Building For The Future With Free Agents - NOT

[mgteich]

Gibson will turn out to be one of the best FA signings. Mark my post.

I agree. He was one of two signed for more than 1 year.

 

[Real fan 02]

I agree. He was one of two signed for more than 1 year.

Yes! He has big role here I believe. 6'2 can run WR routes, catch out in space.. make guys miss.. yeah.. I think we'll like that..

 

[Thelonious]

Short-term free agents are a waste of resources for a team this bad, in the midst of a multi-year rebuild. Winning now is entirely beside the point: we need to focus on the rebuild.

 

[Real fan 02]

Short-term free agents are a waste of resources for a team this bad, in the midst of a multi-year rebuild. Winning now is entirely beside the point: we need to focus on the rebuild.

I'll agree. But what I think is possible is being able to grow maye, try to win now and rebuild. It can all be possible. It all hinges on maye!

 

[ahmed]

I agree that we should have signed more players to longer contracts. Shorter contracts mean no continuity, as little of it as there is in the NFL.

To me it seems the Pats did not like the players they signed that much (not a great sign) or have no interest in building a long term squad without having an answer at QB. That is worse because it means they are not interested in building a competitive squad without a QB.

Of course it could just be they signed these players to fill spots and not because they liked them. Not sure which option is worse.

 

[Real fan 02]

I agree that we should have signed more players to longer contracts. Shorter contracts mean no continuity, as little of it as there is in the NFL.

To me it seems the Pats did not like the players they signed that much (not a great sign) or have no interest in building a long term squad without having an answer at QB. That is worse because it means they are not interested in building a competitive squad without a QB.

Of course it could just be they signed these players to fill spots and not because they liked them. Not sure which option is worse.

I absolutely love the Gibson signing.. I wish we would have given KJ Osborne a longer deal.. but he was apprehensive due to our QB concerns. The key here is Drake.. if Drake is the guy we think he is then like TB12 did for so long he will attract FAs going forward. This off season to me was about retaining guys that are part of the culture and want to be here for the rebuilding. Hunter Henry said those exact words when he re-used.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

Yeah, my first thought when I saw this thread was that Wolf is all about homegrown talent. We’ve already seen more emphasis on retaining players, spending more to keep our free agents and less on signing other teams’ free agents seems to reflect his style, from what I can see. Now if the draft process can generate more players worth signing to a second contract that would be great.

You can't build for the future with free agents from the money perspective as well as the age and talent level of the players available. FA is the Filene's basement for NFL players. Wolf is doing the right thing for long term success - draft and develop to build the core, add targeted players via FA to fill in gaps.

 

[moosekill]

Short-term free agents are a waste of resources for a team this bad, in the midst of a multi-year rebuild. Winning now is entirely beside the point: we need to focus on the rebuild.

I disagree, the team isn't that bad. We will be pushing for a playoff spot this year. Look at Houston last year. It doesn't take multiple years to go from where we were last year to the playoffs, just a C level or better qb and a little luck preventing injuries. But the overall point is still valid, get to that level this year and push to really make it next year when the qb's hopefully start to figure it out. Thats when you spend your money on the high end free agents.

 

[Triumph]

It wasn't a great FA in terms of talent the Pats needed. The only real big name we needed was Ridley and the Pats made a real strong offer.

Had the Jags not FA tagged Josh Allen, it would have been interesting to see if they would have made a big run at him.

What FA WRs were available came with at cost hit with inflation.

Consequently, teams like the Pats opted for the NFL draft instead. The Chiefs did as well. They preferred a bigger named FA WR, but shifted to the the draft and a mediocre FA WR.

 

[Real fan 02]

I disagree, the team isn't that bad. We will be pushing for a playoff spot this year. Look at Houston last year. It doesn't take multiple years to go from where we were last year to the playoffs, just a C level or better qb and a little luck preventing injuries. But the overall point is still valid, get to that level this year and push to really make it next year when the qb's hopefully start to figure it out. Thats when you spend your money on the high end free agents.

Absolutely correct. I have Said personally we have a ready-made championship level defense by all means by today's NFL standards. Our issues were QB related. We've addressed this just as you mentioned like Houston did. I believe we will be contending this year while growing the QB, and rebuilding it's very possible.

