Free Agents --- Once Free Agency begins

Areas that I can see the Pats looking at in terms of free agents are as follows: ( I have disregarded their status as UFA/RFA/Franchised since the latter 2 may go away with a new CBA)

Guard:
Potential 2011 Free agents Offensive Guards
Justin Blalock
Daryn Colledge
Harvey Dahl
Carl Nicks
Davin Joseph

OLB:

Potential 2011 Free agents Outside Linebackers
Antwan Applewhite
Tamba Hali
Manny Lawson
Thomas Howard
Lamar Woodley
Mark Anderson (listed as a DE)
Cliff Avril (listed as a DE)
Mathias Kiwanuka (listed as a DE)

RDE:
Potential 2011 Free agents Defensive Ends
Potential 2011 Free agents Defensive Tackles

Gerard Warren
Alan Branch
Ray Edwards
Cullen Jenkins
Marcus Spears


I could easily see the Pats adding one from each group and them being significantly improved.

I posted this in another thread. Here are my potential guys:

- Mathias Kiwanuka - The Giants want him back, but obviously not too badly since they only gave him a second round tender. He is a fifth year player so if pre-2010 free agency rules to RFA return, he will be an UFA. Even if he is restricted, he is worth a look since I would give up a second for Kiwanuka over a third and fifth for Derrick Burgess even without the benefit of hindsight of how that trade worked out. Kiwanuka is a very good pass rushing two gapper. He could easily slide into the OLB role on the Patriots and be effective immediately. His issue is his durability, but when he can stay on the field he is a stud.
- Malcom Floyd - He has a first and third round tender so if 2010 rules apply, he is off the table. He is a big down the field threat the Pats needed vs. the Jets in the playoffs.
- James Jones - Arguably the most versatile free agent WR.
- Santonio Holmes - Another first and third round tender if the 2010 rules apply. Is a big play receiver who can stretch the field. Was inconsistent last year, but could be Sanchez. Has character issues and wants to be paid big, but stealing him would help the Pats and hurt the Jets.
- Cullen Jenkins - Guy is a beast at pass rushing, but is older, has some injury issues in the past, and will want to be paid. The Pats may be willing to take a risk on a shorter term deal (3 years).
- Shaun Ellis - Getting up there in age. Not likely to return to the Jets now that the Jets drafted Wilkerson. Had a bit of a down year last year, but so did the Jets' defense. Might be a relatively low cost acquistion as a situational pass rusher.
- Ray Edwards - The guy is a very good pass rusher. The question is can he make the transition from 4-3 DE to to 3-4 OLB. I could be an expensive gamble (granted not as expensive as the proposed gamble on Julius Peppers last year or what Edwards was asking for last year). He looks to have the tools to do it, but I am no expert on this.
- Marcus Spears - Never lived up to his draft position, but looked promising in Parcells' two gap 3-4 and regressed a bit in Phillips' one gap version. He is still a good player who could play out of his expectations back in the two gap. Eventhough he is coming off of injury, he is still in his prime and productive.
- Matt Roth - Had a down year last year (as did most on the Browns' defense), but was a very good situational pass rusher in Miami/Cleveland the year before. The Browns likely will let him go now that they are switching back to the 4-3. Could be a very good situational pass rusher here for a low cost.

I think the Pats will be in good shape capwise, but not sure what the figures are....

Wonder how much to sign 2 or 3 F/A's from that list....


Also, would like to factor in cap $ for re-signing Mankins long term (is that even a posibility?)

BTW, both Hali and Woodley are franchised. Woodley already signed his tender so he is no longer a free agent.

Rob0729 said:

BTW, both Hali and Woodley are franchised. Woodley already signed his tender so he is no longer a free agent.

Click to expand...

Rob - I wasn't going to assume that those contracts would still be valid based on changes to the CBA.. If they are, then yes, Woodley wouldn't be a free agent.

