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Contract Decisions: Chris Wingert, for and against his staying

Four Real Salt Lake players are out of contract (read more about that here) — Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert, Abdoulie Mansally, and Cole Grossman — and we're wondering whether we should keep them with the team. Let's look at Chris Wingert.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Wingert is Real Salt Lake's longest-tenured active field player (he beat Kyle Beckerman to the punch by three days, but Nick Rimando did arrive earlier), but he's out of contract at the end of the season.

In favor of his staying

He's played over 200 games for this club and has been generally reliable. He fills in well at center back in addition to being a good left back. He has a strong veteran presence, and he knows how to navigate the league as well as anybody. He doesn't have a huge financial impact — his salary is $170,000, although that doesn't tell us much about his salary cap hit.

Against his staying

He's no spring chicken. He'll be 33 next year — which isn't terribly old, but it's certainly on the downward slope of his career. He's not the fastest player (by a substantial margin) and has been prone to dips in form. We saw that this season. His cap hit isn't huge, but $170,000 might be better used on a younger player.

What would it take?

It's hard to say at this point. There's been little talk coming out of RSL's camp about this one.

Your take

Should Real Salt Lake be looking for a new starting left back, or is Chris Wingert the guy for another year? Would Wingert be a good backup at a lower salary, or will he be looking to play for the last few years of his career? Is he ready to go back to New York, his home, or might he call Utah home for another year?