(bolding mine)
I agree with you for the most part, but I think losing Boldin will really hurt. Separation or no, he’s led the team in receiving yards over the last three years. Pitta is going to have step up and make some of the catches that Boldin has been making, and they need to get another wideout to take some attention off of Smith. Caldwell’s playcalling will help, but Boldin definitely leaves a hole that needs to be filled.
Flacco is going to take a big step back without Boldin. Boldin has been amongst the top 5 in receivers the last few years in terms of making their quarterbacks look better, probably third after Calvin Johnson and AJ Green.
The Packers apparently have $18 million in cap space. I would think they could accommodate Jennings and Jackson. I would try to give Jackson 2 years at most, front load the contract, at something like $7 mln this year and $3.5 million next year and Jennings 3, maybe 4 at about $8 mln per year.
Child support payments all around!
I kinda feel bad for Greg Jennings not getting the interest that Wallace or even Amendola got. But I’m also happy that the Packers may have a better chance of signing him at cheaper. Although the Vikings are sniffing around. …
And I’m a huge fan of Steven Jackson. Love to see him in a Packer uni.
He’ll be fine. Before they acquired Boldin he was throwing to guys like a so-so Mark Clayton, an aging Derrick Mason, a rapidly declining Todd Heap, and late-round/undrafted guys like Justin Harper and Terrance Copper, and save for his rookie year (and the playoffs) he’s produced nearly identical numbers each year.
All the rumors are fun. Now that Matt Cassel has been cut, he can go back to New England as a backup and the Browns can trade for Ryan Mallett. Kevin Kolb is going to be cut, so he joins Ryan Fitzpatrick on the “not living up to expectations” trashheap of NFL QB’s. Revis to the Bucs? Carson Palmer on the move again? Watching the rampant speculation is kinda fun, as long as you don’t take it seriously.
Flacco had a ridiculous comp % Boldin, and pretty pedestrian to everyone else. (70/40 IIRC)
I have no idea what the fascination is with Ryan Mallett, but I’ve heard about 50 rumors that the Browns want to trade for him. He seems like the only guy in the league slower than Weeden. Not sure what the appeal to him is, aside from not being 30. If he comes cheap and competes, I don’t care, but they’re talking about maybe second round pick type stuff. No way.
Well Wallace and Amendola are considerably younger, although I didn’t think Amendola got all that much attention to be honest. But 30 years old does seem to be a magic number at almost all positions, where teams crank up the caution on who they sign..
Kruger’s contract counts only $8 million against the cap every season. For a team with the cap space the Browns have, that’s no big deal. And it’s structured so that they could cut him before the third year of the deal and it will only count around 3 and half million against the cap. That’s pretty good for one of the top pass rushers in free agency (and from their division rival, to boot).
And $15 million guaranteed for a good d-lineman is not “absolutely insane.” That’s not even in the top 10 for defensive tackle contracts. In terms of the cap, Bryant’s only going to count just under $7 million against it every year. Which means they could also cut him before the third year of his deal and not wreck their cap. He’s actually making less than Ahtyba Rubin, which makes Rubin look like prime trade bait.
Cap hits. It’s all about the cap hits. The raw numbers don’t matter. Both of these guys could certainly end up being busts, but that’s true of any FA. What matters is that they can be cut without too much cap pain.
Cribbs says goodbye. Sad day, I’ll miss him. I’m kind of surprised Chud wasn’t interested in keeping him, since Cribbs was so vital to the 2007 team that Chud practically coached. I guess there’s not much room in the league for a soon to be 30 year old special teamer, but I have the feeling he’s going to end up in New England and be used properly and make the Browns regret letting him go.
I missed that he signed with Arizona, just remembered the rumors that Arizona and New England were the teams wooing him. Too bad, I was hoping that he’d get scooped up by NE or SF and play for a winner. The guy is still really good - the new kickoff return rules have hurt how much difference any returner can make, but Cribbs was still in the top 5 in both kick and punt yards and averages, and he was a great player on special teams coverage units. He also said he’d be willing to take a paycut to stay with the Browns, and even then they wouldn’t give him a serious offer. Since the Browns are overflowing with money, I guess the FO must think they’re just too talented to have probably the best overall special teamer in the league, who actually wants to play for your team, who’s been good for the community, who will take less pay from you than other teams on the roster. Dumb.
