Free Agent season, Wabbit season, Free Agent season....

S Mike Mitchell signing with Steelers. Another Safety off the board

 

On the upside, maybe it means one of the top ones will fall to us.

 

@RapSheet 

Julius Peppers has been released, according to the team. Not a surprise. But… still a bit jarring.

Did Harbaugh convince Balke to bring Gabbert in as a backup knowing that if he's able to turn one of the worst QB's in football into a serviceable player his stock goes through the roof after 2014 based on the combined body of work with Alex Smith, Kaep, and Gabbert???

 

Because beyond that I've got no possible reason why SF would give up a 6th round pick (and yeah, I know they have something like 12 draft picks again) for a QB as horrible as Blaine Gabbert.

       
       


That's the big upside. All the teams needing Safety's just signed them pushing the top guys in r1 or beyond to GB. Same thing for DTs. All the teams, like Chicago, that I would have guessed would shore up DT in the draft with guys like Aaron Donald or Timmy Jernigan, probably will look to shore up other positions of need. I'd love to see a good NT like Timmy Jernigan in GB...oh wait he's not 350 lbs which automatically makes him intelligible to play NT. (Few beers makes the mood better!)

C'mon... Ted reaching into the free agent market? 

 

April Fools is a few weeks away... too early.

They have extra picks so a 6th for a backup QB/reclamation project isn't too much.

Big name off the market:

 

@Saints: The #Saints have agreed to terms with 3-time pro bowl safety @JairusByrd on a 6-year deal! 

RB Toby Gerhart reaches agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars.  3 years 10.5 Million w/ 4.5 Million in guarantees. 

Toby Gerhart?

 

James Starks has to be thrilled to find out talent is no longer a prerequisite to become a highly paid running back

Buccaneers agreed to terms with CB Alterraun Verner on a four-year, $26.5 million contract with $14 million guaranteed.

bad thing for Starks....he did not get to inflate his stats running vs the Packer D like Goby Tearhart

 

@AdamSchefter: Saints are giving former Bills S Jairus Byrd a six-year, $54 million contract, including $28 million guaranteed, per source.

 

For a safety.  Obscene.  

TT once again playing the role of Lucy to Charlie Brown Packer fans as he yanks away the prospects of signing a day one FA yet again.

 

I know folks here will say that's the wise move, as clearly some of these deals seem irresponsible. But the contracts for Ward and Verner stood out as pretty reasonable. While the guaranteed money was the same, Verner signing for $13 MM less than Shields is a surprise.

 

We'll see if he adds the ex-Miami Safety Clemmons or picks up any "value" plays here…but it's hard every year to depend on draft picks to fill all the holes. As it stands today, they could still use significant upgrades at Safety, ILB, d-line, and TE…and have depth needs at OLB, Center, and WR.

Byrd is a solid safety, Ed Reed in his prime he is not. That's ridiculous money.

Never figured the Pack would pony up for Byrd...but the TJ Ward deal is very disappointing. That was a slam dunk deal for Denver and I wish it was GB that signed him for that

 

Verner's deal is also better than Shields, but Shields deal isn't too bad. It doesn't start to get big until year 3 and by then they'll know whether or not he's worth keeping

 

I really hope the Packers FA isn't them bringing back the mediocre talent from their D that are currently FA's.

Ted can sign TJ Ward for a solid $5.5 M/year contract or he could wait and draft a Safety in round 1 for under $3 M/year. Considering how last years rookie Safety's performed (Vaccaro, Elam, Cyprien, Reid) it's very tempting to go with that option.

The Bears signing Lamar Houston was the dumbest signing of the day tho. If Oakland who is need of players in the worst way with a billion dollars in cap money decides a player can't help them and cuts them loose, what makes them so attractive to another team and pay them that kind of money. Makes no sense.  Bennett could have made sense but there should be red flags galore over this move. The Bears acted 100% out of desperation.

It's probably not a good idea to base opinions on a player on what the Raiders do/do not do. They are inept

 

Houston was a good pickup for Chicago. They overpaid(like majority of FA's today) but he's going to help them

Byrd would have easily gotten $1-$2 million more with at least a couple of other teams, but he wanted to sign with a playoff team whose new defensive scheme fits him to a T.  Plus, it was mentioned earlier in the thread that Byrd and Vaccaro will make quite a formidable Safety tandem.  The Saints have a lot of work to do, cap-wise, and to give Jimmy Graham his payday.  They've decided not to cut Darren Sproles and instead dangle him as trade bait as interest in him is increasing.  The same is expected to happen for Pierre Thomas.  There are a lot of maneuverings to take place, but Mickey Loomis is among the best in the business at crunching the numbers.

I don't think Oakland was against Houston returning, it sounds like they were against signing him at that price. I saw a comment that said they weren't comfortable paying him $7M/year because they viewed him as a limited pass rusher and mostly just a run stuffer. I can understand that.

