If Kilgore / Looney wins the C position

[NinerSickness]

From KFFL:

San Francisco 49ers C Jonathan Goodwin, C Joe Looney and OG Daniel Kilgore are expected to compete for the starting center job during training camp.

If either Kilgore or Goodwin wins the starting jorb, what do the Niners do with Johnathan Goodwin? Cut him? Wait & see if another team loses their center to injury & see if they'll trade for him? Keep him around to be obscenely expensive depth?

 

[RobertPhD01]

Hold their cards!

 

[deep9er]

From KFFL:

San Francisco 49ers C Jonathan Goodwin, C Joe Looney and OG Daniel Kilgore are expected to compete for the starting center job during training camp.

If either Kilgore or Goodwin wins the starting jorb, what do the Niners do with Johnathan Goodwin? Cut him? Wait & see if another team loses their center to injury & see if they'll trade for him? Keep him around to be obscenely expensive depth?

if Goodwin holds on, won't we keep Looney and Kilgore on the 53? if so, we'll still keep all three even if Goodwin isn't the starter.

that is........unless they need his cap space to extend someone else on the O-line?

 

[NinerSickness]

if Goodwin holds on, won't we keep Looney and Kilgore on the 53? if so, we'll still keep all three even if Goodwin isn't the starter.

that is........unless they need his cap space to extend someone else on the O-line?

They'll keep Kilgore & Looney regardless. They're young & cheap. If Goodwin isn't the starter, I he would be one expensive backup.

 

[deep9er]

They'll keep Kilgore & Looney regardless. They're young & cheap. If Goodwin isn't the starter, I he would be one expensive backup.

yeah, so again....unless they need his cap space......

if we can fit him, lets not be too hasty, we're built for now and chit happens.

 

[Dodub]

They would cut Goodwin if he loses the job.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

They would cut Goodwin if he loses the job.

Agreed. Not only are we close to the cap, but cap space can roll over now. Goodwin is too expensive to be a backup. Might be worth trying to swing a trade, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that. Teams will know we want to cut him.

 

[dredinis21]

I don't know if they cut him, at least not right away. I would assume that it would be important to make sure that the decision you made to go with the youngin pans out before you jettison your starting C over the last two years.

 

[JDM]

I don't know if they cut him, at least not right away. I would assume that it would be important to make sure that the decision you made to go with the youngin pans out before you jettison your starting C over the last two years.

I agree with this point. I will admit that I do not know a lot about every player on your line, but on a team contending for a Super Bowl, if he is a starting caliber player, you keep him, even if he's not starting, until you are sure the younger players are ready to take over. If it's realistically possible, try to negotiate his contract to a more affordable one, but don't jettison him without a specific need for the cap space until you know people are ready to permanently take over.

 

[Dodub]

I don't know if they cut him, at least not right away. I would assume that it would be important to make sure that the decision you made to go with the youngin pans out before you jettison your starting C over the last two years.

It isn't as if we are talking about a starting QB, LT, WR or CB. We're talking about a freaking center.

 

[calison3]

The center makes all of the line calls. Its a very important position. I would hold off to make sure the right decision is made.

 

[Hangman]

I would see less shot gun snaps go way off the mark?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I agree with this point. I will admit that I do not know a lot about every player on your line, but on a team contending for a Super Bowl, if he is a starting caliber player, you keep him, even if he's not starting, until you are sure the younger players are ready to take over. If it's realistically possible, try to negotiate his contract to a more affordable one, but don't jettison him without a specific need for the cap space until you know people are ready to permanently take over.

$3.7 million in base salary is too much to pay a backup. Even for a SB contender. We could use that money to lock up our young talent.

The other possibility is that he agrees to a pay cut.

 

[JDM]

Unless you get deals in place to do so, there is more value to keeping him than not.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Unless you get deals in place to do so, there is more value to keeping him than not.

I disagree. Again, this is assuming he's beaten out for the starting spot. Last year we had Goodwin backed up by Kilgore - at least early in the year before Looney was healthy. No matter what happens this year, our backup situation will be stronger this year. Either Kilgore is the backup with a year more experience, or Looney is the backup as a considerably more highly regarded player than Kilgore was coming out.

Most likely this is a moot point as Goodwin is still the odds-on favorite to win the job. But if he doesn't, you cut him. I would think a Pats fan of all people would appreciate that.

 

[maniax]

I don't think we have a whole lot of depth on the O-line.

We have 2nd unproven year guys as swing guys (Kilgore, Looney). That's it.
No backup tackle to boot as well. If we lost a starting tackle Boone would probably move to tackle and then Kilgore or Looney to RG and it would be a shuffle.

No way we cut Goodwin. If Goodwin gets beaten out we probably still keep him for the rest of the year and let him walk at the end of the year if Kilgore/Looney cement themselves at the center position.

Goodwin has a few years of experience at center in the 49ers system... why would you let that walk just to save a few millions this year?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

The depth is something of a concern. Though we have several guys who have been on the PS for awhile. A lot of factors would go into any decision to let Goodwin walk. And depth at OT does play a role that is perhaps not obvious. I still think there's a good chance Goodwin would be asked to take a pay cut or would be released if he's not the starter, though.

 

[JDM]

I disagree. Again, this is assuming he's beaten out for the starting spot. Last year we had Goodwin backed up by Kilgore - at least early in the year before Looney was healthy. No matter what happens this year, our backup situation will be stronger this year. Either Kilgore is the backup with a year more experience, or Looney is the backup as a considerably more highly regarded player than Kilgore was coming out.

Most likely this is a moot point as Goodwin is still the odds-on favorite to win the job. But if he doesn't, you cut him. I would think a Pats fan of all people would appreciate that.

You don't just make a move to make the move. You do it because you have a use for the space opened up. I can't think of any players my team has cut just to clear space unless a deadline was involved. What value does blindly clearing space add?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

You don't just make a move to make the move. You do it because you have a use for the space opened up. I can't think of any players my team has cut just to clear space unless a deadline was involved. What value does blindly clearing space add?

What is blind about it? The team would be clearing cap and roster space based on a younger player taking over for an older one. There's inherent value in that. It's moving on from an older player because he is no longer worth his contract and has been beaten out by a younger player.

The Pats do this sort of thing all the time. Hell, they made virtually this same move last year when they cut Koppen. Granted Koppen was coming off an injury, but he was also their best backup C (maybe their best C period?) and they let him walk in favor of a guy with limited experience in Wendell. The year before they did a similar thing in moving on from Brandon Meriweather, though he wasn't an older guy as such, and there may have been a deadline at work there.

 

[JDM]

Letting someone walk isn't the same as cutting them. Meriweather was one of the worst pro bowlers I have seen in a long time, and was paid too much for his value. Koppen wasn't healthy and was released for a needed roster spot.

If a player is under contract already cutting him to clear up space without a plan for what to do with said space is doing it blindly.