" Controlled approach to big spending " ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

Controlled approach to big spending       Compared to 2012, teams are being more strategic with megacontracts

 

Free agency reached the 15-day mark Wednesday. The pace has been fast

and furious compared to last year, when 80 unrestricted free agents

signed with new teams in the first two weeks. Through early Wednesday,

110 unrestricted free agents had moved to new teams. As usual, most of

the big deals were done in the first 72 hours.

If

history holds true, 50 to 60 more unrestricted free agents will find

jobs from now until the start of training camp, and most of the deals

will be for about the NFL minimum. Decent deals, though, will be set

aside for some of the best players left on the market, such as Andre Smith and Dwight Freeney.

Here are the five things we learned from the first 15 days of free agency.

Of

this year's unrestricted free agents who have changed teams, Mike

Wallace received the contract with the highest annual value.

 

1. Salary cap forcing their hands :

Last year, 13 unrestricted free agents landed contracts worth at least

$6 million a year to go to different teams. Through the first 110 deals

this year, 15 unrestricted free agents reached the $6 million-a-year

mark. What's clear, though, is teams are being more strategic with their

spending. The tight salary cap is the reason. Mike Wallace was the only unrestricted free agent to get more than $10 million a year, with his five-year, $60 million contract from the Miami Dolphins. The 2012 free-agent contracts of Mario Williams, Vincent Jackson, Brandon Carr and Cortland Finnegan each topped $10 million per year. Remember, we're not including Peyton Manning's five-year, $96 million contract because he was a street free agent, not an unrestricted free agent, after the Indianapolis Colts cut him.

Offensive linemen are driving the 2013 market: Jake Long got a four-year, $34 million deal from the St. Louis Rams. Left tackle Jermon Bushrod ($7.193 million a year from the Chicago Bears) and right tackle Gosder Cherilus ($6.9 million a year from Indianapolis) played off two re-signings -- Will Beatty of the New York Giants at $7.5 million a year and Phil Loadholt of the Minnesota Vikings at $6.25 million -- to get their deals. Receiver Greg Jennings went to the Vikings on a five-year, $45 million contract. LaRon Landry (Indianapolis) topped the safety market at $6 million a year. Paul Kruger of the Cleveland Browns topped the linebacker market at five years, $40.5 million.

 

2. More space has been cleared compared to last year :

To make room for free-agent acquisitions and to re-sign players, teams

have been jettisoning contracts at an unprecedented pace. Last year,

teams cleared more than $324 million of cap room by releasing players or

voiding contracts. In a little more than a month this year, cuts have

resulted in $398.5 million of cap savings.

Worried that the cap

might not go up much above the $123 million level in the next two or

three years, general managers are watching their spending. Even though

about $323 million of cap room remains available, teams will start to

pull back on their spending. That $323 million translates to an average

of roughly $10 million a team. Teams have to set aside $5 million to $6

million for the draft and another $3 million to $4 million for injuries

and the practice squad. This is why you will see a lot of one-year deals

in the next three months.

 

3. Bargain shopping by rebuilding teams : The strategies of the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Oakland Raiders

have been curious. Of the three teams, the Cardinals might have the

most interesting list of signings. The only player they paid more than

$3 million a year was cornerback Jerraud Powers, who received a four-year, $14 million contract. They picked up quarterback Drew Stanton, cornerback Antoine Cason, running back Rashard Mendenhall, linebackers Jasper Brinkley and Lorenzo Alexander, and defensive end Matt Shaughnessy for between $1 million and $2.733 million a year.

The

Jets hope they hit on four starters, even though they paid them between

$905,000 and $2 million a year. They brought in guard Willie Colon, linebacker Antwan Barnes, nose tackle Antonio Garay and halfback Mike Goodson.

The turnover in Oakland is immense. The Raiders lost arguably their two best defensive players from last year -- defensive end Desmond Bryant and linebacker Philip Wheeler. They might have three new starters at linebacker -- Nick Roach, Kevin Burnett and Kaluka Maiava -- at prices between $2 million and $3.25 million a year. Defensive tackle Pat Sims ($1.75 million) and defensive end Jason Hunter ($915,000) could get starting jobs in Oakland even though they signed one-year deals.

