posted March 6, 2009 at 11:15 EST in NFL Articles
NFL Free Agent Deals and What They Mean
by Charles Jay
The Washington Redskins (+1600 to win the NFC at BetUS) fired a "Shot Heard 'Round the World" on the first day of free agency when it made the first big splash - which may also prove to be the most lucrative - inking former Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a deal that could bring as much as $115 million and will guarantee $41 million (an important number, considering how tenuous the NFL deals are). Owner Daniel Snyder demonstrates once again that he is not afraid to pull the trigger when he feels it's necessary to make a big impact for his team. The Haynesworth signing could be the most significant, because he can transform a defense.
Not only has he had 14.5 sacks the last two years from his defensive tackle position, he frees up other players to rush the passer because he occupies multiple blockers. Haynesworth also is a run-stuffer; when he was in the lineup the Titans were one of the NFL's best teams against the run; when he was hurt for a few games in the 2007 season they fell apart against the run. DeAngelo Hall, a Pro Bowl corner, was also re-signed by Washington, and he should have a better pass rush to work behind.
Inasmuch as many people are not expecting the Arizona Cardinals (+1000 to win NFC at BetUS) to repeat, and other teams have suffered personnel losses, there's no reason why the Redskins couldn't mount a challenge in the division or conference race. If they do it, however, it will be without Jason Taylor, who was released. That surprised many people who thought Haynesworth’s presence might have an effect on Taylor as it did on Kyle VanDen Bosch in Tennessee. Some Redskins were not upset, though, since Taylor declined to participate in the team’s off-season workout program.
One of the reasons Washington could be competitive is that it's so tough to tell what is going on with the Dallas Cowboys (+500 to win the NFC at BetUS). This whole "gag order" on the coaching staff was bizarre, and sometimes when things start out weird, they just get worse. Terrell Owens and safety Roy Williams were released on Thursday. That seems to indicate they’ll be in the market for a wide receiver. Dallas does not want to spend a lot of money in free agency, but maybe that changes now. They have found someone who can be Tony Romo's backup after they released Brad Johnson. There were names mentioned as possibilities, including Kyle Boller and Rex Grossman. "They've got all the talent at running back, tight end, wide receiver, offensive line, coordinator," Grossman told the Dallas Morning News. "They've got everything in place that you'd want."
Ultimately the Cowboys made a deal with the Detroit Lions to pick up Jon Kitna, and that is unquestionably an upgrade.
Grossman had expressed some interest in going to the Detroit Lions (+7000 to win NFC at BetUS), where he would presumably be the starting quarterback if signed. The obvious question is, would he be such a marked improvement over what the Lions already have? There has been lots of speculation as to what Detroit should do about its quarterback "problem," and what to do with the first pick in the NFL Draft. NFL Network on-air analyst Charles Davis suggested they take Georgia QB Matthew Stafford with the first selection. Others have mentioned Matt Sanchez of USC, who also had a good combine.
I'm not so sure about either of those moves. Even though when you build a franchise the position is the natural cornerstone, I don't think this team can afford to make a mistake right now. Stafford, to me, is a hit-and-miss guy. He has a strong arm and throws the ball very hard, but he doesn't have a lot of touch, and there is some concern about his ability to read defenses. I was not blown away by his level of production in college, either. Sanchez has spent just one season as a starting quarterback in college. When you take a quarterback at #1 overall, he needs to be more of a finished product. And when you are coming off an 0-16 season, that's a pretty good sign that you need a lot of personnel. Oddly, this team has made some bad selections on wide receivers over the years, and the best player on the board might just be wide receiver Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech. What a combo he would make with Calvin Johnson! One player isn't going to be the answer here, though. What might be the wiser course of action is to trade that pick and get multiple picks and/or players in return.
My initial reaction when I saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+1500 to win NFC at BetUS) purge all that veteran talent, including future Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks, was that they were more or less going to take this year off and go into that kind of "rebuilding" mode that is designed to buy a coach and general manager time more than anything else. But an NFL insider offered some perspective. "They'll be alright," he says. "This is not a league for old players. Those guys weren't going to do the Bucs any good anyway. This is the way it works in the NFL." This insider expected that Tampa Bay, who was freeing up some salary cap room, would be a player of some note in the free agent market. A more pressing concern than personnel, he said, was whether the new head coach, 32-year-old Raheem Morris, was at all ready to be a head man in the NFL."It looks as if teams are trying to duplicate what Pittsburgh was doing with Mike Tomlin - a young, African-American coach that perhaps players could relate a little better to," he said, "but Morris doesn't even have any experience as a coordinator in this league. The learning curve is going to be huge." The Bucs later made a deal that shows they are not conceding 2009, as they dealt a couple of draft picks to Cleveland for Kellen Winslow Jr. And if you had any doubt they meant business, the signing of running back Derrick Ward gives them somebody who could be a 1000-yard rusher for the next few years.
