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

[HigSkin]

I believe the Redskins save $5.5 million if Fletcher retires or is released.

Ooops, old data - think its $2.8 cap release hit assuming it's retirement.

[JamesMadisonSkins]

Only the top 51 contracts count towards your cap number during the offseason. We are just over $1M over right now and that includes the cap penalty.

We can get under the cap pretty easily but we are going to have to get creative to get under enough to sign our own priority free agents, be active in the wider free agent market and have enough space for our rookie pool. Its all very doable though without putting ourselves on the hook for future dead cap hell.

I think I saw that the rookie pool for our picks is just $3.5 million. Not too bad.

So of our free agents ... realistically ... who do we want back? I'd say the number is not as great as many think...
TE Logan Paulson ($1.1m)
TE Fred Davis ($2-4m)
OLB Rob Jackson ($1-2m)
ILB Lorenzo Alexander ($1-2m)
LS Nick Sundberg ($500k-700k)
FB Darrel Young ($1.5m)
LB Bryan Kehl ($550k)
NT Chris Baker (vet min)?

That adds up to between $10 and $12 million ...

Lichtensteiger? No ... you have LeReibus/Gettis in the fold.
Polumbus? No .. maybe at a vet. minimum

The rest are guys (C. Griffin, T. Jackson, M. Williams, J. Black, S. Rocca, K. Golston, C. Cooley, B. Banks) ... that won't be back ...

Moral of the story ... it sounds like we have a lot of guys we need to bring back, but in reality, we don't. We should be able to get down enough to bring back the guys we want and get 2-3 moderately priced FAs (Toller/Lynch/Cox/Ryan Harris types).

[GoSkins0721]

No because that is already accounted for. All the talk of us being $4million over is in reference to the ~$105 million cap we have to hit not the $123.9 million cap every other team gets.

If we were to free up that money like JMS suggests and then got some cap relief from the penalty...look out.

Great, thanks to both of you for clearing that up for me. I kind of thought that was the case when people were referring to being $4M over the cap of ~$105m but wasn't 100% sure.

Again, thanks for the info.

[MartinC]

“@HTTR24_7: @Rich_TandlerCSN @therichturpin Some behind the scenes stuff going on with Fletch apparently. Hard for me to see him playing this year.”

[wrecker]

If the Cowboys, who were $20 million OVER the cap, can restructure 4 guys like they did yesterday and already be under the cap... we should be in great shape considering we're only $4 million over as it stands.

We don't have any guys with that big of cap hits to restructure. Hall would be the only one close.

[SemperFi Skins]

We don't have any guys with that big of cap hits to restructure. Hall would be the only one close.

Moss, Fletcher (if comes back), Trent Williams... to name a few.

[Skinsinparadise]

I played high level sports and my feeling is the whole 'veteran motivational leader' thing is overblown by fans. I'm not saying its not real - but in my opinion its not nearly as important as we as fans and the media portray.

I agree with the spirit of this point but more for the offensive side of the ball than defense. When it comes to the Redskins specifically, we seem to have a relatively number of quiet guys on defense. One example, it struck me listening to Kerrigan in an interview when he was pestered about why he doesn't talk to the refs about being held so much in a game -- that he came across like he's too shy to do so.

Maybe, I have been influenced a lot from a Sports Fix show where Sheehan was musing about something that I was already thinking when the defensive was playing especially poorly -- boy do we have a bunch of quiet players on defense that at least to the naked eye don't play with the spunk and attitude that some other teams play with. Lets take the Rams in the game they beat us, it struck me beyond X's and O's. It looked like the defense was trying to bully and intimidate the Skins -- and I am not just talking about the Morgan incident with Finnegan. Seattle ditto. Bengals, ditto.

Granted, Gregg Williams took it too far, but it seemed like he preached to play with an attitude. Haslett on the other hand looks like Dalai Lama on the sidelines. So Fletcher at least comes across to me as a pivotal guy in multiple ways. A. He's the brains of the defense on the field who makes adjustments. B. When he's 100%, he's arguably one of our best defensive players on the field if not the best. C. He's a playmaker -- you don't for example see Perry Riley make clutch interceptions. D. He seems to be the motivational guy, too. And yeah I agree the motivational part isn't the biggest deal, I just don't see it as a complete nonfactor either especially considering the other variables. I think you take a London speech much more seriously than one lets say from Hall -- because you know London will back up his words with stellar play. IMO Orkapo tends to disappear in critical games whereas London plays his best.

