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We don’t see this very often, but four days into free agency the Washington Redskins have yet to make a big splash in the free agent market.
They could have jumped into the bidding war for Julius Peppers or Karlos Dansby. However, they opted to take the conservative route and bide their time.
Thus far, they have signed just one player who is far from a big name. Artis Hicks, a versatile utility lineman from the Minnesota Vikings, is all the Skins have snapped up in free agency this year.
Yet despite the inactivity, there have been rumblings of a few players here and there.
Tackles Tony Pashos and Chad Clifton each stopped by before inking deals elsewhere.
LB Larry Foote and RB Willie Parker visited Redskins Park yesterday while WR Antonio Bryant is expected to do the same today.
None of these guys are going to be superstars, but they are players who can contribute to the overall betterment of the team. Foote can play MLB in the 3-4 defense while Parker would be a solid veteran change-of-pace to Clinton Portis.
Bryant is the interesting one.
The Redskins don’t have a great corps of receivers. Devin Thomas looks like he could be a decent player. Santana Moss can be great if he draws single coverage. Malcolm Kelly really has done nothing.
Bryant would be a consistent possession receiver who would free up Moss and perhaps move him to the slot. That would give the Redskins two big receiving options on either side in Thomas (6-2, 218 lbs.) and Bryant (6-1, 205 lbs.).
Bryant dropped off last year, playing in just 13 games, catching 39 passes for 600 yards and four TDs. However, the year before he grabbed 83 balls for 1,248 yards and seven TDs.
Bryant is an intriguing option.
With him, the Redskins would solidify the receiving corps and could then turn focus completely to the offensive line situation.
It’s not as if the Redskins haven’t attempted to address the protection up front. They re-signed center Casey Rabach and brought in Hicks, but thus far, they have yet to find a pair of tackles.
The interior is taking shape.
Rabach will anchor the middle again with Derrick Dockery at left guard. Hicks is expected to start at right guard. Levi Jones and Stephon Heyer are likely the current starting tackles, meaning the Redskins will need to look at the remaining free agents and draft prospects for some starters.
The patience in Washington is refreshing.
The Redskins really didn’t need Julius Peppers. Larry Foote is a cheaper option than Karlos Dansby. Artis Hicks isn’t a guy the Redskins usually have on their radar.
The front office is one with an eye on the big picture.
Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen know this turnaround won’t happen overnight. They realize that breaking the bank this year won’t put them in contention for a Super Bowl.
So in an ordered, precise fashion, they are putting together components to compete.
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After watching big names like Julius Peppers, Karlos Dansby, and Chester Taylor sign free agent contracts over the weekend, many Chiefs fans had to be wondering if General Manager Scott Pioli was off on vacation and oblivious to the fact that free agency had begun.
On Monday, Pioli showed Chiefs fans that his priorities are in order.
Fans who followed the Chiefs closely last season should be ecstatic about Pioli re-signing WR Chris Chambers to a three-year deal worth up to $15 million.
After being released by the San Diego Chargers last season, Chambers signed with the team and led the Chiefs in receiving yards (608) and yards per catch (16.9) in only nine games. Most importantly for the Chiefs, Chambers has some of the most reliable hands in the NFL, and when paired with former first-round pick Dwayne Bowe last year, the offense was markedly better.
Now the question for Chiefs fans is whether Pioli can build on the momentum of signing Chambers and bring in some more talent to help the 2010 Chiefs.
Here is a list of players that Pioli should certainly entertain signing in the next few days and weeks leading up to the NFL Draft.
In a move that goes a long way in shoring up one of the team’s weakest positions and biggest needs, the Miami Dolphins have signed free-agent linebacker Karlos Dansby to a multi-year contract.
Dansby receives a five-year, $43 million contract that includes $22 million guaranteed. The deal makes him the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL who isn’t primarily tasked with rushing the passer.
One of the most highly-regarded and sought-after free agents on the market in 2010, Dansby had garnered interest from the New York Giants and Washington Redskins, among others.
Originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft, Dansby has amassed 553 tackles, 25.5 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, 10 interceptions, and 25 pass deflections in six pro seasons.
Dansby’s signing comes the same day the team released the man he will replace—veteran inside linebacker Akin Ayodele.
Although he can play any of the linebacker positions in the Dolphins’ 3-4, Dansby is expected to start inside alongside Channing Crowder.
Analysis
As an Auburn fan, Miami Dolphins fan, and simply a fan of good football players, I could not be happier about this signing.
Inside linebacker was one of the biggest areas of need for the Dolphins heading into this offseason, and this was the move I was hoping they would make to address it all along.
Dansby gives the Dolphins something they’ve completely lacked since implementing the 3-4—a quality all-around inside linebacker.
In Dansby, the Dolphins get a strong, athletic linebacker with good tackling ability, excellent coverage skills, and the ability to rush the passer as well.
Dansby gives the Dolphins what they didn’t have in Ayodele and Crowder—a playmaker.
For comparison: In two seasons with the Dolphins, Ayodele had zero sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble.
