NFL Free Agency is here, so how better to react to breaking news with the Pro Football Focus Free Agency blog. Every deal and some of the rumors that come through, our team will be responding to. Letting you know what they think and what it means and we'll have this station manned at all times!
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● Check out the past few days in the Free Agency Live Blog: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |
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● Keep yourself up to date with the latest player movement using our Free Agent Tracker.
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● Be sure to follow our twitter feed @Profootbalfocus for constant reaction tweets.
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CLICK HERE FOR DAY 6 AND ITS LIVE BLOG
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23.53 With that, I am leaving you for the night. Feel free to follow me on twitter @PFF_NateJahnke so when I'm not controlling the blog you can still hear what I have to say. If you are off to bed in the near future, have a good one, and if you're staying up @PFF_Rick will be here shortly to give you his updates. To think just a week ago we were still in a lockout…
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23.46 After six hours of commanding the live blog, I leave you with one last bit of news. Former Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris is visiting with the Patriots tomorrow. While the Bears decided to move on without him, he was arguably the best tackle the Bears had last year. His 24 overall pressures was most out of their tackles, but his nine stops were low. Ether way the Bears needed to upgrade. It will be interesting to see if he catches on.
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23.08 SIGNING! Just when I was about to post that everything is quiet, I find a move to report! Possibly the most busy team this past week has been the New Orleans Saints, in large part due to the number of players they had available. Their 17th signing according to my record is Turk McBride from the Detroit Lions. The Lions line is stacked, so they no longer had a need for McBride. He is a solid pass rusher with 28 pressures on 263 pass rushes, although his nine penalties is cause for concern. He joins Shaun Rogers as the new additions to the line. The Saints still have 15 unrestricted free agents who haven't signed anywhere yet, including linemen Jeff Charleston, Tony Hargrove and Jimmy Wilkerson. Remi Ayodele has already left the team, so the line will have a very different look to it in 2011 then it did in 2010.
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22.41 SIGNING! The Patriots have signed another man from my All-Available Team, bringing back their left tackle Matt Light. He's an interesting left tackle, excelling in run blocking. His 47 overall pressures allowed is a little higher then you would like.
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22.29 Well, we're at the point of the night where things start to wind down. The Free Agent Tracker is yet again completely up to date, and almost all of the moves that were reported have been confirmed. The rest of the PFF staff is getting ready for the season with articles to go up this week, preparing their analysis skills for when the season begins, or trying to have a life outside of football for whatever odd reasons they might have. However if something does happen tonight, we'll be here to let you know and let you know what we think!
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22.05 Well, we're at the point of the night where things start to wind down. The Free Agent Tracker is yet again completely up to date, and almost all of the moves that were reported have been confirmed. The rest of the PFF staff is getting ready for the season with articles to go up this week, preparing their analysis skills for when the season begins, or trying to have a life outside of football for whatever odd reasons they might have. However if something does happen tonight, we'll be here to let you know and let you know what we think!
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21.41 SIGNING! The Bears have brought back another one of their backup linebackers. This time it's Brian Iwuh. He had just one start in 2010 in week 6 against the Seahawks, but he played extremely well, with five stops on 43 snaps which is a very nice ratio. However the Bears haven't given him much of a chance, with just 94 snaps total in 2010. The Bears tend to know their linebackers, and they aren't letting this one get away.
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21.29 SIGNING! Another player that was missed earlier today, Daniel Muir to the Rams. For as long as I've been watching football, the Colts defensive tackles haven't stuck around long, and that continues to be the case. Why the Rams wanted Muir is beyond me, with just 17 stops and five pressures in his 534 snaps last year. Only Ahtyba Rubin of the Browns had a lower run stop rating for all defensive and nose tackles.
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21.19 SIGNING! Some more moves that happened earlier today that were missed. The Texans had a busy day, taking Mike Breisel off the restricted free agent list as well. They also brought back Kasey Studdard. In 2010 Breisel was the starting right guard for most of the season, and got better as the season went on. Over the last four games he played, he had a run block rating of +6.7.
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21.09 SIGNED! About two and a half hours ago, I mentioned some restricted free agents who still hadn't signed. You can take Wallace Gilberry off the list, as he has agreed to terms with the Chiefs. On third downs, he was the pass rush on the other side of Tamba Hali, and he did a pretty good job at it too with 42 overall pressures on 404 pass rushes.
