NFL’s Worst Contracts: Is this Rams’ Player Overpaid

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RamBill

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NFL’s Worst Contracts: Is this St. Louis Rams’ Player Overpaid?
By Brandon Bate

http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2015/7/30/9073321/nfl-worst-contracts-rams-tight-end-jared-cook

Big pay days should equal big production...right?

Over at Grantland, Bill Barnwell put together his annual NFL All-Bad-Contracts team. It just so happens that one St. Louis Rams’ player made the list.
Barnwell highlights four contract problems: The Marginal Talent, Paying for the Outlier, System Guy Out of System, and Ever Fallen in Love with a Player You Shouldn’t Have?

For the sake of this exercise, here’s how Barnwell defines The Marginal Talent, the tag given to Rams’ tight end Jared Cook...

With the NFL salary cap rising by more than $20 million between 2013 and 2015, teams have had more money to spend than they’ve known what to do with. Well, that’s not true, because they’ve known exactly what to do with it: They’ve spent it on moderately impressive free agents. Every year, a handful of players who were available for nothing as recently as the previous offseason sign with new teams for serious money. Most of the time, they’re about as good as the guys who were freely available.

Sound about right? In 2013, Cook signed a 5-year, $35.1mil contract with the St. Louis Rams, including a $5mil signing bonus, $16mil guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $7,020,000. That’s a lot of dough.

And, according to Spotrac, it’s one of the five biggest cap hits for tight ends in 2015.

Screen%2BShot%2B2015-07-30%2Bat%2B10.28.17%2BAM.png


Julius Thomas, who recently left Denver for Jacksonville, tops the list of TE’s in terms of cap hit in 2015. And while, he’s never played an entire 16-game season, the 27-year old tight end has scored 24 touchdowns in the past two seasons.

Antonio Gates has probably lost a step or two over the course of his 12-year NFL career. That said, he’s still a future hall-of-famer. Gates has amassed 10,014 reception yards, good for 44th on the all-time list, and he’s one score away from 100 for his career. He’s been to nine pro bowls. At the age of 34, Gates put up 821 rec. yards and 12 TD’s in 2014.

Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end in football.

Jason Witten is another future Hall-of-Fame tight end. Like Gates, Witten started his NFL career 12 years ago [2003], and also eclipsed 10,000 career receiving yards in 2014 [10,502 - currently 35th on the all-time list]. Witten has missed only one game in 12 seasons [his rookie year], and has averaged 79 receptions and 875 yards a season during that span. 10 times a Pro Bowl selection.

And 5th on the list is the player that Barnwell dubs The Marginal Talent...

Please don’t think I saw the flaws in all of these deals when they were first signed; the Cook contract is one I would have endorsed at the time, and it just hasn’t worked out. It’s not hard to see what the Rams saw in the freakishly athletic Cook, who had exhibited flashes of brilliance in Tennessee. The Titans focused too heavily on his flaws and tried to turn Cook into an inline tight end, and so naturally it seemed clear that the Rams were going to try to take Cook and his 4.49 speed and use him as a downfield burner.

It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Cook, who has the 6-foot-5 frame to be a red zone terror, scored twice in his first game with the Rams and has just six touchdowns in his ensuing 31 contests. He’s averaged just more than 40 yards per game in St. Louis, which is actually a decline from his final two seasons in Tennessee, and by the end of 2015, the Rams will have given him more than $20 million.

Since joining the Rams in 2013, Cook has caught 103 passes for 1,305 yards and 8 TD’s. He lead the team in receiving yards [671] and touchdowns [5] in his first year with the team.

At that pace, though, you’re looking at a 650-yard, four touchdown campaign in 2015...which is just more of the same. And all for the low, low price of $8,300,441.
 

fearsomefour

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He may be overpaid. I am not a huge fan of Cook. But, in fairness, look at the offenses and QBs those other TE play with.
Cook is sort of funny because he has the measurables but does not have the power of Gronk, or the receiving skills of Thomas or Gates or the route running all around TE skill of Whitten.
He is athletic but seems sort of "clunky" at times. But, he is improving.
The cap went up, the Rams are ok for now so I have no problem with what he is being paid.
If Cook had a breakout year, which could easily happen, and has lets say 1,100 yards at 12 TDs these same guys will be writing about how he "came out of nowhere".
 

BonifayRam

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Lets see if Jared's new buddy @ QB can help throw a bucket of ice water on this article this season.
 

blue4

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On the basis of games actually played for the Rams, yes.

