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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 helped 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 exceeded all expectations and provided exceptional value to his team.

Stock Up

Robert Quinn– It was another dominating performance for Quinn as he made life miserable on Andrew Luck and the Colts. Quinn notched another two sacks bringing his total to 12 on the season with 6 games to go. Quinn will be eligible for an extension this offseason and the Rams general nature has been to lock up their talent sooner rather than later. St Louis has overspent on a number of players in recent years and that should all work in Quinn’s favor. The Rams do own his rights for the next two years but should be able to cash in if he keeps this level of play up.

Golden Tate– Entering the final year of his rookie contract Tate needed to have a quality season to find a decent contract somewhere. From a personal standpoint the stars aligned in his favor with Percy Harvin being injured before the season began and Sidney Rice being banged up most of the year before landing on season ending IR. He has made good with his chances and had a terrific 106 yard performance in the Seahawks wipeout of the Falcons on Sunday. Tate is on pace to shatter his previous career highs and has put up at least 75 yards in three of his last four games. He was considered a lame duck in Seattle but with their cap being tight and his growth as a player he may sneak himself into a nice second tier WR contract with Seattle.

Andre Brown– I don’t know how much this game really means in the grand scheme of things but it had to be such a personal triumph for Brown that I wanted to include him here. After another crushing injury the Giants rode Brown like an old school featured running back who led the team to the win against the Oakland Raiders. Brown, playing on his RFA contract, carried the ball 30 times for 115 yards and gave the Giants an offensive identity that they lacked all season. I can’t imagine that this was in the cards either, but following a fumble by Peyton Hillis and a costly turnover by Eli Manning the Giants lost confidence in those two and went to Brown to make sure the team did not lose the game off bad offensive mistakes.

New Contract Player Of The Week

Reggie Bush– Bush has pretty much the perfect fit for the Lions offense this season. When teams overcompensate for the pass Bush is right there to pick up big yards against the defense. He provides a steady safety valve in the passing game when the coverage is there down the field. Hes versatile enough to play every down if he has to. I never thought Bush would be this impressive but this is everything people assumed he would be in New Orleans years ago. Yesterday Bush went off for 105 yards on just 14 carries including close to 30 yards on the drive that really won the game for the Lions.

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