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

[doghouse4x4]

I think Smith stays with the 'Fins.

[SkinsTillIDie]

Roman Harper player 97% of the snaps on the worst defense of all time. He's terrible in deep coverage and can't keep up with fast receivers. Saints fans for years have been suggesting he move to linebacker. Wrong side of 30, only getting worse

Would be terribly disappointed if he signed a contract with the Redskins

[SemperFi Skins]

1) I am interested in Roman Harper. Just for competitions sake

2) This is very interesting about the Eagles. I wonder where they'll find the cap space with all of the money they have committed. I suspect they'll have to purge a couple of players to fit Smith in. I doubt Talib goes there when he could come here... just a hunch.

I think Talib gets tagged personally. And I think it's a warning sign that the Dolphins, with $35 million in cap space aren't fully vested in resigning Sean Smith... I'd pluck Randy Starks/Chris Clemons of their roster though, gladly.... and of course, Reggie Bush.

[Alcoholic Zebra]

I think Talib gets tagged personally. And I think it's a warning sign that the Dolphins, with $35 million in cap space aren't fully vested in resigning Sean Smith... I'd pluck Randy Starks/Chris Clemons of their roster though, gladly.... and of course, Reggie Bush.

He's pretty good against your big physical guys, but apparently he REALLY struggles against smaller/shifty receivers. He's given up a lot of TD's to the shifty ones. Makes me think he's pretty scheme dependent. He's got talent and potential, so maybe in the right scheme he could be what Asomugha was in Oakland. But if his struggles with quick receivers continues, a team might decide to move him to safety.

So basically he's still a wild card, he's shown flashes and he's still developing. But the Dolphins don't want to pay him top corner money when he isn't actually a top corner yet...or maybe ever.

Bush is intriguing because he immediately becomes that dynamic pass catching threat out of the backfield. Yet I really don't know how he'd fit in a 1 cut and go scheme. He has all the tools to be a monster in it, but he just dances sideways too much. At this point it isn't really changeable, he is what he is.

[SemperFi Skins]

Raiders | Will be saving money with Richard Seymour being FA
Updating a previous report, the Oakland Raiders will be saving $30 million in real money with DT Richard Seymour's contract being voided.

Percy Harvin - WR - Vikings According to a "high-ranking Vikings source," Percy Harvin "expects" an extension similar to the deals recently signed by Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald.
The league's two highest paid receivers, Johnson scored an eight-year, $150.5 million pact last March, while Fitzgerald is entering year three of an eight-year, $128.5 million deal. Megatron's deal includes $60 million guaranteed, Fitz's $50 million. "(Harvin) is a star player in our league, but I would imagine that he sees himself in the class of the top wide receivers in our league," the source said. If true, it would certainly explain why the Vikings are exploring trading a player who's among the most gifted in the league, but also hot-headed with injury question marks. However, it's extremely doubtful Harvin could even approach Fitz and Mega's deals, in Minnesota or elsewhere. We're likely only at the beginning of a long and winding ordeal.
Source: ESPN.com Feb 13 - 2:42 PM

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie - DB - Eagles The Philadelphia Inquirer expects free agent CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to command "big money," and considers him a candidate for the franchise tag.
Long and lean at 6-foot-2, 182 pounds, DRC is also very durable and still two months shy of his 27th birthday. He's one of the league's better ball-hawkers. All that should translate to a big payday despite his inconsistent play. DRC would be due roughly $10.7 million under the franchise tag. The Sideline View's Adam Caplan "would be surprised" DRC is back in Philadelphia.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News Feb 13 - 2:30 PM

Raiders | Would add to cap if Rolando McClain cut
The Oakland Raiders would take an additional $585,000 hit on the salary cap if they decide to release LB Rolando McClain this offseason. The team would have $7.26 million in dead money on the salary cap if McClain is released.

[rick1796]

for the record i hate when all you people with normal jobs stop working and go home and so are no longer posting. . . .
I am liking the idea of Georde Wilson in here possibly along with a younger second tier S and or CB. My shopping list is really pretty modest. I don't thnk we need better recievers if we improve the o-line their numbers will peak. One RT and one Safety, and possibly a ILB and my free agent shopping list is complete and we can go BPA in the draft. I also think Paulson is better than they give him credit for. I mean i know he is not a down field threat, but he clocks a TON. just re-watch all the good running plays and see how he gets downflield and seals. I like our running game enough I would prefer not to weaken it with a recieving TE.