I'd like to get Kiwanuka and Santonio Holmes and roll. Gerard Warren impressed me last year. And, if he wants to come back. He's welcome too. Probably graded out our 2nd best DL last year.

Personally, I don't want Holmes. I don't believe he's the type of player that would actually prosper in New England.

Kiwanuka and Jenkins are the ones I'd like to see us sign but I don't see it happening. Kiwanuka has played his entire career at 4-3 DE and whilst he definitely has the size to play 3-4 OLB in our system I wonder if BB is unwilling to draft a DE to OLB project why he'd want to sign one in FA. I think the Packers will ultimately resign Jenkins given the trouble Jolly has been getting in they're fairly thin on the D line

DaBruinz said:

Rob - I wasn't going to assume that those contracts would still be valid based on changes to the CBA.. If they are, then yes, Woodley wouldn't be a free agent.

Click to expand...

I don't know if Woodley would be a free agent. He technically is under contract for 2011 since he signed the one year tender offer which is basically an one year contract. Tamba Hali would be a free agent though if there was no franchise tag.

A_Ghost_In_The_Machine said:

Kiwanuka and Jenkins are the ones I'd like to see us sign but I don't see it happening. Kiwanuka has played his entire career at 4-3 DE and whilst he definitely has the size to play 3-4 OLB in our system I wonder if BB is unwilling to draft a DE to OLB project why he'd want to sign one in FA. I think the Packers will ultimately resign Jenkins given the trouble Jolly has been getting in they're fairly thin on the D line

Click to expand...

Although Kiwanuka has never played in the 3-4, he has been playing in a two gap system. He has also played both DE and OLB in that system. So his transition would be far more likely and easier than most DE converting to a 3-4 two gap.

DaBruinz said:

Personally, I don't want Holmes. I don't believe he's the type of player that would actually prosper in New England.

Click to expand...

I think Holmes is a long shot. I just threw him in there because of his playmaking abilities and it screws the Jets while helping the Pats. I would rather have Floyd.

DaBruinz said:

Areas that I can see the Pats looking at in terms of free agents are as follows: ( I have disregarded their status as UFA/RFA/Franchised since the latter 2 may go away with a new CBA)

Guard:
Potential 2011 Free agents Offensive Guards
Justin Blalock
Daryn Colledge
Harvey Dahl
Carl Nicks
Davin Joseph

OLB:

Potential 2011 Free agents Outside Linebackers
Antwan Applewhite
Tamba Hali
Manny Lawson
Thomas Howard
Lamar Woodley
Mark Anderson (listed as a DE)
Cliff Avril (listed as a DE)
Mathias Kiwanuka (listed as a DE)

RDE:
Potential 2011 Free agents Defensive Ends
Potential 2011 Free agents Defensive Tackles

Gerard Warren
Alan Branch
Ray Edwards
Cullen Jenkins
Marcus Spears


I could easily see the Pats adding one from each group and them being significantly improved.

Click to expand...

The ONLY real need is an OLB. G Warren may also be re-signed, but that is an in-house decision, I would guess.

I like Manny Lawson who may be displaced by 49er draftee Aldon Smith, and Mathias Kiwanuka; and/or a trade for Kamerion Wembly.

herzlich


if we dont get:bricks::bricks::bricks:




fits our window of winning


in 3 years he will be SOLID

in 2 respectable

TheSolderKing said:

herzlich


if we dont get:bricks::bricks::bricks:




fits our window of winning


in 3 years he will be SOLID

in 2 respectable

Click to expand...

You're basically trolling now......

Anyways, I would love to see Ray Edwards here. I was hoping we'd get him in the Randy Moss trade, obviously I was left a little disappointed. Physically, he seems like a great fit for a 3-4 OLB.

My thoughts:

-No to Holmes. While he's a great player, he would be a REALLY bad influence on the young players in the lockerroom. Why would they sign him after trading Moss?

