2013 FA Thread (Updates on OP) New: Merling, Brace, Pashos, Trueblood, EJBig, Tapp, White, Williams, MATTHEWS; Re-up: Rex, Hall, Davis, Paulsen, DY, RJax, Lich, Sundberg, Baker, Sav, Golston, Kehl, Polumbus; Paycuts: Carriker, Moss, BMeri, J. Wilson

[SemperFi Skins]

Patriots | Want to re-sign Aqib Talib
The New England Patriots will try to re-sign impending free-agent CB Aqib Talib; however, it has to be a very fair contract given his off-field and injury problems.

Panthers | Versatile Garry Williams might be cut
The Carolina Panthers might cut OL Garry Williams to save $1 million against the salary cap in 2013. Williams has been a dependable backup who can play several spots along the offensive line.

Browns | Martellus Bennett to be TE target?
Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner both believe a big, athletic tight end can be very productive in the offense. The team is looking for depth at the position, with just TE Jordan Cameron under contract in 2013. The top free-agent on the market is expected to be TE Martellus Bennett (Giants), unless he is retained by the team before free agency opens March 12.

Panthers | Might pursue Jared Cook
The Carolina Panthers might purse impending free-agent TE Jared Cook (Titans). The former star at the University of South Carolina is unhappy with his role with the Tennessee Titans, so it is expected he wouldn't re-sign

Panthers | Could target former New York defenders
The Carolina Panthers might pursue free-agent DT Chris Canty (Giants) and/or impending free-agent SS Kenny Phillips (Giants) this offseason. General manager David Gettleman was the team's pro personnel director when Canty was signed, and Canty went to high school in Charlotte. Gettleman is also familiar with Phillips, the first-round pick of the Giants in 2008.

Chargers | Several candidates to be released (Oh man, Eddie Royal's back in the game hahaha)
San Diego Chargers FB Le'Ron McClain, TE Randy McMichael, WR Eddie Royal, OT Jared Gaither and OT Jeromey Clary could be candidates to be released this offseason.

49ers | Isaac Sopoaga's future may hinge on another player
San Francisco 49ers impending free-agent DT Isaac Sopoaga's future with the team may hinge on if the 49ers are able to re-sign impending free-agent DT Ricky Jean-Francois this offseason.

Steelers | May look to change blocking scheme (Now the Jaguars and Steelers will be competition for OLineman)
The Pittsburgh Steelers may look to change to a zone-blocking scheme for their running game next season because offensive coordinator Todd Haley and offensive line coach Jack Bicknell are looking for linemen who can move, run and have quickness off the ball.

---------- Post added February-11th-2013 at 09:52 AM ----------

Patriots | Danny Woodhead may not return
The New England Patriots value impending free-agent RB Danny Woodhead but may not be willing to pay him what he is looking for because they have depth at the running back position.


Read more: http://kffl.com/hotw/NFL?page=4#ixzz2KbPPUFgq

[skinsfan_1215]

Wait I thought Eddie Royal signed with us? Figured he was on IR this year or something.

[darrelgreenie]

Chargers | Several candidates to be released (Oh man, Eddie Royal's back in the game hahaha)
....., WR Eddie Royal, .....

If the FO releases Santana Moss then Eddie Royal would be at the top of my list to replace him. They share the same skillset and Royal knows the scheme and has been highly productive in this scheme.

Also Colt McCoy is almost certain to be cut in Cleveland (Mike Lombardi doesn't like him and he's not an obvious fit the Coryell offense and his contract jumps in 2013) McCoy makes a good replacement for Rex and the members of this staff liked him coming out Texas

[SemperFi Skins]

I'll second your Eddie Royal, DG... although I'm still dreaming of Percy Harvin as I have been since he was drafted...

Colt McCoy genuinely seems like a good dude. I remember watching the college specials on him and he'd be a good teammate. I don't think anyone wants to be in Cleveland right now... That Drew Carey is full of ****, man.

[rk3025]

Jared Cook would hurt Morris's running game as he catches but doesn't block

[DC9]

Wait I thought Eddie Royal signed with us? Figured he was on IR this year or something.

He is still at Morton's with Scott Campbell to my knowledge. I'll keep you posted.

[SemperFi Skins]

He is still at Morton's with Scott Campbell to my knowledge. I'll keep you posted.

