Mr. Scot

Then why not help him out by taking, say, a left tackle? (especially given that you don't currently have one)

We've given the Packers a load of sh-t for taking Jordan Love when they could have taken someone to help Aaron Rodgers. Now we're suggesting the Panthers do the same thing?

By getting a higher draft pick than them next year?

This would confirm that the picks traded are not conditional.

Here's the thing: The Panthers aren't looking for CAMS REPLACEMENT. Some fans might be, but the Panthers are not. They're looking for a starting quarterback. And given the offense that we run, that quarterback's playing style might look a lot more like Drew Brees than Cam Newton.

You're not accounting for trade ups though.

Millet?

FYI: Atlanta is reportedly getting multiple offers for the number four pick. If there was any thought of dissuading teams from trading up, I'd say it's not working.

I'll just throw this here... Some years back, we drafted a guy who talked about "bad intentions".

Relevant to this discussion... I know some folks are still hoping that one of the top quarterbacks drops to the 8th pick. But the closer we get to the Draft, the more that sounds like a long shot.

Oh yeah, we also signed somebody else.

I think they were going to get rid of Bridgewater regardless.

Honestly, I don't think any of it was. I don't buy the notion that it's a "desperation" trade either. Breer confirmed that we've been discussing this with the Jets since mid-February. It was always an option.

Actually thought there was going to be some kind of comparison between the two in here. I was going to offer that Sam Darnold has never fumbled while slamming his face into anybody's butt.

Fair. I still don't feel like we have a firm read on Matt Rhule either, but I can be happy he isn't Ron Rivera.

Looking at the general discussion on Darnold, I can tell you there's one thing I really really wish more people understood or at least considered. Bad teams have good players. Players being a part of bad teams doesn't automatically make them bad. Archie Manning was a great quarterback who was part of a lot of sh-t teams in New Orleans, and that's just one of numerous examples. I don't know whether Darnold is going to work out with us or not, but having a guy suddenly look a lot better when he left a bad team is pretty common (Ryan Tannehill is far from the only example).

All this said, I do think it's valid to take a moment and be happy that we're not being run by Marty Hurney anymore.

I remember comment from years ago where someone said "intellectuals are people who study what others do naturally'. The thing about analytics is that they're used to measure individuals, when as often as not it's more accurately a team measure. Take completion percentage. There are way too many variables on any given play to use completion percentage as a true measure of how good a quarterback is. That's why I prefer true personnel evaluation to looking at a spreadsheet.

I'd say it's still a while before we'll know that for certain, but I've been mostly good with what I've seen so far. Biggest potential issue to this point has been how many guys we've signed that have injury concerns.

The wild card with the Bengals is that Joe Burrow is reportedly pushing hard for Chase, who in all likelihood will be available with their pick. My response to that is "Dude, you got snapped in half last year and you want a receiver? Yikes!" But I'm not him, so...

Once you cross the "permission to seek a trade" threshold, it's pretty certain that your days are numbered.

I fear the Bengals more than I do the Lions, but both are possibilities.

Fair enough. I'm also neutral on this. I can see why it was done, but I'm not going to pretend I know how it's going to work out. I know how I hope it works out.

The cap guys negotiate the specifics, though the GM often sets parameters. Major contracts might be run past the owner, but that's not guaranteed. Most head coaches don't have that much to do with actual contract negotiation. Their contribution is to say whether they want a certain player or not. Where does this come from? From years of listening to interviews with coaches, GMs, etc. Some years back, Floyd Reese gave an extended discussion about coaching / management relationships that was very informative on the topic. More to the point in this case though, Roaring Riot has an extremely reliable record when it comes to knowing inside details. You don't. So yes, I take his word for it, and that's because he's earned it.