Don't know if the Payton Manning thread was going to serve as an offseason thread for the NFL but I figured we should have an Overall NFL Offseason thread going. Of course the big story is going to be Manning, but there's much more to the offseason than that. What do you want to see your team do. For the 49ers, I think the highest priority has to be a wide receiver. I think they should test the free agent market for that, but if they Draft one, that's good too. Also want to see more sprucing up of the Offensive line, as Smith was sacked quite a bit this year. Whatever happens, it's always an interesting time of year.
For the love of God, I hope the Patriots find a premiere pass rushing DE. A stud cover corner would be nice, too, but the secondary won't be as much of an issue if the Pats can finally generate a legitimate pass rush. I'd also like to see them pick up a receiver who actually poses a threat down the field. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up signing Brandon Lloyd. He likes playing for Josh McDaniels.
Do we know the receivers that are on the market come march? Anyone worth signing. Also, one nice thing about this last 49ers season is that players may want to come here, and with the new stadium on the way, it's an exciting time for the team.
I don't know the whole list, but these are some of the receivers hitting the market: Dwayne Bowe Marques Colston Stevie Johnson DeSean Jackson Brandon Lloyd Vincent Jackson Reggie Wayne Wes Welker
Brandon Marshall is expected to be available in the trade market, as well. The Bears are projecting to have about $31 million in cap space, which is more than enough room to address their major issues: Re-signing Forte and acquiring a decent backup quarterback, a legitimate #1 wide receiver (especially since Knox is in a body cast), a starting LT and a starting TE. Totally doable if Emery doesn't break the bank on any one player -- and I'm expecting them to target Robert Meachem for their WR need if they can't get Bowe out of Kansas City, with the Chiefs being extremely likely to lock Bowe down. They can shoot for a safety and cornerback early in the draft, then look for a WR and another RB in later rounds.
I'd be happy with a legitimate #3 WR in Chicago. I wish they would move Hester to RB if they want to utilize him properly.
The Bears' entire wide receiver corps is composed of #3 guys. I mean, shit, after Forte's 52, the most prolific receivers this season were Knox and Williams, who pulled in an astonishing 37 catches each. There is no legitimate #1 receiver on the team, and until there is, the offense will never reach its full potential. That's why Forte broke down in December: He was carrying the entire offense on his back. Knox got broken in half, Williams will thankfully be gone, Hester's an idiot and Bennett is the definition of a role player. And Hester at running back? He has enough trouble remembering to run forward when he's returning kicks, I don't want to imagine what would happen if he were lining up in the T.
Considering Hester has the IQ of a grapefruit and can't do anything except run fast and in a straight line (forget any complex patterns as a receiver or RB), if the Bears want to get even worse, this would be one way to do it.
I'm not overly optimistic, but I think the Eagles should re-sign Jackson. Last year was a bad year for him, but I think he's better than that. Headcase, yes, but a good one who usually plays well on the field. Once again, Asante Samuel has a lot of trade rumors. But he got no interest last season. I wonder if things will be better this year. I wonder if any team will be willing to try and make an offer for him.
They may franchise Jackson -- and he'd certainly love to be, since he wants $12 million a year -- but he wants his payday, and I don't think he quite realizes that his payday is going to be much more in line with, say, Bernard Berrian's deal with Minnesota, as opposed to Larry Fitzgerald's. He's a big part of the offense, but he's not a $10 million kind of receiver. His best fit is a team like Cincinnati, where he would be a great complement to AJ Green. But a far more likely scenario is a desperate team like Jacksonville or Washington taking him in and expecting him to do everything. As for Samuel, he pretty clearly wants out, and I think the Eagles will be willing to trade for him and not expect much more in return than third-round pick, considering they've got Asomugha and DRC, and they've spent far too many draft picks on corners not to get them on the field and see what they have there. The Eagles are only going to have around $13 million in cap space, and they've got around $2 million in dead money to deal with, plus they'll need to sign their rookies. My guess is that they let Jackson walk, and try to grab a linebacker in free agency, or otherwise in the draft. I think they'll be pretty quiet in the FA market.
I would love to see the Packers get an actual stud running back! They could also use some Defensive talent.
I know he makes a terrible receiver, but he's good at finding holes and just... being fast. They should at least try it.
Why on Earth would they do that when they have one of the best running backs in the league in Matt Forte?
I say Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne are heading to Arizona. That means that Manning will have Reggie Wayne AND Larry Fitzgerald to throw to, and then mix in a not too bad rusher like Beanie Wells. Could happen. Could happen.
Well, I'm glad the Colts finally cleaned house. First smart thing loud-mouth Irsay has done in a long time. I'm interested to see how the offseason goes for the Colts, and I'm sure it will be front page news based purely on the Manning factor. As I mentioned in the previous thread, though, I've been in California for six years, and the Colts have made a lot of mistakes the last few. If we get a team in LA, my my allegiances are up for grabs. I'd like to start going to football games again. Except for the Chargers... screw the Chargers.
The secondary is the bigger need in my opinion. McCourty took a step back this year, Arrington gives up huge plays despite his timely picks, and Sergio Brown, Antuan Molden, and Sterling Moore intimidate me about as much as your mom back there. Ventrone has more waiver wire transactions than tackles. Not sure what to make out of Dowling as he got hurt early. Chung can't stay healthy, and Ihedigbo is more of a special teams guy. The D-line solidified after Haynesworth the Horrible got cut, and losing Andre Carter to injury hurt. As for the offense, they need a reliable everydown RB. The Law Firm is steady and never fumbles, and Woodhead blocks and catches well, but they have no big threat. Maybe Ridley will get more involved next year, he showed some potential. And yeah they do need a big play WR. Ochostinko didn't work out. Welker is a first down machine but not really a big play guy, Gronk is an animal, and Hernandez is slippery for a big guy and the closest thing they have to a big play threat. A down the field guy could really help spread things out and keep the opposing D honest. Maybe a little more Slater on offense? Also, with the new rookie wage scale, you wonder if they will actually take a couple of high round picks and stop relying on castoffs and undrafted free agents.
I haven't kept up on the Cardinals but are they giving up on Kevin Kolb already? That's a bit surprising considering the amount of money they threw at him. I may think he was unproven and generally sucks balls as a QB, but I don't work for the Cardinals.
A decent RB would be nice, but they definitely need to shore up the defense and that should be their priority.
I don't think they're writing Kolb off yet. He's going to have the benefit of a full offseason with the team, as well as (hopefully, for his sake) some decent offseason acquisitions. That being said, if he bombs, the Cardinals are only on the hook for about $21 million guaranteed, so it's not like he's making the bank that Matt Flynn will sometime next month. Speaking of the Packers, they're going to have a pretty tough spring, especially with only between $8 - 12 million in cap room (sources vary on this). Flynn's gone. They'll probably apply the non-exclusive franchise tag to Finley, which will cost them between $5.416M and $5.624M in 2012, while trying to sign Wells and Bush. I can't imagine a world in which it's worth it to re-sign Ryan Grant to any significant contract, so I expect he'll get plenty of time to shop around in free agency, where it's unlikely for him to find a whole ton of buyers, so I'd think he may return for a relatively cheap one- or two-year deal. Donald Driver's definitely a goner, but he won't be cut until after June 1 so they can apply his dead money to the '13 cap -- it'll be a hard call, but he's due $2.6 million to be the team's (at best) third receiver at the age of 36. Chad Clifton is a likely cap casualty, as well. So, they won't have the money to make a major splash in free agency, but they should be able to hang onto most of their key guys and hope they luck out in the draft.