falcons release harrington

Ya! Baby! I love it! No future, GET OUT!

Another great day in re-build!

Don't know if it makes a difference with Matt, could mean we're fixing to make a move on Losman or another.

Love it !

I said in another thread yesterday that Shockley would be a better QB to keep as a #3 than Harrington.   Apparently I guessed right on that one, but I'm surprised they made the move so soon.   

Here's the big question -   why did they cut Harrington now, as opposed to doing it earlier (like when they cut seven other players) or waiting until after the draft?

The best I can come up with is that they didn't do it before because they hadn't re-signed Redman yet and didn't want to risk being without either of their potental #2s. 

But why right now instead of after the draft, when there isn't another QB in the fold to replace him?   

That's the kicker - it was probably to free up more cap space.   All teams have to be under the cap as of the start of free agency (Feb 29 this year, normally March 1) and remain under the cap at all times until the end of the season.

It's a hint that there might be some other big move in the works, and the team needs the extra cap space RIGHT FREAKING NOW to pull it off.

I have no idea what might be in the works.  I'm only guessing here.

Here's the reasoning:    We don't know Smith/Dimitroff's plan, but we assume they have one.   Whether it's a good one or a bad one doesn't make a difference here - the point is that when they make an unexpected move like this, there's a reason behind it.

For example, they didn't release Dunn with the first set of cuts.  There was a reason for waiting:  if they did, they wouldn't have a #1 RB on the roster at all.  But once they signed Turner, they did cut Dunn.   

So why cut Harrington right now?   If we assume there will be 3 QBs on the roster, then all three of Redman, Harrington and Shockley have a place in the organization until the team gets better QBs to replace one or more of them.  The expected thing is to keep them until someone else gets signed, acquired by trade, or drafted.

Smith isn't Petrino.  This wasn't a random act of lunacy.   There's a reason for it, and there's a reason specifically for doing it now instead of after the April minicamp or after the draft.  We just haven't been told yet what that reason is.

Harrington would have been slated as the #2 QB.  His salary was in line with that of a backup.   He was the QB behind 3 of the team's 4 wins last year and certainly played well enough to earn a backup role.   A few writers, TV commentators and radio guys might slam him as a starter, but he proved last year that he's a competent backup. 

That means ditching him probably isn't a performance issue.  He handled all the abuse from Petrino with an amazing amount of class, so there certainly isn't any kind of character problem.

So why cut him today, even before Smith and Mularkey get to look at him in minicamp?   Cap space seems to be the most likely answer.  

As I had said in the other thread, Shockley would be the better choice as a #3, so if the team had acquired or drafted a new #1 or #2, Harrington would be the most likely one to go.   That puts Harrington at the top of the list of potential cap casualties, even without his replacement in hand.   And that doubles my suspicion because it fits from either direction - cap space is the most likely reason to cut Harrington, and Harrington is the most likely person to cut if the team needs cap space. 

It's possible that the coaches have decided he doesn't really fit their long term plans and decided to release him now as a courtesy, to give him more time to land with a new team this season.   But I doubt it.  He doesn't have to fit the team's long range plans anyway - 2008 was the final year of his contract.   And cutting him before the draft is a risk.  We don't know for sure that we'll land whichever QB prospect we have in mind until the card gets handed in on draft day.  

So I think the salary cap is the most likely reason.   And if it is a cap space thing, the reason to do it now instead of after minicamp is because you need the cap space in a hurry.  

The reason torgo, their listening to me.

They may have realized his arm would kill their running game, plus they've been very busy, they just might not have had time until now.

Just a few more thoughts.

Or maybe they decided they've deprived the music world of a classical pianist for too long...

I would imagine, or at least hope, that they'll do something like that.

I will be disappointed if we take a QB with that 3rd pick.  QB's are such a crap shoot as it is, so I'd much rather take that gamble in the 2nd round.  The first round pick needs to be OT or DT.

I wouldn't be surprised if they bring in some veteran QB, like Mark Brunell or somebody.  I doubt they'd sign Culpepper... only because he failed under Mularkey in Miami a couple years back.