[J-bomb]

RT- ryan clady
cb- leodis mckelvin
fs- Cory lynch
rb- d woodhead

is my wishlist if we cut any guys we should replace those positions in the draft ie (moss,hall, fletch-retires,royster,williams- a must cut)...

[mojo]

Roman Harper player 97% of the snaps on the worst defense of all time. He's terrible in deep coverage and can't keep up with fast receivers. Saints fans for years have been suggesting he move to linebacker. Wrong side of 30, only getting worse

Would be terribly disappointed if he signed a contract with the Redskins

I agree. I follow the Saints and he is not a player that I would want to see on the Skins.

[thesubmittedone]

Anyone else think Free Agency is so much more fun under Shanny? Seriously, before we'd be pretty much calling the signings. But, now, it's like anybody could be a Skin and we get to learn about that player as we go. Who the heck thought we'd sign Chester, Cofield and Wilson in 2011? Garcon and Morgan last year? It's nice to literally have no idea, lol.

Seriously, it's nice to have the feeling that the FO knows something we don't and are targeting specific players for specific reasons beyond our football capacities here as fans.

[skinsfan4128]

I agree. I follow the Saints and he is not a player that I would want to see on the Skins.

I live near Louisana and have numerous friends that are Saints fans in south Mississippi, so I see alot of their games. With that said, Harper is about on the same level as M. Williams. I agree in saying I'd pass on him being a Skin. Might as well have Williams back as you would get the same disappointment.

[STBonecrusher21]

Anyone else think Free Agency is so much more fun under Shanny? Seriously, before we'd be pretty much calling the signings. But, now, it's like anybody could be a Skin and we get to learn about that player as we go. Who the heck thought we'd sign Chester, Cofield and Wilson in 2011? Garcon and Morgan last year? It's nice to literally have no idea, lol.

Seriously, it's nice to have the feeling that the FO knows something we don't and are targeting specific players for specific reasons beyond our football capacities here as fans.

It's become like the predraft-draft for me.

Less than a month away. Combine in between then.

Fun times.

[skinsfan4128]

Anyone else think Free Agency is so much more fun under Shanny? Seriously, before we'd be pretty much calling the signings. But, now, it's like anybody could be a Skin and we get to learn about that player as we go. Who the heck thought we'd sign Chester, Cofield and Wilson in 2011? Garcon and Morgan last year? It's nice to literally have no idea, lol.

Seriously, it's nice to have the feeling that the FO knows something we don't and are targeting specific players for specific reasons beyond our football capacities here as fans.

I agree, Submitted. Shanny plays it close to the vest. What's refreshing is that he's more spot on than he is wrong. Makes for a great feeling when the season rolls around and you are excited and thrilled at the product being displayed as opposed to shaking and trembling at the thought of another failed season.

[Monk4thaHALL]

I'd like to highlight a player who is currently an Free Agent. His name won't be found on the PFF Free Agent Tracker, nor will KFFL mention him either.

Again, each year there are guys who are brought in for camp competition, guys to fight for a special teams role, added to swell the offseason roster to 90 players and they seemingly come out of thin air. They are essentially names that no one really hears about prior to signing. And if it were not for Mark the Homer and his press releases, few would ever see their names.

Essentially there's the draftnik free agent list (PFF & KFFL and others) that are available, which everyone scourers and then there must be the real list, that each NFL team has, which will list hundreds upon hundreds of names.

Anyway his name is Marcus McGraw.


__

He was a 4 year starter at U of Houston and productive. Yet he's a smaller sized LB (5'10" / 230lbs), the kind-of hybrid guy that usually ends up in 4-2-5 type defense. The kind of size that you'd associate more with a safety. He's stocky and compact.

So he's not your proto banger type in a 3-4. But his production in college would merit a look as a slipstream Inside Backer for a 3-4, just to see if his production could translate. Otherwise you'd expect him to play Will in a 4-3, 4-2-5.

When you do watch his college stuff, he played with a chip on his shoulder. He was aggressive and didn't shy away from throwing his body into traffic, stuffing a gap. But he likewise had that tough guy, undersized guy type motor where you would see him get a lot of production just from hustle.