-While some of you guys might like Ray Edwards, from what I've read, he has a really crappy attitude. Almost diva-esque. Plus, we don't even know if he was the straw that stirred the drink of the Minnesota pass rush. Most likely, he benefited from Allen and the Williams wall. If anything, he's just a role-player who people will see as this year's Peppers. No thanks.

-Kiwanuka on the other hand sound intriguing. If he is in fact familiar with 2 gap principles, then I'd love to see us make a run at him. Since we already have Oakland's 2nd, we could just trade our original 2nd to get him.

-And yes, I would like to see G. Warren back. We need as much beef as possible up front and he was good for us during his time here.

Free Agent Linebackers

I am one of those guys who believe that the Patriots will not do anything without a pass rush. Below is a list of the unrestricted linebackers this year.

Ourlads NFL Team & Draft Talk: 2011 Free Agent Outside Linebackers........


F – Tagged by current team as a Franchise Player
T – Tendered by current team
S – Signed by current team
UFA – Unrestricted Free Agent
URF – Unsigned Restricted Free Agent
ERF – Exclusive Restricted Free Agent
CC – Cap Casualty/New Team

Outside Linebackers

Woodley, LaMarr PIT 26 F
Greenway, Chad MIN 28 F
Wimbley, Kamerion OAK 27 F
Lawson, Manny SF 27 URF
Nicholas, Stephen ATL 28 URF
McIntosh, Rocky WAS 28 URF
Black, Quincy TB 27 URF
Roth, Matt CLE 28 UFA
Leber, Ben MIN 32 UFA
Session, Clint IND 26 URF
Davis, Thomas CAR 27 UFA
Durant, Justin JAC 25 URF
Howard, Thomas OAK 28 URF
Vobora, David STL 25 T
Tinoisamoa, Pisa CHI 30 UFA
Woodyard, Wesley DEN 25 T
Bulluck, Keith NYG 34 UFA
Clark, Danny NO 34 UFA
Peterson, Mike ATL 35 UFA
Johnson, Brandon CIN 28 URF
Hill, Leroy SEA 28 UFA
Barnes, Antwan SD 26 URF
Anderson, James CAR 27 URF

Re: Free Agent Linebackers

Here is a bigger list that includes all linebackers as well as some DE/LB.

(RFA) = Restricted
(UFA) = Unrestricted
(ERFA) = Exclusive Rights
(T) = Transition
(F) = Franchise

