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In roughly 1 hour the crazy spending period known as NFL free agency will begin. The smart teams, which usually means the good ones, spend most of their time and money trying to retain their own free agents. The dumb teams, which are the bad ones, spend most of their energy signing players to contracts for more money than they are ever going to be worth.
No doubt, there are some good deals to be had in free agency. However, rarely does a Randy Moss situation arise where a great player still in his prime changes teams and is in need of only this change of scenery to be great again. Last year a few players approaching their prime signed big deals, such as Leonard Davis going to Dallas, where he made the Pro Bowl. However, Davis was in this NFL wasteland known as Arizona and had been the #2 overall pick in the Draft some 6 years earlier. Upon reaching a place like Dallas, known for a history steeped in the tradition of winning, Davis became the player many felt he could be, which was dominant.
For every Moss and Davis, there is the Edgerin James contract. James who signed a few years ago in Arizona after leaving Indy has been average in Arizona. James makes over $6mm a year annually if my memory serves me right and in making this money he averages under 4 yards per carry. The problem with free agency for fans is that fans equate big names with good signings and that isn’t the case. Usually if a guy is in his early 30s and getting a big, long-term contract (other than a QB or offensive lineman) it means your team did something really dumb.
If you want to try to find the good signings during the upcoming free agency period, look for players in the league 4-6 years who are approaching their prime and have been having progressively better seasons the last 2-3 years. These are guys typically 25-28 years old that you may have heard something about if you’re a hardcore fan, however, they won’t be household names.
Hold onto your wallet if you’re an NFL owner and your enthusiasm if you’re an NFL fan because the oasis that is free agency is upon us.
5 responses so far ↓
1 hash // Mar 1, 2008 at 9:02 am
What are your thoughts on NE letting Asante Samuel leave (the money that Philly is paying himis insanity) and NE not slapping the franchise tag on Randy?
2 LauderdaleLegend // Mar 1, 2008 at 10:22 am
In response to hash:
I suspect Samuel being let go is all about projected increases in Payroll by NE. It will cost a ton to keep Randy and I believe Brady may ask for some of the cuts he’s taken to come back his way.
Additionally, the Pats owners probably have a business model which puts a ‘cap’ on slaries regardless what the NFL ‘cap’ is for them. This franchise despite it’s success is run like a business!
3 Emil // Mar 2, 2008 at 9:37 am
Funny you ask this question, read today’s post. I try to answer it for you there. Thanks.
4 CWilson // Mar 2, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Legend, absolutely! The Patriots don’t believe in breaking the bank for any one single player. It keeps cohesiveness and continuity in the locker room and also allows you to be solid in all positions and not just overloaded in one spot. It will be interesting to see if more teams in the NFL adopt this policy.
5 hash // Mar 3, 2008 at 7:42 am
Nice insight-all of you!
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