Hot Reads / NFL Free Agency 3/3/08

A Team by Team break-down of the first weekend of free agency.

ARIZONA CARDINALS

With the Larry Fitzgerald contract situation still unsettled, the Cardinals have been unable to go after any high profile free agents during this first weekend. The agent for Steelers guard Alan Faneca even directly noted this as the main reason his client didn’t consider the Cardinals as a landing spot. It’s really a mystery at this point why a deal hasn’t been consummated. The Cards will be losing LB Calvin Pace to either the Dolphins or Jets so finding a replacement end rusher will be a priority. Antwan Odom has cancelled his visit leading to rumors that a deal with Travis LaBoy is forthcoming.

ATLANTA FALCONS
Michael Turner is a Falcon. Arthur Blank was wise not to let Turner leave before signing him. This is a great step for a team trying to rebuild after a disastrous 2007. The DeAngelo Hall trade talks have not progressed but for clubs that missed out on the top tier free agent corners, obtaining Hall would be an option. Atlanta did address their secondary with the signing of former Jets safety Eric Coleman who is still young and should flourish in Mike Smith’s defensive scheme. The Falcons also re-signed QB Chris Redman at the off-set of free agency but will still need to address the quarterback situation in free agency or the draft. Obtaining Michael Turner will definitely turn up the Matt Ryan talk.

BALTIMORE RAVENS
The Ravens, as expected have been quiet during the first days of free agency after making a big splash last year with the Willis McGahee trade. Besides the annual Jonathan Ogden retirement watch, not much is going on in Baltimore.

BUFFALO BILLS
The Bills were expected to upgrade their LB group and there was a rumor that they would be taking a look at Bears LB Lance Briggs. Instead, they decided to add a Super Bowl champ and signed former Giants LB Kawika Mitchell to a long term deal. Buffalo addressed their defensive line by obtaining Marcus Stroud from the Jaguars for the DT standard going rate of a 3rd and 5th round pick. The Bills also added another defensive tackle by signing Vikings backup Spencer Johnson to a perplexingly large contract. After the weekend, Bryant Johnson is probably the best WR left and if he doesn’t sign with Tampa (with whom he’s currently visiting), he’ll be in Buffalo today. The JP Losman trade talks appear to be going nowhere at the moment.

CAROLINA PANTHERS
The Panthers dealt DT Kris Jenkins to the Jets for a 3rd and 5th round pick. The Panthers could sign former Falcon Rod Coleman (who was recently in for a visit) as a stop gap, and then address the position in the draft. Alge Crumpler looks to be heading elsewhere so add TE and RB as needs that still need to be addressed. The Panthers signed former Bear WR Mushin Muhammad prior to free agency.

CHICAGO BEARS
The big news in Chicago is the re-signing of linebacker Lance Briggs. The market for Briggs just wasn’t there so he’ll return to Chicago to be Robin to Urlacher’s Batman. The Bears have been largely inactive in free agency and seem to be waiting for the second wave to address their hole at WR.

CINCINATTI BENGALS
The free agent period started off with a bang in Cincy with the reported trade for Shaun Rogers. But the supposed deal was never finalized and the Lions ended up shipping the defensive tackle cross-state to the Browns. It now appears that the Bengals have a deal in place with the wheeling and dealing Jets to send a 4^th and 5^th round pick for the rights to DT DeWayne Robertson. As soon as a contract extension is reached, the Bengals will finally have their nose tackle. The Bengals also re-signed LB Dhani Jones and will bring in Chargers free safety Marlon McCree in an effort to replace departed Madieu Williams. The Chad Johnson trade rumors have not resurfaced.

CLEVELAND BROWNS
The Browns ended up being major players in free agency this weekend. The big news in Cleveland was QB Derek Anderson accepting an increased 3 year contract offer from the Browns. Other than locking up Anderson, the Browns made a concerted effort to shore up their defensive line by obtaining DT Shaun Rogers from Detroit for a 3rd and 5th round draft choice as well as finalizing DT Corey Williams trade from Green Bay. The Browns weren’t done there, and signed Patriots WR Donte Stallworth to a long term deal to play opposite Braylon Edwards. The Browns appear to be making all the right moves, but those moves have cost them nearly all of their draft picks in 2008.

DALLAS COWBOYS
Javon Walker has been released by the Broncos and it figures that he’ll end up visiting Dallas soon but nothing has come out of it yet. A run at Randy Moss appears to be unlikely at this point. There has been a Tatum Bell sighting. After being under utilized in Detroit, running back Tatum Bell is looking for a fresh start and the first team to call has been the Cowboys. The night before free agency, the Cowboys wisely signed OL Flozell Adams long term allowing them to concentrate on their other needy positions.

DENVER BRONCOS
The Broncos missed out on obtaining both defensive tackles that they were interested in: Shaun Rogers and Kris Jenkins. They’ll be looking at any and all defensive line options as well as a wide receiver to replace recently cut Javon Walker and a linebacker to replace recently cut Ian Gold. Lion LB Boss Bailey is in for a visit.

GREEN BAY PACKERS
Never one to jump into free agency with both feet, after trading DT Corey Williams for a 2nd rounder, GM Ted Thompson is biding his time. Rumors of Randy Moss to Green Bay resurfaced this weekend amidst the Pats delay in locking him up, but nothing concrete has come out of it yet.

