NFL Free Agency: 6 Deals That'll Turn NFL Pretenders into Super Bowl Contenders

You may have heard that the NFL Lockout has officially come to a close. Right now teams are preparing to make offers and attempt to woo whatever free agents they think can help them make that push towards the promised land.

That promised land of course being the Super Bowl.

It's very difficult to determine what teams will be where without free agency but here are a few deals that could push some teams over the top and land them in Indianapolis in February.

Serial tweeting about NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, Soccer and Rugby   @Cianaf

I also write for Irish Central and Fantasy Football Life.

Sidney Rice to the San Diego Chargers

Vincent Jackson has been tendered with a franchise tag but his return is not certain. Even if he does return the Chargers can still afford to pursue another receiver. Should Jackson sign a long term deal, that will alleviate even more cash for the team to spend.

The Chargers have cap room but also have some key free agents to re-sign. They will likely let Mike Tolbert leave looking for Ryan Mathews to break out but Eric Weddle and Kevin Burnett will cost at least half of the $20 million the team has to spend.

The remainder of that could go on a guy like Rice.

Sidney Rice would give the offense the boost it looked to gain when it acquired Chris Chambers all those years ago. Chambers didn't work out in San Diego but Rice would be perfect.

Rice specializes in the deep ball which perfectly suits the vertical ideology of the Chargers offense. Philip Rivers throws one of the best deep balls in the game and is never shy to look downfield. Looking downfield is much easier to do when you have the players to take advantage of jump ball situations.

There is no defense in the league that could matchup to the trio of Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Sidney Rice.

The Chargers biggest weakness last year wasn't their offense. They will definitely need to improve on special teams but the addition of Rice would make their offense the best in the league.

Rice may not be as big a player on the market as many think considering that he only has one year of real production. Depending on how teams view him Rice could be available at an affordable price. He is not the best receiver available either—Santonio Holmes—which should help a team like the Chargers who aren't looking for a first choice receiver.

Rice definitely isn't a complete receiver but there is no doubting his ability to go deep and win jump balls. The San Diego Chargers with he—or Steve Smith of Carolina—on their roster would be a safe bet for the Super Bowl next year.

DeAngelo Williams to the New York Giants

The New York Giants will need to free up some cap space in order to fix their running game. Brandon Jacobs isn't the answer and Ahmad Bradshaw is a free agent.

Bradshaw will probably attract a lot of attention which could cause him to leave the big apple. The Giants shouldn't be too worried about that however because the fumble prone back really isn't worth breaking the bank for.

Williams however is a stud that could carry the load and be the bell cow the team hasn't had since Tiki Barber. The Giants defense looks like being one of the best in the league on paper. Their depth in the secondary is unmatched throughout the league while the defensive line is one of the most disruptive.

Eli Manning received a lot of flack for his performances last year but if you had actually watched the team play you would see that many of his interceptions were tipped passes or simply unlucky.

With the possible return of Steve Smith, the Giants will have one of the best receiving groups in the whole league. Even without Smith that group should give Manning every chance to carry his team to the playoffs. With a strong running game—that Williams would provide—they could even start thinking of bringing Eli to his brother's home in February.

The return of Shaun O'Hara as the team's starting center will have a huge effect on the offense, should he be blowing holes open for a stud like Williams rather than an inconsistent Bradshaw then the Super Bowl could be on the horizon.

The Giants are a real dark horse this season. In a passing league they have four very good cornerbacks as well as at least three serviceable safeties. Defensively the team is set to overcome it's linebacker deficiencies. Offensively Williams will put them over the top.

Jared Gaither to the Dallas Cowboys

It was difficult to properly assess the Dallas Cowboys offensive performance from last season. For one thing a key member of the team heading into this year—Dez Bryant—was a rookie who entered the regular season injured.

Secondly, Doug Free was unproven and the offensive line as a whole took too long to gel.

In turn that created the third problem as Tony Romo went out injured after a few weeks of not being able to throw a pass in a clean pocket.

The Cowboys offense has some of the most talented skill position players in the league. Jason Witten is an elite Tight End, the group of Dez Bryant, Roy Williams and Miles Austin complement each other very well. Bryant in particular stands out as he has some of the best physical attributes of any receiver in the league.

The return of Tony Romo this season will be pointless if the team can't find a sufficient pass protector to watch his blindside. Doug Free may return but he has never looked like an elite pass protector. This is where Jared Gaither comes in.

With improved play calling from now head coach Jason Garrett, the Cowboys could vault a struggling defense to the Super Bowl if they add an elite left tackle.

While he has struggled with injuries for the best part of his career, Gaither was a premiere left tackle when he was on the field for the Ravens. Gaither excelled no matter who lined up across him regularly putting up strong performances against the likes of James Harrison.

