Official 2024 FA/Trades: Ertz, Armstrong, Ferrell, Fowler, Ndubuisi, Biadasz, Allegretti, Deiter, Luvu, Wagner, Pittman, Walker, Ekeler, McNichols, McManus, Mariota, Driskel, Ott, Chinn, Iggy, Davis, Pierre, Zaccheaus, Reaves, Crowder, Obada, Lucas, Byrd

[HigSkin]

This makes sense if KC gets him

 

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Quick thoughts on each of the signings:

 

- Austin Ekeler (RB): They needed a guy who could be a reliable 3rd down back, both in pass-catching and blitz pickup with a rookie QB.  Ekeler is both of those things.  It was a cheap signing, he won't be the starter.  I've also heard this isn't the greatest RB class in the draft.  To me, he's a more proven Gibson.  If he gets 15-20 plays a game as a 3rd down/known passing situation back, I think it's a great signing for not a lot of money.  

 

- Zach Ertz (TE): (Going way back, remember that signing?  Feels like 6 months ago.)  He's going to come in with some knowledge of the terminology.  He's nowhere near the player he was.  I think they're going to draft a guy, and that guy might end up being the starter.  But they needed a veteran in what is going to be a very young group of TEs.  He was, as Spurrier once famously said, "cheap and available."  He'll fill a role and he's not going to be counted on as a savior.  

 

- Dorance Armstrong (DE): I didn't know much about him before he signed.  This feels like a very "second tier" FA signing, average money, player Quinn knows type of guy.  They had to do something because they had zero DEs with any degree of starting experience on the roster.  Now they have one.  They'll probably sign a couple more and draft a guy or two. Ron having ALL the DEs on expiring contracts and then with the trades of Young and Sweat, they have to sign bodies.  This feels "safe."  And that's fine.

 

- Tyler BiadasZ (C): This was a "We're drafting a rookie QB, need a veteran center who can start" signing.  By all accounts, he's a good play.  He knows the division, which helps somewhat.  Fills a huge hole.  I do feel bad for Stromboli.  That was just a horrid tactical draft pick by Ron.  They had already signed Gates, then they signed Larson, and buried their third round pick.  Gates stunk, so he's gone, but now you sign another veteran, and once again bury your 3rd round pick, unless he can swing to guard.  

 

- Frankie Luvu (LB): In 4 years, Ron basically decided to ignore LB with the exception of blowing the evaluation and drafting Davis in 2021 for a position he couldn't play. So the cupboard is basically completely bare.  They needed a LB, and they got a good one.  Luvu plays fast, seems to be ok in coverage and a good blitzer. They might use him like Dallas used Parsons, moving him around a lot.  Not saying Luvu is Parsons, but he can be a fun toy for the defense to use in a lot of ways.  If they are creative.  Which I think they will be.

 

- Brandon McManus (K): I'm sad to see Joey Slye go only because I enjoyed posting pictures of '80's Sylvester Stalone whenever he did something good or bad.  That was fun.  Great sadness.  Otherwise, Slye was replaceable.  McManus doesn't miss kicks inside 40 yards, and is pretty good inside 50.  My question with him will be kickoffs.  Slye was an automatic touchback, which is helpful.  McManus, was 75% touchback percentage last year with the Jags.  Slye-guy was 88.9. Is that a big deal?  It shouldn't be.  And I'll take the consistency on the PATs and short to moderate FGs. But our coverage units will have to be better.  

 

So far, it looks like they have a plan, their sticking to the plan, and their building the roster in a way which is going to allow them a lot of flexibility.

If I had to guess, I think the next signing is going to be a CB.  After that, I think you'll probably see a couple more OL and DEs picked up in the next few days.  

 

** Very interested to see what they do in FA at safety.  Safeties got paid.  Curl is still out there.  He didn't get the pay date he wanted.  Does he just come back?  Is he the type of player they want?  In the Joe Witt defense, does Curl, Forrest, Martin at safety make sense?  Is that good enough?  They like playmakers in the back end.  Is that group going to do that?  

 

** I'm somewhat surprised they didn't sign a CB already.  They currently have a first round pick who struggled and nobody as their starting DBs, since Fuller is a FA and unsigned.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see both Curl and Fuller return on shorter, cheaper deals than either of them wanted.  And then we draft a few guys in the middle rounds. 

[HigSkin]

 

[JamesMadisonSkins]

49 minutes ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

There is no guarantee Paul or Daniels will make the team.  
 