HOUSTON TEXANS
The Texans aren’t looking to be making a big splash early in free agency and talks to trade QB Sage Rosenfals to the Vikings have stalled.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
The Colts don’t have the cap space to go crazy and aren’t.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
The Jags have been extremely active. They completed their questionable trade for WR Troy Williamson but that didn’t stop them from signing a bigger receiver, snagging former Raider Jerry Porter. The Jags also looked to secure a dependable backup quarterback in lieu of Quinn Gray’s exit and signed former Dolphin Cleo Lemon. Over the weekend the Jags traded DT Marcus Stroud to the Bills and signed Chargers CB Dayton Florence to shore up the secondary.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Kansas City addressed the linebacking position by signing former Falcon Demorrio Williams to play the weakside but other than missing out on kicker Josh Brown, things are quiet in KC.

MIAMI DOLPHINS
The Dolphins concentrated on finding a large receiver to compliment speedster Ted Ginn Jr and found their man in former Jags WR Ernest Wilford. Bill Parcells also swung a trade with his former boss to obtain DT Jason Ferguson for a late round pick and are currently working on a major contract for Cardinals LB Calvin Pace, who will decide between the Dolphins and Jets momentarily.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS
The Vikings are busy attempting to improve their WR core and got their man: WR Bernard Berrian. The Vikings also didn’t waste any time filling S Dwight Smith’s position, giving a big time contract to former Bengal Madieu Williams. The Vikings also now appear to be the front runner to land DE Antwan Odom, who cancelled a visit to Arizona and will be in Minnesota tomorrow.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
The Patriots and Randy Moss appear to be inching closer to a deal, but nothing has happened yet. Most signs are pointing to Moss receiving a long term deal in New England. The Pats secondary has been raided in free agency: Samuels, Gay and Wilson but they have yet to make any moves to fill those roles.

UPDATE: Moss inks 3 years deal.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The Saints have been on a roll, first obtaining Jets LB Jonathan Vilma for a 4^th pick and a conditional pick next year. The Asante Samuels rumors appeared to be off the mark but the Saints did sign his teammate, Randall Gay. The Saints also contacted the Giants concerning the availability of obtaining Jeremy Shockey but not much is expected to come from that discussion. The Saints also smartly re-signed RB Aaron Stecker and added Bobby McCray from the Jags to bolster the defensive line.

NEW YORK GIANTS
The Superbowl Champs don’t have too many holes currently and although they would have liked to re-sign Gibril Wilson, they were unable to do so. They are conducting a light search to upgrade the backup QB position but will most likely wait out the first couple days of free agency before making a move.

NEW YORK JETS
The Jets started the day making a ton of moves. Former pro-bowler LB Jonathan Vilma was moved to the Saints for a 2008 4^th round pick and a 2009 conditional draft choice. The Jets then traded for former pro-bowler DT Kris Jenkins from the Panthers in an effort to finally find that desirable nose tackle they’ve been sorely missing. The Jets have also signed to OG Alan Faneca whose addition will greatly improve a young offensive line. LB Calvin Pace appears close to signing and will decide between the Jets and Dolphins momentarily. The Jets weren’t done trading, reportedly striking a deal with the Bengals to off-load DT DeWayne Robertson for two mid round picks in 2008.

OAKLAND RAIDERS
The Raiders sent shockwaves throughout the NFL with the monster contract offered to DL Tommy Kelley. Now they appear on the verge of shoring up their defensive backfield and signing Giants S Gibril Wilson. Expect the Michael Huff trade rumors too soon follow. The Raiders are expected to look at WR during the second wave of free agency.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
The Eagles landed one of the top prizes in this year’s free agent class by signing cornerback Asante Samuel. This was the main target of the Eagles which will seem to reinvigorate the Lito Sheppard trade rumors. The Eagles will also presumably be looking for an upgrade at WR in the coming days and reports have surfaced that they have made inquiries to Arizona for Larry Fitzgerald, although the Cardinals don’t figure to let him go.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Besides losing Alan Faneca, there isn’t much news out of Pittsburgh besides the monster contract extension signed by QB Ben Roethlisberger. CB Eugene Wilson has been in for a visit and the Steelers did sign RB Mwelde Moore to a backup role.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
The Chargers haven’t been major players in free agency for a while and will be losing two of the more popular players in free agency: RB Michael Turner and DB Dayton Florence.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
The Niners signed Bengals DE Justin Smith to be their version of Terrell Suggs in the 3-4 defense. Isaac Bruce signed on to Mike Martz’s new lead Niner offense and Javon Walker is reportedly very interested to head to San Fran.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
The Seahawks failed in their attempt to sign Alge Crumpler and have now turned their attention to TE Bubba Franks and now are on the hunt for a new kicker after Josh Brown’s defection to NFC West rival Rams. That’s about as exciting as it gets in the Northwest.

ST. LOUIS RAMS
Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins decided to hang up his cleats but the Rams wasted no time in finding a replacement by signing former Rams killer and Seahawk Josh Brown. The Rams cut Isaac Bruce and seem to be content with having Drew Bennett as their number 2 receiver.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
The Buccaneers were poised to make a big splash after creating $44 million of cap space and decided to spend their money wisely on upgrading the offensive line by signing Saints C Jeff Faine long term. Additions at WR or TE are a must although the pool is getting thin.

TENNESSE TITANS
The Titans have signed TE Alge Crumpler who will give Vince Young the same safety outlet Michael Vick once had. An upgrade at WR is a major need but the Titans have missed out on all of the top tier wide receivers so far. DJ Hackett is expected to visit soon.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS
With a tricky cap situation, the Redskins couldn’t be active players in the free agent game in 2008, but did re-sign backup QB Todd Collins. They’ll be taking a look at the bargain picks after the first wave of free agency goes by although WR DJ Hackett and WR Bryant Johnson are on their radar.

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