Wellness

[gardenman]

Tomorrow (March 3rd) is the last day to apply franchise tags to potential free agents. It should be a pretty busy day. The Saints already put the tag on their tight end Graham who will be seeking arbitration to be tagged as a wide receiver (around $11 million) instead of a tight end (around $7 million.) He lines up outside more than in the traditional tight end spot, so he's got a good argument. The Redskins are apparently still far apart on Brian Orakpo and don't know if they'll tag him or not. I've got to think they will. Reportedly they're not sure he's worth the $11 million plus he'd get under a franchise tag, but he's likely to get more as a free agent, so we'll have to see what happens there. If they let Orakpo walk, it would send a bad message to the locker room and without London Fletcher, the Redskins need some soiid veteran leadership on defense.

The Eagles signeed Jeremy Maclin to a one year deal to give him a chance to prove his health. They offered him a five year deal but Maclin thought he was worth more and opted to take a shorter term contract instead. His resigning opens the door to a possible trade of DeSean Jackson. The Eagles are kind of overrun in the wide receiver position now and with Michael Vick heading someplace new (Jets?) being able to pick up one of his favorite receivers might inspire whatever team signs Vick to make a move on Jackson. I don't see the Jets or Raiders parting with a first round pick for Jackson, but a second round pick would make sense, and they both have fairly high second round picks available.

Free agency kicks off with the official talking period starting soon and then signings being able to take place on the eleventh. (I'm betting lots of behind the scenes unofficial talking has already gone down.) Most of the higher ranked free agents know which teams have interest in them and we should see quite a few signed pretty quickly. I suspect the Eagles will hold true to their word and look more to quantity and depth than to make a big move in free agency.

THere will be lots of rumors of trades over the coming weeks/months, but I don't expect to see much finalized until just before the draft. The Dolphins are now denying having shopped Dion Jordan, but multiple sources insist that they did offer him around. I still expect to see the Eagles make a move on him. Chip Kelly loves the kid and wanted him last year only to have the Dolphins jump one spot in front of the Eagles to draft him. Dion Jordan is a perfect outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, but the Dolphins are trying to convert him into a 4-3 defensive end. It didn't work very well last year. The Eagles have a pair of excellent 4-3 defensive ends they're trying to convert into outside linebackers in their 3-4 defense with moderate success. I suspect we'll see Brandon Graham (the Eagles defensive end/outside linebacker) shipped to Miami with a pick or two for Dion Jordan. It would be a win for both teams as they'd both get a player better suited for their system. The Dolphins would apparently take a hit of aorund $10 million in their salary cap, but they'll take that hit no matter what. At least this way they'd get a productive player who fits their style of defense for the ten million.

[Spurt]

Hi Gardenman thanks for keeping the thread going....

Well the Redskins DID tag Rak.....

The gap isn’t gigantic; the linebacker tag for 2014 stands at $11.455 million. Defensive ends get $13.116 million.

While that’s only $1.661 million, the difference becomes larger on a multi-year deal.

The Redskins will have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with Orakpo. Also, the tag can be rescinded at any time, unless Orakpo accepts it.

I think the sticking point in not getting the deal done was his past injuries.....

Well the Eagles are moving right along in free agency and keeping all their good players in the fold......

[gardenman]

I would have been shocked if the Redskins didn't tag Orakpo. That would have sent a bad message to the locker room. Just letting it out that they were considering not using it and were questioning his worth doesn't help the locker room any. They probably would have been better off signing him to a long term deal and securing him for the long term unless they know something about his health that the rest of the league doesn't know.

Next week with free agency starting off, things should get pretty interesting around the league.

[Spurt]

On 3/4/2014 gardenman said:

I would have been shocked if the Redskins didn't tag Orakpo. That would have sent a bad message to the locker room. Just letting it out that they were considering not using it and were questioning his worth doesn't help the locker room any. They probably would have been better off signing him to a long term deal and securing him for the long term unless they know something about his health that the rest of the league doesn't know.

Next week with free agency starting off, things should get pretty interesting around the league.

Redskins also signed Jose Gumbs, first full season and played in 8 games, 6 tackles and an interception. Contract worth $495.000.

The Redskins are expected to make additional acquisitions at safety where veterans Brandon Meriweather and Reed Doughty both are set to become free agents. They may let these 2 guys walk, although Reed has been a reliable backup.

Redskins also re-signed DL Chris Baker. He had 27 tackles and a sack. He was the second most productive DL behind nose tackle Cofield. 3 yr 12 mill deal ($4 mill guaranteed).

Redskins also signed WR Aldrick Robinson.

