Armstead Released
 

According to CBS Sportsline, Jessie Armstead will be released today.

[url]http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/7114659[/url]

I always liked Armstead. He wasn't the flashiest player but he seemed solid and I got the impression he was definitely a team leader. I would have thought they might release Trotter but I guess Trotter is younger and, if he recovers fully from his knee injury, he has a more promising future

What do you all think?

I liked Armstead too, even though he wasn't the same player he once was he was still solid and a good leader. Perhaps Pierce is one of those guys that Gibbs thought needed more playing time?

Wow. Thought he might be a "late" cap casualty. Weakside LB, add that to the list of defensive needs.

Say what you will about his decreased production (compared to his Giants years), he was a consistant performer for us. Our LB's never got a chance to be the unit they were on paper because of our weak line play. Good luck Jesse!

good riddens.

I like Armstead too. He has been one of the most consistent players on D the past couple years and a positive locker room presence. Looks to me like Pierce may have been one of those players that Gibbs was talking about...time for him to step it up! Or they have their eye on someone else from another team like the article implies...

I hate this move...our defense is looking more and more porous.

I agree, I really thought Jessie was one of our more consistant players. He defnitley didnt live up to the palyer he was with NYG, but still was solid overall. I too, am starting to worry about our defense, its jsut seems to be ignored right now. I mean granted the real offseason hasent started, but I dont like watching Jessie go. Peirce shoudl step up in his spot, however, and can be a good playmaker as long as he dosent have stupid penaltys.

Was there a cap need to cut him now? Just seems premature to me.

That's life in the age of Free Agency & Salary Caps
 

Gone are the days where you loved a team, and knew who all of the players were. There are definitely some advantages to having FA & Salary Caps (if you don't believe me, just ask any baseball fan who's NOT a Yankee fan). At the same time, from a fan's viewpoint, it kinda sucks to see guys coming and going each and every year. And with some of the contracts that Danny & Vinny have worked out, these types of casualties are going to be a regular thing for Skins fans for the forseeable future. Adding Portis this year tells me that we'll be seeing other fan favorites being walked out the door soon too.

Best of luck to Jesse. Thanks for your service.

Armstead is unquestionably slowed down from his peak performance years but he is not a stiff.

One reason to keep Trotter and not Armstead has to do with finances and not on-field performance. Trotter's signing bonus has not been amortized much in his two years here and cutting him would create a chunk of "dead money".

I suspect Armstead will catch on somewhere for another season or two if he wants to do that.

I loved Armstead as a Skin, he was amazingly consistent, I called him The Vet. Hopefully he can be brought back at a lower price.

[QUOTE=AnonEmouse]Was there a cap need to cut him now? Just seems premature to me.[/QUOTE]

I think the move was done now to give Armstead more time to be out on the market and find a new team, as opposed to cutting him in the middle of the summer where it's harder to find a team to latch on to

Another reason why we might have cut Armstead is to give us more leverage in the Bailey trade negotiations. By cutting Armstead, we free up additional space, thereby telling teams, "hey, we can keep this guy if we want."