Top 10 Free Agents still available and potential suitors.

[ARodJetsFan]

Market watch update

By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports

March 7, 2005

Nearly a week into free agency NFL front offices are starting to sober up from their typical happy-hour binges, and headaches are lingering.

While the 2005 class offered a plethora of slightly damaged goods, the most seriously damaged items are still dangling: Ty Law's broken foot, Plaxico Burress' broken reputation and Fred Smoot's back-breaking contract expectations. Eventually, someone is going to have to pay the price for each of that trio, but as mid-March approaches, the players are the ones losing dollars with each passing day.

Smoot might be the most glaring example. A young and talented player at a constant "need" position, the cornerback was expected to fetch one of the most lucrative deals of this offseason. But there have been plenty of complications along the way, beginning with cornerback Ken Lucas' ridiculous $13 million in bonus money from Carolina, and then the mad cornerback shuffling between Baltimore (Samari Rolle), Cleveland (Gary Baxter) and Dallas (Anthony Henry).

Now Smoot's in a tough spot. He thinks he deserves as much bonus money (or more) than Lucas, but he doesn't have many suitors left to drive up his price. Washington had been holding firm with an offer of a $10 million signing bonus, but now that the Redskins are suffering cap issues after trading Laveranues Coles to the Jets, Smoot's fallback bonus cash is likely history.

His saving grace might be the Kansas City Chiefs, who (despite all their talking about defensive improvements) have done nothing but lose players on the free-agent market.

With that in mind, here's an updated look at the top 10 free agents in the pool of remaining players.

TOP 10 FREE AGENTS

1. Fred Smoot, CB, Washington Redskins (5-11, 176)

He's another quality cornerback who's young (25) and packs Pro Bowl potential. He was good enough to be franchised by the Redskins, but the price would have been too steep. Some thought Shawn Springs outplayed him anyway. Unlike Rolle, Smoot probably is a little too aggressive at times and has been known to go for the big play a bit too much. But his youth, talent and cockiness make him a very, very attractive free agent who is just entering his prime.

Interested teams: Redskins, Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs.

2. Plaxico Burress, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5, 226)

Burress didn't have a spectacular year, but he missed some games due to injury and played hurt in others. He's had flashes of greatness, but at 27 it's time for him to step up and become a consistently dominant player. He's got the skills to do it. One concern dating all the way back to his Michigan State days is that he has dropped balls, and he may always struggle with it. But he still has a lot of untapped potential.

Interested teams: Redskins and New York Giants.

3. Ed Hartwell, ILB, Baltimore Ravens (6-1, 250)

He was a huge and underrated part of the Ravens' run-stopping defense. Some question what he will be able to do without Ray Lewis. Hartwell isn't the fastest guy in the world, but he didn't seem to have a problem getting the job done with the Ravens. He turns 27 this offseason and has plenty of good years left.

Interested teams: Chiefs and Ravens.

4. Ty Law, CB, New England Patriots (5-11, 200)

The broken foot is killing his prospects, and a lot of teams wouldn't put him this high on a free-agent list. But Law entered 2004 as the best cornerback in the NFL. And before he went down, he showed he still could be a great player, even with the emphasis on illegal contact. Forget the stuff about the Patriots winning without him

[TomShane]

Ugh. They can KEEP Stockar McDougle.

[124]

I don't see us getting Smoot so....

Dyson and McDougle, c'mon down!