An interesting comment that Baker made was defense was a good defense, just put in bad situations a lot of times....(special teams giving the opponent half a field was not good)....Also rumors that Shanny tied Haslett's hands and told him what to run. Another reason thank God and Greyhound Shanny is gone....let the DC run the D.....Maybe Haslett can free up how he rushes the passer.

Redskins also release injured veteran Adam Carriker who was looking to make his comeup, he was carryng a $6.5 mill cap number, missed 30 games with recurring quad problem and had 3 surgeries.

We also released punter Sav Rocca scheduled to make $1.2 mill this year.

Last year's 7th rounder, Jawan Jamison also released.

So Gardenman what do you think of all the drama with Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers front office......and locker room gripes supposedly.....And hey why the drama whent hey have a solid team....I know they havent won a Super Bowl but a real close and only a matter of time....(although their division is getting tougher and tougher---arent we lucky we play in the NFL Least).....

[gardenman]

That Niner situation will be interesting to watch. The GM and Harbaugh are said to be less than warm and cuddly together. (Personally, I think the GM has done a good job of getting Harbaugh really good players. That trade for Boldin last year was a steal.) Jim Harbaugh is a bit intense and playing for/being around an intense coach can be a little tedious after a while. It's very easy for a guy like that to lose a locker room (and front office support.) Now they've got to work out a contract for Kaepernick who reportedly wants more than $18 million a year. If he gets that big of a contract then that's going to limit their ability to pay a lot of other players the money they want. That can be a tad disruptive to a locker room too.

The Cowboys have restructured contracts all over the place to get back near the cap. You'd think Jerry Jones would get tired of writing those multi-million dollar signing bonus checks after a while and get better at managing the cap so he wouldn't always be having to convert salaries into bonus money. It's great for the players to suddenly get an extra ten or fifteen million dropped in their laps, but if I was the owner, I'd be seriously upset at the stupidity of my GM.

As expected the Eagles parted ways with Jason Avant. He'll likely be signed by someone soon. He's a good possession slot receiver. He meshed better with Vick than Foles though for some reason and Chip Kelly wants more explosiveness out of the slot while Avant is more of a possession guy. We've got tons of depth at wide receiver now and most of them are younger, faster, cheaper, than Avant. That was one of those cuts you don't really want to make, but he'd have been the fourth or fifth receiver next year on the Eagles and you don't pay $3.5 million to a fourth or fifth receiver. I suspect KC or the Jets will make a move on Avant. The Eagles released him early so he'd have a better chance of catching on with another team. He's a classy guy who's an asset to any team.

I'm getting a little nervous about all of the experts talking about how the Eagles are pulling away from the rest of the NFC East and putting a stranglehold on the NFC East. I'm pleased with what we've done and the plan going forward, but you never want to believe all of the positive stuff that's written. We could implode and end up 3-13 next year if things go badly. You never know what will happen in the NFL. The Texans and Falcons showed last year how easy it is to go from first to last and I don't want us following those examples.

[Spurt]

On 3/5/2014 gardenman said:

That Niner situation will be interesting to watch. The GM and Harbaugh are said to be less than warm and cuddly together. (Personally, I think the GM has done a good job of getting Harbaugh really good players. That trade for Boldin last year was a steal.) Jim Harbaugh is a bit intense and playing for/being around an intense coach can be a little tedious after a while. It's very easy for a guy like that to lose a locker room (and front office support.) Now they've got to work out a contract for Kaepernick who reportedly wants more than $18 million a year. If he gets that big of a contract then that's going to limit their ability to pay a lot of other players the money they want. That can be a tad disruptive to a locker room too.

The Cowboys have restructured contracts all over the place to get back near the cap. You'd think Jerry Jones would get tired of writing those multi-million dollar signing bonus checks after a while and get better at managing the cap so he wouldn't always be having to convert salaries into bonus money. It's great for the players to suddenly get an extra ten or fifteen million dropped in their laps, but if I was the owner, I'd be seriously upset at the stupidity of my GM.

As expected the Eagles parted ways with Jason Avant. He'll likely be signed by someone soon. He's a good possession slot receiver. He meshed better with Vick than Foles though for some reason and Chip Kelly wants more explosiveness out of the slot while Avant is more of a possession guy. We've got tons of depth at wide receiver now and most of them are younger, faster, cheaper, than Avant. That was one of those cuts you don't really want to make, but he'd have been the fourth or fifth receiver next year on the Eagles and you don't pay $3.5 million to a fourth or fifth receiver. I suspect KC or the Jets will make a move on Avant. The Eagles released him early so he'd have a better chance of catching on with another team. He's a classy guy who's an asset to any team.

