Kudos to Ballard.

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

Maybe they wanted to be sure this was a promising year for AR before pulling the trigger. We have been snakebit at QB for some time.

So Ballard is thinking if AR has a slow start we don't need the only playmaker that we would then have on offense? It happened for the reason it always happens. Employee wants a raise (in this case a long term contract). He/she asks for it. Employer says no. As a doc I say fuck you and just go get a new job. Did it multiple times before I said fuck it and worked for the best boss I ever had, myself. NFL players don't have that ability most of the time, especially if they are really good at what they do, so he has the choice of saying ok and taking the chance he gets hurt (I think having his first real injury made the proposition of getting hurt bad and never getting a big payday real to the man) or being what fans would consider an ass in some way. He did it for his future and his family, something everyone here who isn't a psychopath should understand. It was his only play (yes it could have been done in a way that ruffled less feathers but like JT gives a shit-it worked so good for him). It is capitalism working like it should. I'm not giving Ballard that much praise for doing what a 'normal' GM should do and not acting like a total asshole.