Thread: Dan Pompei's Mailbag; Q&A With Bears Fans

Originally Posted by ZifanQ

Getting a starting player in 5th round or a pro bowler is just as good as Hester unreleasing the Hester package.

Despite his decreasing performance I still belive he is a better choice than a 5th round pick that most likely wont be starter in the NFL. It does happen you find diamonds in all those pieces of coal but the odds are pretty slim. Like the lottery sure you can play it but the chances of you wasting money rather than earning is much bigger, so why take the chance? I might be a bit biased but I belive we have better use of a old Hester as PT/KR than a 5th pick.

That is one way of looking at it and I don't necessarily disagree as written. But...you're assuming that 5th round pick won't become something down the road or be used as move-up trade bait to secure someone we really want in an ealier round (and might otherwise miss out on). There's also the net savings of $2 million or so in cap space to consider. That money could be very helpful in securing us a FA TE we desperately need.

It way more complex than just saying "Hester is probably better next year than a 5th round player will be". And even that assumes he gets back in the groove as a KR/PR and pulls his head out of his ass mentally/motivation-wise. Otherwise all we have is an aging ST returner (note he ONLY does returns, not coverage) who's overpaid and under-enthusiastic and will be gone for sure following the season since this is his last contract year anyway.

I don't claim to have a crystal ball on how that pro-con trade off will all turn out, but I'd be real tempted to seriously consider any non-insulting trade offer and pocket the extra cap space to boot.