Terry Fontenot is the General Manager of the Atlanta Falcons. Just a few months ago, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins left his team via the free agency route and joined the Falcons, signing a 4 year, $180 million contract. The first 2 years are nearly fully guaranteed with $100 million in total guarantees.
Yesterday, GM Fontenot drafted quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the #8 pick in the NFL Draft.
Last time I checked, NFL football teams only played with one quarterback at a time. Apparently Fontenot is not arguing with me "And if (a quarterback) sits for four or five years, that’s a great problem to have...."
Even Wikipedia agrees with my indignation, calling the pick "inexplicable." I had to take a screen shot before the evaluation disappeared.
No first rounder sits on the bench for 4 years.
NONE.
I need to circle, underline, and put a dozen exclamation points around NONE.
If your first rounder, AT ANY POSITION, is on the bench for 4 years, you failed as a GM. In theory, if you draft a no-name quarterback from Boise State or Akron in the 7th round, you can let that guy sit for 4 or 5 years. If your starting QB makes $45 million and you take another guy in the first round that will make around $22 million over 4 years, you fire your GM for being bad at math.
What if Robinson is better that Cousins? You putting $45 million on the bench? You are arguing that you can cut Cousins in 3 years with a minimum cap hit? We are talking about September of 2026 and that Dead Cap hit would be $25 million.
You don't have to be the smartest guy in the room to be a General Manager, you just have to be smarter than the average fan. If you're dumber than the average fan, there's a hundred guys that can replace you.
I am not exaggerating.
(And I didn't even mention how Fontenot pissed off the guy he just paid $190 million to even before he took one snap of the football.)