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The 2015 FA market has begun to settle down, and the early prices on cornerbacks were insanely expensive. When Byron Maxwell is getting $63M over 6 years with $25M guaranteed (5th-highest amount for a corner ever), it was clear we weren't going to find a #1 corner in this marketplace.
I think we could go with what we have and hope for growth from Butler and Ryan or for one of the low-cost FA acquisitions to emerge, but I think the FO is still looking as well. One of the places to look might be the 2016 FA market.
There are some decent cornerbacks who are in the last year of their contracts this season. I admit, I'm feeling a bit desperate, but we should at least kick the tires on trading for one of these guys. Their teams may already be thinking of replacing them in the draft, so one of them may become available during or shortly after the draft.
We can also keep tabs on them and perhaps pull off another mid-season deal like the one that brought Aqib Talib to the Patriots. If a team falls out of the race early and they don't feel like they'll re-sign the guy anyways, maybe it won't take much to get them mid-season.
And there's at least one over-rated, overpaid cornerback who is playing a game of chicken with his team about a contract renegotiation.
So here's a few of the guys I'm keeping an eye on. Salary cap charges list what would be on our cap if we traded. Some of them may be cut so those charges may be irrelevant.
Johnathan Joseph, age 30, Texans. 5'11, 180 lbs
They just re-signed Kareem Jackson, and Joseph is getting a bit older so I wonder if they go looking for another corner in the draft. Has a $12M+ salary cap charge, but we'd be on the hook for only $8.5M.
Leon Hall, age 30, Bengals. 5'11, 195 lbs
They let Newman test the market so they are a bit short on depth, but they've also spent significant draft picks on Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard over the past few years too. Salary cap charge under $8M.
Marcus Cooper, age 25, Chiefs. 6'2, 192 lbs
Had a good start to his career, then slumped. Maybe he got found out after watching some tape. But he's young, has good size, and 2 years left on his contract unlike a lot of the names here. Salary cap charge would be around the minimum.
Brandon Carr, age 28, Cowboys. 6'0, 210 lbs
Decent player but not worth his ridiculous contract. Could be cut by the Cowboys if they can't agree on a salary reduction. Salary cap charge would be $8M.
Prince Amukamara, age 26, Giants.
He finally started to emerge last season until he was injured halfway through the season. They exercised the 5th year option on him, but doubt they're willing to franchise him so depending on where the Giants are, they might want to deal. Salary cap charge of $7M.
Sean Smith, age 27, Chiefs.
He's young and developed into a good corner so I doubt they'll deal him. But if the Broncos rule the division and the Chargers overtake them, do they start thinking about a mid-season deal? He'd probably be good for a 3rd or 4th in terms of a comp pick, so would have to give up something more than that. Salary cap charge of $4.3M.
The last two guys are probably unrealistic. There are a lot of other guys too who might fit. Pacman might be available for the same reasons as Hall, but he's a year older, a bit crazier, so probably not. Jimmy Smith, Dre Kirkpatrick and Stephon Gilmore are also FAs in 2016, but their teams have plenty of cap room to spend on young, emerging cornerbacks so I doubt they make it to the market.
Anyone else you think we might make a move for?
I think we could go with what we have and hope for growth from Butler and Ryan or for one of the low-cost FA acquisitions to emerge, but I think the FO is still looking as well. One of the places to look might be the 2016 FA market.
There are some decent cornerbacks who are in the last year of their contracts this season. I admit, I'm feeling a bit desperate, but we should at least kick the tires on trading for one of these guys. Their teams may already be thinking of replacing them in the draft, so one of them may become available during or shortly after the draft.
We can also keep tabs on them and perhaps pull off another mid-season deal like the one that brought Aqib Talib to the Patriots. If a team falls out of the race early and they don't feel like they'll re-sign the guy anyways, maybe it won't take much to get them mid-season.
And there's at least one over-rated, overpaid cornerback who is playing a game of chicken with his team about a contract renegotiation.
So here's a few of the guys I'm keeping an eye on. Salary cap charges list what would be on our cap if we traded. Some of them may be cut so those charges may be irrelevant.
Johnathan Joseph, age 30, Texans. 5'11, 180 lbs
They just re-signed Kareem Jackson, and Joseph is getting a bit older so I wonder if they go looking for another corner in the draft. Has a $12M+ salary cap charge, but we'd be on the hook for only $8.5M.
Leon Hall, age 30, Bengals. 5'11, 195 lbs
They let Newman test the market so they are a bit short on depth, but they've also spent significant draft picks on Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard over the past few years too. Salary cap charge under $8M.
Marcus Cooper, age 25, Chiefs. 6'2, 192 lbs
Had a good start to his career, then slumped. Maybe he got found out after watching some tape. But he's young, has good size, and 2 years left on his contract unlike a lot of the names here. Salary cap charge would be around the minimum.
Brandon Carr, age 28, Cowboys. 6'0, 210 lbs
Decent player but not worth his ridiculous contract. Could be cut by the Cowboys if they can't agree on a salary reduction. Salary cap charge would be $8M.
Prince Amukamara, age 26, Giants.
He finally started to emerge last season until he was injured halfway through the season. They exercised the 5th year option on him, but doubt they're willing to franchise him so depending on where the Giants are, they might want to deal. Salary cap charge of $7M.
Sean Smith, age 27, Chiefs.
He's young and developed into a good corner so I doubt they'll deal him. But if the Broncos rule the division and the Chargers overtake them, do they start thinking about a mid-season deal? He'd probably be good for a 3rd or 4th in terms of a comp pick, so would have to give up something more than that. Salary cap charge of $4.3M.
The last two guys are probably unrealistic. There are a lot of other guys too who might fit. Pacman might be available for the same reasons as Hall, but he's a year older, a bit crazier, so probably not. Jimmy Smith, Dre Kirkpatrick and Stephon Gilmore are also FAs in 2016, but their teams have plenty of cap room to spend on young, emerging cornerbacks so I doubt they make it to the market.
Anyone else you think we might make a move for?