Sign Willy!

[Floyd]

Lawless freaking out.

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/Bomber-must-get-off-wallet-and-sign-Willy-301602061.html?cx_navSource=d-tiles-2

 

Sign Willy because Lulay and Ray will be free agents at the end of this season?  Why not sign Ray or Lulay then?  No one saw Willy in the second half of the season because of injuries?  Makes no sense.

 

If he has an awesome season, throw all of the remaining capspace at him for a signing bonus... no other team will have that opportunity.

 

 

 

[Brandon]

Had Willy played the way he did in the first 6 games for the whole season then I would of agreed....   I'd offer the guy big money with performance bonuses... I would not give him Burris money just yet.  

[Adrenaline_x]

Maybe burris money with performance goals? Start all 18 = bonus. Win 12-14 games = bonus.

If he plays at a level with the league elite then pay him like an elite starter. If he's a mid tier incentives/bonuses should reflect that.

I would like avoid risking him to free agency or and possibly locking him up long term. If he doesn't reach the potential we all think he's has then we cut him when someone takes his place. I'm think Sam Canadian can make a come back still no?

But if we can also sign Ricky Ray why wouldn't we do that? Maybe willy as a number two (doubt he would settle). As for lulay, baring an incredible comeback I think his days are numbered with the shoulder injuries.

[M.O.A.B.]

Honestly, I favor Lawless' argument here.

[Goalie]

All I will say is replace Willy with "insert Jets player here" and I'm pretty sure I've read this article b4

[The Unknown Poster]

Lawless makes a good argument.  Signing Willy benefits the Bombers.  Aside from a signing bonus, if Willy craps the bed, release him, as unlikely as that is.  It would suck if Willy lit it up and went to free agency.

[gbill2004]

Initially I was in the "Let Willy prove himself" camp. But I've switched to the "Sign Willy to an extension even if it costs $400k per year" camp. Bombers cannot afford to lose Willy if he's our franchise QB. Walters would be taking a big risk not getting a deal done prior to the season. Lawless makes a good argument.

[Mike]

Walters will be working tirelessly to get a deal done. There's almost zero chance Willy walks into training camp without a new extension.

 

It's clearly the right move, Willy has said he's open to negotiating, so play the game for a bit to make everyone feel like they worked their hardest at the deal and then sign it and get it done.

[17to85]

wait people are actually worried about this? Come on, they're working on a deal guranteed, it'll get worked out. 

[TBURGESS]

I'm still firmly in the 'Let Willy Prove Himself Worthy' camp.  I don't believe in paying big bucks for potential.  I don't believe in paying a guy like a top QB until he becomes a top QB.  Willy's a mid-level QB right now.  In fact not many outside of Winnipeg would pick him as their starter over their current starting QB.  

 

I'm all for working out an extension that pays Willy for what he's accomplished to keep our starting QB in the fold.  Playing out his contract has both advantages and disadvantages for Willy.  Get injured or have another year like last year and he won't get the big raise he wants.  Play light out and he'll cost even more than he's currently asking.  $150K raise?  $100K signing bonus?  In your second year?  Based on last years play?  Doesn't add up for me.

[Atomic]

Well the question is, who do we have to cut to afford to pay Willy more this year?

 

Will it really be that hard to sign him after the season?  If we are already talking about 400k per year, how much higher will it go?  I can't imagine it going much higher, unless he has an MOP season.  Even then, what, 500k?  I say take the gamble and extend him after the season if we still want to.  There are 3 months between the end of the season and free agency, plenty of time to get a deal done.

[gbill2004]

I was thinking that the Jason Vega cut might be related to Drew Willy's extension.

[Rich]

Wasn't that long ago when we couldn't find a legit starter, couldn't find a replacement for Buck Pierce.  Stefan LeFors, Michael Bishop, Joey Elliott, and on and on.

 

Yes Willy wasn't as good in the 2nd half of last year as he was in the first  He also took more punishment then any other QB out there and got happy feet from a porous Oline.  We've taken steps to fix the OLine problems this off season.

