The Official ES 2021 Free Agency Thread / Tracker Fitzpatrick, Curtis Samuel, William Jackson, LB Mayo, C Larsen WR Humphries, CB D. Roberts, KR D. Carter , LT Charles Leno, S Bobby McCain signed

[duffy]

12 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

Not too surprising.  Will probably see more out of NO.  I don’t see the fit here though.

 

I think he'd be hard pressed to come to DC with our current crop of QBs. My guess is he goes to New England (if they get Jimmy Garoppolo) or finishes his career back in Pittsburgh. This, of course, is based solely on an algorithm I've developed over the years that predicts free agent landing spots. It's been 16% accurate in recent years. 

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

4 minutes ago, dyst said:

If the team has a certain amount of cap space this year and they don’t use it for free agents, can they use that space to resign guys like Jon Allen, Payne etc now and push the bulk of the financial hit this year while locking them up? That’s what I would do instead of forcing myself to sign FA for the sake of it.

 

There's cap rollover.  So unspent money gets added onto your available cap for the following season.  There's also a Cap Floor, but I doubt we're even close to that. 

 

You generally want to save space now, and push that hit down the road as the salary cap rises.  So even if you do an extension for Allen/Payne etc, you'd still want to reduce their 2021 and 2022 cap hit.

[Skinsinparadise]

9 minutes ago, dyst said:

If the team has a certain amount of cap space this year and they don’t use it for free agents, can they use that space to resign guys like Jon Allen, Payne etc now and push the bulk of the financial hit this year while locking them up? That’s what I would do instead of forcing myself to sign FA for the sake of it.

 

He more or less said there are two FAs he loves that they will chase hard but after that it will be similar approach to last off season.  Signing FAs just for the heck of it doesn't seem to be his style.  The one thing he said though is he doesn't want to leave a gaping hole for the draft.    So when some here say if they want this or that save it for the 2nd or third round in the draft, etc -- Ron made it clear that he hates doing that.   

 

I am with him on that front big time.  If you are building for the long haul, leave the draft for BPA.  Forcing yourself to take a spot in the draft IMO is much worse than signing some cheap FA that doesn't pan out.  That's how we ended up with Carlos Rogers for example instead of D. Ware.  

 

 

Edited March 10, 2021 by Skinsinparadise

[Est.1974]

36 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

Yep, that’s an interesting take from RR. We are trying to demonstrate that we want to keep our own, but I sense a one year tag deal is far from what he wants. Some mileage left in that one.

Edited March 10, 2021 by UK SKINS FAN 74

[Est.1974]

14 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

He more or less said there are two FAs he loves that they will chase hard but after that it will be similar approach to last off season.

Logically you think we’d have to be going LB and WR.

 

Chances are we go all in on Aaron Jones and Hunter Henry first.

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

8 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

I listened to the full press conference my 4 key takeaways:

 

A. they got two targets they will swing hard for from the jump in FA -- assuming biggish names

 

B.  If they miss on them they will ratchet down their approach to make it similar to last year.  

 

C.  He hates the idea of going to the draft with key needs that need to be addressed.  He's not thinking like some on this thread are that I'll save that need to the draft and try to fix it there.  He wants to address needs in some fashion or form in FA so he can go pure BPA in the draft.   He doesn't want to be boxed in where he has to find a specific position in the draft.  He made a variation of this point multiple times.

 

D.  He isn't hiding that they are active in trying to find a QB.  

 

Was hoping someone would recap that, and of course it was you.  Thanks!

 

D) I mean, it was well publicized we swung hard at Stafford.

C) Was hoping this was the case.  I was a bit worried it was a Kyle Smith thing, but no, it seems like this strategy is all Rivera.  Absolutely love it.  FA keeps your team moving in the right direction, while Draft is what puts you over the top.

 

b) Some guesses:

LB, Eric Wilson

WR, Nelson Agholor

LB, Anthony Walker

TE, Gerald Everett

WR, Will Fuller (large-ish 1 year prove it deal)

 

A) Some guesses on bigger names:

FS, John Johnson

TE, Hunter Henry

LB, Matt Milano

WR, Curtis Samuel

[markmills67]

13 minutes ago, UK SKINS FAN 74 said:

Yep, that’s an interesting take from RR. We are trying to demonstrate that we want to keep our own, but I sense a one year tag deal is far from what he wants. Some mileage left in that one.

If he doesn't fancy Sherff long term then rescind the franchise Tag now before Sherff signs it. Rumours around we could trade for Norwell, played for Rivera at the Panthers. 

[RWJ]

24 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

He more or less said there are two FAs he loves that they will chase hard but after that it will be similar approach to last off season.  Signing FAs just for the heck of it doesn't seem to be his style.  The one thing he said though is he doesn't want to leave a gaping hole for the draft.    So when some here say if they want this or that save it for the 2nd or third round in the draft, etc -- Ron made it clear that he hates doing that.   

