2030 pre-draft
The HOF inductees this year include QB Willie Simmons, who holds most of the records at the QB position in this league—he had 63,903 yards and 418 TDs.
We have one retirement—LB Raymond Coppola. We drafted him as we needed an anchor LB, and he was just that for many years—he’s among the top 15 tacklers in league history with 1,144. He’s a likely inductee into the team HOF in three seasons.
On our balance sheet—bad news. Our profits sunk dramatically, from $55m all the way down to about $16m. We had a drop in ticket revenues, presumably due to having only one home playoff game this season. Things are a little bit tighter now. We again had 100% attendance, so that side of things is fine.
Our scout needs a new deal. He’s slipped in his ability to evaluate secondary players—like I hadn’t noticed. He also is only meriting a “fair” in young talent. I think I’ll look elsewhere. I put in an offer for George Buckley, a 61-year old guy who looks rather good almost everywhere—though his weakness is with RBs (one of the areas I need to draft this year, regrettably).
My coach Lamar Evans is also due a new contract. He’s taken us to the playoffs regularly, but we have not yet made it to the Superbowl under his watch. I put in an extension offer for him.
Coach Lamar Evans, Sr. takes my 5yr offer in the first week. My scout target Buckley is pending- but I have the high bid. He accepts after week two.
We adjust ticket prices to match Denver’s. That should provide a little boost in revenues, but we’ll have to keep a close eye out. I ponder a stadium renovation—we could use a few more seats for the burgeoning Squirrel faithful. I propose a modest expansion—3300 more general seats, 3000 more club seats, and 35 more luxury boxes. Even this modest enhancement will cost $300,000—the club proposes to pick up half these costs, which should factor into our finances for a while.
With LB Coppola retiring, we have a slot to fill in the starting lineup, but also have some additional cap room, as he was a highly-paid player. Here is my roster situation as we start the FA period:
Name # Pos OnTm Ctrc Exp Stat Cap Cost
Stephenson, Fernando 8 QB 2026 2031 5 ----- $15,000,000
Ferderer, Kris 81 WR 2017 2031 14 ----- $12,000,000
Rivers, Kris 80 WR 2026 2031 5 ----- $8,540,000
Hardman, Gerald 43 S 2018 2030 13 ----- $8,000,000
Cintron, Marc 61 G 2028 2031 3 ----- $6,500,000
Moffitt, Donovan 57 LB 2029 2031 9 ----- $6,400,000
Grant, Edwin 92 DT 2026 2030 5 ----- $6,100,000
Pohl, Brenden 25 FB 2021 2031 10 ----- $5,000,000
Belin, Calvin 94 DT 2027 2031 4 ----- $4,540,000
Brody, Terrance 47 CB 2028 2032 3 ----- $4,500,000
Finley, Marshall 23 S 2029 2031 2 ----- $3,730,000
Deal, Jeffrey 59 LB 2027 2031 4 ----- $3,290,000
Dodge, Ross 26 CB 2029 2032 2 ----- $2,990,000
McCormick, Levon 96 DT 2029 2032 3 ----- $2,800,000
Wible, Norbert 79 T 2028 2031 3 ----- $2,740,000
Swain, Alvin 51 LB 2027 2030 4 ----- $2,590,000
Braxton, Jerald 53 C 2027 2030 4 ----- $2,540,000
Blair, Raymond + 46 S 2028 2031 3 ----- $2,130,000
Booker, Brian + 76 T 2029 2032 3 ----- $2,000,000
Vitale, Nicky 55 C 2029 2032 2 ----- $1,920,000
Joyner, Jermaine 71 G 2028 2031 4 ----- $1,700,000
Culbertson, Grady 90 DT 2028 2030 3 ----- $1,560,000
Cossette, Broderick + 63 G 2029 2035 2 ----- $1,560,000
Peter, Omar 2 QB 2028 2030 3 ----- $1,390,000
Frantz, Andre 85 WR 2028 2030 3 ----- $1,390,000
Hendon, Zack 3 QB 2029 2031 2 ----- $1,380,000
Tatum, Kerry 6 K 2028 2030 3 ----- $1,340,000
Coffey, Vernon 91 LB 2029 2031 2 ----- $1,220,000
Patton, Ethan 28 CB 2029 2031 2 ----- $1,150,000
Alexander, Kelly 29 FB 2029 2030 2 ----- $1,080,000
Loverne, Tim * 5 QB 2020 UFA 16 ----- $0
Ignasiak, Joel 66 T 2015 UFA 16 ----- $0
Jeffries, Scottie + 93 LB 2027 UFA 9 ----- $0
Benton, Orlando + 88 WR 2027 UFA 8 ----- $0
Burroughs, Artie 98 DE 2024 UFA 7 ----- $0
Coleman, Bernie 50 LB 2024 UFA 7 ----- $0
Lowe, O.J. + 69 G 2026 UFA 6 ----- $0
Grebene, Rodney 75 T 2025 UFA 6 ----- $0
Pierce, Patrick 33 S 2026 UFA 6 ----- $0
Feather, Brock 97 DE 2026 UFA 5 ----- $0
Woodall, Neal 24 CB 2026 UFA 5 ----- $0
Fackleman, Ian 48 RB 2027 ---- 4 ----- $0
Castillo, Burt 49 RB 2027 ---- 4 ----- $0
Banks, Chris 22 RB 2027 ---- 4 ----- $0
Jennings, Tony 82 TE 2027 ---- 4 ----- $0
Toscano, Norm 84 WR 2029 ---- 4 ----- $0
Barkshadt, Lee 21 CB 2027 ---- 4 ----- $0
Emerson, Larry 20 CB 2028 ---- 3 ----- $0
Cabbage, Tom 86 TE 2029 ---- 2 ----- $0
Cosgrove, Toby 87 WR 2029 ---- 2 ----- $0
Castillo, Nathan 11 P 2029 ---- 2 ----- $0
Hardy, Fernando + 99 DE 2029 ---- 2 ----- $0
Salary Cap: $221.9 million
Room Under Cap: $104,430,000
We have nearly half of our cap free this year—it’s doubtless a pivotal season for this team. QB Loverne and T Ignasiak have been warriors for us, both foundation players over the last decade or more. Re-signins Ignasiak would be preferable for OL continuity, and he remains a very effective player. DE Artie Burroughs is solid, and he’s the best DE we have on hand. If we let both him and Feather go, we’ll be totally empty-handed. I practically am forced to retain one or the other—and Burroughs is the superior player. T Rodney Grebene would be a very nice player to keep, but I’m unsure how much commitment I can afford on my OL, especially when it’s a position that is fairly easy for me to acquire affordable young players in the later stages of free agency. LB Bernie Coleman is a very good player for us, and I cannot afford to let him walk away—though he will certainly be expensive.