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20.58 Of the Top 20 Free Agents remaining as of two days ago, now only 16 remain. Today it was Stephen Tulloch signing with the Lions and Michael Huff going back to Oakland which brought it down from 18 to 16. In terms of the free agency contest, there is a four way tie for first place with 17 correct out of 35. No one has been able to guess half correct so far. While the four leaders all have six of the remaining players all going to the same place, they all have different homes for Andre Carter and Manny Lawson.
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20.35 RELEASED! Speaking of the Panthers, some cuts that I believe happened yesterday but I'm not sure if we talked about, linebacker Nic Harris, quarterback Keith Null, defensive end Tyler Brayton, defensive tackle Ed Johnson and defensive end Hilee Taylor were all released. The only starter last season was Brayton who could only come up with 19 pressures on 332 pass rushes. Nic Harris was used a bit at linebacker, and although isn't as good as the players the Panthers have, his +3.7 rating is good enough to get him a job somewhere.
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20.21 If there was ever a move to make Panthers fans wish they would've brought Jake Delhomme back, it's this. The Panthers are bringing in Derek Anderson to visit the team tomorrow. While having Larry Fitzgerald to throw to in Arizona, he was only able to complete 51% of his passes. While you might think he could do better in Carolina due to their better offensive line, think again. His completion percentage only goes up to 54% when he has no pressure on him. A puzzling move at best. EDIT: Jumped the gun a little bit there. He's just coming in for a visit, he hasn't signed.
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20.17 After rejecting the Bears offer, Olin Kreutz is now considering retirement as a possibility rather then finding a new team. At his age and the deterioration of his run blocking ability (-17.0 run block rating in 2010), it might be the right move for Kreutz to do. If that is the decision he goes with, he will be remembered for the great play he at one point did have in his long run with the Bears.
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20.03 Things have really quieted down, with most reports being about camps that are going on. However any move that happens we will still be here to keep you up to date on, as well as giving you little tidbits of PFF knowledge here and there as well!
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19.40 The running back drama just got a little weirder. John Clayton reported Ahmad Bradshaw and the Giants aren't close, so he's scheduled a visit with Cincinnati. Why they would bring back Benson, who rated 50th out of 58 backs in terms of running with the ball in 2010, and then decide to go after Bradshaw is a bit of a mystery. On the other hand Bradshaw ranked 10th, so he would be a huge upgrade, but then throwing the money at Benson would be a waste. Especially with a talented backup in Bernard Scott.
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19.35 SIGNING! Things are picking up again with another AFC West move. This time, Brandon Siler has agreed to terms with the Kansas City Chiefs. He had a few starts during the previous season, where he looked pretty good other then a game against the Raiders. Had it not been for that game, he would have an overall rating of +5.3. My guess would be he competes with Jovan Belcher for the starting job opposite Derrick Johnson.
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19.28 SIGNING! And now the free agent tracker is slightly out of date, as defensive end Marcus Thomas is back with the Denver Broncos. He is solid in stopping the run with a +6.0 rating in 2010, but just 12 pressures on 283 pass rushes is not what you want to see. If I ran the Broncos I would just have him in on the first two downs, but instead of running the Broncos I'm running the PFF live blog.
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19.26 Our Free Agent Tracker is now fully up to date. If you want to see who your team signed, who they lost, or who is available… it's all there along with their PFF overall rating and number of snaps they played in 2010. Data you simply can't get anywhere else.
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19.11 SIGNING! The Buffalo Bills have signed defensive end Lionel Dotson from the Dolphins. Not the biggest move of the day, but the only news in the past hour. In 2010 he played in 43 snaps, in 2009 13, and in 2008 19, so not the most experienced player.
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19.03 There has been a bit of running back movement today, with the Hightower trade, the Cedric Benson signing, and the top two available fullbacks in Vonta Leach and John Kuhn both signing. There are still a number of players available there with Ahmad Bradshaw, Clinton Portis, Mewelde Moore, Ronnie Brown, Bryan Westbrook, Jason Snelling, Ricky Williams, Cadillac Williams and Tiki Barber. If someone gets hurt in the pre-season, there are plenty of options out there.
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18.51 So far a number of players from the All-Available Team have been signed. That includes fullback Vonta Leach by the Ravens, left guard Justin Blalock by the Falcons, middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch by the Lions, inside linebacker Nick Barnett by the Bills and free safety Michael Huff by the Raiders. If I had to replace them now, I would go with Le'Ron McClain at fullback, Rich Seubert at left guard, Kirk Morrison at middle linebacker, Stephen Cooper at inside linebacker and Brodney Pool at free safety.