We’re probably signing a couple more to compete and drafting a few also.  
 

 

 

Yeah, they're more on the roster bubble (Daniels less so than Paul, perhaps). But for purposes of having 9-10 OL who we expect to make the Final 53, I think they're fine.

So based on the assumption that we've committed to $30m in 2024 cap to the first 6-7 signings, that leaves us with about $50m in money we can still spend.

 

I think it's likely we carry a hefty amount forward to 2025. But I also think there's plenty of room for a few more signings like we got yesterday, and one of those potentially being bigger $$ for someone at OT or Safety. 

[Skinsinparadise]

One of the panelists on GMF think this team had the best FA day yesterday in the NFL

[Riggo#44]

Players, coaches, executives want to come here.

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

A Carolina reporter I listened to also said that team really want to keep him bad

 

Edited March 12 by Skinsinparadise

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

Nm

Edited March 12 by Sacks 'n' Stuff

[Voice_of_Reason]

6 minutes ago, HigSkin said:

This makes sense if KC gets him

 

 

Mahomes and Reid are going to make Samuels a 1300 yard receiver with a SB ring next year if he signs there. I said they should have traded for Samuels at the trade deadline. If I was Samuels, I'd play there for the vet minimum.  Plus incentives, of course.  (LOTS of incentives. Maybe even get to go with Travis to a Taylor Swift concert)

 

13 minutes ago, FrFan said:

After Wylie, don't tell me the Walrus is playing us again !

Reid had nothing to do with us signing Wylie as a FA.  We did that all on our own. He played us with McNugget and Smith.  Though, I think with a better coach than Jay, Smith would have been better.  The longer it goes, the more it is clear Jay was literally bad at everything, and I'm surprised he was able to get up in the morning and walk to the bathroom without making a wrong turn and ending up in the garage.  

[Riggo#44]

6 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

A Carolina reporter I listened to also said that team really want to keep him bad

 

If players like Luvu want to play for Quinn so badly, I am getting more excited about his hire.

[JamesMadisonSkins]

OTC has the Armstrong, Ekeler and Allegretti deals on the books.

 

Cap hits ('24, '25, '26)

Armstrong:$4.9m - $9.8m - $12.3m

Allegretti:$3.6m, $4.5m, $8m

Ekeler: $3.2m, $5.1m, ----

 

If Armstrong's hit is $4.9m in 2024, I would expect Luvu to be in the range of $5-6m. We know McManus is $3.5m. Ertz around $3m, Biadiasz is probably around $5m as well.

 

Armstrong: $4.9m

Biadiasz: $5m

Luvu: $6m

Allegretti: $3.6m

Ekeler: $3.2m

Ertz: $3m

McManus: $3.5m

Total: $29.2m

 

We've got about $60m remaining. Less our draft capital, that's still $46m to spend. And that can go a LONG way with how these are structured.

 

 

Edited March 12 by JamesMadisonSkins

[Voice_of_Reason]

8 minutes ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

 

Yeah, they're more on the roster bubble (Daniels less so than Paul, perhaps). But for purposes of having 9-10 OL who we expect to make the Final 53, I think they're fine.

So based on the assumption that we've committed to $30m in 2024 cap to the first 6-7 signings, that leaves us with about $50m in money we can still spend.

 

I think it's likely we carry a hefty amount forward to 2025. But I also think there's plenty of room for a few more signings like we got yesterday, and one of those potentially being bigger $$ for someone at OT or Safety. 

I'd be willing to bet a soft taco WITH guacamole from District Taco one of Paul or Daniels is cut before the season.

 

Remember, they're going to trade down 47 times and draft 5 new OL.  It's happening.  There won't be room for Ron's old draft picks.  

[FrFan]

3 minutes ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

Mahomes and Reid are going to make Samuels a 1300 yard receiver with a SB ring next year if he signs there. I said they should have traded for Samuels at the trade deadline. If I was Samuels, I'd play there for the vet minimum.  Plus incentives, of course.  (LOTS of incentives. Maybe even get to go with Travis to a Taylor Swift concert)

 

Reid had nothing to do with us signing Wylie as a FA.  We did that all on our own. He played us with McNugget and Smith.  Though, I think with a better coach than Jay, Smith would have been better.  The longer it goes, the more it is clear Jay was literally bad at everything, and I'm surprised he was able to get up in the morning and walk to the bathroom without making a wrong turn and ending up in the garage.  

