What the Stacy Andrews Tag Says About the Bengals

In a matter of a few hours, I’ve managed to make a complete 180 on my opinion of the Stacy Andrews franchise tag.  I admit it—at first I thought this was a savvy move, locking up a proven backup and providing a little insurance should one of our lineman go down.  And maybe it will pan out this way—no question we’ve lost some key lineman to injury over the last two years, with Big Willie, Levi Jones, and Richie “We Should Have Treated You Better” Braham.

But, what the Stacy Andrews franchise tag is, at its core, is yet another statement by this franchise that they have given up.  Thrown in the towel.  They are waiving their arms in the air and running around as if the sky is falling.

Instead of using the nearly $8 Million being offered to (wasted on) Stacy Andrews to sign a free agent, we’re going with what we know.  And what we know is that Stacy Andrews has started only 17 games in 4 years—hardly worth the $441 K he’ll be making per game (according to Geoff Hobson of bengals.com). 

Now, the party line says that “free agency never solves any problems—you just end up paying a guy too much.”  Really?  Tell that to the Patriots.  And yeah, the Bengals may not have the cache, winning records, Super Bowls, coaching, front office…uh, where was I?  Oh yeah, the Bengals aren’t the Pats and may not get superstars at bargain rates, but they have money to spend this free agency period.  In fact, at $31.45 Million under the cap, the Bengals rank 7th in the NFL in terms of most money to spend.

And how about this: trading Chad Johnson would cost us $8 Million in dead cap money.  But there have been dozens of reports—even on NFL Network—that teams such as the Redskins are interested in trading for Chad.  And one NFL front office man even stated that Chad would probably be worth a 1st Round plus a second or third round pick. 

So, instead of paying $8 Million for a BACKUP tackle, why not GROW SOME BALLS and try to do a little wheeling and dealing?  Either way, you’re out $8 Million.  And while you can argue that Chad is one of the top 3 WR’s in the league, you can’t tell me after his whining all off-season that you wouldn’t be curious to see what we could get with two 1st round picks and possibly two 2nd Round picks.  The Bengals don't seem too curious--they're too busy trying not to screw it all up...again.

So, while I admit I made full 180 on my earlier sentiments—and no doubt my friends will give me shit—maybe it’s time the Bengals finally did a full 180 on their front office moves.  If not, it’s high time we all give THEM shit!!!

Who Dey, Steve