" The $6 million men " ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

The $6 million men

 

Players looking for big deals have found that teams have become cap-conscious

 

The pace of free agency has been faster than ever.

 

More than 70 players moved to new teams in the first four days. The

Indianapolis Colts have signed seven free agents, and six could become

starters. The Philadelphia Eagles may not be building Dream Team 2.0,

but they have added nine players to coach Chip Kelly's new roster.

As expected, the Miami Dolphins have been the most aggressive team.

 

Here are the five things we have learned since the opening of free agency .

 

1. The $6 million battleground :
More than ever before, teams are being cap-cautious. Only so many big
contracts can fit in a $123 million cap that is destined to be flatuntil maybe

2015 or 2016.Few teams can fit more than eight $6 million-a-year contracts

in that cap in any one season. To get $6 million a year, you have to be either

young and talented, or a hot commodity. Mike Wallace got $12 million a year

from the Miami Dolphins because he has speed and the Dolphins had to find

a No. 1 receiver to replace Brandon Marshall. Percy Harvin got a six-year,

$61 million deal after the Seahawks figured he was theone piece on offense

that could get them closer to the Super Bowl.Teams paid a premium for tackles.

Chicago rewarded Jermon Bushrod, the Colts signed Gosder Cherilus

(Indianapolis) and Andy Levitre got a $7.8 million-a-year deal from Tennessee

as the top guard on the market. This year's free-agent class will top the 13

$6 million-a-yearcontracts given last year, but not by much. Ask Wes Welker.

Welker was trying to come close to the $7.5 million salary of Aaron Hernandez

or the $9 million average of Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots said no, offering

him a two-year, $10 million contract. With Tom Brady, Gronkowski, Hernandez

and Logan Mankins drawing more than $6 million a year, the Patriots drew the

line. Welker had to go to Denver to get a two-year, $12 million deal.

The Pats gave Danny Amendola about $30 million over five years,

but only $10 million of it is guaranteed. You can figure that Brian Urlacher
would be hoping for more than $6 million from the Bears, but they might
be reluctant to go there. Ask the cornerbacks about the $6 million
battleground. Former Miami Dolphins CB Sean Smith angled for the gold,

but ended up getting a $5.75 million average from the Kansas City Chiefs.

So far, every other corner has come in for less than that.

 

2. Wow, the carnage :
To fit in many of these new contracts, teams have been unloading
veteran deals at an alarming pace. As of Friday, 92 veterans have been
terminated or had their contracts voided, and it has freed up $373
million of cap room.

Kevin Kolb is one of the many veterans the Cardinals have jettisoned in free agency.

 

The Arizona Cardinals have released five starters: Kevin Kolb, William Gay,

Beanie Wells, Kerry Rhodes and Adrian Wilson. The Jets have cut Eric Smith,

Calvin Pace, Sione Pouha and Bart Scott. Jacksonville gave up on wide receiver

Laurent Robinson after one year. More than 20 $6 million-a-year contracts were
eliminated from the books. It's surprising that teams are willing to
give up on free-agent acquisitions after one year. It's apparent that
teams that sign free agents might be willing to give up on them after
one or two years for cap purposes.

 

3. New coaches are driving the volume market :

Often, a new coach turns over more than 50 percent of a roster. By late
in the season last year, the Colts had 36 new players on their roster.

With eight new head coaches, the roster turnover is happening at a fast
pace. Philadelphia's Kelly and Kansas City's Andy Reid are leading the
way. The Eagles are switching to a 3-4 defense, so Kelly aggressively
started filling starting jobs. He added linebacker Connor Barwin as a

pass-rusher. He picked up nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga. He's replacing

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha with Cary Williams

and possibly Bradley Fletcher. Patrick Chung comes in at safety.

You really have to like what Reid is doing in Kansas City. First, he hopes

he fixed the quarterback position by acquiring Alex Smith. He solidified the

secondary by adding Dunta Robinson as the slot corner at $4.6 million per

year. Then, Reid added Sean Smith to the outside cornerback spot at $5.75

million a year. DE Mike DeVito should help along the defensive line. One of

the keys, though, was re-signing Dwayne Bowe and punter Dustin Colquitt.

In Arizona, Bruce Arians has brought in Rashard Mendenhall on offense

and Drew Stanton as a backup quarterback. He replaced William Gay at corner

with Jerraud Powers. He knows Stanton and Powers from his one year with the Colts.

 

4. Winning teams can still be aggressive: The arms race between the

Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers remains one of the best stories

in the league. Anquan Boldin goes to the 49ers. Percy Harvin goes to the

Seahawks. While the 49ers were talking to Charles Woodson and Asomugha,

the Seahawks signed pass-rushers Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett for a

combined $12.5 million a year.After an 11-win season, the Colts, who

drafted for offense last year, tried to upgrade their offensive line and

3-4 defense. Right tackle Cherilus and guard Donald Thomas should

add toughness to the offensive line. Nose tackle Ricky Jean Francois

and safety LaRon Landry should strengthen the middle of the defense.

Linebacker Erik Walden and cornerback Greg Toler were paid more

than $4 million a year to be starters.Then there are the Denver Broncos

. John Elway doesn't settle for second best. Last year, he lured Peyton Manning

to Denver. This year he grabbed Welker while getting Louis Vasquez, the

second-best guard on the market.

 

5. What were the surprises ?

Wallace to Miami was no surprise. Everyone thought that would happen. Getting

Dustin Keller to sign a one-year, $4.25 million deal was smart. The surprises were
the moves between them. Despite having holes at tackle and cornerback,
Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland went for two linebackers -- Dannell Ellerbe

andPhilip Wheeler.Each received five-year contracts that totaled $61 million

($35 million for Ellerbe and $26 million for Wheeler). It cost them high-priced
linebackers Karlos Dansby and Kevin Burnett.By switching to a 4-3 defense,

the Dolphins had the luxury of getting younger, less expensive linebackers.

They went a different way.Some people might have been surprised that defensive

end Desmond Bryant got $34 million over five years from Cleveland, but Bryant

was considered the sleeper free agent on defense.The Seahawks' deals for Harvin,

Bennett and Avril were surprising, but understand the Seahawks' thinking. They

never thought Avril and Bennett, two of the best three pass-rushers on their list

of free agents, would be available for $7.5 million a year and $5 million, respectively.

They jumped on those opportunities.

 

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