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18.42 At this point the majority of restricted free agents have agreed to terms with their old team. There are still 60 by my count (although I could very well be behind on a few guys) who haven't signed and I would guess a lot of them won't be brought back. However there are a few notable guys who aren't back yet. That includes Cliff Avril with the Lions, Michael Bush with Oakland, Brandon Carr and Wallace Gilberry with Kansas City, BenJarvus Green-Ellis with New England and Carl Nicks with New Orleans.
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18.27 The fantasy team has been busy all week, and will continue giving you the best information out there on fantasy. Here is the Week in Review. If you have your draft coming up, and are not sure how a recent move effects a player, the fantasy staff will tell you.
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18.14 I'm not entirely sure what the Redskins plan on doing with Hightower when they have Ryan Torain who is a better runner, and all of the rookies they drafted, but then again it wouldn't be the first time the Redskins made a move that didn't make sense to me. On the other hand, the Cardinals add another pass rusher to their defensive line to go along with Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett. They will be able to get to the quarterback, but on run plays Dan Williams will be stuck doing all of the work on the line.
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18.08 TRADE! More Redskins news! This time they acquired running back Tim Hightower from the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for Vonnie Holliday. The Redskins decided to pretty much start all over on the defensive line by cutting Philip Daniels and Ma'ake Kemoeatu, trading Holliday and Haynesworth, and not re-signing Kedric Golston. This leaves Adam Carriker as the last man standing of the six guys who had the most snaps.
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18.04 SIGNING! Yep, things are still rolling. We haven't heard our friends in Washington DC signing anyone in awhile, so it was overdue.Right tackle Jammal Brown is returning to the Redskins. Over the course of back to back games in 2010 against the Colts and Packers, he allowed 15 combined pressures. If you ignore those two games, which it looks like the Redskins have done, he was a very average pass blocker.
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18.00 Hello all, it's @PFF_NateJahnke here taking over for Sam. It's been a surprisingly busy Sunday, so let's see if it keeps going through the evening!
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17.51 Rotoworld maestro Evan Silva is reporting that the Giants are definite players for free agent running back Jason Snelling. Snelling is a very versatile weapon and it's surprising that there hasn't been a bigger market for him so far this off-season.
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17.43 According to Bengals reporting guru, Joe Reedy, Deuce Lutui failed his physical with the team. Lutui is a giant body of a man, but has been a poor player for the Cardinals. Maybe the Bengals can think themselves lucky on this one.
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17.39 The numbers on the Justin Blalock contract are apparently six years, $38m with $16m guaranteed. For a player of his quality that's on the pricey side, but then compared to the Davin Joseph contract it looks like bargain of the decade.
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17.30 SIGNING! It had been a quiet run for Adam Schefter, the guru of the blackberry information, but he's now reporting that the Bengals have reached an agreement to bring back Cedric Benson for another season on a one year deal. Benson now enters a backfield with Bernard Scott and Brian Leonard back for another season too. Benson's got yet more legal troubles on the horizon (what Bengals player doesn't?!), and it's likely that even with him returning Scott is going to see a much increased workload in 2011.
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17.17 SIGNING! According to John Clayton the Broncos signed not one but two tight ends. In addition to the signing of Dante Rosario we talked about earlier they also inked Daniel Fells, formerly of the Rams. Fells has always been an impressive athlete but doesn't often play up to that standard, and he, like Rosario, is a pretty poor blocker. One thing Fells is though is tough to bring down with the ball in his hands. He forced 11 missed tackles last season and is the only player to make Takeo Spikes miss more than once over the past three seasons.
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16.57 ‘Free Agent Aubrayo Franklin to visit the 49ers on Monday'? You'd think he'd have that covered from playing there for years.
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16.52 SIGNING! Per his agent, via Rob Demovski, John Kuhn is set to return to the Packers for another three seasons, allowing fans to maintain three more years of “KUUUUUUUUHHHHN” chants. At one stage the Packers were rotating John Kuhn and Korey Hall at FB, and then drafted Quinn Johnson, and it looked like Kuhn's days were numbered, despite him grading out as the better player all along. His surprise stint as a running option last season likely raised his value to the team much higher. According to his agent the deal will make Kuhn one of the top paid fullbacks in the league.