I'm getting a little nervous about all of the experts talking about how the Eagles are pulling away from the rest of the NFC East and putting a stranglehold on the NFC East. I'm pleased with what we've done and the plan going forward, but you never want to believe all of the positive stuff that's written. We could implode and end up 3-13 next year if things go badly. You never know what will happen in the NFL. The Texans and Falcons showed last year how easy it is to go from first to last and I don't want us following those examples.

Hey GARDEMAN

after all theat wheeling and dealin and Jerry is still 1 mill over the cap....I think they should fire their GM... Well some big names came up as cap casualties.....Champ Bailey and Devin Hester....

BTW did you see that Michelle Beadle returned to ESPN Sportsnation!!!! YEAH!!! After she left I hardly watched the show and wasn't a fan of Clarissa either...They said Michelle had more twitter followers than her NBC Show Crossover had viewers... After criticizing the progress of the NBC Show they axed her and ESPN took her back Im glad.....

[gardenman]

I was thrilled to see Michelle Beadle back on Sportsnation. I was one of the many following her on Twitter. NBC never really seemed to know what to do with her, so it's good she's back at ESPN. Beadle has a nice level of goofiness and insanity that works well on Sportsnation.

The big names are starting to roll onto the cut list pretty quickly now. We're not close to seeing the end of it yet either. Expect many more big names to be released between now and training camp. You could build a pretty good team from nothing but free agents if you had the cap space. There are enough good players out there that you could build a playoff caliber team. It wouldn't be good for long, but you could be competitive for a year or two. I'm betting there will still be some pretty big names unsigned when training camps start. There are more free agents than there is money to sign them. Teams will look to cheaper, younger guys first then if they implode in camp, the aging vets may get a look. Veteran minimum for a lot of these guys with years of service is still pretty pricey.

[teganslaw]

The Colts signed ILB D'Qwell Jackson to a four year 22 million contract, eleven million of it guaranteed. Jackson was released by the Browns, and it didn't take him long to decide on the Colts after visiting several teams. He will replace Pat Angerer, who will not be back next season.

Also, the Colts cut center Samson Satele. That was no surprise, as Satele was unproductive and not worth what they were paying him. I don't know if another team would be interested in him, as he really didn't live up to expectations. I'm not sure who will replace him.

I don't know a lot about Jackson, but other fans on the Colts website seem to like the signing. There is a Browns-Colts connection what with Jackson, Chudzinski and Richardson. That might prove to be helpful in the long run.

Now they have to concentrate on resigning Vontae Davis before next week's deadline.

[gardenman]

And as of noon today teams can start negotiating with agents for free agents. (Not that they haven't been already, but the league formally allows it starting at noon today.) Players can't be contacted or involved (Sure!) but teams can now contact the representatives of the players and start working things out. I'm pretty sure most of the coveted free agents already know where they're going and the price they'll be paid, but with more guys coming onto the market every day, the dynamics might just change a bit.

Notable cuts in recent days include Phil Costa, the Cowboys' backup center. DeMarcus Ware seems unwilling to renegotiate his deal with the Cowboys which means he's likely to be cut. Darren Sproles and Lance Moore, the Saints RB and WR, were also released much to Jimmy Graham's discomfort. (If you think he's upset, talk to Drew Brees sometime. I'm guessing he's not happy about that either.)

Smarter teams won't overspend early in free agency as around June first many more players are likely to hit the market and a team with significant cap room available then could do very well. That period after the draft and before training camp typically sees a few guys get released who seemed pretty safe before then. A team will pick up a talented rookie or two in the draft who'll look good in the OTA's and they'll decide they don't need the high-priced vet and away he'll go. Saving some cap space to pick up those guys when they're cut free is a smart move for a team.

[brewhaha]

It hasn't been a good week for former Hawaii Warriors Davone Bess & Samson Satele. I don't think they will sign with another team. The Warriors had the "strongest" OL when they had "Samson" Satele & "Hercules" Satele back when June Jones was the HC.

I was surprised to see Michelle Beadle back on SportsNation. Max Kellerman also returned to ESPN. He used to host Around The Horn before moving to FOX. I'm waiting to see if Gayle Gardner is coming back. Last I heard, she was on the Food Network and that was a few years ago.

Only two months til the draft. Todd McShay has Jadeveon Clowney going to the Rams with the second pick. If they take the best player available then it might be true. But teams are drafting more to fill needs so I have my doubts. We already have Chris Long & Robert Quinn. I think a more likely scenario is another team trading up to take Clowney if the Texans take a QB.