Looks like Denver is the leader for Ware

 

Well that's a big time roll of the dice to just assume A) the Safety he wants is there when he's picking and B) expecting him to play great immediately

 

It sounds good though if it played out like that. They still need more help than just Safety, however

 

With all the Safeties signing today, I wonder if they are even looking to sign one or if they are fine moving Hyde there + drafting one. Maybe they're simply focusing on 2nd/3rd tier Dlineman to sign for a reasonable price once the dust settles.

Well, I see a couple of potential problems with that plan:

 

1) Last year's safety class has nothing to do with this year's safety class. Just because guys like Reid and Elam looked good doesn't mean Dix or Pryor will be any good

 

2) Unfortunately, they have a lot more holes than just safety. So if you use a #1 pick on safety, that's great…but they also need help on the d-line and at linebacker. 

 

It can be done…but you have no margin for error…have to nail your picks, hope the young guys get better, and not have lots of injuries. TT is a great GM in many ways, but it's really puzzling why he doesn't use all the tools available to improve this team. Ward at that rate would be an upgrade they could have easily afforded…and would have made draft day a lot easier.

I'm curious what happens with Henry Melton. He would be a really good signing for GB IF his knee checks out. Can't imagine his price tag would be too high either.

Here's what I don't get about NO signing Byrd. They were the 2nd best D against the pass last year. 4th ranked D overall. Their D played a solid game in Seattle in the playoffs. Their offense couldn't score. then again no one really did against Seattle. 

 

But they're prepared to let Sproles, Thomas, Moore, Delepuente walk to free up room for a safety that's better than Jenkins but is he that much better for that cost?

 

And what is Graham going to think watching offensive production walk to pay Byrd that kind of scratch right after they slap a TE tag on him? 

 

 

There's been a lot of $$ going to guys who it seems their current teams didn't make a big push to sign. I think TT is going to wait until the dust settles and the big money is off the board before he dips a toe into the shark-infested waters. Patience, little grasshoppers, patience. 

TT won't sign anybody. 

Payton and Loomis want to change the scheme and the personality of the offense from the finesse offense that people have known for the past several years to a more balanced, physical offense.  The Saints are good enough to make the playoffs, but not much more.  The offseason moves on offense are drastic, no doubt, but there's a method to the madness.  Seattle and San Francisco have set the standard for the NFC, if not the entire league.  Therefore, competing with them is not enough.  If you want to reach the Holy Grail, you have to get past them and the fact is that we have been unable to do that with the offense we've had the last few seasons.

Broncos sign CB Aqib Talib to 6yr/$57 million with $26 million guaranteed....and have Demarcus Ware visiting tomorrow with most expecting them to sign him

 

With Peyton likely only having 1-2 yrs left, no surprise they are going all out to try and win one before inevitably having to blow up the roster

It's funny, there's an assumption that TT will draft a safety high... My guess is he'll pass up either Haha or Pryor and draft a WR or offensive lineman... Wait and see suckers.

 

Silly dumdums, Micah Hyde is the starting safety next year anyhow.  How many times does it have to be said?

 

Jesus ****.

That Talib deal is probably worse than the Byrd deal. Can't believe he got that much. $26 mill guaranteed, and isn't he 1 strike away from like a season long suspension?

I wonder what kind of spending bender Elway went on in 1989 after getting boat raced by SF in the Super Bowl? Probably bought a couple car dealerships.

Ted loves his WR's.  Lotta good looking ones too.  Could slide down 8-15 spots and still get a good one like he did with Jordy. 

draft and develop.

Looks like the theme to the  beginning of this year free agency season is all in.

Denver and New Orleans are trying to win before their QB careers end. SF and Seattle are in an arms race to beat the clock before they have to pay their QB's.

I think these teams are playing a high risk game and some if not all of them will get burned. But no guts no Super Bowl.

 

Does not seem there is much interest GB free agent. Ted did pay Sam the going rate, but with the cap going up so much in the next couple of yeas it might be a bargin in the long run.

 But what the heck I could be all wrong to, no one is paying be big bucks to GM a team. I think the Vikings should thought, I would set that team up for years to come.

 

 

Heres the thing I love about Loomis...

Found on Internet. In 2006 Ryan Pickett was signed March 15th. Charles Woodson on April 26th. Free Agency started March 3rd. 

 

I think FA started with 417 players hitting the market yesterday. Maybe 1/3 of those players have landed somewhere. 

Looks like the theme to the  beginning of this year free agency season is all in. Denver and New Orleans are trying to win before their QB careers end. SF and Seattle are in an arms race to beat the clock before they have to pay their QB's. I think these teams are playing a high risk game and some if not all of them will get burned.

that's probably spot on.  I'm guessing denver will get burned - their actions just seem desperate and that usually doesn't play well in the NFL but for the players it sure pays well.

now, your 2nd paragraph...  you might want to spellcheck.