All in all, a lot of difficulties. If QB Tim Loverne is looking for top dollar, I’ll write him off—but if he isn’t, then things get even more complicated. I’d like to keep him around if I could get him for, say, $20m a year or so.
My “5% rule” is that I prefer not to spend more than 5% of my salary cap for any player, unless he is of a particularly high caliber or are a truly critical component of the team. This year, that 5% amount equals about $11 million- I’ll watch myself in spending much over that amount.
I offer 3yrs, $31.5m for T Ignasiak—knowing full well that he will not make it through three more years. I judge that to be a worthwhile investment. I put in 4yrs, $45m for LB Coleman. Finally, I put in 4yrs, $58m for my DE Burroughs.
I check out Loverne, but he’s seeking about $30m a year. I decide not to put in a bid immediately, but if he falls, I’ll consider him later on.
In the first week, the good news is that we don’t lose anyone. I’m top bidder for DE Burroughs, but I need to bump a little to be ahead for T Ignasiak and LB Coleman. QB Tim Loverne has five bidders, all around $28m a year—which I just don’t think we can do. He’s given us a bowl win and ten good years, but I think this is the end.
I bump up Ignasiak’s deal to 3yrs, $39m—it’s a good deal for him—better than Denver’s 3yr offer. (The Broncos! Of course, the sniveling bastards!) As for LB Coleman, I feel like he’s essential to the team, so I put in 4yrs, $54m—but cannot even keep up with Atlanta’s positively absurd bid of 4yrs, $58.5m. I’ll just hope he’d prefer to stick around here.
After week two, T Joel Ignasiak re-signs with us, and ought to wrap up his career here. I’m still the high pending offer for the other two guys I’m pursuing. Philadelphia has pushed the bidding for QB Loverne to over $30m a year.
In week 3, Cinti just barely edges out by bid for LB Coleman, but we are still just pending. I decide that $150,000 can’t make the difference, and I’ll depend on his loyalty. My T Rodney Grebene is also getting mad offers-- $14/tr offers—and I don’t know if I can match that kind of money. He’s a stellar run blocker, but if I’m looking for a LT, I don’t know that he’s the best pass blocker for that job (94/50/48).
LB Bernie Coleman re-signs with us in week 4. DE Burroughs is still pending.
Green Bay, who only offered QB Tim Loverne $52m over 2yrs, signs my firmer star, and he has officially left the team. I adjust my offer to DE Artie Burroughs to 3yrs, $46m, in an attempt to loosen the logjam of offers to him. In week 7, he takes it, and he will return to us this season—to my delight and modest surprise.
In week 8, T Rodney Grebene takes a deal for about $14m a year from Chicago, and he is gone also. The clock ticks, and I get into my open-hunting time, and start looking at what’s available for me.
DE Brock Feather—my own free agent—is among the best-looking players available.
In the later rounds, I recognize my impending troubles at DE, and I make a desperate move to grab a young guy. DE Jay Hancock was a part-time player last year as a rookie for KC, and got 6.5 sacks. Despite that, his strength seems to be run stopping, which is fine by me. I offer him 4yrs, $18m—more than he’s probably worth, but any port in a storm.
I find nothing else to like in this FA pool, other than a couple more DEs at $4-5m a year. I’ll pass there. That wraps it up—I’ll have a boatload of cash handy for future signings, it seems—I have $65m in cap room right now, and we’ve practically nowhere to spend it all.
I revisit Brock Feather, who is seeking a two year deal for about $20m. I decide to give in, especially with all this cash on hand. I offer him 4yrs, $40m—which gives me a reasonably-priced starter there until I have another good option. That’s the end of my FA efforts for the year—I could have kept QB Loverne, but it would have meant another $90m tied up in contracts, and we need to move on now.
We have a lot of areas of need for this draft. CB is again on the list, and DE wouldn’t be bad either. I’ll need a RB or two to start this year, unless I decide to re-sign one of my young RFAs (which isn’t out of the question). An interesting off season, indeed.