[canuxrok]

John's Journal

Dec 2nd, 2023 -

Well we took care of some business this week, I decided to re-sign linebacker and special teams specialist Jon Rhattigan for another year. He won't cost us much and fills a roster spot that I won't have to spend time looking for in free agency. With a lot of expiring contracts to deal with this year I wanted to get some minor stuff out of the way so I can focus on the big decisions in the spring.

Speaking of some of those big decisions, I've pretty much concluded we won't be bringing Noah Fant back. With Dissly on the books for another year at a $9 Million plus cap cost we just can't afford to pay another tight end over $10 Million like he's asking. And his agent says he wants a bonus of $5.5 Million as well, which for the long term deal he's asking for limits us a lot as far as roster flexibility down the road. We're not even in the same ballpark with him so although he's been very good at his job all year we can't afford to keep him around. I'm strongly considering re-signing Parkinson because of this. He'll be more affordable and wants a shorter deal. I do wonder if his current injury is an aberration or the new norm for him. I don't want to sink money into an injury prone TE2. I'm gonna think on this one a bit more but if I do decide to extend him for a year for $4.58 M it would be one less thing on my plate this offseason.

I have committed to Damien Lewis and his agent, although some of the details are still being ironed out, and we will be keeping him around for 3 more seasons. He's proven to be a key part of our O-Line and with a $3.1M Bonus he wants a salary that will put the cap number at $8.75M next year, going up to $10.5M against the cap by the final year of the deal. There's one piece of my interior offensive line locked in. I'm thinking of letting Phil Haynes and maybe center Evan Brown walk and looking for upgrades in free agency or the draft.

I'm told Nick Bellore is still unhappy with his playing time. Not much we can do about that. At least he's being professional about it and he's under contract for another season as well. If he's not too toxic with his dissatisfaction I'd like to keep him around. He's a valuable piece on special teams and a useful fullback.

This next game tomorrow should be interesting. The Cowboys give up the most passing yards in the NFL, should be good opportunity for Geno to feast as long as he can avoid turnovers. Dallas leads the league in turnover differential at +11. DaRon Bland is dangerous as a corner with great hands and instincts and Dak basically never throws interceptions. Their defense is strong against the run. Hopefully we can buck that trend and keep a balanced attack. They are second in the league in scoring so our defense is going to have to be up to the task. Pete and I have talked about Bobby who is capable of playing but we are keeping him inactive because the doctors say there's a moderate risk of re-injury and I want him back for the rest of the season once he's good. Micah Parsons is having an off year but he's certainly still dangerous and we need to be careful of him coming off the edge and disrupting Geno's rhythm. The Niners are playing the Eagles this week and the Rams are going up against the Browns, so it's a very possible outcome that they both lose and if so we need to take this game and solidify our playoff chances.