 

[gobesmug]

Absolutely correct. I have Said personally we have a ready-made championship level defense by all means by today's NFL standards. Our issues were QB related. We've addressed this just as you mentioned like Houston did. I believe we will be contending this year while growing the QB, and rebuilding it's very possible.

The offense was terrible well beyond just being a QB away. The oline and skill positions needed upgrades. If Wallace, Baker, Polk and the addition of Gibson from FA are hits then even with Brissett at QB this team has a shot at making the playoffs.

If Maye is a homerun and is ready to start and elevate the offense then I don't think it's unreasonable to see a deep playoff run.

But those are really big ifs

 

[Real fan 02]

The offense was terrible well beyond just being a QB away. The oline and skill positions needed upgrades. If Wallace, Baker, Polk and the addition of Gibson from FA are hits then even with Brissett at QB this team has a shot at making the playoffs.

If Maye is a homerun and is ready to start and elevate the offense then I don't think it's unreasonable to see a deep playoff run.

But those are really big ifs

True. But it all starts with the QB.. we as fans know this full well as we had the best in the business for 19 seasons at QB.. you need one of the other.. if you don't have the QB then the skill positions have to to be elite.. of vice versa. If, IFs were a 5th then we'd all be drunk. Everything is going to be done NOT to mess up drake's development.. every one is starting from ground zero in the new offense. The offense wasn't even NFL caliber last season.

 

[Real fan 02]

What FA WRs were available came with at cost hit with inflation.

Consequently, teams like the Pats opted for the NFL draft instead. The Chiefs did as well. They preferred a bigger named FA WR, but shifted to the the draft and a mediocre FA WR.

Well Ridley actually gambled on himself this time instead of games... he will still be getting 25 million when the Titans are 0-6

 

[Triumph]

Well Ridley actually gambled on himself this time instead of games... he will still be getting 25 million when the Titans are 0-6

His girlfriend does not like snow.

 

[Real fan 02]

His girlfriend does not like snow.

She likes dough...

 

[Thelonious]

I disagree, the team isn't that bad. We will be pushing for a playoff spot this year. Look at Houston last year. It doesn't take multiple years to go from where we were last year to the playoffs, just a C level or better qb and a little luck preventing injuries. But the overall point is still valid, get to that level this year and push to really make it next year when the qb's hopefully start to figure it out. Thats when you spend your money on the high end free agents.

Could be. i don't think the rebuild will be that brief, but I'd love to be wrong. I think the focus should still be on longer term potential, not on the sort of relatively sure, but declining, thing that is a free agent. We'll see.

 

[TheRainMaker]

You must build the foundation through the draft first.

FA/trade is for the missing piece(s) for your team. KC is the rare exception right now.

 

[PScottman]

Short-term free agents are a waste of resources for a team this bad, in the midst of a multi-year rebuild.

I don't understand further limiting flexibility by constraining any pool of resources. Do you think there would be enough free agents willing to sign long term deals to fill a roster each year? And that a smaller pool like that would also have players you'd want to be signed more than a single year?

 

[Vindicate]

If this team can't take advantage of 1 year deals while rebuilding a team, especially in their context, then I'd worry about far bigger issues. That's a symptom, not an issue.

There are many ways to still build a team and leverage an FA to help build for a future when they're not there. The most obvious is the opportunity for younger players to learn from a vet.

Let's also remember the "prove it" modifier often paired with "one year", these are motivated players who will be playing for their next contract.

I don't think it's all peaches and roses, however, one-year deals don't suggest a team isn't thinking long term, and they can definitely be beneficial.

 

[Thelonious]

I don't understand further limiting flexibility by constraining any pool of resources. Do you think there would be enough free agents willing to sign long term deals to fill a roster each year? And that a smaller pool like that would also have players you'd want to be signed more than a single year?

Relatively "sure thing" free agents with enough tread left on the tires to warrant a multi-year contract are generally far overpriced and can tend to have "character issues." The long-in-the-tooth types of FA, meanwhile, are not worth a long-term deal, and will be out of the league anyway by the time the team has been adequately rebuilt that a short term deal makes sense with them. Not only that, but the resources expended signing them could and should be spent on younger players more likely to be around for a longer time AND at a lower price, coming into their prime far more likely than FA's at just the right time to catch the arc of the rebuild just right. Once again, a team this depleted has no business - yet- monkeying around with FA's just so impatient fanboys can feel better at the expense of slowing the rebuild.