One month into the NFL free agency period things have cooled off considerably.
Several teams have been very active, and nearly as many have been content to (or forced to because of salary-cap contraints) to sit on the sidelines while the big dollars were doled out.
SOLID MOVES:
BALTIMORE: Losing LB Adalius Thomas to the Patroits will hurt, but they still have Ray Lewis and Bart Scott at the position and Scott appears to have at least as high of an upside and is several years younger. Adding Willis McGahee and subtracting Jamal Lewis at this stage of their careers was brilliant.
CLEVELAND: Signing OL Eric Steinback and Seth McKinney were good moves. Lewis probably has some miles left, and he's the type of back who could thrive in Cleveland's offense. Adding LB Antwan Peek from Houston was very underrated in my opinion. The Browns will miss FB Terrelle Smith.
KANSAS CITY: The Chiefs again addressed a glaring weakness - the front seven of their defense, adding LBs Donnie Edwards (for a second tour in KC) and Napoleon Harris as well as DT Alfonso Boone. They still need a receiver, and this is a good draft to select one.
MIAMI: The Dolphins' signing of LB Joey Porter will turn out to be the best one of free agency. Given Miami's 3-4 scheme and the other talent around him, plus the even larger chip on Porter's shoulder after the Steelers released him, look out! ... Miami also lost a lot of players, but the ones they'll miss are WR Wes Welker, DE Kevin Carter, and OLs Jeno James, Damion McIntosh and Seth McKinney. Miami clearly got tired of TE Randy McMichael's inconsistency, and losing RBs Sammy Morris and Travis Minor clears space for a return of Ricky Williams.
NEW ENGLAND: The Patriots have been more active than virtually anyone, and their top-end signings of Thomas, WRs Donte' Stallworth, Kelley Washington and Welker offer immediate upgrades. Many of the rest of the signings are specials and/or role players. Letting RB Corey Dillon go might hurt a little, but his role was shrinking the second half of 2006. TE Daniel Graham's blocking will be replaced by Kyle Brady.
HIGH TURNOVER:
DENVER: The Broncos' failure to reach the playoffs is not without consequences in a city used to the postseason. Gone are QB Jake Plummer, RB Tatum Bell, OT George Foster and promising young CB Darrent Williams, who was shot to death after the season. In are TE Daniel Graham, CB Dre Bly, RB Travis Henry, QB Patrick Ramsey, WR Brandon Stokley. It's tough to say if this is an improvement or not. Most of their additions puzzle me at this point because they have far better players already in place at those positions already.
HOUSTON: The big additions are RB Ahman Green, who is tough but has struggled with injuries the past three seasons, and QB Matt Schaub, who was generally regarded as the best QB not starting in the NFL during the 2006 season. Out are QB David Carr and RB Domanick Williams (the rusher formerly known as Davis).
NY JETS: The Jets signed or resigned four defensive ends, but the big catch was RB Thomas Jones. QB Patrick Ramsey wasn't considered a future prospect any longer and was allowed to walk, and the team showed little interest in RBs Kevan Barlow and Derrick Blaylock (the once-considered Curtis Martin replacement).
TENNESSEE: Adding CB Nick Harper will help, losing WR Drew Bennett and RBs Travis Henry and Chris Brown won't. G Zach Piller's defection to Detroit also will be felt.
TAKING A HIT:
BUFFALO: The Bills are a team that annually seems to lose players during the spring signing period, but this year is incredible by even their standards. Gone are: CB Nate Clements, LBs Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher, franchise running back Willis McGahee (traded) and three starting offensive linemen. This leaves the Bills QB JP Losman and WR Lee Evans, and not much else.
CINCINNATI: The Bengals lost perhaps their best offensive lineman (Eric Steinbach), their No. 3 receiver (Kelley Washington) and their best linebacker (Brian Simmons).
INDIANAPOLIS: The Colts had to win the Super Bowl. Their salary cap situation was a mess and they had a load of upcoming unrestricted free agents (RB Dominic Rhodes, LB Cato June, CB Nick Harper, DT Montae Reagor and Stokley among others). All of the aforementioned are gone.
TOUGH TO FIGURE
JACKSONVILLE: They signed a bunch of fill-in players while losing starting TE Kyle Brady and S Deon Grant. Brady is mainly a blocker at this stage, but Grant's loss will hurt.
OAKLAND: They signed a lot of players, Rhodes and injury-laden C Jeremy Newberry being the most prominent, and they decided they'd had enough of the Aaron Brooks and Marcus Tuiasosopo experiments at QB.
ON THE SIDELINES:
PITTSBURGH: Replacing Porter won't be easy, but this team is used to it.
SAN DIEGO: All of the departees (including S Terrence Kiel, WR Keenan McCardell, LB Steve Foley and Edwards) won't be missed because the Bolts have better, younger and cheaper players behind them. The real intrigue with the Chargers is will they trade backup running back Micheal Turner, who is coveted by at least a half dozen teams.
1 comment:
Chris,
I saw this post and needed to respond, only because the Broncos are my favorite team. I'm not sure if I completely agree with your assessment of their additions. Dre Bly replaces Darrent Williams and is, I would argue, a definite upgrade that gives them the top cornerback tandem in the league. Travis Henry has had more success at running back then any back Denver had last year, and Brandon Stokely is a solid addition as a possession receiver. Plummer was on his way out, and Ramsey was only brought on as a backup. I would say that we upgraded at running back at cornerback and shored up well at other positions. Look out for the Broncos this year!
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