What to Make Of The First Two Days Of NFL Free Agency

In an offseason where the bulk of quality free agents make their living trying to stop the other team from scoring, two huge moves have been made already in the first two days of Free Agency, involving offensive players. It is nearly impossible to say which of those two moves was bigger, just that one was a little more expected than the other.

It seemed widely believed that someone would be able to pry Matt Cassell away from the Patriots. What wasn't as expected, or at least as publicized, was the departure of Kellen Winslow Jr. or II, whatever he wants to be called, from the Browns.

Of course, Winslow was traded on Friday to Tampa Bay. Then Saturday, Cassell was taken away from the Patriots by former Patriots Executive Scott Pioli to become the Kansas City Chiefs Franchise Quarterback.  

Tampa Bay made the move Friday after releasing five of their own veterans on Wednesday. Clearly the new Buccaneer regime is doing what they can to change the culture and path of pewter and red (?). 

Their first big addition is a supremely talented player who has a bit of an attitude. Is this a sign of the types of players the Bucs are going to court in the rest of Free Agency and in the draft?

That remains to be seen, but Winslow has the potential to be an impact player for Tampa Bay franchise for years to come, and provides an explosive type of player to be utilized in the passing game.

As a Saints fan, this is a move that concerns me a little bit. Winslow has the ability to stretch the field vertically and horizontally, practically at the same time. He is a decent blocker, and a matchup nightmare.

If you play him with a linebacker, he'll run by that guy. If you match him up with a safety, he'll out-physical the guy. His mere presence opens things up for Antonio Bryant and the running game. Whoever the Quarterback is this upcoming season, his job just became a whole lot easier.

Now to the Chiefs. They were able to pick up a guy who many around the NFL view as potentially one of the five best Quarterbacks in the league, plus a three-time Super Bowl winning veteran Linebacker to help some of their new linebackers learn the ropes of the NFL, in Mike Vrabel. And they got all that for one Second Round Draft Pick.

This move is genius in my view. Although I really liked Tyler Thigpen, Cassell was trained by Josh McDaniel, who has proven to be a very good QBs Coach. He showed he is more than capable of leading an NFL team, has the experience, and is still young enough to learn and improve.

Plus, new Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley is a passing-game guru, similar to Sean Payton a few years ago. In fact, in many ways, the way the Chiefs are currently setting up their roster reminds me a lot of the 2006 Saints.

I expect Cassell and the Chiefs to have similar success in year one in much the same way as Drew Brees and the 2006 Saints.

The interesting thing about those two moves; technically neither were Free Agent signings. In fact, one other big move so far was Lito Sheppard being traded to the New York Jets. We are seeing more trades this offseason, likely because the Free Agent market is a relatively weak one.

That being said, the Washington Redskins sure weren't bashful about jumping into the market. It was only minutes after the period opened that they re-signed CB Deangelo Hall to a six year, $54 million deal.

They followed that up a few hours later by signing the biggest name on the market, former Titans DT Albert Haynesworth to the largest NFL contract of all-time. And they didn't stop there, as they regained the services of Offensive Guard Derrick Dockery, who had played for the Buffalo Bills the past few years.

It would be easy to say that as a result of their activity the Redskins have had the best offseason so far. I say: NOT SO FAST!

Haynesworth is a nice player, and will certainly help their defense, but the Redskins were already a pretty good defensive team and had two young, and on the rise Defensive Tackles. Their main problem was on the offensive side of the ball, and I think they could have done more to improve that side of the ball.

Because they've spent so much money, it appears they are going to have to address the offense through the draft, which is a less direct way to improve a team as it is rare to find a rookie ready to make a huge impact in year one. Really, I think they are going to need to rely on last year's picks, Wide Receivers Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly and Tight End Fred Davis.

For those reasons, I would rate their current Free Agent Class as "B".

The New York Jets have also made some big news, gaining the services of former Ravens ILB Bart Scott.

As I mentioned before, they also gained Eagles Cornerback Lito Sheppard, who has been to a Pro Bowl in his career. And they appear to be ready to add a third corner in Corey Ivy, another former Raven, who would compete for the nickel-back spot with Dwight Lowery, who will be a second-year player.

On offense, the Jets regained the services of Guard Brandon Moore at a cheaper rate than they originally owed him, and Fullback Tony Richardson, who does a wonderful job of opening holes for both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington.   

For all those reasons, I would grade the Jets current class as an "A-".

Denver is the other team who has been very active early on in Free Agency. They have acquired three skill players, in Correll Buckhalter, who will most likely be the go-to Running Back, and J.J. Arrington to be the Third Down Running Back, as well as an additional receiver to compete for time and passes from Jay Cutler, in former Patriot Jabar Gaffney.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos have made some moves they hope will help their defensive secondary in long-time Eagles Pro Bowl Safety Brian Dawkins and Dolphins Safety Renaldo Hill.

Neither of these moves help in the team's transition to the 3-4 defense, but will allow the team to look exclusively at the front-seven throughout the remainder of Free Agency and in the draft.

Because of this, I give the Broncos class a "B" for taking care of some of their more practical needs.

Another notable signing was the Saints re-upping MLB Jonathan Vilma, who was tremendous for them in his first year in the Bayou. He automatically brings some credibility to the Saints defense and will make it a more player-friendly defense for other Free Agents to want to join.

New Orleans also brought back their starting Right Tackle, Jon Stinchcomb, who signed a pretty similar deal to Vilma. Both were for five years and compensated the players appropriately.  

Jason Brown, a Center/Guard, signed with the Rams and should immediately help their O-Line, whichever position he plays.

Stacy Andrews, an Offensive Tackle joined the Philadelphia Eagles. This was a position the Eagles needed to address and in doing so, helps erase some of the pain of losing a couple key players to Denver.

The Titans got their starting Quarterback back Friday when they re-signed Kerry Collins. This opens the market for Kurt Warner, whom the Cardinals desperately need to re-sign. It will be interesting to see how much more the Cardinals pay for Warner's services than the Titans are for Collins.

The Cardinals did lose a key defensive player in Antonio Smith, who is leaving for the Houston Texans, a move the Texans hope gives them one of the top Defensive lines in the entire league.

Put it this way, it will be one of the highest paid d-lines in the league. Only the Saints and Redskins would be able to compete in that area, and neither of those have been effective the last few years.

Major Free Agents Remaining

LB Ray Lewis (Ravens)

Scott's signing in New York could mean Lewis returns to Baltimore. The Jets are not likely even in the running for Lewis now since they already have David Harris at the other ILB spot.

WR TJ Houshmanzadeh (Bengals)

Would be wise to return to Cincinnati, but will likely take as many visits as possible and try to sign elsewhere, if he can.

S Jim Leonhard (Ravens)

Another former Raven who could be headed to New York, but would likely be smart to return to Baltimore to keep benefitting from Ed Reed.

S Darren Sharper (Vikings)

Rumors have it that he could be headed to New Orleans, but no visit has been announced yet.

CB Leigh Bodden (Lions)

Visited New England on Friday, but is likely to continue his search, as he likely believes he is worth more than New England is offering.

RB Derrick Ward (Giants)

"Wind" will continue searching, but would probably be better off returning to the band.

WR Nate Washington (Steelers)

WR Devery Henderson (Saints)

WR Laveranaus Coles (Jets [released])

TE L.J. Smith (Eagles)

OT Khalif Barnes (Jaguars)

C Jake Grove (Raiders)

And there are many others both ways. This was not meant to be comprehensive, rather to highlight some of the big-time moves.

When a much larger percentage of Free Agents have been signed, there will be a more comprehensive grading of every team's Free Agency-aspect of the Offseason.