Meanwhile, Crowder, while a solid tackler, has had an incomprehensibly difficult time making big plays, posting 2.5 sacks, one interception, and three forced fumbles in 71 NFL games over five seasons.
Quite simply, what Ayodele and Crowder do over a few years or half a decade, Dansby does every season. I expect new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who has tutored some of the NFL’s great linebackers, to get even more out of Dansby’s talent.
While the Dolphins aren’t finished building their team into a contender just yet with needs at receiver, right guard, nose tackle, outside linebacker, and free safety, they have greatly improved the squad with a play-making, Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker.
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True, it’s only been one whole month since the NFL season has officially been over.
It hasn’t even been one whole month since the Cardinals said good-bye to arguably the best quarterback in their franchise’s history.
But after everything that’s happened, is it too wild to imagine the Cardinals dropping right back to where they were three or four years ago?
Face it Cardinals fans, you’ve been spoiled .
Kurt Warner—teamed with Todd Haley, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin—revived a dormant franchise, and instilled hope in a drowning fan-base.
The Cardinals reached the Super Bowl, and were eyeing their first (and only) Super Bowl title with roughly two minutes remaining.
Then came Ben Roethlisberger and a back-breaking drive. The Cardinals lost, and then started 2009 with a new, conservative approach, with Todd Haley calling all the shots in Kansas City.
Instead of airing it out, Warner and co. played reserved football, dinking and dunking down the field, while remaining fairly inconsistent for much of the season.
However, just like the season before, the Cardinals found their third gear near the end of the year, erased the memory of a beat-down against Green Bay in Week 17, and turned it on for a 51-45 overtime win in the first round.
But then came the embarrassing loss to the New Orleans Saints, Kurt Warner‘s retirement, and now two more key losses.
With Anquan Boldin going to Baltimore and Karlos Danbsy signing with the Miami Dolphins, the Cardinals are slowly (but surely) losing key players that made them the resilient team that shocked the world in 2008.
Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin, arguably the brain and heart of the Arizona Cardinals, are gone. Check Dansby off the list, too, leaving the Cardinals already inconsistent line-backing corps short-handed.
Oh, and then there’s the Antrel Rolle fiasco. Despite claiming they still wanted to retain him after releasing him (for less money, naturally), the Cardinals watched helplessly as the New York Giants signed the talented safety to a five-year deal.
And the worst part is, Rolle reportedly gave the Cardinals every chance to match the offer and keep him in Arizona. They simply didn’t want to.
So, let’s take a second glance.
Matt Leinart, who has been nothing but under-whelming and erratic in spot-duty since his rookie season, is your 2010 starter.
And if the Cardinals aren’t comfortable with that, they can always bring in (NFL&id=1576″ title=”David Carr” target=”_blank”>David Carr ?) to compete with Leinart. And yes, they have been rumored to be interested.
Sure, losing Boldin, from a talent perspective, doesn’t take the wind out of the sails, but do Steve Breaston and/or Early Doucet have Boldin’s toughness, fearlessness, and leadership?
Quite easily, no, no, and no.
Talent can only do so much, and regardless of age or injuries, there’s no denying Boldin was, and is, an absolute gamer. Arizona trading him for a third and fourth round pick was simply another reminder that this is a franchise that is not serious about winning.
Letting Karlos Dansby and Antrel Rolle walk in the process was just the icing on the cake.
As if losing your star, veteran quarterback and gutsy, reliable receiver wasn’t enough, the Cardinals allowed two of their most talented defensive stars to leave, as well.
True, losing Warner wasn’t Arizona’s fault, and Leinart still deserves a shot to prove himself, but it still puts the Cardinals back a step.
After everything that’s happened (in the past month alone, mind you), it’s becoming quite clear that, whether the Cardinals are wishing it upon themselves or not, they are quickly becoming less competitive by the day.
Add an 0-2 record in 2009 against the apparently rising San Francisco 49ers to the mix, and the Cardinals almost certainly have a ridiculously long uphill battle to get the division title for a third straight season.
And if Brandon Marshall somehow finds his way in Seattle” target=”_blank”>Brandon Marshall somehow finds his way in Seattle in 2010, something tells me the Cardinals could slip even further.
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The moment is here. Just a few hours before the first day of NFL free agency came to an end, Miami has reportedly inked Karlos Dansby to a five-year, $43 million contract— including $22 million guaranteed.
Dansby’s signing will give Dolphins fans everywhere a sigh of relief, as the news could not come soon enough.
In other news, Joey Porter was finally released, as was struggling free safety Gibril Wilson. The Wilson release could signal interest in players such as Darren Sharper and Oshiomogho Atogwe.
The other highly touted free safety, Antrelle Rolle, has just been signed by the Giants.
Updated at 11:28pm: The Dolphins have re-signed Chad Pennington to a 1 year deal.
Other AFC East News
-The Jets release Thomas Jones, Donald Strickland; Cromartie acquired by trade. Kerry Rhodes is notified by the team that he will return in 2010.
- Bills schedule visit with offensive tackle Wade Smith. That is about the only activity the Bills have had in free agency.
-Patriots re-sign Stephen Neil, Vince Wilfork, and Tully Banta-Cain.
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