 

I am with him on that front big time.  If you are building for the long haul, leave the draft for BPA.  Forcing yourself to take a spot in the draft IMO is much worse than signing some cheap FA that doesn't pan out.  That's how we ended up with Carlos Rogers for example instead of D. Ware.  

 

 

Best guess, SIP.  You listen to a lot of interviews with RR.  Who do you think the two big targets will be?  Best guess.  I am hoping the first is TE Smith from Tenn. and Samuel from Carolona as I don't think he spends big on Holladay for the second player but would  be all for it if he did.  

3 minutes ago, markmills67 said:

If he doesn't fancy Sherff long term then rescind the franchise Tag now before Sherff signs it. Rumours around we could trade for Norwell, played for Rivera at the Panthers. 

I would have let Scherff test FA and continued to negotiate with him and tried to sign Thuney (sp) sorry from NE.  

[PartyPosse]

35 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

 

There's cap rollover.  So unspent money gets added onto your available cap for the following season.  There's also a Cap Floor, but I doubt we're even close to that. 

 

You generally want to save space now, and push that hit down the road as the salary cap rises.  So even if you do an extension for Allen/Payne etc, you'd still want to reduce their 2021 and 2022 cap hit.

Once the cap goes up so too do salaries. Lock up guys now before that happens.

[Long Time Fan]

8 minutes ago, UK SKINS FAN 74 said:

Logically you think we’d have to be going LB and WR.

 

Chances are we go all in on Aaron Jones and Hunter Henry first.

I would be shocked if we threw a bunch of money at Aaron Jones - truly shocked.  In my opinion, there are a number of areas where this team can improve but only two where we are desperate / well below league average - LB and WR.  You bring in quality options at LB and WR and you elevate the entire team.  We could use another running back but I see no need to spend a lot of money for one.  A big swing at TE, maybe but not RB.  

[ILikeBilly]

Ron says they will swing hard for two and they don't want to leave gaps.  Based on this, I think we go for QB and LB.  We need WR, CB and TE, but the cupboard is not empty at these positions.  

[JamesMadisonSkins]

My guess on what Ron means when he says he wants to go into the draft not needing a position is the same thing we as fans project out for free agency.

 

As fans we didn't think we were in a good position at TE when we signed Logan Thomas. We all expected TE ... and didn't even draft one. Clearly Ron was right on that approach and maybe there was someone we had targeted for in the draft that was gone by our pick, but he set us up to not "need" to draft a TE, and he was right.

 

So it's clear we are going to go after a couple of big-name guys that they've ID'd as being impact type players. After that, I could see us doing exactly what we did last year, which is be methodical ... and as fans we will probably all think we "need" certain positions in the draft, but Ron will set the roster up in such a way that if we didn't draft a single WR, TE, LB, QB, etc. we wouldn't be totally screwed.

 

Last year that meant KPL, Thomas Davis at LB. It wasn't sexy, but it was a rounded-out group and we didn't go LB in the draft. Would it have helped to have a young LB to build up? Sure. But we didn't "need" it. It isn't about filling every hole with a stud. But it is about making sure each position has enough there so if you don't address it in the draft, you aren't totally screwed.

 

But I think most of us understand that.

 

Also, going to go out on a limb here and say the two names we are going to go hard for:

- Curtis Samuel

- Jameis Winston or Mitch Trubisky

Edited March 10, 2021 by JamesMadisonSkins

[SemperFi Skins]

https://nfltraderumors.co/saints-expected-to-release-lb-kwon-alexander/

 

Saints Expected to Release LB Kwon Alexander

 

The report notes he is expected to be ready for the start of training camp following an achilles tear to end 2020.

Edited March 10, 2021 by SemperFi Skins

[JamesMadisonSkins]

1 minute ago, SemperFi Skins said:

https://nfltraderumors.co/saints-expected-to-release-lb-kwon-alexander/

 

Saints Expected to Release LB Kwon Alexander

 

The report notes he is expected to be ready for the start of training camp following an achilles tear to end 2020.

 

Kwon Alexander and Anthony Walker are my two guys at LB. JP Finlay also thinks Walker is the right move for LB that won't cost an arm and a leg. He thinks he's the perfect "Del RIo / Rivera" LB ... a coach on the field, and a grinder.

[Long Time Fan]

9 minutes ago, ILikeBilly said:

Ron says they will swing hard for two and they don't want to leave gaps.  Based on this, I think we go for QB and LB.  We need WR, CB and TE, but the cupboard is not empty at these positions.  

Will there be a free agent QB worth swinging hard for?  I'm confident we will pick up someone but not sure there are any QBs hitting the market that we need to roll out the red carpet for.  My guess is that we already took big swings at QB (Stafford and maybe Carr) and the big FA swings he is referring to are for other positions.   

[Commander -JB-]

1 hour ago, dyst said:

If the team has a certain amount of cap space this year and they don’t use it for free agents, can they use that space to resign guys like Jon Allen, Payne etc now and push the bulk of the financial hit this year while locking them up? That’s what I would do instead of forcing myself to sign FA for the sake of it.

