NFL Free Agency Rumblings (February 5th): Ray Lewis Heading To Jets?

The NFL Free Agency period is set to begin on February 27th, and there are already rumors and speculation as to where some players may land.

Ray Lewis to New York Jets?

Lewis finally tipped his hand with his free agency prospects. If the 13-year veteran doesn't take a "hometown" discount with the Baltimore Ravens, which he won't, it appears that there are two likely destinations:

1.  New York Jets

2.  Dallas Cowboys

Both make sense for multiple reasons. In an interview with NFL Network's Jamie Dukes today at the Pro Bowl, Lewis said, "That opportunity by itself seems attractive. It sounds right. It's like, wow, if something does happen where I'm not back in Baltimore, hmm, the Jets wouldn't be bad."

The Jets would seem like a likely destination because their new head coach, Rex Ryan, was the defensive coordinator at Baltimore.

Dallas is a possibility because former MLB Zach Thomas has already opted out of his contract, and they will likely be willing to pay him what he wants, maybe more.

Cassel heading to NFC North?

The New England Patriots made it official today when they put the franchise tag on backup quarterback Matt Cassel, making him the highest paid backup quarterback in the NFL. 

The man who replaced Tom Brady this season will make over $14 million next season, and there is always the possibility that New England will ship him off somewhere for a couple of draft picks. 

Detroit seems like a very likely destination, seeing as they would like to get a franchise quarterback, but don't really have a great crop to choose from in this year's draft. Plus, they have extra picks in both the first and third rounds, which could be very attractive to the Patriots, who could then use that extra first round pick to possibly trade up and acquire a top pass rushing outside linebacker.

Other possible destinations for Cassel include Minnesota, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and San Francisco.

Dansby to fill void at OLB for Giants?

"Oh, that's a whole 'nother animal, man. Playing in New York? Who wouldn't want to play in New York? That's just like playing for the Dallas Cowboys, you know what I'm saying? It's a big market. You're going to get an opportunity to be prime time. It's a huge market. I wouldn't mind playing in a huge market. I wouldn't mind at all."

Those are the words of Karlos Dansby responding to being asked whether or not the Giants would be a destination he would consider in free agency during the Sirius Blitz radio show.

To me, Dansby seems like more of a 3-4 middle linebacker, but there is no doubt in my mind he has the athleticism to kick outside in the 4-3.

Wiegmann to get new deal?

Denver Broncos' Pro Bowl center Casey Wiegmann may be the oldest player on the team, but he is playing the best ball of his career and is set to cash in. Wiegmann's agent Joe Linta will be sitting down with Josh McDaniels at the NFL Scouting Combine later this month to restructure the center's contract.

Per the DenverPost.com, Wiegmann has indicated that he is content to retire if Denver doesn't want to increase his weak $845,000 dollar salary. My guess is, Denver will give him the contract extension he wants. 

Chiefs losing pair of top players?

It appears that Kansas City is not the place to be this offseason, as the team's two best offensive players RB Larry Johnson and future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez have both recently expressed interest in being traded.

Per Johnson, he feels it is time to "cut ties" with Kansas City, but fails to realize how difficult it will be to trade away his huge contract. Not to mention, he is facing the possibility of a suspension at the beginning of next season. I'm not one to defend players like Johnson, but he is being treated very, very poorly by Chiefs fans, and deserves a release at the very least.

If Kansas City is to get rid of Johnson via trade, it will be in a deal similar to the one the Raiders got for Randy Moss two years ago.

Gonzalez seems to be growing more and more restless by the day, but at least is taking the fans into consideration.

"I want to see who they name as head coach," Gonzalez told Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole. "Yeah, I hear they're talking to Todd Haley, but then there's this coach [Iowa's Kirk Ferentz] from Iowa State, some [expletive] like that, and I don't want to deal with that. It seems like we're rebuilding anyway, and I don't want to do that. I don't know that I want to do that any more than I already have been."

My guess is, if the Chiefs trade Gonzalez this offseason; they will be able to get a similar deal that New York received when they traded Jeremy Shockey, which was a second and a fifth round draft choice.

Who'syourmama headed to the NFC?

T.J. Houshmandzadeh is set to become a free agent later this month, and apparently can't wait to explore his options. The Bengals' wide receiver is the top player at his position on the market, and reportedly has two or three NFC teams at the top of his list, although he has yet to confirm "finalists" for his services.

Right now, the likely destinations for Houshmandzadeh appear to be New York Giants, Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

I'll check in with more updates as the week goes on!