veach & Co have consistently displayed.

So, Veach follows your logic and breaks the bank to hold onto CJ, leaving little to no room to bargain for future extensions with Creed, Joe and Trey. They are forced to let one or two of them go, in favor of more affordable options. Patrick gets pounded because of lack of OL depth, misses 5 games, and we don't win the division, maybe not even a WC berth. Your comment will be: "Veach fucked up... he should have signed all of them. Protecting Patrick is paramount."

According to Andy, Patrick will start vs N.O. this week, in the very first preseason game. >>insert panicky noises<<

Dude nobody is this stupid. You're just trolling. Knock it off.

They'd better hurry... steelers are looking at him hard.