FanPost

How much is Ed Oliver worth?

Let me preface this by saying I really like Oliver, and I think he's an important part of our defense. But how important is somewhat debatable. This year, he cost us only $6.2 mil in cap space, and he's been pretty solid. Oliver only has 2.5 sacks, but also 16 pressures, and 34 combined tackles. Those stats are fairly close to his main partner, DaQuan Jones, so they're a pretty good combo. But Jones is a run stuffer, so you'd expect to see quite a few more pressures from Oliver.

Next year, that cost jumps to $10.7 mil. He's been very consistent in the past 4 years, so I don't really expect a huge jump in year 5. Assuming his stats end up the same as every other year, is he still worth the money? Is it the scheme we run, asking our guys to contain first and rush second? In a year where some hard decisions need to be made, what do you do?

You can give him a new contract to lower the cost for next year, but if it's not a team friendly deal, you're stuck with a solid, but unspectacular player for years to come. You can let him play out the contract and look elsewhere to make the money work, and he'll probably still justify the cost, and it's one less hole to fill. But then you let him walk or still end up paying him big bucks? Or do you trade while you still have him? I don't think he's worth a first rounder, but maybe a second and use that to draft his replacement?

I don't like the thought of creating another hole that needs to be filled. But to my horribly untrained eyes, Oliver shows flashes, but then disappears for long stretches. I don't know that I could justify giving him a second contract, especially with the cap restraints we're about to face. I'd rather see that money go to Edmunds, and look to find a decent replacement for Oliver.

If you're Beane, what do you do?

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