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16.44 There are reports swirling around that the Cardinals are interested in bringing in Braylon Edwards. Edwards makes some sense for the Cardinals, who lost Steve Breaston in free agency, despite several young receiving options they have on board already. For Braylon, any time he can be away from the focal point of the defense has to be a good thing, and he still has some big talent. He's dropped just 4 passes in each of the past two seasons, far from the leaders at WR.
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16.39 SIGNING! Lindsay Jones from the Denver Post is reporting that John Fox is bringing in one of his own in the form of Dante Rosario, pending a physical. Rosario is far more of a receiving tight end than he is a blocker, but he had a poor all around season in 2010 (hindered along with most of the Carolina offense by prohibitively poor QB play). In 2009 he had a much better receiving grade from us and can be a weapon.
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16.31 SIGNING! It seems the New York Giants have welcomed back their former backup QB David Carr. Carr at this stage is purely a clipboard holder, and he's likely a much cheaper option than Rosenfels for the Giants, who could find himself asked to restructure or wind up a cap casualty because of his $3m salary.. The long and the short of it is the Giants are screwed if they need Carr to start games for them.
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16.23 SIGNING! Nobody seems sure if the twitter account purporting to be Chris Houston is legit or not, but it broke the news that the cornerback has re-signed with the Lions for another two years, which has been independently confirmed by Dave Birkett via Houston's agent. Houston isn't a great corner, and he's not a terrible corner, but it's probably fair to say the Lions had an opportunity to upgrade on him in free agency. He allowed 60% of the passes thrown at him last season to be complete.
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16.19 SIGNING! Mark Sanchez' mentor, Mark Brunell, has re-signed with the team according to Jenny Vrentas. Brunell's there for veteran guidance to Sanchez and won't play barring disaster, but his creditors will be happy, he'll earn a paycheck this year.
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16.15 Numbers aren't out yet but Alex Marvez is reporting that the Blalock deal in Atlanta is for six years!
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16.08 SIGNING! The Atlanta Falcons have reached an agreement with their left guard, Justin Blalock. That means that Atlanta has managed to retain 2/3 of the O-line players that they had hitting free agency at the same time, and arguably the right two, with only Harvey Dahl headed for foreign pastures.
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16.07 Well @pff_khaled steps out to get himself some food, @sammonson returns with the news that he did indeed ‘cook up a storm'!
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15:48 Manish Mehta of the New York Daily news informs us all that the Jets are looking to bring back Shaun Ellis. Ellis played well last year, but was probably on the field more than he needed to be. With the Jets drafting a guy who can play his spot it seems like Ellis' role would be significantly reduced. Would he be happy with? Or could a team with a need for short term solution at DE step up and offer him a larger role?
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15:34 SIGNING! Brad Biggs has confirmed that the Bears have signed Chris Spencer on a two year deal. Spencer has been a flat out disappointment in Seattle, but represents an upgrade on Olin Kreutz (except for those dreaded intangibles). It's not exactly the move the Bears needed to make to sure up their offensive line.
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15:16 Here's an interesting one. NFL.com is reporting that the Raiders are trying to outbid the Jets for Antonio Cromartie. If it comes up then the Jets decision to gamble on Asomugha could really come back to haunt him. For all his faults, Cromartie is the best guy out there for the system the Jets run. With the Patriots moving forward, the Jets can't afford to be taken a step back.
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15:09 RESIGNINGS! The Colts have avoided improving their team with fancy free agents, and instead opted to resign four of their own. The four are Antonio Johnson, Eric Foster, Kyle DeVan and Michael Toudouze. DeVan was the most competent offensive lineman not named Jeff Saturday last year, while Johnson is the kind of rotational guy who won't let you down. Much like Raheem Brock in Indy, Foster doesn't seem up to the tweener role the Colts want to use him for. All in all these moves aren't likely to appease a Colts fan base worried about being left behind.
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15:05 He was my seventh ranked free agent available, but it looks like Aubrayo Franklin may go back to San Francisco with his tail between his legs. He's meeting with the Niners tomorrow and doing so seemingly having lost a lot of leverage. This could be a big move, getting back a true two gap NT who will help free up Patrick Willis to make plays. Franklin was our ranked pure NT versus the run this year.
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15:02 SIGNING! Jim Wyatt has revealed that Daniel Graham will be joining the Tennessee Titans on a three year deal. The Titans have missed a big bodied blocker since Alge Crumpler left, and it was one of the factors in a come down year for Chris Johnson. Graham is certainly big bodied, but while he is excellent in pass protection, he just isn't consistent enough with his run blocking. At times you'll see him overpower a defensive end, and at other times look near enough inept.