But who knows what is in store this year.
 

bomebadeeda

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Is he overpaid? I think an argument could be made for it. But I think we need to see a full season, where he has a QB that doesn't change. Will he ever be the player the contract suggests....probably not. But that is the way free agency plays out.
 

dieterbrock

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Cook led the Rams in rec/yards/td in year 1 with Rams. Year 2 he led the team in Rec again, 2nd in yards and (T)2nd in rec TD
A little relevance may help here
 

Ram65

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He may be overpaid. I am not a huge fan of Cook. But, in fairness, look at the offenses and QBs those other TE play with.
Cook is sort of funny because he has the measurables but does not have the power of Gronk, or the receiving skills of Thomas or Gates or the route running all around TE skill of Whitten.
He is athletic but seems sort of "clunky" at times. But, he is improving.
The cap went up, the Rams are ok for now so I have no problem with what he is being paid.
If Cook had a breakout year, which could easily happen, and has lets say 1,100 yards at 12 TDs these same guys will be writing about how he "came out of nowhere".

Is he overpaid? I think an argument could be made for it. But I think we need to see a full season, where he has a QB that doesn't change. Will he ever be the player the contract suggests....probably not. But that is the way free agency plays out.

Cook led the Rams in rec/yards/td in year 1 with Rams. Year 2 he led the team in Rec again, 2nd in yards and (T)2nd in rec TD
A little relevance may help here

Contract value is in the eye of the beholder and of course the contract details.

  1. Here is the link http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/st.-louis-rams/jared-cook/
Not sure how this will look. Considering the cap hit for the first two years, I say the Rams got good value for the money. Consider as DB stated his team rankings and numbers. Over the last the 3 years his cap hit won't be over the top. If he does get 900 yards and close to 15 yards a catch 8-10 TD he will be a bargin! I remember reading posts that he will be cut for cap savings next year. I don't agree. The Rams need to throw him the ball!


CONTRACT:5 yr(s) / $35,100,000SIGNING BONUS$5,000,000AVERAGE SALARY$7,020,000GUARANTEED:$16,000,000FREE AGENT:2018 / UFA
YearAgeBase SalarySigning BonusRoster BonusWorkout BonusRestruc. Bonus Cap Hit Dead Cap
2013
rams2.png
26$3,000,000$1,000,000---$4,000,000$16,000,000
2014
rams2.png
27$1,798,236$1,000,000$3,000,000-$300,441$6,098,677$15,000,000
2015
rams2.png
28$7,000,000$1,000,000--$300,441$8,300,441$8,901,323
2016
rams2.png
29$7,000,000$1,000,000--$300,441$8,300,441$2,600,882
2017
rams2.png
30$7,100,000$1,000,000--$300,441$8,400,441$1,300,441
 
Last edited:

HometownBoy

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Honestly I don't think you can evaluate a receiving TE when his starting QB has been down and out for a majority of his time he's been here. Cook's been here for 2 years and he's played with Bradford 7 whole times.

You're not going to be making too many waves catching passes from Hill, Clemens or Davis. I'll reserve judgement til he plays with an NFL caliber starting QB for double digit games, though I think the fact that he still has some of our best TE stats ever is a testament to his ability.
 

RAGRam

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Honestly I don't think you can evaluate a receiving TE when his starting QB has been down and out for a majority of his time he's been here. Cook's been here for 2 years and he's played with Bradford 7 whole times.

You're not going to be making too many waves catching passes from Hill, Clemens or Davis. I'll reserve judgement til he plays with an NFL caliber starting QB for double digit games, though I think the fact that he still has some of our best TE stats ever is a testament to his ability.

I don't get this, surely someone's got to catch passes, we had 12 fewer passing yards than the Titans who had a 890 yard receiver, 21 fewer passing yards than the Bengals who had a 1,000 yard receiver, 48 more than the Texans who had a 1,000 yard receiver, 103 more the the Bucs who had two 1,000 yard receivers. None of which had a great QB or consistency at the position (well the Bengals did, but the other 3 combined for 8 starting QBs.

The argument when it comes to Quick and Britt is always Davis and Hill couldn't throw a deep pass to save their lives, surely they'd both lean on their short passing game and TEs more?

Just seems like an extremely convenient excuse to me.
 

HometownBoy

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I don't get this, surely someone's got to catch passes, we had 12 fewer passing yards than the Titans who had a 890 yard receiver, 21 fewer passing yards than the Bengals who had a 1,000 yard receiver, 48 more than the Texans who had a 1,000 yard receiver, 103 more the the Bucs who had two 1,000 yard receivers. None of which had a great QB or consistency at the position (well the Bengals did, but the other 3 combined for 8 starting QBs.

The argument when it comes to Quick and Britt is always Davis and Hill couldn't throw a deep pass to save their lives, surely they'd both lean on their short passing game and TEs more?

Just seems like an extremely convenient excuse to me.
That'd mean something, if their passing games weren't completely horrible in every conceivable way. There's reason nobody wants these guys on their team for anything except holding clipboards. Just because they'd have to rely on Cook more doesn't mean that they'd be GOOD at doing so. Quality is a big issue here.