Exactly.  Don’t look to freely spend all money available on players from outside of the organization.  Lock some of our own up like Allen/Payne.

[JamesMadisonSkins]

1 minute ago, Long Time Fan said:

Will there be a free agent QB worth swinging hard for?  I'm confident we will pick up someone but not sure there are any QBs hitting the market that we need to roll out the red carpet for.  My guess is that we already took big swings at QB (Stafford and maybe Carr) and the big FA swings he is referring to are for other positions.   

 

I'd be curious to know. I think people assume when he says two guys they'll go hard for, it is a WR and LB. But I would bet we have our eyes on a few below the radar guys at LB, FS (Boston) .. that won't necessarily be big name splashes. Probably early-signings but nothing substantial. This will be a long drawn-out FA cycle too, probably similar in some ways to MLB where you just have guys sitting around waiting for contracts and teams waiting for certain dominos to fall. I really think the FA cycle will extend well beyond the draft.

 

That being said, what are our two biggest needs? WR and QB.

 

I think we go hard after one of each. My guess at QB is someone with pedigree who you can pay up to bring in on a cheap prove-it deal. So while "going hard" after Mitch Trubisky or Jameis Winston isn't exactly a big deal $$ wise compared to others at the position ... getting Winston on a 2 year $25m deal would be going big relative to other FA costs/dollar numbers.

 

Winston + Curtis Samuel is my guess. But I know there are some that think Winston isn't leaving NO so if that is known/understood behind league doors, maybe it's Mitch.

[Skin'emAlive]

Thomas Davis was a complete waste of a roster spot. That’s not a good example 

[Est.1974]

Seems like we’re all on the Curtis Samuel train. Would like that one to happen.

 

My guess is that our primary targets are JuJu and Henry.
 

Wildcard being Mariota, if we ‘know’ he’ll be made available once FA happens.

[CommDownMan]

2 hours ago, HigSkin said:

I have no idea how the non-exclusive franchise tag works if you assigned a guy (like Scherff) from exclusive last year to non-exclusive this year but Breer shows an NFL statement that has non-exclusive offensive lineman to be $13,754m.  If that's really the case, good for WFT.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Ball Security said:

I don’t think this applies to Scherff because this is his second tag which requires 120% of the previous season’s salary.  At least that’s how I understand it.

 

https://www.nfl.com/news/2020-nfl-free-agency-glossary-all-the-terms-you-need-to-know-0ap3000001106817

 

Non-exclusive franchise tag: A player who receives the non-exclusive franchise tag is free to negotiate with other teams. The player receives a one-year deal with a salary set at the greater of (a) the cap percentage average for his position (an amount equal to the sum of the franchise tag figures at a player's position over the previous five seasons divided by the sum of the salary caps over the previous five seasons multiplied by the current year's salary cap) OR (b) 120 percent of his PYS (the player's cap number from the previous season, minus any performance incentives).

Teams that use the non-exclusive franchise tag hold the right of first refusal. If a designated player signs an offer sheet with another team, the player's previous team has five days to match the offer sheet. Should it decide not to, the player's original team shall be entitled to draft-choice compensation equivalent to two first-round picks.

[PartyPosse]

21 minutes ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

 

Kwon Alexander and Anthony Walker are my two guys at LB. JP Finlay also thinks Walker is the right move for LB that won't cost an arm and a leg. He thinks he's the perfect "Del RIo / Rivera" LB ... a coach on the field, and a grinder.

Walker has more legs left than Kwon.

[CommDownMan]

1 hour ago, dyst said:

If the team has a certain amount of cap space this year and they don’t use it for free agents, can they use that space to resign guys like Jon Allen, Payne etc now and push the bulk of the financial hit this year while locking them up? That’s what I would do instead of forcing myself to sign FA for the sake of it.

 

They can do that or rollover unused cap.  They'd be silly to force anything. 

Edited March 10, 2021 by jsharrin55

[RWJ]

2 minutes ago, UK SKINS FAN 74 said:

Seems like we’re all on the Curtis Samuel train. Would like that one to happen.

 

My guess is that our primary targets are JuJu and Henry.
 

Wildcard being Mariota, if we ‘know’ he’ll be made available once FA happens.

So hoping for Jonnu Smith from Tenn. and Samuel.  I don't see signing Fitzpatrick as a big swing as he could be had on a 2 year deal for 8 mill a year is fair and more than another team would pay and telling him he's our starter.   

[dyst]

2 minutes ago, jsharrin55 said:

 

They can do that or rollover unused cap.  They'd be silly to force anything.

I’m just wondering if it would be better to extend them now then doing it later since contracts continue to get bigger each year. 

[Est.1974]

3 minutes ago, RWJ said:

So hoping for Jonnu Smith from Tenn. and Samuel.  I don't see signing Fitzpatrick as a big swing as he could be had on a 2 year deal for 8 mill a year is fair and more than another team would pay and telling him he's our starter.   

Yep Smith and Samuel are 2 I’d like. Plus Jayon Brown at LB. The above is just my guess as to what direction the team initially goes in.