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14:59 SIGNING! And another player reveals his signing with a tweet. Nick Barnett didn't leave anyone in any doubt with a ‘gobills' tweet, and it's been confirmed he's signed on with Buffalo. Presuming Barnett is healthy, the Bills have just made the perfect signing for them. If they mess around with their defensive fronts like they did last year, Barnett can play in both. And he can play exceptionally well. In 2009 he was our number two ranked 3-4 inside linebacker. Does everything you'd want from that spot, attacks the run and can handle dropping into coverage. He's a better player for the Bills than Paul Posluszny.
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14:51 The Broncos are bringing another guy in for a visit. This time it will be pass catching tight end Dante Rosario. Rosario never became the threat Carolina hoped him to be, and was a virtual non factor despite seeing plenty of time in two tight end sets, and third down roles. He's not coming off a particularly strong year, though did show some promise in 2009. He hasn't exactly been blessed with excellent quarterback play.
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14:45 RELEASE! It's official. The Seahawks have said goodbye to Lofa Tatupu. Once regarded as one of the premier MLB's in the league, Tatupu was the fourth most talented linebacker on the Seahawks roster so it's no surprise they were prepared to release him. He's better than a Barrett Ruud, but it will be interesting to see where he fits. The big news is that David Hawthorne will now likely move inside. When he last played there in 2009, we had him ranked fourth with our MLB grades. Getting him on the field for third downs should increase his production.
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14:34 SIGNING! Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has informed us all that James Jones has signed a three year extension with the Packers. Jones is the kind of frustrating receiver who will make a big play and follow it up with a boneheaded one. It's this inconsistency that saw him finish the year our 87th ranked receiver. His eight drops have something to do with that. Still Aaron Rodgers wanted it so the Pack have at least brought a smile to the face of their franchise.
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14:28 According to Seattle Times reporter Danny O'Neil, the Bears could be close to signing Chris Spencer. Spencer has never lived up to where he was selected and finished the year our 27th ranked center. That was still higher than Olin Kreutz mind.
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13:48 Pro Football Talk is telling us (and by us I mean everyone) that Jamaal Anderson is rebounding to being cut by Atlanta by lining up visits to Denver and Tennessee. Tennessee want to get bigger at the end spot and put less of an emphasis on speed, while Denver will need some ends that can actually play the run. Anderson is a good fit to work into a rotation for either team, and was our sixth ranked defensive end against the run last year. Not what you want out of the eighth overall selection, but he can contribute.
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13:44 SIGNING! Are the Cardinals going to get their tight end more involved in the passing game? In a move that Kevin Kolb will love, they've brought Todd Heap in on a two year deal. The former Raven is one of the hardest to cover TEs in the league, and finished third in our pure receiver rankings for the position.
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13:36 John Clayton is at it again. He reports that Osi Umenyiora wants to be traded to Seattle. Considering how much it would cost to get him (contract and draft picks), it doesn't seem like a shrewd move for Seattle. They have Chris Clemons, a guy who was more productive than Umenyiora last year. They'd be better off just bringing back Raheem Brock who was also more productive as a pass rusher than the Giant last year.
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13:12 SIGNING! The Ravens are moving on at the full back spot, bringing in Vonta Leach. The former Texan is capable of playing exceptionally well (see his week one game against Indianapolis) but has a slightly inflated reputation given his total body of work. Having said that Leach did finish third in our full back rankings last year and is a better pure blocker than Le'Ron McClain. It's three years for $11m.
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13:02 Rumors are picking up that Manny Lawson is interesting the Dolphins as well. It's a peculiar fit given that the Dolphins have two starting outside linebackers already, and take one of them off the field on nickel sets on second down. You figured as one of the top 3-4 OLBs about, Lawson would be able to find a starting spot somewhere. Lawson was one of the most productive pass rushers in the league last year. It's not all about sacks …
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12:55 John Clayton has dropped some knowledge on us all. Shaun O'Hara is set to visit with Miami. O'Hara has been one of the best centers over the past few years, but his play dropped off last year and there are injury concerns. It seems like an odd fit given Mike Pouncey and Joe Berger are both on the roster. O'Hara is either a guy good enough to start for you, or a guy you deem to have too many health concerns to sign. But using him as depth? Hmm.
