[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: When a building block calls it a game
Tight end Clay Gaynor retired.

Yikes, there goes my hopes to see things bounce back next season. A restructure of the game plan was needed and returning Clay Gaynor to 100ish targets was one of them. But no, after the 2098 campaign with jus 28 catches for 286 yards and 2 touchdowns, one of the most talented tight ends to play for the orange-white-and-blue calls it a career at the age of 32. Bummer, Clay. We failed to get him to the 1,000-yard club, but he got a couple of 80-catch seasons in his 136 regular season games and a shocking low of only 2 playoffs games. He was our first of two first round picks in 2090.

Our other 2090 first round pick, Brandon Brady, saw his odds to return for another season increase as Hayden McNeil retired. McNeil played 3 seasons with us, the plan was to focus on using him on running downs, but as opposing teams are continuously flipping around their personnel and play calling, he ended up playing on passing downs quite a lot as well and turned out to be a weak link on those downs. He played 48 games for us.

2095 free agent veteran signing Caiden Croyle also retired. In four seasons with us, he was part of our rotation, a decent pass rusher and good enough run stopper to see us want to (and fail to) get him to play on running downs. In 64 games, he made 20.0 sacks, which isn't phenomenal, but in a heavy rotation, a respectable figure.

46.0 sacks in 185 regular season games and 1 more in 6 playoffs games is the figure for Archie Exner. He's the second defensive end retiring this off-season, leaving us behind with just the exceptionally talented Richie Piotte and second year Robbie Dobreski. Exner is the prime example of an undrafted rookie that can grow into a contributor as he was basically playing about 50% of the time on our D-line as early as in his rookie season 2087. We're going to miss him, probably more than I hope to.

Which brings us to our cap situation, which is $78.58M over the cap (with 42 players signed), with an estimated $39.81M figure for draft picks (for 9 draft picks). The 1.3 overall pick accounts for half of that draft cost at $19.75M. Which quickly shows why I'm very much interested in trading down, if the opportunity arises. Tomorrow we'll find out what the draft class looks like and, shocker, we'll most likely can't afford to think about a quarterback if there's a generational one. Unless we feel like adding a $49M dead cap figure in 2100, or keep Earnest Ashley around as the prime backup and mentor, which he apparently is capable of being now.

I had a plan for the upcoming draft and free agency, but the departure of Clay Gaynor means I'll have to divert a bit as it means that the tight end position might be one to address as well, despite that we're going to enter the off-season with 3 guys signed and a fourth one restricted free agent Wendell Borders, who's agent I fully expect to come with absurd salary requests after the kid had 17 receptions more than he should have gotten in his rookie season.

So, what's next in short?
1. Hire a new assistant coach.
2. Scout the draft class.
3. Decide which top rookies are worth pursuing.
4. Restructure a truck load of contracts.
5. Figure out what to do with the 1.3 pick.
6. Grab some hidden gems late in the draft.
7. Feel amazed about or roster going into the season.
8. Brush away the Merchantmen unworthy 2098 season with one of the biggest turnarounds in league history.

But step by step, steps 1 and 2 first.