It was a foregone conclusion he would show up at some point. Get that year accrued, get the fuck out.
I think it's a 1.45 million dollar tender. Obviously now he's going to have his work cut out for him. Look how long it took Revis to get in game shape. Granted OL is a lot less running but OL still need to have stamina. It's going to take some time for him to get there.
I think that may have been why he came in a couple weeks early, so he'll be in game shape by the 10th game. Tho I still like the idea that they're close enough on a contract that he wants to show good faith (That idea is all in my head, so I don't have a link).
The Chargers expose them a little. Connolly had to be pulled becauuse they were running over him pretty well. Though he's been pretty good most of the time.
It took Jason Peters at least 4 weeks to get back into game shape when he missed TC in Buffalo. I'd expect a similar time frame here.
I don't think the early arrival is indicative of any long-term deal being imminent. He's reporting, he'll put in his year of service, and he'll walk when it's all done. Obviously having a guy like Mankins doesn't make you worse, but things are rolling so well right now that I'd almost be reluctant to let an unhappy player in that locker room.
Definitely a nice mid-season pickup that adds depth to the o-line. Hopefully he wasn't a lazy fatass the whole time up till now and is somewhere close to playing shape. Either he's an out of shape fatass right now or will be a little fresher for the rest of the year.