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12:49 With Stephen Tulloch in Detroit, Nick Barnett will no longer be heading into town. What does this mean? Well it means he should be off to Buffalo. When Barnett was first cut we did this nice little piece on him that you may want to read. Or you may not. It's totally up to you. Essentially he's pretty good and pretty versatile. For a team that you're not sure are 100% committed to a defensive scheme and may run a hybrid by accident, he's an excellent fit.
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12:36 SIGNING! Here we go. Deals aren't quite flying in, but there are some. Miami snap up Ronald Fields to likely act as a back up to Paul Soliai. Throughout all our time grading him Fields has never looked much more than a body people put at nose tackle because they can't find anything better. I wouldn't expect him to see much of the field with how the Dolphins use the rest of their linemen depending on down and distance.
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12:31 SIGNING! It's been a while but we have one. William Gay has resigned with Steelers. Gay looked a good player in the making at the end of 2008, but couldn't handle the starting opportunity a year later and struggled. He wasn't much better in a nickel role this year, earning a -5.3 coverage grade, and giving up five touchdowns.
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12:18 Well all the talk in New England may be about Haynesworth and Ochocinco, but one guy I'm personally seeing a big season for (presuming he's on the field), is Brandon Spikes. Ian Rapoport will be writing something up about him in the Boston Globe tomorrow, but for those wanting to know now, why we like Spikes so much at Pro Football Focus take a look at this piece.
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11:46 Nothing is happening right now. Even our very own Sam Monson won't update us on whether he was actually able to cook up a storm. Check out the site tomorrow when we'll be producing lots and lots of content. We're talking grading teams for the work they've done, looking at the big winners/ losers and the return of 32 teams/ 32 observations. Will be dropping some interesting (in our opinion) information on a signing each team has made!
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11:31 When Adam Schefter speaks, the whole NFL world listens. He's reported the Jets are closing in on Antonio Cromartie. Let's be honest, he's not the guy they wanted, but he's a fit for what they want to do. He'll be wanting to give up less than the eight touchdowns he did this year.
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11:16 We wait, oh how we wait. But while we do why not spend the time liking us on facebook, following us on twitter, and reading some articles. You know the one where we made a team out of what free agent talent is left, and for you fantasy guys, a lovely piece assessing the impact of each free agent move. And if that tickles your fancy, then consider signing up to our premium analysis and stats subscription service since we've lowered the price to $29.99 for 365 days service. There's a video there and everything.
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11:06 While Sam Monson (@sammonson) takes a break to, I quote, ‘cook up a storm', Khaled Elsayed (@pff_khaled) is back on the blog. And I'll start by telling you the 49ers are looking at Antwan Applewhite. My thoughts? Underwhelming move with Applewhite not being the type of guy you can count on to generate pressure. Picked up 17 QB disruptions on 164 pass rushing attempts. In a swap of Applewhite for Travis LaBoy, the Chargers are getting the better player.
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10.56 ProFootballTalk is reporting that the Redskins could be making an unexpected run at HB Ahmad Bradshaw. Other than the obvious benefit of robbing from a division rival, the Bradshaw signing smacks of trying to upgrade the running game by getting a new runner, rather than fixing the inherent problem of a poor blocking O-line. As good a season as Bradshaw had in 2010 we actually had Ryan Torain finish higher in the 2010 Elusive Rating, suggesting that if the skins improved the run blocking ahead of him they'd have a ready made upgrade.
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10.40 RELEASE! Adam Schefter is reporting that Lofa Tatupu has asked for his release from the Seahawks. According to Schefter the Seahawks asked Tatupu to take a pay cut. Evidently he refused, and took umbrage at the suggestion. Schefter says the Seahawks will comply and grant Tatupu his release, paving the way for Hawthorne to move back to MLB.
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10.32 It seems Mr Fowler was right on the money with the Evans news. Tom Pelissero is now reporting that Fred Evans says he is re-signing with the Vikings.
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10.23 Jeremy Fowler of the Pioneer Press is reporting that for now there are no plans to release WR Bernard Berrian despite his high cap number this season, and also that there is talk DT Fred Evans could return to the team, and has been approached to do so. Berrian looked lost last season after a hamstring injury rendered him impotent, but he isn't too far removed from a season as an effective deep threat for the Vikings. With the holes at WR Minnesota hopes they can find that guy in camp. Fred Evans has had an up and down time in Minnesota but graded well against the run in two of the past three seasons and could help when the Vikings start the season minus the Williams Wall.