Gregg's best defenses seem to have players like Smoot, Pierce, Fletcher, Marcus Washington, Springs -- that played well but also had that spunk about them personality wise and it seemed to put a stamp on the defense. Even Taylor and Landry though weren't talkers so much but clearly played with an attitude of intimidation. In my opinion this defense doesn't have as many guys like that. And yeah i get am not being very clinical and by extension it sounds simplistic, and again its far from the operative reason why a defense is good or not good. But am not the only one who has voiced this. Chris Russell who is around the team some, talked pre Eagle game about how Merriweather is a spark in the clubhouse and this team needs that. Merriweather I recall saying, it looks like these guys just aren't having fun -- and he thought he can bring some spark. And yeah players did remark Merriweather did just that. Yeah I get just being fired up accomplishes nothing but IMO it can bring that extra gravy -- cherry on the ice cream sundae type of thing.

Could be my years of watching Gregg's defense in person that perhaps is overestimating this -- guys like Marcus Washington were just fun to watch between plays. He and others just looked like a team that was looking forward to hammering the opponent. Then you got Gregg, yelling on the sidelines. The vibe of intimidation seemed palpable. It doesn't seem to be the same with this group but Fletcher seems to be the guy who can best bring it out of them. And again, am just talking about the gravy to the dinner. the dinner is definitely the talent and scheme. But yeah i don't think the other part is a complete non factor.

[wrecker]

Moss, Fletcher (if comes back), Trent Williams... to name a few.

Restructuring Hall, Moss, Fletcher and Williams will not yield over 20M of cap space. The Cowturds also do not have 19 UFA/RFA to deal with.

[JamesMadisonSkins]

Moss, Fletcher (if comes back), Trent Williams... to name a few.

Cofield/Bowen/Garcon ... but then we start getting into inflating next year's cap ... and pushing more into 2015 and 2016 ... Dallas will be in a lot of trouble in 2-3 years ... I'd like to avoid that.

I think we can afford to push a couple million off this year and into 2014 for his deal ... and maybe we can re-work Cofield's deal .. and make more of Garcon's money guaranteed and deflect his $8m cap hit a bit. Pushing $2-3 million off this year and spread out $1m a year for '14 and '15 wouldn't be terrible. But I worry that we'd get in a lot of trouble if we did that with too many!

---------- Post added March-1st-2013 at 10:03 AM ----------

Restructuring Hall, Moss, Fletcher and Williams will not yield over 20M of cap space. The Cowturds also do not have 19 UFA/RFA to deal with.

Just to re-emphasize by previous post ... but out of our 19 UFA/RFAs ... I honestly think we want maybe 6-7 back at the most: Alexander, Jackson, Davis, Paulson, Young and Sundberg. Maybe Kehl ... the rest (Golston, Polumbus, Lichtensteiger, C. Griffin, T. Jackson, C. Cooley, J. Black) are merely bodies or have replacements in the pipeline.

---------- Post added March-1st-2013 at 10:04 AM ----------

Also ... am I the only one that gets annoyed reading articles saying that if the Redskins don't retain Licthensteiger they likely need to address OG in the 3rd-4th rounds of the draft ... because that's where you can get reputable starters? Graziano wrote this ... and he even mentioned LeReibus and Gettis ... last year's 3rd and 5th rounders ... but then completely dismissed them while saying you can find starters in rounds 3-5 ... HELLO ... we have TWO currently on our roster who fit that. We will let Lich walk and LeReibus will fill in.

[SemperFi Skins]

Falcons | Two more cut
The Atlanta Falcons cut DE John Abraham and CB Dunta Robinson.

Falcons | Michael Turner released
The Atlanta Falcons released RB Michael Turner.
FANTASY TIP: "Burner Turner" isn't the same player he used to be. He could latch on somewhere as a short-yardage/goal line back and have some value. Don't completely write him off yet.