The difference in the Ravens pass protection with Michael Oher in Gaither's position was drastic. Gaither may have become the forgotten man in Baltimore but he certainly has enough talent to be an all-pro left tackle in this league.

Should he return to full health, Gaither could be the missing piece in the Cowboys offense becoming elite. Defensively an improved offense could reignite the motivation that appeared lacking last season.

The importance of a left tackle is something that has been emphasized in recent years, the Cowboys understand that too after drafting Tyron Smith. However Smith is 20 years old and is better suited to play right tackle. The high level of talent bookending their offensive line would give the Cowboys every chance of going to Indianapolis in February.

Antonio Cromartie to the Philadelphia Eagles

You may be wondering why Nnamdi Asomugha is not in this spot. Asomugha will be a big addition to whatever team he signs for, however that team won't be a contender unless he takes a major pay cut or signs for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bucs are the only team on the verge of being elite that has the cap space to take a $17-20 million dollar hit and still address whatever other needs it has.

Cromartie will come at a much lower cost and give the Eagles a huge boost in a position of need. The Eagles would then have two great ball playing cornerbacks as both Asante Samuel and Cromartie love to get their hands on the football.

While the Eagles probably won't have the best defense in the league next year, they won't need to in order to reach the Super Bowl.

Similarly to the New Orleans Saints during their last Super Bowl run, the Eagles will only need to have an efficient defense that can aid what figures to be an elite offense. The Eagles—on paper—have the most explosive offense in the league.

Cromartie, unlike say an Ike Taylor, would give the Eagles another piece to create turnovers and potentially put points on the board to go along with an emerging stud like Nate Allen and proven players like Trent Cole and Samuel.

The Jets will likely make a big run at bringing back Cromartie but they do not have much cap space, especially if they are to re-sign their receivers. Eagles fans for the most part are likely hoping to add Asomugha to their roster but they would be much better served to bring in Cromartie which would allow them to re-sign some of their linebackers.

Braylon Edwards to the New England Patriots

I debated whether Cullen Jenkins would be a better fit in this instance but the Patriots need at receiver outweighs the team's need on the defensive line simply because of the return of Ty Warren and addition of Marcus Stroud.

The team needs someone who can legitimately threaten defensive backs deep. Malcolm Floyd could also fit the scheme but Braylon Edwards has greater potential to fill the role that Randy Moss vacated.

Edwards to the Patriots is a move that Matt Williamson of ESPN Scouts Inc. has repeatedly pointed to as a move that would push that offense over the top. Williamson sees the Patriots organization as something that could help Edwards return to his form of his best years in Cleveland.

This is definitely something that I agree with.

Edwards may not put up Moss numbers but simply filling that role within the offense and making a solid contribution would allow Tom Brady and his other targets to flourish. Without a proper deep threat the Patriots figure to have a fatal flaw in their offense. With a deep threat there is no telling what the team may achieve.

The Patriots are by no means my favorites for next season's Super Bowl. However there is no denying that this team's potential to explode offensively could make them the best team in the league by a country mile next year.

Santonio Holmes to the Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have two major issues to overcome providing that their aging defense still has one more elite season in it. The Bears need to upgrade their offensive line across the board—something they could do without adding expensive players—as well as adding one elite receiver to the roster.

The Bears have a really solid group of receivers but lack a true first choice. They have no player that can repeatedly beat the coverage of the opposition's best cover man. What is important for the Bears however is that they sign a player that can fit into Mike Martz' offensive scheme.

Of the best receivers available Santonio Holmes is the only one who fits all those criteria. Holmes will come at a big cost but the Bears have over $30 million free to spend in free agency so he is within their reach.

Holmes is clearly the best receiver available. Unlike Sidney Rice he is proven over many years. Unlike Braylon Edwards he does not suffer from inconsistent hands. Unlike Steve Smith he can repeatedly beat players no matter the situation.

Mike Martz had great success with Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt in St. Louis. I'm not saying that Holmes is as good as either of those players but he is similar in build and playing style. Holmes is so versatile that he can beat defenders deep or effectively work the underneath turning short catches into huge gains.

Strategically Holmes fits the bill but what may be even more valuable to the Bears is his clutch play. Holmes is a go-to-guy who excelled despite missing the first four games for a new team last year that has a history of performing in the playoffs including that famous Super Bowl reception.

The one red flag on Holmes is that one more off the field incident with substance abuse will result in a season long suspension. However should he be on the field he would be the perfect fit to propel the Bears past the hurdle that was the NFC Championship game last year.

Serial tweeting about NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, Soccer and Rugby   @Cianaf

I also write for Irish Central and Fantasy Football Life.