EM31

I would have to think that if he did go to Denver, he would probably feel that he could take away the starting job. He has to know that he will not be able to do that here given the investment that the Jets made in the Darnold pick. Even more so now that Sam has started so well <edited to add> Elway also knows that the QB injury clock is ticking on him as well. If he is even thinking in that direction that the asking price goes up if some other top QB goes down.

Most people will tell you that only once you have two interested parties will the bidding war really heat up. I heard something on the radio about big Ben being evaluated for concussion... Just thought I would throw that into the mix.

<chuckles> Now you are trolling fish. The kid has done well in very very limited action. I see excitement yes and I have a good deal of that myself. I also see the people who are never really in favor of sitting the young guy taking that same position again here but I don't really see the Jets fan base writ large rushing to anoint Sam Darnold as a finished product just yet. Cautious optimism is what i am seeing on Sam my friend and even a little optimism that we may have an additional tradeable piece to boot in Teddy Bridgewater. Everything else boils down to same ole..same ole on whether or not to start the rookie QB... We have been through that discussion for much of the last decade with one QB or another. Or at least it feels that way.

And they would not be willing to give much unless there was a handshake deal for more than a 1-year rental IMO

I always assumed that anyone willing to pay "GM EM31's" price would only do so if they were going to work out the parameters of a long term deal at the same time. In any event it is fun to be a "have" for once instead of the usual "have not" pressing our noses up against the window from outside.... in the snow...

As i thought our opinions are not that far apart except perhaps on the true value of a 4th. $5.5m only helps us this year if we use it on something else of value and as I mentioned before I would be in favor of using any and all unused cap dollars to lock our own players in to new deals early. The only problem is that this organization has zero history of doing that. I like McCown too but he is 39 and coming off his best season ever. If he reverts back to his average then that changes the QB calculus as well. Snappy haircut notwithstanding. <edited to add> If the defense can be dominant then it is not clear to me that we need a top top QB to get us to contender status. I agree it is not likely but it is not impossible either. The rating of what Teddy was before he was injured seems to be the sticking point. Game manager or young/solid/top-10 QB? I honestly did not see enough of him to know but it seems a little odd that we have so many divergent views on this question.

First of all I generally find myself very much in agreement with most of what you have to say but I think you are a bit off on this one. Perhaps there has been some hardening of positions because of the back and forth with Warfish. Working backwards, $5.5 million dollars is truly peanuts in the current world for any player capable of starting NFL games at the QB position. So not a lot to pay for whatever level of insurance that may become necessary. Not a lot to pay if your team has plenty of cap dollars as we do unless we are planning to lock up some of our own stars early (Williams?) but we never do that unfortunately. The current problem with really knowing where we stand at QB and what "plans" the current organization may have is that we have one data point to go on at this time. Parts of one preseason game and the first one at that. Some will view it as proof positive that "pow" Sam is going straight to the moon and others that Teddy Bridgewater should be looked at as a viable long term solution as if the organization has not already committed the treasury to Sam Darnold once we drafted him. Here are some scenarios under which a $5.5 million dollars for a non-joke QB would be prudent. 1) Perhaps Sam Darnold while he flashes plenty of positive signs is simply not ready t o play on Day-1. 2) While "worst to first" in one year never really happens in the NFL, worst to contender does happen fairly often. I do not think this Jets team will show that kind of improvement but maybe it does. Maybe Tom Brady finally shows his age and maybe the Bills and Dolphins are still bad. Maybe the Jets defense is good enough to carry this team to a record that none of us are predicting. 3) Maybe the OLine is as bad as many of us fear it might be. Maybe 3-deep at QB ends up being thin and we need a credible starter half way through game-1. If any of the above are true then a 4th round pick is simply not enough in my mind to get back for a cheap, credible QB option who we have on the roster. If the market is a 4th then keep him and use him however you feel is best for the organization. I would not go less than a 2nd round pick which is not where the market is today. The only things that change this equation IMO is if Teddy Bridgewater continues to show marketable skills and more importantly, if some other team becomes desperate. The latter has not happened yet. If on the other hand Sam is ready then we owe Teddy nothing. He is a one year rental and he plays if we need him and he sits if we do not. Pretty much a perfect situation.

I believe our OLine is porous enough to where you might be legitimately worried about the health of the QB that this franchise has staked so much on To my mind Teddy Bridgewater is another layer of protection for Sam Darnold and $5.5 million is peanuts to pay for such a policy. At this point I will stick with idea that he is worth more to us in that role than the marginal value that a 4th would bring us. My break even point is a 2nd or a solid OLine upgrade who can be plugged in right away. Like most conversations of this kind, draft day trades for example, there are way more conversations about them than there are deals that actually get consummated. I expect this will be another one of those. In any event, the market changes substantially if a QB for a contending team goes down and if that team sees Teddy as a means to keep their 2018 season alive. At that point the asking price goes up to where I would consider a trade. Otherwise Teddy is a cheap insurance policy against any one of a number of problematic things.

Until or unless a QB from a contending team goes down then there is no trade partner. Any team who might be interested in him now as an upgrade at backup QB would not be willing to pay us more than he is worth to have him here with us for a year.

WTF is my personal fashion consultant? I was told that I would be allowed to meet with Tomshane tonight.

Strangely I find myself agreeing with BOTH Warfish and Slats. Weird

The market is not up to us. We need two things to happen in order for the asking price for Bridgewater to go up. Teddy needs to play well (he did that last night) and a contending team needs to have a QB go down which obviously has not happened yet. Personally I do not see the benefit of trading him just to trade him. If for example a contending team is looking for better depth on their own roster and offers us a 4th or 5th for him then at that price the depth he provides to the Jets is worth more. So, Teddy is keeping his part of the bargain as of last night and the other thing may or may not happen. It is out of our hands.

Is it too soon for turgid?

The better he plays the higher the price tag.

When we look back I think we will look back at this year as the the one where the turnaround started. And while I share some of the enthusiasm of the OP.....