 

I've seen enough.  In a league without guaranteed contracts, you lock him up long term if you can.

[Mike]

Exactly Rich.

 

Take the opportunity when you can. And they will.

 

So many thrifty Manitobans would rather let a franchise QB walk away than pay them anything more than a steal of a deal.

[M.O.A.B.]

I was thinking that the Jason Vega cut might be related to Drew Willy's extension.

 

I guess you're right.

[TBURGESS]

Exactly Rich.

 

Take the opportunity when you can. And they will.

 

So many thrifty Manitobans would rather let a franchise QB walk away than pay them anything short of a deal.

The crux of the matter is... 'Is Willy a franchise QB'?  If you think he is then you want to lock him down for as long as possible no matter the cost.  If you think he's a JAQ (Just another QB) then you don't care if he's signed or not.  If you're not sure (Me) then you want him to prove it before you give him the big bucks.

[The Unknown Poster]

If Willy bombs as a starter, what we're paying him will be the least of our worries, especially in a no-guaranteed league.

[Mike]

 

Exactly Rich.

 

Take the opportunity when you can. And they will.

 

So many thrifty Manitobans would rather let a franchise QB walk away than pay them anything short of a deal.

The crux of the matter is... 'Is Willy a franchise QB'?  If you think he is then you want to lock him down for as long as possible no matter the cost.  If you think he's a JAQ (Just another QB) then you don't care if he's signed or not.  If you're not sure (Me) then you want him to prove it before you give him the big bucks.

 

 

The reality is either he's worth the money or he's not. I agree that we don't know the definitive answer to that yet but here's the catch.

 

If he's not worth the money, then it doesn't matter what happens this year, we're not going anywhere as a team so it's not like the amount of money we have tied up in him will make a difference.

If he is worth the money, then paying him and firming up control of his rights is a great move.

 

The contract isn't guaranteed, the sooner we can get it signed, the better for us.

[Atomic]

Why would Willy sign an extension right now, unless he feels like it is more than what he will get in the off-season?

[WBBFanWest]

 

Exactly Rich.

 

Take the opportunity when you can. And they will.

 

So many thrifty Manitobans would rather let a franchise QB walk away than pay them anything short of a deal.

The crux of the matter is... 'Is Willy a franchise QB'?  If you think he is then you want to lock him down for as long as possible no matter the cost.  If you think he's a JAQ (Just another QB) then you don't care if he's signed or not.  If you're not sure (Me) then you want him to prove it before you give him the big bucks.

 

Your argument would be valid if contracts were guaranteed, but seeing that they are not, the worst thing that happens is that we pay him top dollar for one year and if he doesn't pan out, we cut him.  If he is the real deal, then we are getting exactly what we are paying for. So this is, in my opinion, a small gamble, compared to the potential big payoff.  

[Mike]

Why would Willy sign an extension right now, unless he feels like it is more than what he will get in the off-season?

 

Getting married and wanting that security in a location could be part of it. Nothing is guaranteed but maybe signing now firms up a plan to set down roots in Winnipeg, instead of having to wait a year to see how it plays out.

[mbrg]

So there are individual preferences for fans when it comes to having Willy secured or letting Willy hang...

[Noeller]

 

Why would Willy sign an extension right now, unless he feels like it is more than what he will get in the off-season?

 

Getting married and wanting that security in a location could be part of it. Nothing is guaranteed but maybe signing now firms up a plan to set down roots in Winnipeg, instead of having to wait a year to see how it plays out.

 

Signing bonus will go farthest in terms of "why would he sign now?" ....

[rebusrankin]

Sign him now and have him locked up for 2-3 years. Worse case you cut him, best case you've locked up the 2015 Grey Cup MOP early.

[M.O.A.B.]

So there are individual preferences for fans when it comes to having Willy secured or letting Willy hang...

 

Keep your willy or cut your willy ? I think there's only 1 good answer to that.