NFL Stock Down: Week 1

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Every Monday during the season we will take a look back at three players who are entering important stages of their contract that may have hurt their stock in upcoming negotiations with their play on Sunday. In addition we will also look at one player signed in the offseason to a new contract that did not live up to the expectations that his contract sets for the player.

Stock Down

Robert Quinn– The other day I said that Quinn had a great chance at becoming the highest paid defensive player in the NFL, but that is going to hinge on sacking the QB and he wasn’t doing that on Sunday. The Rams defense was embarrassed and its hard to make a case that you should get paid at this high level when your defense allows over 30 points with you on the field. In general I think the Rams are just bad starters so I’d expect better from him and the team next week, but he cant have many of these games if he wants that big deal.

Brian Orakpo– I’ve been a somewhat big Brian Orakpo supporter, much more so than most Redskins fans it seems. But Orakpo was non-existent in the loss against the Texans, and it’s his reputation for disappearing in games that has people questioning being paid highly on a long term extension. Orakpo played 52 snaps, recorded two tackles, 0 sacks and 0 pressures. That’s not the game that gives you a multi year $10+ million a year extension.

Marques Colston– It’s rare that a player records more than 100 yards in a game and gets put in this category, but I find Colston’s situation very unique. The Saints are in a salary cap squeeze starting next year and Colston is one of the few players that can be released for cap considerations. The team has a number of receivers to potentially replace him and he needs to be perfect to keep that job. Colston was credited with two dropped passes on the day and had the critical fumble that set the Falcons up to win the game. Thats not the perfection needed to stay on the Saints.

New Contract Disappointment Of The Week

Maurice Jones-Drew– FWIW, Alex Smith deserves this just as much, but I thought I would go with a free agent rather than an extension for this week. Jones-Drew is attempting to revitalize a career that has looked to be dead for the last two seasons. It still looks dead. Jones-Drew finished the day with 9 carries for 11 yards, 12 of which came late in a game that was more or less decided. I have no clue why the Raiders thought he could be a feature back in an offense, but a few more like this and its the end of a career. With a young inexperienced QB at the helm the Raiders will need much more from Jones-Drew in the future.

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