Would you look at Clemens, Hill and Davis and say they're on the same level or above Dalton, Locker, Fitzpatrick, Mettenberger or Mallett? Out of those names are there any you see that you'd definitely overlook for Davis or Clemens or Hill? I certainly don't. Eventually talent disparity does factor in to how the rest of the guys perform. You can't just judge everyone by the same standard. It's like saying the GSOT was just being lazy and decided not to take Tony Banks the Super Bowl, but liked Kurt enough for it. Players can only do so much with the talent around them before it has to increase for them to yield bountiful purchase.

I don't know how you can judge one guy when everybody in the passing game looks mediocre in no small part because they haven't had a starting QB in almost 2 years, especially since our back up game has been awful until just this season.
 

Alan

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I've always thought that Cook was overpaid. He seems to consistently have crucial drops. I've never been a fan of his but then again, at one time he was our biggest threat in the passing game so it's a close call in my mind.
 

LACHAMP46

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look at the offenses and QBs those other TE play with

Honestly I don't think you can evaluate a receiving TE when his starting QB has been down and out for a majority of his time he's been here. Cook's been here for 2 years and he's played with Bradford 7 whole times. You're not going to be making too many waves catching passes from Hill, Clemens or Davis.

Players can only do so much with the talent around them before it has to increase for them to yield bountiful purchase. I don't know how you can judge one guy when everybody in the passing game looks mediocre in no small part because they haven't had a starting QB in almost 2 years

Exactly

So, I guess the teams the writer posted (Broncos, Chargers, Pats, & Cowboys) have the same type of QB play as the Rams for the last 2 years....Hell, every one of those teams has Super Bowl, and at the least playoff aspirations....Shit makes no sense...
 

RAGRam

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That'd mean something, if their passing games weren't completely horrible in every conceivable way. There's reason nobody wants these guys on their team for anything except holding clipboards. Just because they'd have to rely on Cook more doesn't mean that they'd be GOOD at doing so. Quality is a big issue here.

Would you look at Clemens, Hill and Davis and say they're on the same level or above Dalton, Locker, Fitzpatrick, Mettenberger or Mallett? Out of those names are there any you see that you'd definitely overlook for Davis or Clemens or Hill? I certainly don't. Eventually talent disparity does factor in to how the rest of the guys perform. You can't just judge everyone by the same standard. It's like saying the GSOT was just being lazy and decided not to take Tony Banks the Super Bowl, but liked Kurt enough for it. Players can only do so much with the talent around them before it has to increase for them to yield bountiful purchase.

I don't know how you can judge one guy when everybody in the passing game looks mediocre in no small part because they haven't had a starting QB in almost 2 years, especially since our back up game has been awful until just this season.

I'll just have to take your word for it, outside of Dalton, Fitz and the Rams guys I haven't watched much of the other guys, and was just going off statistics where all 5 teams were pretty much identical (well Davis and Hill completed a higher percentage of passes, but I'm sure that was by accident).
 

Force16X

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well whenever sports writers discuss the Rams receiving corps, rarely is there a mention of Jared Cook. @ 8 Large a year, thats disappointing to say the least.
 

Rmfnlt

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Cook led the Rams in rec/yards/td in year 1 with Rams. Year 2 he led the team in Rec again, 2nd in yards and (T)2nd in rec TD
A little relevance may help here
At that pace, though, you’re looking at a 650-yard, four touchdown campaign in 2015...which is just more of the same. And all for the low, low price of $8,300,441.
I agree.

Take a look at the names above his and their production. His production relative to his compensation doesn't line up... at least to my eye

Saying he led the Rams in receiving is also saying he led the 22nd ranked passing team in the NFL. I dunno... not that impressive... I'm looking for more from a player earning $8.3 mil. At least the cap hit goes down dramatically next year. (y)

There are a lot of reasons why is numbers may not line up with that compensation package... that's behind us now.

I'm looking for big things from Cook this year.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/st.-louis-rams/jared-cook/
 

Rmfnlt

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Was he the guy who took a swipe at Davis on the sidelines?
 

HometownBoy

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I'll just have to take your word for it, outside of Dalton, Fitz and the Rams guys I haven't watched much of the other guys, and was just going off statistics where all 5 teams were pretty much identical (well Davis and Hill completed a higher percentage of passes, but I'm sure that was by accident).
It's really not hard to complete a higher percentage of passes when your passes aren't going for more than 5 yards, but I mean if that impresses people then I really don't know why everybody had a problem with Bradford checking down so much. Just because you can complete more 'safe' passes doesn't mean you're necessarily more talented. Lets put it like this, Pennington has a better completion percentage than Peyton Manning in their career, would you be rushing to grab Pennington?

I feel like I'm saying this a lot lately, but just because situations are similar doesn't mean that they're the same. Talent comes into account and eventually you have to accept the fact that Davis, Hill and Clemens are UNTALENTED and that's why our talent suffers.