 

4. The big spenders :

The Dolphins so far have added five unrestricted free agents for

contracts worth a total of $135.03 million. General manager Jeff Ireland

splurged on offense with wide receivers Wallace and Brandon Gibson and tight end Dustin Keller. He also added linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Wheeler. The Colts have signed eight players for a total of $131.03 million. The Philadelphia Eagles

have invested in nine players for $95.71 million. If you are wondering

how that compares to the Eagles' "dream team" spending, they handed out

$125 million worth of contracts to 12 players in 2011.

 

5. Who is still shopping ?

Only 11 teams are left with more than $10 million of cap room. The

Bengals have $29 million of remaining cap room, but they have limited

plans for adding new players. Instead, they plan to re-sign right tackle

Andre Smith and other players, then roll over $10 million of cap space

into next year. The Green Bay Packers have $17 million of cap room left, but general manager Ted Thompson hates free agency, so don't expect much from them. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have $26.9 million of room, but they are saving up for a possible Darrelle Revis trade.

That leaves Arizona ($13 million), Cleveland ($28 million),

Jacksonville ($26 million), Buffalo ($17 million), Philadelphia ($24

million), Miami ($15.9 million), the Jets ($12.5 million) and Tennessee

($11 million) as the main teams keeping the free-agent market active.

 

> http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9101970/nfl-free-agency-teams-being-strategic-big-contracts

[nycdan]

That leaves Arizona ($13 million), Cleveland ($28 million),

Jacksonville ($26 million), Buffalo ($17 million), Philadelphia ($24

million), Miami ($15.9 million), the Jets ($12.5 million) and Tennessee

($11 million) as the main teams keeping the free-agent market active.

 

 

Rather ironic, don't ya think?

[SenorGato]

Despite it being my favorite signing I keep forgetting the Jets signed Barnes. 

[j4jets]

Despite it being my favorite signing I keep forgetting the Jets signed Barnes. 

 

My favorite is the Goodson signing.

[Larz]

the best part is they were all (most?) cut so they don't count against the jets for the compensatory picks next year

 

that rocks

[j4jets]

the best part is they were all (most?) cut so they don't count against the jets for the compensatory picks next year

 

that rocks

 

Question: Was Mike Goodson also cut? iirc, he was an unrestricted FA.

 

And yes, most were cuts so we'll get maybe like 3 decent picks. I hope we sign Pace to vets minimum. He's still good for depth to say the least.

[Larz]

Question: Was Mike Goodson also cut? iirc, he was an unrestricted FA.

 

And yes, most were cuts so we'll get maybe like 3 decent picks. I hope we sign Pace to vets minimum. He's still good for depth to say the least.

 

 

yup. next year could be a 10 pick year.  doesn't guarantee anuthing of course, but a very welcome change from 4 picks

[Il Mostro]

If Tanny were still in charge he'd have been tapped out weeks ago and bumming for spare change.  The Idz is being smart with the hand he has been dealt.

[j4jets]

If Tanny were still in charge he'd have been tapped out weeks ago and bumming for spare change.  The Idz is being smart with the hand he has been dealt.

 

I don't hate Tanny. He did have some solid seasons and took over the GM spot in a similar fashion Idzik did. It looked real bad when Idzik took over but after some obvious moves, Jets sit pretty with $12mil in their pockets I believe.

 

But I love how Idzik has gone about. I think he'll be a quantity over quality type guy. He wants the comp picks. He wants a handful of picks for Revis. He's signing cut players that don't count against the comp pick (Im not totally sure of this). He picked up a few bandage players that probably wont be here next year but were necessary this year. If it works fine and Sanchez improves to his post-season form, we'll be looking at playoffs. If it doesn't work, we'll be looking at a top 10 pick and chance to grab a franchise QB.

[Sperm Edwards]

Question: Was Mike Goodson also cut? iirc, he was an unrestricted FA.

 

And yes, most were cuts so we'll get maybe like 3 decent picks. I hope we sign Pace to vets minimum. He's still good for depth to say the least.

 

I think he was a UFA whose rookie contract expired (wasn't cut).  Carolina traded him to Oakland last March with 1 year left on his rookie deal.  So he would count.

[kelly]

the best part is they were all (most?) cut so they don't count against the jets for the compensatory picks next year

 

that rocks

 

finally ! !...something that " rocks "