It has been painful to watch good people leave the Ravens but in the end I am not worried about it for the following reasons:
Despite common belief the Ravens defense did not fare well last year, just average at best. They are keeping Ngata, Suggs and other core members to build a new defense on.
Those worried about overpaying Flacco I have to say this is a problem I am looking forward to having. He’s the first good quarterback this team has ever had. This should be fun.
After comps the Ravens may have as many as 12 picks this year. Given the much better than average drafting the Ravens do that’s a good thing.
As has been mentioned before, few Ravens players excell after they leave the Ravens for big money. I believe this demonstrates the system is what makes for great play, not individual players.
Finally as a personal observation, few teams have been able to go back and repeat a championship exactly as they were the year before. Clearly the 2012 Ravens were a flawed team in many ways. I applaud their ability to have gone all the way, and I further applaud their willingness and bravery to make bold steps for the future.
Right or wrong they are not just trying to stay pat and sit on what they have. I am looking forward to next year and think they will do fine. The Ravens have never been a team of superstars, they have always been just a very well run team.
Well, Steven Jackson looks to be going to the Falcons. Shit.
Saints get Keenan Lewis (damn)
Vikings get Cassel
Eagles get Kenny Phillips, Cary Williams
Sean Smith to the Chiefs
I’ve been listening to interviews with Martellus Bennett now that he’s a Chicago Bear. He’s pretty damn interesting and pretty funny too. Seems like he could be a great pick up, and I may root for him even though he’s a Bear.
Jeff Backus retires. Do the Lions have another LT in development or does this mean they’re going to take one in the draft? If KC and Detroit take LTs at the top of the draft, better chance of Milliner or Jordan falling to 6. The way the Browns got Kruger but missed on all the CBs suggests they may be counting on Milliner.
Double damn.
I like the Phillips signing because he’s only on a one year deal. Prototypical low risk high reward signing. I feel confident that most Giants fans will say that he was the difference maker for their defense. When he played, that defense was significantly better pretty much all around. Really hoping this signing works out (and yes I’m aware of the Steve Smith parallels).
Not a fan of Cary Williams. He’s a punk and a chump. Very solid tackler, and he does have size. He isn’t old at 28, but he’s not young enough to expect much improvement on his game. Opposing teams attack him constantly and with great success. And he got a competitive deal for a CB in this market, which means a high amount of guaranteed money over three years. I’m really hoping he adds a little swagger to the Eagles defense which has been soft and pliable for years. I’m really hoping that I’m wrong on this one.
The Eagles also signed Connor Barwin to a long term deal. I simultaneously love and hate this move. It’s 6 years for $36 million, but apparently only $8 million guaranteed. That’s a great contract for a young (26) guys with prototype size/speed for an OLB and has experience and results.
There’s a lot of question because his numbers fell off the map from 2011 to 2012. The Eagles think it was because he rushed from the strong side primarily in 2012 and the weakside in 2011. But if they intend to move him to the weakside… what’s going to happen to Trent Cole, Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry, and Philip Hunt? It’s a strange move if they expect Barwin to be a rush LB… and that’s what he is, right? Still, love the signing for those terms and he could be a stud for the team.
The Barwin signing is pretty much the stamp that seals the switch to the 3-4. So there’s that. Still lots of uncertainty for the offense scheme, but now there’s a clearer picture of how the team expects the pieces to fit defensively.
Finally, the moves today seem to indicate the Eagles will pass on Dion Jordan at #4. Dee Milliner is still in play, but unlikely. I don’t want one of the DTs and I think both top OTs will be gone by 4. Hopefully the Eagles just take the best guy available regardless of need. They aren’t winning a Super Bowl this season anyway.
I don’t know why NFL teams never seem to front load contracts. The Browns have gobs of cap space this year, and no hard numbers have been leaked, but it sounds like they’re doing standard backloaded contracts. I guess part of it is to make the deal sound big while giving the team the option of cutting a player later, but it seems weird to waste your cap space this year by signing a bunch of contracts that have a cheap first year and bloom later.
Is there some way to accelerate signing bonus cap hits to the current year? Maybe the NFL should allow that.