I was joking about the Walrus.

[Voice_of_Reason]

8 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

One of the panelists on GMF think this team had the best FA day yesterday in the NFL

I normally don't care beans all about what the national media is saying, because I think they are basically a bunch of bumbling idiots for the most part.

 

However, it is somewhat refreshing not to hear them call us some version of bumbling idiots for the first time in like 30 years.  

Just now, FrFan said:

I was joking about the Walrus.

I know.  I wasn't joking about Jay. 

[NickyJ]

I'm happy with McManus. Didn't follow him in Jacksonville, but I recall him being pretty solid for the Broncos. Plus he looks good with both a stubble or a beard.

[JamesMadisonSkins]

4 minutes ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

I'd be willing to bet a soft taco WITH guacamole from District Taco one of Paul or Daniels is cut before the season.

 

Remember, they're going to trade down 47 times and draft 5 new OL.  It's happening.  There won't be room for Ron's old draft picks.  

 

Hey now, just one time. From #40. And just to get another 3rd. I'm keeping it tame this year.

Clelin Ferrell - 1 year deal with Commanders

 

[skinsfan66]

26 minutes ago, Tress Is The Way said:

Touche, I was basing him off of his 50+ kicks and kicking in warm weather. In Denver even in the thin air he wasn't the greatest.

 

In regards to Forbes vs. Gonzo; Forbes arguably had a better rookie season (albeit gonzo getting hurt).. that's not to say though he's better than gonzo but we'll see how they develop 

Forbes got torched by all WRs, Speed, Physical, Rookie, Vet, Average/ Superstar......It did not matter. He has a lot of work to do just to stay in the NFL.

[JamesMadisonSkins]

 

[CommDownMan]

7 minutes ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

OTC has the Armstrong, Ekeler and Allegretti deals on the books.

 

Cap hits ('24, '25, '26)

Armstrong:$4.9m - $9.8m - $12.3m

Allegretti:$3.6m, $4.5m, $8m

Ekeler: $3.2m, $5.1m, ----

 

If Armstrong's hit is $4.9m in 2024, I would expect Luvu to be in the range of $5-6m. We know McManus is $3.5m. Ertz around $3m, Biadiasz is probably around $5m as well.

 

Armstrong: $4.9m

Biadiasz: $5m

Luvu: $6m

Allegretti: $3.6m

Ekeler: $3.2m

Ertz: $3m

McManus: $3.5m

Total: $29.2m

 

We've got about $60m remaining. Less our draft capital, that's still $46m to spend. And that can go a LONG way with how these are structured.

 

 

 

https://overthecap.com/draft

 

While our draft pool is ~16 mill, this suggests basically an even 10 mill impact on cap.  As you say, 50 can go a long ways.  With 1 year deals mixed in, probably only about $40 mill pegged for next year.  So they've done well to put themselves in a position to be in a similar place next year as well.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

[Ball Security]

2 minutes ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

 

Thought this guy was going to be a stud when he was at Clemson.

[Skinsinparadise]

Keim kept stressing Ferrell as a possibility. Chase couldn’t beat him in SF for the starting job 

[Chump Bailey]

5 minutes ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

 

Hey now, just one time. From #40. And just to get another 3rd. I'm keeping it tame this year.

Clelin Ferrell - 1 year deal with Commanders

 

 

Now that's an interesting reclamation type signing to me. I still remember Gruden or Mayock passing on Josh Allen for Ferrell. 

[JamesMadisonSkins]

Just now, Ball Security said:

Thought this guy was going to be a stud when he was at Clemson.

 

Clelin Ferrell - former #4 pick in 2019

 

Now we just need Dante Fowler (former #3 pick, 2015) and Chase Young (former #2, 2020) to complete the trifecta.

[CommanderInTheRye]

1 hour ago, Reaper Skins said:

I thought Slye was mostly fine, and probably had his stats and confidence severely hampered by having to play with Cheeseman all year.

 

Still, I got no problem with starting fresh and trying to upgrade.  I wonder if we'll stick with that replacement long snapper we brought in or get some competition for the spot?

 

 

 

"... I wonder if we'll stick with that replacement long snapper we brought in or get some competition for the spot?"

 

They'll probably take a strong look at him during our upcoming extra "new coach mini-camp" and make a decision after that.

 

One thing I'm damn sure of though is we won't be trading picks to move up and DRAFT a long snapper.