2012 NFL Free Agency: 7 Players That Teams Would Regret Letting Walk

In the league's worst-kept secret, Peyton Manning will likely be leaving the Indianapolis Colts. It is just a matter of when, and what team he will be playing for in 2012. 

Two Super Bowl Appearances. One Super Bowl MVP. Four regular season MVPs. Yep, if a player of Manning's status can be dismissed, anyone can. Click along and find out if your favorite players could be on their way out of town, and what kind of impact that would have on their former team. 

Carl Nicks

The New Orleans Saints have three Pro Bowlers set to hit the free-agent market. 

Drew Brees is not going anywhere and the team will have to work to re-sign Marques Colston. The 6'5" Colston will be an attractive target to anyone looking for a top-flight wideout. As usual, the offensive lineman could be the one overlooked. Losing Carl Nicks would be a mistake by the Saints. 

Nicks is one of the game's best guards, and is looking to be paid like one. He has already been linked in rumors to the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, two teams with interior line needs and fat checkbooks.

The Saints drafted Mark Ingram in the first-round last season in an attempt to build a power-running game to complement Brees' passing. If the team loses Nicks, their efforts towards improving the run will take a big step backwards. 

Marshawn Lynch

Marshawn Lynch is an unrestricted free agent, and both his and the Seattle Seahawks' camps have been quiet thus far. 

According to ProFootballTalk, talks have been ongoing but there has not been a breakthrough. Lynch has quickly become the heart and soul of the Seahawks during his time in Seattle. When the Seahawks win, it is almost always because Lynch went Beast Mode on the opposition.

The Seahawks will likely use the franchise tag on Lynch if they cannot come to an agreement. If I'm in the Seattle's front office, I would even overpay to keep him in town long term given the offense's dependence on his performance. 

Mario Williams

The Houston Texans have two stars to take care of this offseason: Mario Williams and Arian Foster. It seems as though if one walks, it will be Williams. 

Williams is a singular talent, as there is no player with his blend of size and speed. He opens things up for the rest of the defense and was on his way to Defensive Player of the Year contention before he tore his pectoral muscle. Even while adjusting to a new position, Williams had five sacks in five games and single-handedly beat the Steelers by abusing Ben Roethlisberger. 

The Texans had one of the game's best defenses and won a playoff game without Williams. However, letting him walk away would be a crucial error. With the overall improvement of the D and the playmaking of Williams, the Texans could have the game's most elite unit on that side of the ball. 

Mike Wallace

The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying desperately to get under the cap, primarily so they can re-sign Mike Wallace. 

Arguably the game's fastest receiver, Wallace started out the season on fire in 2011. Injuries to Ben Roethlisberger, the offensive line and the emergence of Antonio Brown hurt his second-half performance, but make no mistake: Wallace is the team's best big-play threat. The Mississippi product approached 1,200 yards receiving for the second year in a row.  

Ben Roethlisberger restructured his contract (the fifth Steelers veteran to do so) in an effort to help keep his primary option in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are right now at the cap level, and are still working to shed payroll.

Still, the worry is a team well under the cap will give Wallace a front-loaded deal with a big signing bonus that would be difficult for the Steelers to match. A squad like the Cincinnati Bengals ($60 million under the cap) would add Wallace to a young and talented team while simultaneously hurting their division rivals. 

The Steelers have issues with aging veterans at other positions, but their most important move of the offseason is keeping the most productive member of the "Young Money Crew" in Pittsburgh for a long time. 

Cedric Benson

In a move I don't understand, the Cincinnati Bengals and Cedric Benson seem set for a "mutual parting of the way," as tweeted by Bengals' beat writer Joe Reedy.

Again, I don't get this. Benson has been great for the Bengals, and the Bengals have been great for Benson, resurrecting his career after being deemed a first-round bust with the Chicago Bears. Benson has eclipsed 1,000 yards in each of his three full seasons in Cincinnati.

The Bengals are an up-and-coming team and are $60 million under the cap. You would think they would want to keep their money back in town while Andy Dalton and AJ Green continue to progress in the passing game. 

Benson himself said "We haven't had any talks about a new deal," in an interview on Sirius NFL Radio. It looks like the bruising back will be suiting up in a new city in 2012. 

Vincent Jackson

The writing has been on the wall for a breakup between Vincent Jackson and the San Diego Chargers, but Phillip Rivers would still miss his big wideout. 

The Chargers and Jackson's agents are talking, but Jackson could be fed up with Chargers' GM AJ Smith, as the two have battled for years. Jackson held out and only played in five games in 2010, and he was wildly inconsistent in 2011. The team put the franchise tag on him last year, and you could tell his focus waned from time to time. 

The team has said the franchise tag will not be an option this year, so it is long-term deal or bust. My feeling is Jackson signs that deal with another team, and Rivers misses his 6'5" playmaker. 

Reggie Wayne

The Indianapolis Colts seem ready to do battle without the battery that delivered a Super Bowl and a decade of playoff production. 

Wayne has been one of the game's consistently great receivers, going for over 1,000 yards in every season from 2004 until this one. Even without Manning, Wayne still managed 75 catches and 960 yards. The veteran wideout is 33 years old and does not seem to be in the Colts' rebuilding plans. "I know one thing, my phone works. I do have service and every last bar on it and their number has not come across it yet."

Wayne still has a couple years left in him, and will make his new team very happy as a consummately professional pass-catcher.