NFL Free Agents - Restricted and Unrestricted Free Agent Linebackers


Colin Allred (RFA) - Tennessee
Charlie Anderson (UFA) - Kansas City
James Anderson (UFA) - Carolina
Antwan Applewhite (RFA) - San Diego
Akin Ayodele (UFA) - Buffalo
Patrick Bailey (RFA) - Tennessee
Antwan Barnes (UFA) - San Diego
Kevin Bentley (UFA) - Houston
Quincy Black (UFA) - Tampa Bay
Chase Blackburn (UFA) - NY Giants
H.B. Blades (UFA) - Washington
Stewart Bradley (UFA) - Philadelphia
Ricky Brown (UFA) - Oakland
Keith Bulluck (UFA) - NY Giants
Kevin Burnett (UFA) - San Diego
Bobby Carpenter (UFA) - Detroit
Chris Chamberlain (RFA) - St. Louis
Vinny Ciurciu (UFA) - Detroit
Danny Clark (UFA) - New Orleans
Stephen Cooper (UFA) - San Diego
Jon Corto (RFA) - Buffalo
Bruce Davis (UFA) - Oakland
Thomas Davis (UFA) - Carolina
Zac Diles (UFA) - Houston
Jo-Lonn Dunbar (RFA) - New Orleans
Justin Durant (UFA) - Jacksonville
Keith Ellison (UFA) - Buffalo
Keyaron Fox (UFA) - Pittsburgh
Omar Gaither (UFA) - Philadelphia
Chris Gocong (UFA) - Cleveland
Chad Greenway (UFA) - Minnesota
Tyjuan Hagler (UFA) - Indianapolis
Tamba Hali (UFA) - Kansas City
David Harris (UFA) - NY Jets
Adam Hayward (UFA) - Tampa Bay
Erin Henderson (RFA) - Minnesota
Will Herring (UFA) - Seattle
Leroy Hill (UFA) - Seattle
Abdul Hodge (UFA) - Carolina
Thomas Howard (UFA) - Oakland
Brian Iwuh (UFA) - Chicago
D'Qwell Jackson (UFA) - Cleveland
Brandon Johnson (UFA) - Cincinnati
Curtis Johnson (RFA) - St. Louis
Landon Johnson (UFA) - Detroit
Dhani Jones (UFA) - Cincinnati
Akeem Jordan (UFA) - Philadelphia
Niko Koutouvides (UFA) - Tampa Bay
Jason Kyle (UFA) - New Orleans
Lance Laury (UFA) - NY Jets
Manny Lawson (UFA) - San Francisco
Ben Leber (UFA) - Minnesota
Corey Mays (UFA) - Kansas City
Matt McCoy (UFA) - Seattle
Rocky McIntosh (UFA) - Washington
Kawika Mitchell (UFA) - New Orleans
Marvin Mitchell (UFA) - New Orleans
Kirk Morrison (UFA) - Jacksonville
Quentin Moses (UFA) - Miami
Jarvis Moss (UFA) - Oakland
Stephen Nicholas (UFA) - Atlanta
Cyril Obiozor (RFA) - Arizona
Mike Peterson (UFA) - Atlanta
Paul Posluszny (UFA) - Buffalo
Nick Roach (UFA) - Chicago
Matt Roth (UFA) - Cleveland
Barrett Ruud (UFA) - Tampa Bay
Garrison Sanborn (RFA) - Buffalo
Jordan Senn (RFA) - Carolina
Clint Session (UFA) - Indianapolis
Scott Shanle (UFA) - New Orleans
Tim Shaw (RFA) - Tennessee
Brandon Siler (UFA) - San Diego
Ernie Sims (UFA) - Philadelphia
Takeo Spikes (UFA) - San Francisco
Pisa Tinoisamoa (UFA) - Chicago
Jason Trusnik (UFA) - Cleveland
Stephen Tulloch (UFA) - Tennessee
David Vobora (RFA) - St. Louis
Mike Vrabel (UFA) - Kansas City
Anthony Waters (RFA) - New Orleans
Tracy White (UFA) - New England
Matt Wilhelm (UFA) - Green Bay
Gerris Wilkinson (UFA) - NY Giants
Jamar Williams (UFA) - Carolina
Leon Williams (UFA) - Dallas
Sam Williams (UFA) - Oakland
Chris Wilson (UFA) - Washington
Rod Wilson (UFA) - Chicago
Coy Wire (UFA) - Atlanta
LaMarr Woodley (UFA) - Pittsburgh
Wesley Woodyard (RFA) - Denver

Re: Free Agent Linebackers

My top target would be Mathias Kiwanuka from the NYG. I think he's the best fit as an all around OLB and not just a pass rusher. The Giants tendered him at a 2nd round value, but he could become an UFA depending on the CBA/2011 rules imposed as he is a 5 year vet. The biggest concern with him is he is comming off a serious neck injury, but he is a very talented player and was medically cleared to return to the field in February. I would definately take a shot at him.

Re: Free Agent Linebackers

Kiwanuka and Manny Lawson,

2 second round picks, so using one on a player like Kiwanuka would be excellent value and Manny Lawson would be good to use as an out & out pass rusher.

Re: Free Agent Linebackers

I think Kiwanuka if healthy is easily the best free agent option. Even if he is a RFA, he would be worth the second rounder as long as his neck is fully healed.

I think a sleeper might be Matt Roth. He struggled last year, but he was a goood situational pass rusher in Miami who just fell out of favor with the coaching staff down there.