Browns | Two likely to walk
The Cleveland Browns are unlikely to re-sign TE Benjamin Watson and FB/TE E. Alex Smith.

Bills | Interested in bringing Corey McIntyre back
The Buffalo Bills have expressed interest in re-signing impending free-agent FB Corey McIntyre but he wants to test the free-agent market before making a decision.

[Alcoholic Zebra]

Also ... am I the only one that gets annoyed reading articles saying that if the Redskins don't retain Licthensteiger they likely need to address OG in the 3rd-4th rounds of the draft ... because that's where you can get reputable starters? Graziano wrote this ... and he even mentioned LeReibus and Gettis ... last year's 3rd and 5th rounders ... but then completely dismissed them while saying you can find starters in rounds 3-5 ... HELLO ... we have TWO currently on our roster who fit that. We will let Lich walk and LeReibus will fill in.

You're not the only one. I get annoyed and kind of just dismiss the writer as not knowing what he's talking about. The fact that Graziano mentioned it yet still said we should draft one...I don't know what to think there.

[SemperFi Skins]

Dashon Goldson - DB - 49ers Sources tell CSN Bay Area the 49ers have made "little progress" on a long-term deal with free agent S Dashon Goldson.
The same is true of free agent defensive linemen Isaac Sopoaga and Ricky Jean Francois. League sources also confirm the 49ers are not planning to use the franchise tag ahead of Monday's deadline. Keeping Goldson is a priority for the NFC champs, but the odds that he reaches the open market are increasing. Related: Isaac Sopoaga, Ricky Jean-Francois
Source: CSN Bay Area Mar 1 - 10:16 AM

Derek Cox - DB - Jaguars According to the Florida Times Union, the Jaguars want free agent CB Derek Cox back, but "only at the right price."
It's an indication Cox won't be back in Jacksonville, as his agent is on the record as expecting a "vigorous" market. Cox is worthy of a nice payday, but could find his market depressed by the glut of available corners.
Source: Florida Times Union Mar 1 - 10:10 AM

William Moore - DB - Falcons CBS' Jason La Canfora confirms the Falcons "do not intend" to use the franchise tag.
There have been varying reports on the Falcons' intent for the tag, but it's looking safe to assume they won't apply it ahead of Monday's deadline. The Falcons are now nearly $16 million under the cap after releasing Michael Turner, John Abraham and Dunta Robinson, so the space is there if they change their mind. SS William Moore is the most obvious candidate.
Source: Jason La Canfora on Twitter Mar 1 - 9:36 AM

[martytheman]

Restructuring Hall, Moss, Fletcher and Williams will not yield over 20M of cap space. The Cowturds also do not have 19 UFA/RFA to deal with.

but they do have a significant amount of money tied up in a few aging vets, AND they still need to get Romo's deal done and Spencer, plus Ratliff....
they've avoided the hangman's noose for Mar 12... but they have severe cap problems and the next few years going forward are going to be cap hell for them because they've pushed so many of those guys' salary forward into future years.

[MartinC]

but they do have a significant amount of money tied up in a few aging vets, AND they still need to get Romo's deal done and Spencer, plus Ratliff....
they've avoided the hangman's noose for Mar 12... but they have severe cap problems and the next few years going forward are going to be cap hell for them because they've pushed so many of those guys' salary forward into future years.

Spencer is gone - they just cant afford to pay him close to what he will get in free agency.

[TheLongshot]

Just to re-emphasize by previous post ... but out of our 19 UFA/RFAs ... I honestly think we want maybe 6-7 back at the most: Alexander, Jackson, Davis, Paulson, Young and Sundberg. Maybe Kehl ... the rest (Golston, Polumbus, Lichtensteiger, C. Griffin, T. Jackson, C. Cooley, J. Black) are merely bodies or have replacements in the pipeline.

I think George is more of a "body" than Lichtensteiger, who is one of the better linemen on the line. While we have young guys in the pipeline, I don't believe us so flush that you can dismiss Lichtensteiger so readily.

Also, I'll be a little surprised if we end up retaining Jackson, not because the team doesn't want to, but that Jackson would want to search for more playing time elsewhere.