2-29 Free agency day. Winners & Losers?

[slacker00]

Feb 29th was the first day of free agency in the NFL this year. Lots of big moves. Some excitement for us hardcore NFL fans. Generally I'm not a fan of overspending in free agency. Anybody have any opinions about the moves made? Here's a few of my opinions about a few moves made:


Green Bay traded DT Corey Williams to the Browns for their 2nd round pick: I'm fine with this for Green Bay. They are deep at DT, and Williams is decent, but not all-world. The Browns got him somewhat cheap for a proven player, but did have to pay him. I'm not impressed that the Browns want to make him the NT him their 3-4 scheme. But, we'll see how that goes. Winner: Green Bay, Loser: Cleveland

Browns keep QB Anderson. I love this move by Cleveland. You can never have too much talent at QB in the NFL. Plus, I'm just not a fan of young QBs forced to carry a franchise. Give Brady Quinn a couple more years to carry the clipboard and then decide which way to go. Winner: Cleveland, Loser: NFL teams needing a QB.

Rogers traded to Browns. The Browns sent CB Leigh Bodden and a third-round pick to the Lions. I liked this deal, except that the Browns already inked Corey Williams to a big contract. So, Williams & Rogers will be splitting time at NT as far as I can tell. Nothing wrong with depth at a position, but WTF. Especially since Ted Washington already was in their system. I'm just scratching my head about what Cleveland is going at NT. Winner/Loser: Depends how Rogers performs.

The Denver Broncos announced that they have cut six-year veteran WR Javon Walker. I think Walker has something wrong with his knee that may end his career. His head-case personality doesn't help matters. I'm not sure where he goes from here, but it doesn't suprise me that Jerry Jones is interested in the guy. The Packers look like geniuses after trading Walker to the Broncos and getting a 2nd rounder. Winner: Packers, Loser: Broncos, anyone who picks up Walker.

Miami Dolphins pick up various players such as Josh McCown, Jason Ferguson, Randy Starks. Solid moves by a team needing some pieces to the puzzle. I've always like Josh McCown, albeit he still needs to show something to prove himself as a regular NFL starter. Ferguson is reunited with Parcells, who has an anchor for his 3-4 scheme to build around. Starks was a capable DT for the Titans, now building some depth for the Dolphins.

Samuels to Eagles. I already said in the other thread that the Eagles overpaid. Samuels is certainly capable, it's just hard to justify that kind of money to someone who's merely "capable". Loser: Eagles, Winner: Samuels

Jaguars pick up Porter. I like Porter. Jags snag a fine WR. It'll be interesting how the chemistry shakes out in the lab during game day, but this has to be a coup for the Jags. Winner: Jags

Giants lose Wilson, Mitchell. Raiders ink Gibril Wilson. Bills ink Mitchell. Both players got overpaid, but this is typical of a Super Bowl champ. Losers: Giants, Raiders, Bills. Winners: rest of NFL.

Redman, Volek, Collins stay wil their respective teams. Solid move by all 3 teams, signing their backup QBs. I've always like Volek, and was even more impressed as he led the game winning drive in the playoffs over the Colts when Rivers got hurt. Collins is solid, but now with a new offensive scheme, there'll be an adjustment process, still a good QB. Redman, probably backup calibre, but in Atlanta, he'll probably be the starter, Atlanta needs all the help they can get at this position. Winners: Chargers, Redskins, Falcons

There's lots of other moves out there, but I don't really have a strong opinions about. Isaac Bruce goes to the 49ers, I don't know how much gas he has left in the tank or how he'll do in a different setting. Griese released by the Bears falls into the *yawn* category, Griese does nothing but run teams into the ground. Saints trade for Jets' Vilma, it's a gamble depending on his health, but we all know how the Saints gambled with Brees and came out smelling like a rose. Vikings trade for Bengals' Madeiu Williams, probably a good trade, but I'm not familar enough with Williams.

Plus there's still the free agents yet to be signed. Michael Turner is still out there, so is Randy Moss. Still some drama to unfold.

[slacker00]

Bump from 3 years ago. (I'm very bored.) I'll update how these assessments went.

Corey Williams ended up being somewhat solid for the Browns for a couple years and then a solid year last year for the Lions. But, as expected, he never lived up to his contract which is a big reason why he was traded. Bad deal for the Browns. Not that it matters, but the Packers used the draft pick acquired in this trade to select QB Brian Brohm at pick #56 overall, which ended up being a total bust.

Derek Anderson floundered for the Browns for a couple years and then last year with the Cards. Now he's a backup at best. I was correct that Brady Quinn wasn't ready, but neither was Derek Anderson.

Shaun Rogers had a good year in 2008, but broke his leg in 2009 and wasn't the same in 2010. In 2011 he was released by the Browns. Meanwhile, Leigh Bodden had a solid year with the Lions in 2008 before going to the Pats in 2009 and having another good year which inked him to a nice contract. Bodden was placed on IR for the 2010 season with a shoulder injury. All told, Browns make another bad move.

Javon Walker went to the Raiders for a couple years but never had much success: 15 rec 196 yards 1 TD. Now he's done in the NFL.

Josh McCown was a strange story. He was projected as starter for the Dolphins in 2008, but the offseason "firewood chopping incident" with his brother left him with 6 stitches in the index finger of his throwing hand. He never even played another preseason game that year and was traded to Carolina right after the Dolphins acquired Chad Pennington.

Jason Ferguson was solid in 2008 before having a career ending knee injury in 2009.

Randy Starks has emerged as a top DT in the NFL, making the pro bowl in 2010.

Asante Samuel has been one of the top CBs in the NFL for the past 3 years.

Jerry Porter fizzled in Jax and has been out of the NFL for a couple years now. Apparently he's playing in the CFL.

Gibril Wilson signed a big contract with the Raiders, but was cut after one year. Same deal with the Dolphins. He was on IR for Cincy in 2010.

Kawika Mitchell played a couple years for the Bills before being cut. Currently, he's under contract with the Saints.

Redman, Volek, Collins didn't see much action in the last 3 years, but are all still standing around holding the clipboard as expected.

Madeiu Williams has been a solid FS for the Vikings for the 3 past years.

Jonathan Vilma has been stellar with the Saints earning two pro bowls as well being as a key to their Super Bowl run in 2009-10.


What I've learned from this analysis is that free agency is a mixed bag and tough to predict. Teams tend to overpay as we see a lot of the players listed never lived up to the big contracts they signed, but a few do shine and put their teams over the top.

[CaptainPrice]

thanks