Rainman extended.
 

https://x.com/MikeGarafolo/status/19...7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Per Mike Garafolo.

Seems like a decent price for a Top 10 LT.

Good deal. There's some of that Will Fries money they saved.

Good deal. Rainman solidified the position and looks to be a decent starter for years provided he can stay healthy.

That's pretty team friendly and definitely well earned.

Congrats to Bernie. He's probably 1 of the 5 to 10 best LT's in the league and definitely deserves this.

I actually think that he could become better than Castonzo, as crazy as that is to think about.

Next up AP, or no?

You're only going to be able to keep 2 of Pittman, Downs, and Pierce. I would personally keep Pittman and Downs.

Downs for sure, and probably Pittman, yeah. But Pittman/Pierce is a more interesting question than I would have expected.

I think it was a Rick Venturi interview when they were saying that a lot of local guys are pegging Pierce as the #1 because he keeps looking better and better, in addition to being one of the best deep guys in the league.

That and the fact that this will be Pierce's age-25 and Pittman's age-28 season.

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Also, regarding Raimann... Interesting fact on one of the shows I listened to is that there are like seven OT's making $25m+/year and 6 of them are Top-13 picks... Raimann is a 3rd-rounder.

Spotrac has more details about the contract now:

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_...rnhard-raimann

Seems like a fair contract to me.

If Pierce can be more than a deep threat, and become a true WR1, cutting Pittman and re-signing Pierce is an option. I'm actually far more interested in seeing how AD Mitchell develops this year, because IMO he has the highest ceiling of the group, and he and Downs would compliment each other perfectly, Downs as the shifty slot and Mitchell as the true X. If that happens, I don't care if the other receiver is Pittman, Pierce, a draft pick, or a free agent, because those two plus Warren would make a scary offense.

Also, picks like Bernhard Raimann are the reason that Ballard still has a job. I really hope Richardson excelling in camp isn't a mirage, because if Ballard can solve the QB position, he can put together an incredibly competitive team.

Agreed. I mentioned him in the other thread, but if things click with Mitchell, he'll blow the roof off. I forget who said it last year, but there was one other WR in the class on tier with Nabers as far as potential, and it was Mitchell.


Look at the bulk of draft with no 1st-rounder: Alec Pierce (53), Jelani Woods (73), Bernhard Raimann (77), Nick Cross (96). And then he got Ogletree in the 6th and Thomas in the 7th.

This is the guy I want putting the team together when QB finally hits. I know the timer won't run forever, so I hope AR works out.

What I really don't want is to finally break a cold streak in the crapshoot that is finding a QB after we boot Ballard. Then bring in a new GM who makes worse decisions, but has the QB to compensate.

We've had a dozen years of having one or the other, QB or GM... ready to have both.

I didn't have Mitchell quite on that tier. For me, the Big 3 (MHJ, Odunze, Nabers) were ahead of everyone else. That said, as I recall, Mitchell was my WR5 (behind Brian Thomas Jr.). I still have high hopes for him, and he's one of four WRs that I think had true X potential in the class, that is the guy who is the true #1 WR on the outside, consistently beats the opposing team's best DBs, and generally has to be bracketed or doubled. Those 4 were MHJ, Odunze, Thomas Jr., and Mitchell.

Oh, you don't have to tell me that Ballard is an excellent drafter. In that same draft, the Colts also got Drew Ogletree and Rodney Thomas II, both of whom have been at least quality backups, and have played at a starter level at times.

And the fear you expressed is EXACTLY why I've been so hesitant in jumping on the "Fire Ballard" bandwagon. If the Colts find the QB, there will be no one better to build around him than Chris Ballard. Getting a Grigson after getting a QB would be a disaster.