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10.17 There are rumors swirling that the Seahawks are going to release MLB Lofa Tatupu. That presumably moves David Hawthorne back to the middle where he was a stud in 2009 in relief of an injured Tatupu. Only four ILBs had a higher grade against the run than Hawthorne in 2009. If that move transpires the Seahawks probably get markedly better at the position, not worse as some might proclaim.
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09.42 It seems that linebacker has become a lower valued position this off-season, with various linebackers signing for shorter and cheaper contracts than you might expect. Tulloch becomes the latest according to Adam Schefter, signing for a 1-year, $3.25m deal with only $1.8m of that guaranteed. Given Tulloch's performance last year that is frankly a steal.
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09.23 Well Braylon Edwards replacement he may be, but it's not a particularly cut-price one it seems. Adam Schefter is reporting that the Plaxico deal is a one-year, fully-guaranteed contract for $3,017,000. That's not a particularly small contract for someone with as many question marks as Burress, especially given the fully-guaranteed status of it. I'm also curious as to where the $17k came from
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09.19 SIGNING! Well that didn't take long. According to Josina Anderson of Fox Plaxico Burress has indeed signed with the Jets. As we all know Burress has been away from the game for some time and was declining even before then, so there's a very real chance that this signing is more name value than substance. For all Braylon Edwards' faults he offered something the Jets might not be able to replace with Burress, but will likely try because of the cash saving.
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09.18 According to Mike Freeman from CBS Fred Taylor has congratulated his friend Plaxico Burress on signing with the Jets, but as of right now nobody knows whether Taylor is accurate.
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09.06 SIGNING! According to our man Sean Jensen, the Lions have signed former Tennessee LB Stephen Tulloch, reuniting him with Jim Schwartz. Tulloch excels as a downhill thumper from the MLB position and flows to the football through traffic. He should slot in at MLB for them allowing them to move Levy back to WLB and Durant to tackle the SLB position on a 2-down basis. Their D-line should be a pass-rushing force, but their LB signings should really help against the run.
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08.50 SIGNING! If you're looking for early morning news you can never go far wrong with the man that never sleeps, Adam Schefter. Schefter is reporting that Michael Huff is signing the one place I never figured he'd wind up, back in Oakland. It's not that the two aren't a good match, in that Huff enjoyed by far his best season last year, but the Raiders have various safety options and I figured they'd let him walk. Huff struggled to fulfill his draft promise until last season when the Raiders stopped using him in the box and instead leaned on his impressive athleticism as a deep safety over the top. Assuming they don't plan to change the tactic, it's a good move for both parties.
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08.35 Apparently Nick Barnett is still in Buffalo following his visit there, but is expected to visit Detroit later today. That brought to you by the excellence of Tom Kowalski. Barnett is a good fit in either destination but Buffalo tops our list of perfect landing spots for the former Packer, given his experience in both the 4-3 and 3-4.
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07.50 We brought you the news yesterday that Noel Devine was released by the Eagles, but Aaron Wilson of Scout.com is reporting that Devine actually walked out on the Eagles of his own accord. Speculation is that he was frustrated with the lack of practice snaps he was getting, but any way you cut it, that's a pretty major red flag to other teams who expect players to do everything they can to please the organization, not take their ball and go home when things aren't going well.
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07.43 SIGNING! In a move we've known about for a while, the Eagles make things official with OG Evan Mathis. Mathis signs a 1-year deal with the Eagles. We've long been a fan of Mathis – he's out shone Nate Livings at LG for the Bengals consistently over the past few seasons despite constantly being forced to rotate with him. He's athletic enough to play in zone schemes and strong enough to do well in man-blocking. Todd Herremans has been injury prone in the past and if he should go down the Eagles have a far better replacement than they've had in the past.
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07.36 The man for whom sleep means nothing is at it again. Our favorite Jets reporter Manish says that Todd Heap is in town for a visit, suggesting the Jets are looking to follow the Patriots' lead with two tight end sets. Heap is both a capable blocker and receiver and if he is healthy is a legit top tight end.