...So you're saying there's a chance? LOL

---------- Post added February-11th-2013 at 10:34 AM ----------

Jared Cook would hurt Morris's running game as he catches but doesn't block

I'd take Travis Kelce in the draft over any FA TE not named Martellus Bennett, Dustin Keller, or Fred Davis anyway...

[DC9]

Chargers | Several candidates to be released (Oh man, Eddie Royal's back in the game hahaha)

---------- Post added February-11th-2013 at 10:47 AM ----------

...So you're saying there's a chance? LOL

If I am Bruce Allen... I tell him "If you are interested in playing for the Redskins, meet me at the park and I'll have dinner delivered." Then I'll have one of my lackies bring him some chicken nuggets with no dipping sauce. Just ketchup packets.

[SemperFi Skins]

Yea, Eddie Royal kind of shafted us last year... he went to HS right down the road from where I grew up. I wonder if Shanny and Co. still care to take this guy in... I'm almost more inclined to say stick with Aldrick and Moss... (Or trade for Harvin)

Though I wouldn't be mad if Royal made his way here.

---------- Post added February-11th-2013 at 10:56 AM ----------

Chiefs | Dwayne Bowe has too much baggage? (Not that we had a chance at him, or would want him anyway)
Kansas City Chiefs impending free-agent WR Dwayne Bowe will surely receive a lot of interest if he hits the open market; however, one league scout said he has reservations. "I am scared to death of Dwayne Bowe. Like him a lot, but not sure what we'd be buying if we signed him. Too much baggage," the scout said.

Buccaneers | Roy Miller not a lock to return (Surprised by this, he was looking like a diamond in the rough)
There have been no substantive contract talks between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and impending free-agent DT Roy Miller, calling into question the team's commitment to re-signing him.

Ravens | Could pursue Rey Maualuga
The Baltimore Ravens could go after Cincinnati Bengals impending free-agent LB Rey Maualuga in the offseason. The team has been interested in him dating back to the 2009 NFL Draft.

http://kffl.com/hotw/NFL?page=0

---------- Post added February-11th-2013 at 11:01 AM ----------

Chris Gamble - DB - Panthers League sources expect new Panthers GM Dave Gettleman's "first major move" to be releasing LCB Chris Gamble.
Gamble has been considered as good as gone amongst the Carolina media, but this is the first report to be linked back to the Panthers' front office. Gamble is still a fine cover corner, but will be on the wrong side of 30 next month, making his $7.9 million salary prohibitive for a team facing daunting cap issues. The Panthers could end up devoting multiple draft picks to their secondary.

Sherrod Martin - DB - Panthers The Charlotte Observer expects the Panthers to let free agent S Sherrod Martin (ACL surgery) walk.
The former second-round pick is barely two months removed from wrecking his knee. Martin started 31 games between 2010-11, but came off the bench last season. He could have a hard time landing a contract before Week 1.

[DogofWar1]

If the FO releases Santana Moss then Eddie Royal would be at the top of my list to replace him. They share the same skillset and Royal knows the scheme and has been highly productive in this scheme.

The moment I saw Royal's name in this thread that's what I thought. I wonder what his contract would look like if he came here. He got 3Y/12.5M/6.5M guaranteed, but had a fairly weak year. Now, I don't think that's necessarily his fault, he simply didn't get targeted a ton, but I wonder if that will force him to accept less money. He certainly could/would be a nice weapon, I wonder if we could lock him down for something in the 3.5-4M/year range, maybe a 4 year/ 15M contract. We could keep his cap number pretty low, maybe around 2M this year, rising in later years, which would free up about 4M left over from Moss' contract, which would give us some room to re-sign our own UFAs.

[Skinsinparadise]

Looks like Sean Smith won't get franchised. Here's the take from someone covering the Dolphins


A look at Sean Smith's cut at free agency

I like Sean Smith. He's intelligent. He's well-spoken when he wants to be. He seems to get it when he wants to and that was apparent when he lost weight and worked his backside off in training camp prior to the 2012 season -- understanding his contract year loomed. And he's problematic for the NFL's big-bodied wide receivers that like to win by simply being bigger than the cornerbacks they face. So I like Sean Smith on the Dolphins. But he is not elite.

