Bill Polian

We have already written about how this is a key offseason for slot receivers, as many of them are either pending free agents or close to free agency and as a result, teams that have a top-level slot receiver across the league are looking at the Wes Welker situation as a potential contract that will set the bar for other elite slot guys like Victor Cruz, Danny Amendola and Percy Harvin.

On Tuesday afternoon, former NFL exec Bill Polian — who helped build the Bills, Panthers and Colts and is now an analyst for ESPN — was asked about any reservations GMs might have when it comes to paying top-level slot receivers like big-time receivers.

“I don’t know that if there is any reservation about that other than injury and longevity. [Danny] Amendola has been injured. He’s a very good player, but you have to take the injuries into consideration,” said Polian on a conference call with reporters. “That’s where it comes into play. I don’t think it’s necessarily small-bodied or even more quick than fast guys. They’re productive and have proven to be productive. I don’t think they come along every day.  So I don’t think there is a glut of them on the market.  In Wes’s case there is age and in Amendola’s case the injury so that plays into it.

“[But] how much are you willing to commit to any individual player given your cap situation, a flat cap?” he added. “It’s essentially a flat cap, and the ability to field the team within that flat cap. All of those things come into play. I don’t think it has to do with a specific position or a specific body type. Free agency is much more, much more about individuals, their productivity, their injury history, their age and their cost than the draft is. They’re almost diametrically opposed.”