I think the entire prospect of trading for Roethlisberger is a bad decision. I'm not in love of, once again, giving up assets, cap space, and potential to get a 32-year-old QB with an injury history and behavioral mishaps.
Here are some reasons why I think it's a bad idea, all around:
1. Cap ramifications - over the next two years, BR is owed $23.7 mil. In addition to which, you'd end up having to cut Palmer in 2014, which would cost $6 mil in dead money. That's nearly $30 mil in cap space just to bring him in. We are still going to be paying Kolb, Levi, et al in 2014. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but I know all of the dead money would be suffocating.
2. Age - 32-years-old at the beginning of 2014. Which parlays into my next next point
3. Damaged goods/hits - BR has had a myriad of injuries throughout his career, which include but are not limited to: concussions, knee, shoulder, ribs, thumb, ankle, etc. He's a tough SOB, but eventually, the beatings will take its toll. Whether or not he plays for the Steelers for the duration of his career, I can't see him playing effectively beyond 36, IMHO. Furthermore, in his 9 1/2 year career, he's taken 376 sacks. This does not take into consideration the QB hits he's sustained. To put this in perspective, in Peyton Manning's 14 year career, he's only taken 265 sacks.
4. Rinse, lather, repeat - The Cardinals have been down this road before--the prospect of picking up, yet, another retread. Guess what? This is a team that has a history of attempting to fix the QB problem with duct tape. Think of some of the other retreads we've picked up over the years: Blake, Anderson, Kolb, Palmer, etc. How has that worked out? Ohh yeah, I'm familiar with the success Warnerhad, but those opportunities happen few and far between. Look at the landscape of successful QBs in the NFL. How many are retreads versus playing for their original team?
5. Regardless, you will not be happy with the assets we'd have to part with - if some the rumors are true, BR was shopped last offseason, but had no takers because the asking price was way too high. If he is shopped again, I would expect the asking price to be a little lower, but not by much; probably some conditional picks based on playing time.
6. We'd virtually miss out on the opportunity to take a stellar QB in the QB-rich 2014 draft - parting with any assets would hurt our chances of taking advantage of this illustrious opportunity. Even if we didn't give up a first-rounder for BR, we'd still be giving up at least a second. It's fair to say that BR would not the long-term answer, especially if he's only signed for two more seasons and giving a QB with an injury history an extension at 34 would not be prudent. Seeing as we're going to finish in the 15-21 spot in the draft, it might take trading up in the draft to get one of these QBs. Not having that second or third round pick might impede upon that. I'd rather groom said youngster and {gulp} keep Palmer for one more season than possibly mortgaging the future for another retread.
7. Character issues - many haven't forgiven him for the rape allegations and off-the-field reckless behavior. He's had two rape allegations, and got out of one of them on a technicality. Not the guy I'd want to tab as the face of this franchise, which prides itself on employing high-character individuals.
8. I doubt he's gonna be made available, anyway - Simply put, I don't see it happening. It's more than likely that they draft a QB in 2014 with their #1 or #2, have BR play one more year, and cut bait in 2015, when the dead money hit would only be $5.8 mil.
In summary--stand pat and pick up one of the promising guys in the first round next season so we don't have this conversation again for another 8-12 years. Stop gaps are not the answer, anymore.