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07.29 SIGNING! There we go, turns out all I needed to do was complain a little bit and things start to move. It's coming from an unusual source, Bradenton.com via whodatdish.com, but apparently Fabien Washington has signed with the New Orleans Saints. We're big fans of Greer and Porter in New Orleans, but both get hurt more than you want to see and with the loss of Randall Gay the Saints seem to see a space for some available depth at the position. In 2008 we graded Washington well in coverage, but since his ACL injury he's not been the same player, grading poorly ever since. QBs had a rating of over 120 last season when throwing at Washington, but he does have the ability to play well as we saw in '08
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07.20 Nothing. Nada. Zip. Nitto. Slow morning so far, it's almost as if guys aren't busting a gut to get deals done at 7am! So let's talk a little more about the Bills and QB/WR Brad Smith. Chris Brown from the Buffalo Bills website (a fine person to read by the way) is reporting a little more about how the Bills plan to use Smith (We pointed out yesterday that he was listed on their website not at WR but at QB). In his piece he quotes Chan Gailey invoking the play of Kordell Stewart. With the creative Chan Gailey at the controls we're really looking forward to seeing how Smith gets used.
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06.48 We're making another substitute in the blog station. @PFF_Khaled is out, and @SamMonson is in the hot seat during the quiet time this morning. We don't expect the marketplace to go nuts this early in the morning, but if it is we'll be bringing you all the PFF reaction to it, so stick with us. In the meantime, check out what else we've got on the site.
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06:35 Here's an underrated player for everyone, and a guy who could contribute. Brandon Siler. He wasn't at his best last year, but you only need to go back to 2009 to see how much of an impact player he can be, especially in run defense. Attacks and shed blocks well, and if he's healthy could upgrade a number of teams. Given the amount of linebackers signed up, I'm surprised no team has taken a flyer on the 25 year old.
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06:28 Hello to the early risers out there. The NFL world is starting to stir, so brace yourself for what promises to be another fun filled day of free agents. By my reckoning Aubrayo Franklin is the top free agent left. But with 3-4 teams seemingly set at the NT spot (well, those using a two gap system), could he find his way to a 4-3 team?
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05:17 I'm still here. But then I'm contracted to be. What's your excuse? Nothing is going on but the Texans appear to have signed a couple of their rookies. No J.J. Watt deal but with this new rookie salary cap, we've avoided those tedious rookie holdouts.
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04:29 Rob Ryan is reuniting with some former friends. At least he's trying to. The Cowboys are looking at Abram Elam as the solution to their free safety woes. There are worse safeties out there then Elam who was lined up as a deep safety for 784 snaps, and a free safety for 263 snaps (numbers include penalties, but not when he was lined up covering the slot or outside corner).
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04:17 So. Let's see what mischief we can get up to today. As ever keep checking out our twitter feed for even more instantaneous feedback. It comes with a price as you won't get more than 140 characters of analysis. For a man as verbose as I, that's near criminal.
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04:05 OK, my run is done (thrilling as it was) as Khaled awakes and takes the blog back. Have fun all, here's to a great Sunday of free agency news!
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04:00 Just ran back through the official team tweets from today. Would have been much easier on all of them to just defer to a few consolidated messages … “pic from today: fans get autographs” … “oooh, first big hit of the year by ____” … “next practice tomorrow same time”. I realize they aren't the spot to look for breaking news or tasty bits, but if one ever breaks from the pack and gets less robot-ish with it's tweeting, it'll be news.
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03:30 I'm about to start describing what's in my fridge. There is nothing new dropping tonight, but we've got a couple of pieces just posted to the site: Nathan Jahnke offers an “All-Available Free Agents Team” with the best options remaining at each position. Not a bad looking group in all. Ross Miles checks in with a recap of the week in fantasy football with his weekly Fantasy Football Review. Lots to keep up with if you're a fantasy player and the PFF Fantasy team has you covered.
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02:30 We're not usually in the business of commenting on incoming rookies since we've yet to see the take NFL snaps, but hey, it's late and there's nothing happening, so … Looking at this year's first round picks, Houston's JJ Watt is the highest remaining unsigned. The Houston Chronicle's John McClain thinks he'll agree to a deal early tomorrow and the apparent “slotting” suggests he'll land in the 4 year, $10-12m guaranteed range. With the additions they've made in the defensive backfield, Mario Williams' impending position switch, and the recent departure of Amobi Okoye, Watt's play as a 5-tech will be one more reason that Houston's new 3-4 D will be particularly interesting to watch.
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01:30 Day 5?! Feels more like it's been one really, REALLY long day. It's time for the graveyard shift – never the most active time, but we march on, scouring for interesting bits during the dark hours. Thanks for checking in so often these past few days – PFF readership is going through the roof, subscriptions to our Premium Stats are flying off the shelves, and we can't express how pleased we are to have you all aboard. Now, as usual, time to get some editing done and bump around the web for crumbs from the day.
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