Below is a list of the top 50 free agents in order (best to worst). While not perfect it looks like a pretty good list. What do you think, which of these bums can help our team? Player Team Position Age Status 1. Jimmy Graham NO TE 28 2. Greg Hardy CAR DE 26 3. Jairus Byrd BUF S 27 Franchised 2013 4. Michael Johnson CIN DE 27 5. Alterraun Verner TEN CB 25 6. Lamarr Houston OAK DE 27 7. Aqib Talib NE CB 28 8. Brian Orakpo WAS LB 28 Franchised 2013 9. T.J. Ward CLE S 27 10. Jared Veldheer OAK OT 27 12. Henry Melton CHI DT 27 Franchised 2013 13. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie DEN CB 29 14. Randy Starks MIA DT 30 15. Dennis Pitta BAL TE 29 16. Eric Decker DEN WR 27 17. Hakeem Nicks NYG WR 26 18. Eugene Monroe BAL OT 27 19. Brandon Spikes NE LB 26 20. Golden Tate SEA WR 26 21. Branden Albert KC OT 29 Franchised 2013 22. Captain Munnerlyn CAR CB 26 23. Paul Soliai MIA DT 30 24. Walter Thurmond SEA CB 26 25. Linval Joseph NYG DT 25 26. Zach Strief NO OT 30 27. Jon Asamoah KC OG 26 28. Jason Hatcher DAL DT 32 29. Arthur Jones BAL DE 28 30. Brent Grimes MIA CB 31 31. Michael Bennett SEA DE 28 32. Sam Shields GB CB 26 33. Justin Tuck NYG DE 31 34. Jason Worilds PIT LB 26 35. Alex Mack CLE C 28 36. Tim Jennings CHI CB 30 37. Vontae Davis IND CB 26 38. Anthony Spencer DAL DE 30 Franchised 2013 39. Donte Whitner SF S 29 40. Jared Allen MIN DE 32 42. Maurice Jones-Drew JAC RB 29 43. Antonio Smith HOU DE 32 44. Jeremy Maclin PHI WR 26 45. Brandon Browner SEA CB 30 46. Austin Howard NUJ OT 27 47. Clinton McDonald SEA DT 27 48. Julian Edelman NE WR 28 49. Ben Tate HOU RB 26 50. Emmanuel Sanders PIT WR 27 11. Jay Cutler CHI QB 31- Resigned by Chicago - Not available 41. Matt Slauson CHI OG 28 - Resigned by Chicago - not available
Davis or Shields Maclin I am not a huge fan of going crazy on signing free agents, but they definitely need to address CB and WR in free agency this offseason.
Unrelated to these guys but is there a chance the Bucs release Revis? No guaranteed money in that contract and with such a bad season and overpriced spending sprees over the years for the Bucs they could be better off not paying a corner back 16 million a year. If he's released that could open the door for a return to The Jets and boy was he missed in the secondary this year and his signing could turn that unit around. He'd rank in the top 10 on this list for sure and signing him and then focusing on offense in the draft should make this team playoff bound next season.
Or We can sign TJ Ward at safety and Gronk will probably sit out Jets games for the length of the contract:metal:
Baltimore will probably keep him, but Pitta would be a solid pick-up. He isn't flashy, but he can block and he can catch.
As far as weapons ... I think a good chance Decker does not get signed back in Denver. Would give us a big legitimate target who can catch and get deep. Then use one of our early picks on another WR. Maclin has had issue staying healthy - so I would be leary of throwing any sort of money at him. Nicks is a VERY good WR, when healthy and motivated - neither of which he seems to be anymore - also leary of him. Graham and Pita will be resigned by their teams.
Baltimore can't tag both Pitta and Monroe but will pay plenty to keep both of them. If we are willing to spend enough money we will have the opportunity to steal one of them (unless Baltimore can sign one before free agency starts and tag the other).
Revis, even with being designated to a zone defense for the first half of the year due to his knee, had a good season. 10 passes defended, while may be somewhat low for Revis, matches his 2010 status, when teams did not throw at him. from the several TB games I saw, team's have continued the tradition. I'd assume he's ranked very high as a cb per pro football focus. He's a Buc for at least a few more years.
What would you think about signing both Jeremy Maclin and Riley Cooper? Coming from the same team they may already have some chemistry with each other.
I think the man to fix our secondary is Jarius Byrd. With him playing center field we solve our biggest problem on defense while we sort out our CB situation.
Look at the ages on those guys and ask yourself what 30-32 are going to look like on a 5 year deal. Jairus Byrd is 28 next year and worth a mid range safety deal, maybe $6-7M a year for 3 years. He will get $9M a year for 5 years and maybe more than that. None of the money will be well spent but the first two years will be livable if he joins a contender that is just looking to plug that hole. Then he'll be 30 and getting paid a lot and in decline at the same time. If he has a Troy Polamalu/Ed Reed finishing kick in him then maybe the last part of the deal is livable also but he hasn't been that good so far in his career so projecting him to be that good after 30 is fantasizing.
Eugene Monroe OT ,Golden Tate ,Jeremy Maclin,Dennis Pitta,Donte Whitner SS,those guys would be massive upgrades mix that with draft and we are back.I wouldnt be against Eric Decker to
Who don't you want? Here are my thoughts: Do not want 4. Michael Johnson CIN DE 27 - Inconsistent 5. Alterraun Verner TEN CB 25 – Who? 11. Jay Cutler CHI QB 31 – Too expensive , inconsistent, getting old 12. Henry Melton CHI DT 27 Franchised 2013 – We are set at DL 14. Randy Starks MIA DT 30 – We are set at DL 16. Eric Decker DEN WR 27 - Overpriced, Overrated, Expensive 17. Hakeem Nicks NYG WR 26 – seems slower, broken somehow 22. Captain Munnerlyn CAR CB 26 – Who? 23. Paul Soliai MIA DT 30 – We are set at DL 25. Linval Joseph NYG DT 25 – We are set 28. Jason Hatcher DAL DT 32 – We are set at DL 30. Brent Grimes MIA CB 31- too old 33. Justin Tuck NYG DE 31 – too old 36. Tim Jennings CHI CB 30-too old 38. Anthony Spencer DAL DE 30 Franchised 2013 – too old 43. Antonio Smith HOU DE 32 – too old Our contribution to the list 46. Austin Howard NUJ OT 27 – Would like to upgrade, otherwise do not overpay
No chance. After giving a 1st rounder and a 3rd rounder (or 4th, I guess), they'll keep him. He's still probably the best CB in the league. He didn't have "such a bad season" - he's just overpayed.
Anyway, I would love to sign 1 Cb, 1 S (not overpaying Byrd, though) and 1-2 WR. That would set us up so nicely for the draft because we could then go BPA completely.
You still don't know who Captain Munnerlyn is? 2 sacks and an INT for a TD Sunday against our Jets? I think he made it pretty clear who he is when he was doing the flying Jets dance in the End Zone after ending our season. If he's not too costly I'd sign him. So unfortunate that after all this organization has put into the secondary in the Rex Ryan era, we still are very much in the market for quality corners and safeties.
