NFL Free Agency Rumors: Where Will Nnamdi Asomugha and Top Free Agents Land?

Thanks to an abbreviated offseason schedule, the flurry of team activity will be tough to keep up with over the next week or so.

The lockout delaying progress will essentially force teams to cram several months worth of personnel moves into one week.

The most notable free agent is, of course, former Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. He will almost certainly demand the richest contract ever given out to a corner, and his contract will set the baseline for much of the rest of the free agent activity.

Antonio Cromartie and Johnathan Joseph are two other defensive backs sure to make a splash. DeAngelo Williams, Sidney Rice and Mathias Kiwanuka are three more big names among many players expected to test the free agent market.

Let's take a peek at what is being said about where some of these top free agents will land.

Jets Reach out to Asomugha and Are Among the Early Favorites

From the start, there have been a few teams that keep popping up when discussions about Nnamdi Asomugha's future are being had.

The Jets have been one of those teams. The team, led by fiery coach Rex Ryan, is known for making splashy signings, and this would certainly qualify.

This signing would make sense for both parties. Asomugha has made no bones about the fact that he wants to play for a winner. He has spent his entire career losing as a member of the Oakland Raiders and he is tired of it. The Jets, as a real contender in the AFC, fit that bill.

For the Jets, pairing Asomugha with Darrelle Revis might give them a historically good defensive secondary.

It's no surprise, then, that the Jets were among the first teams to reach out to Nnamdi Asomugha and his agent.

Jenny Vrentas of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that the Jets were indeed among the first to contact the free agent and that while their salary cap situation isn't ideal to bring in a costly free agent, the team is known for doing their homework and figuring out how to make these types of things work.

Don't be surprised if the Jets find a way to make it happen and put the best cornerback in the game in their uniform.

Will Sidney Rice Return to the Vikes?

With very little decided about the Vikings quarterback situation, it would make sense for the team to make sure they keep their other offensive pieces in tact.

Thanks to what is expected to be a very active market for his services, Sidney Rice might break up that core.

NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora has reported that the Seattle Seahawks have shown early interest in the receiver for the same reasons that I gave for the Vikings wanting to hang on to him.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is unlikely to return to Seattle. The offense will probably be turned over to Charlie Whitehurst. To try to make that as successful a transition as possible, the Seahawks would love to surround him with an embarrassment of riches of offensive talent.

Will Patriots Make Run for Mathias Kiwanuka After Parting Ways with Banta-Cain?

ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported that the Patriots have released veteran pass rusher Tully Banta-Cain. While Banta-Cain had been a consistent pass rusher over the last few seasons, the Patriots likely have their eyes on a bigger prize.

In the same NBC Sports story that mentions the Schefter report, there is speculation that with the freed up salary and the spot on the roster, the Patriots might make a run at Mathias Kiwanuka or Matt Roth.

The undoing of the Patriots last season was that they didn't have a pass rusher that teams had to constantly account for. Banta-Cain was a popular player in New England, and he gave the team a solid pass rush in spots, but bringing in a bigger fish like Kiwanuka or Roth would go a long way toward getting the Patriots back over the hump and in the Super Bowl.

Panthers and Broncos Go Toe to Toe for DeAngelo Williams

All DeAngelo Williams has done since entering the league is establishing himself as one of the most dynamic running backs in the NFL. As such, you would expect a feeding frenzy for his services this offseason.

While it might have started off that way, it now appears that the race is down to just two teams. ESPN's Chris Mortensen tweeted that he is hearing that the Panthers and Broncos are currently engaged in a bidding war to bring in Williams.

Publicly, Williams has expressed an interest in staying with the Panthers and retiring as a Panther, but you have to think that he would like to become more of a feature back. In Carolina, he shares carries pretty heavily with Jonathan Stewart and that probably won't change.

The lure to go to Denver has to be strong also. The Broncos have a way of raising the level of play of their running backs, and there's no reason to believe that would stop with a running back as talented as Williams.

Which of the Many Hands in the Cookie Jar Will Come out with Cullen Jenkins?

It's rare that you see a player mentioned with as many teams as Cullen Jenkins has been so far. But then again, Jenkins is a rare talent.

Jenkins is a high-character veteran who happens to be a premier 3-4 defensive end.

ESPN's John Clayton writes that the Packers are expected to let Jenkins walk as a free agent so that they can replace him with a younger player.

In that same piece, he lists the Washington Redskins as the favorite to sign the big man and the Buffalo Bills as a darkhorse.

The Denver Post has also reported that Jenkins is on the Broncos board of possible free agent signings along the defensive line.