He did play in C-USA, so not the upper echelon of competition. Nonetheless, you had the thought maybe he was a sleeper who might be able to play with same up-tempo style in the NFL and perhaps be a productive back-up LB or a special teams guy. Short size and short limbs were probably the first noticeable detriment. He also timed slow, slower than what he looked like on film.

He ended being an undrafted rookie free agent in 2012. He got picked up by Arizona. He was waived in August of 2012 during the cut of 75, prior to the final cut to 53.

He was a FA in 2012 and remains one in 2013. Whether he is still interested in the NFL, still looking for a chance to compete, whether teams are even interested in him - IDK.

Here's some info on him from when he was picked up by the Arizona Cardinals:
http://www.revengeofthebirds.com/201...-marcus-mcgraw

Meet Arizona Cardinals Undrafted Free Agent Marcus McGraw

This is usually how his bio starts:

Houston linebacker MARCUS MCGRAW (6-0, 228) started all 53 games in his four seasons with the Cougars and set a school record with 510 career tackles.

He was the team leader in tackles in each of his four years, surpassing 100 tackles every season, including a career-high 156 as a sophomore in 2009.

McGraw also totaled 37 tackles for loss, nine sacks, two INTs, eight forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries during his Houston career and was a three-time All-Conference USA second team selection.

McGraw is only about 5'10" and 236 pounds.

McGraw ran a 4.75 second 40-yard dash, he had 22 reps of 225 pounds on the bench and his 3 cone drill time clocked in at 7.08 seconds.

His stats from college:
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/...-mcgraw-1.html

                                                Tackles 	                        Def Int 	                        Fumbles

Year 	School 	         Conf 	Class 	Pos 	Solo 	Ast 	Tot 	Loss 	Sk 	Int 	Yds 	Avg 	TD 	PD 	FR 	Yds 	TD 	FF ... 
2008 	Houston 	 CUSA 	FR 	LB 	48 	55 	103 	6.5 	0.5 	0 	0 		0 	5 	0 	0 	0 	2
2009 	Houston 	 CUSA 	SO 	LB 	79 	77 	156 	9.0 	4.0 	0 	0 		0 	6 	0 	0 	0 	3
2010 	Houston 	 CUSA 	JR 	LB 	56 	54 	110 	7.0 	2.0 	1 	38 	38.0 	0 	1 	1 	33 	0 	2
2011 	Houston 	 CUSA 	SR 	LB 	67 	74 	141 	14.5 	2.5 	1 	24 	24.0 	0 	8 	1 	34 	1 	1

Career 	Houston 				250 	260 	510 	37.0 	9.0 	2 	62 	31.0 	0 	20 	2 	67 	1 	8

I should probably add a note right about here, to those that have actually made it to this point, have actually read what I've written (those that have already lost interest or those that don't read me, will have been gone by now)

U of Houston churns out productive LBs (meaning guys with heavy laden stat columns). There's a whole new batch this year with guys like Phillip Steward and Derrick Matthews.

For whatever reason, you have to assume that the UH defense is just going to have LBs with tons of production numbers. So don't get caught up in his stats. It's more a product of a UH defense that gives up a lot of yards and points. The LBs get stats but the team, rather the defense, is generally giving up stuff.

Anyway the overriding judgement on McGraw was always as a undrafted rookie.

He was seen as someone that probably would struggle in the NFL due to his size and lack of any attribute to offset that disadvantage, like rare speed.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/foo...ers/84941.html

Biography: Four-year starter awarded all-conference honors every season since his sophomore campaign. Led his team in tackles the past four seasons, most recently totaling 141 tackles / 14.5 tackles for loss / 2.5 sacks, one interception and seven pass breakups as a senior. Junior totals included 110 / 7 / 2. Posted a career-best 156 tackles as a sophomore.

Positives: Small yet fierce linebacker who flies around the field attempting to make positive plays. Remains disciplined with assignments, effective making plays in space and shows a burst of speed. Explodes to the action, quickly changes direction and fluid getting out to the flanks in pursuit. Fires between the gaps of the offensive line to defend the run and scrapes well laterally. Relatively effective in coverage.

Negatives: Easily blocked from the play and gets caught up in the trash. Not a strong tackler and often needs to drag ballcarriers to the ground.

Analysis: McGraw is rarely mentioned in scouting circles, but he's a legitimate one-gap linebacker who would be effective in a system that allows him to chase down ballcarriers. Size is a limiting factor, but he offers potential as a nickel linebacker who can be placed on the field during third-and-long situations.