He is not franchise player material as one local publication reported in January. He's, well, something between terrible and good. And that makes him inconsistent. Smith started this season a house on fire. He locked down Larry Fitzgerald. He did great work against A.J. Green. And then something changed. Suddenly he was giving up first downs like it was part of his job description. And yes, that was him in the picture and beaten on a handful of TDs caught by opposing wide receivers. According to ProFootballFocus.com, Smith yielded more combined first downs and touchdowns than any other NFL cornerback. That number is a whopping 46.

Something didn't seem to fit. Seems he's not comfortable against smaller, quicker receivers so he plays off. And at 6-3 and 218 pounds, he doesn't have the quickness and explosion to close on receivers on out patterns and comebacks for first downs.
That's not all. The elephant in the room is the guy should be an interception machine. But isn't. He plays well enough often enough that balls come to him. Unfortunately, he drops most of them. He dropped one against Indianapolis last year that could've been the difference between a win and loss. Yes, he had two picks on the season, but his drops have far outnumbered his catches over his Dolphins career.

And he was a wide receiver in college at one point! I didn't know what to make of Smith after the season so I asked two former Dolphins receivers about him. I asked them to compare Smith to former Miami cornerback Vontae Davis. Both players said the same thing. "I'd much rather go against Sean than Vontae," one said. "Vontae is a pain in the [butt]. He gets his hands on you, he holds, he grabs, he gets away with stuff that nobody sees. Sean is just easier. He's fast as hell. But he guesses a lot and a lot of time he guesses wrong."

And so this is the resume Sean Smith will take to free agency in March. I believe he's going to free agency because his agent David Canter is confident Smith will be a hot commodity in free agency. I don't doubt that's true. First, Canter has made his reputation by knowing the market. Second, Smith looks like a beast if you put on the Arizona tape. But I was there for all 16 games this year. And all the games in 2011. And the ones in 2010 once Smith recovered from being benched in favor of, wait for, Jason Allen.

And I don't think it would be wise for the Dolphins to spend a lot of money on Smith. I say that that knowing that Canter will be asking for a lot of money for Smith. As I have reported, that camp believes the market for Smith is similar to the Brandon Carr contract with Dallas or the Jason McCourty contract with Tennessee. Carr got $50 million over five years and McCourty got $43 million over five years from Tennessee. So Smith is looking for anywhere between $8-$10 million. The Dolphins don't see that. And much as I like Smith and respect Canter, I don't see it either. The performance simply does not rise to that level. And frankly, I'm not sure it rises to half that level, either.

Then there's the other question that must linger in the mind of the Dolphins brass: What is going to happen once Sean Smith gets paid? He worked hard to get ready for the contract year. And then he faded anyway. Is he going to work harder once he gets guaranteed money? I don't know that he isn't. I also am not sure he will.

The cornerback market has potential bargains. Yes, Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie will want a big payday that I don't think he's worth. But guys such as Cary Williams and Brent Grimes and Michael Adams will be out there. They all come with questions marks. That makes them no better than Smith. But they'll probably be cheaper than Smith, at least initially. Then there's always the draft. A couple of years ago the Dolphins fished a little-known Utah cornerback out of the draft's second round and he started immediately. He wasn't great but he wasn't bad. And he was cheap. That made him a good value. His name is Sean Smith. But for $8-$10 million? No thanks.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolph...#storylink=cpy

[SemperFi Skins]

Sean Smith sounds like Carlos Rogers LOL

[RWJ]

Ole man Shanahan needs to get on the stick and start cutting/resturcturing players. I hope things start happening with this starting this week. I know we made a move with voiding Brown's contract but we need to start making other moves.

[Skinsinparadise]

Sean Smith sounds like Carlos Rogers LOL

That and yielding more combined first downs and Tds than any cornerback in the NFL along with wanting a big pay day -- am guessing he's not a guy that will be pursued.

[Hiro]

That and yielding more combined first downs and Tds than any cornerback in the NFL along with wanting a big pay day -- am guessing he's not a guy that will be pursued.

That said, his size and athleticism is extremely intriguing (6'3, 218 lbs). I loved what I saw what bigger corners can do, after watching Seattle this season.

I'd be willing to bring him in on a small, 1-2 year deal and see if we could find a spot for him. I'd be especially interested in seeing if he could transition to safety.