5 WORST NFL INTERIOR DEFENDER CONTRACTSEric Eager identifies the five least team-friendly NFL interior defender contracts entering the 2016 season.
gerald by anti java, on FlickrERIC EAGER | 3 DAYS AGO PROFOOTBALLFOCUS (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)Acquiring interior defenders that can stop the run and put pressure on opposing quarterbacks is of high importance in today’s NFL. However, acquiring such talent at a rate commensurate with production should be the ultimate goal in the league’s salary-cap structure, where high-end dollars are often needed for securing elite production at more prominent positions such as quarterback, receiver, edge rusher, or in the secondary. Below we give the bottom five interior defender contracts (with rookie deals excluded).[Editor’s note: All cap numbers are from Over the Cap]1. Corey Liuget, San Diego ChargersYears remaining on current deal: Five Average remaining cap hit: $9.75 millionYear he can realistically be cut: 2017Despite producing just the 20th-best grade among 3-4 defensive ends in 2014 (and grading negatively in 2013), the Chargers signed Liuget to a five-year, $51.25 million deal in the 2015 offseason. Liuget responded with a mediocre 2015 season, posting the 77th-best grade among interior defenders (68.9). He finished 18th among 3-4 defensive ends in run-stop percentage 8.8 and 40th in pass-rushing productivity (4.6) in 2015, a year after finishing 12th and 15th in the same categories. A foot injury limited him to 451 snaps last season, the lowest total of his career.It’s difficult to see Liuget ever being able to produce at a level commensurate with his current deal, since he’s currently the seventh-highest-paid 3-4 defensive end and hasn’t yet finished above eighth in that group in terms cumulative grades (and he finished eighth way back in 2012). The San Diego Chargers are not a team with a significant amount of talent up and down their roster (they had the worst total grade of all 32 NFL teams last season), making every dollar paid above production level to a player like Liuget even more detrimental to their cause.2. Gerald McCoy, Tampa Bay BuccaneersYears remaining on current deal: SixAverage remaining cap hit: $12.99 millionYear he can realistically be cut: 2018The Buccaneers rewarded McCoy with a seven-year, $95.2 million contract extension midway through the 2014 campaign, and for good reason—he finished second, first, and second among defensive tackles in cumulative grades during his 2012–2014 campaigns. His pass-rushing productivity of 11.1 in 2013 and 9.4 in 2014 finished first and fifth, respectively, among defensive tackles. However, 2015 was a different story for the former top-three pick; he finished 65th among interior defenders in total grading (73.0), and was especially poor against the run (46.6).There’s always a risk to signing a player to the type of deal McCoy received, and there have been some reports that his work ethic left something to be desired last year (he’s denied said reports). Unfortunately, if the trend continues with McCoy, Tampa Bay has little in the way of flexibility regarding his contract until 2018; if they cut McCoy at any point before then, they are on the hook for at least $13.74 million in dead money. The new coaching staff in Tampa Bay will therefore need to work to get McCoy back to 2012–2014 levels in order to come close to receiving the top-three value his contract represents moving forward.For the rest of the article...... https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-5-worst-nfl-interior-defender-contracts/