Projection: FA

Anyway,
His pro day interview:

__


And this is a highlight cut-up of a 2011 game vs Tulsa. There are about 3 or so plays in the vid which feature McGraw, #55.

1. @ 0:22
2. @ 0:52 - Run Blitz
3. @ 2:05 - Run Blitz




For that game, he actually had 15 total tackles, 12 being solo (3 assisted), 3 tackles being for loss.
__

For reference: His UH profile page:
http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-fo..._marcus00.html
__

wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_McGraw
__


For what it's worth, I'm not enamored with the guy. I'm a realist in that I understand that the NFL has freak sized guys doing freak athletic things. I'd be interested in seeing if this guy could compete. Even though I've written a lot it doesn't mean I'm pounding the table, but maybe I'm going to bat for the guy a bit.

---------- Post added February-14th-2013 at 03:03 AM ----------

Oh & this as well:

After being released in August by Arizona, apparently by October, McGraw was trying out for the CFL.

http://www.cfl.ca/article/practice-r...ounce-signings

Updated: October 03, 2012 07:05 PM

With the CFL practice roster expansion period now in effect, the following additions were announced on Wednesday:

Winnipeg Blue Bombers:
Jawann Westerman, DB, Rutgers
Lee Barbiasz, OL, Northern Colorado
Marcus McGraw, LB, Houston
Wallace Miles, WR, North Carolina A&T

[DC9]

The Raiders could save $5.341 million against the 2013 salary cap by releasing Darrius Heyward-Bey.
DHB is due a prohibitive $7.721 million base salary in the final year of his rookie deal, and Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times has already said it's "pay cut or hit the road time" for the former No. 7 overall pick. Oakland could move forward with Rod Streater and Juron Criner behind Denarius Moore.

Bengals.com "figures" the team will re-sign free agent CBs Terence Newman and Adam "Pacman" Jones.
Both were pleasant 2012 surprises as key contributors to the NFL's seventh-ranked pass defense. Jones graded out as Pro Football Focus' No. 11 corner, while Newman checked in at 19. Both will be on the wrong side of 30 when the season kicks off, so neither should get more than a one- or two-year deal.

Bengals.com considers Vontaze Burfict and Emmanuel Lamur the leading candidates to take the bulk of the linebacker snaps in 2013.
Burfict played weak-side 'backer in 2012 as an undrafted rookie, and went on to lead the team in tackles. He'll shift to the middle with free agent Rey Maualuga likely gone, and Lamur will step in on the weak side. Lamur is an athletic player out of Kansas State who was promoted from the practice squad in Week 9.

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport mentions the Rams, Colts, Vikings, and Dolphins as potential landing spots for free agent Greg Jennings.
The Rams, Colts, and Vikings are new teams to be linked to Jennings, but the Dolphins have long been associated with the 29-year-old. "All other 31 teams are an option," Jennings said Wednesday. Jennings won't approach Vincent Jackson money (five years, $55 million), but he could command $7-9 million a year from a receiver-needy club. He can also play in the slot and outside, making Jennings more appealing to teams that like "move" receivers.

ESPN New York expects the Giants to tender restricted free agent S Stevie Brown a contract if a long-term agreement cannot be reached.
Plucked from the Colts after they declined to tender him a contract last offseason, Brown intercepted eight passes his first year in New York, good for second in the league. He also contributed 76 tackles, and started 11-of-16 games. Bringing Brown back is a no-brainer for the G-Men.

[skins2323]

RT- ryan clady
cb- leodis mckelvin
fs- Cory lynch
rb- d woodhead

is my wishlist if we cut any guys we should replace those positions in the draft ie (moss,hall, fletch-retires,royster,williams- a must cut)...

Forgive me if you think I am jumping all over you, bc its not my intention. But I HATE when ppl list stud free agent LTs as our targets at RT. Do you really think Ryan Clady, coming off his best season as a pro bowl LT, would sign a team friendly deal and then move to RT? In baseball terms, thats like asking a 26 yr old All-Star closer to become a set up man. If Clady was 32-33 y/o and his career was on the downswing then maybe, but he's in his 20's, playing at a very high level and is one of the best LTs in the NFL. Why would he come here to play RT? I think we have a better chance of seeing Clinton Portis start at RB next yr, then Ryan Clady as our RT.