2015 NFL Free Agency: Rumors and Predictions as Buzz Heats Up

Is your head spinning from all the NFL free-agency news yet?

Nothing is set in stone until Tuesday—the day the new league year begins and teams can officially ink new players to contracts—but reports of several impending deals have blown up the Internet like sticks of dynamite in a mountainside. All of this chatter suggests the NFL will look very different come Tuesday, which bodes well for a very intriguing offseason even if the majority of major deals are completed up front.

There are still players out on the market not directly linked to one team, however, which makes them ripe for some prognostication and continued talk of their free-agency sagas. Let's take a look at a couple of players who may take their time and engage several suitors this spring.

Justin Houston, OLB, Kansas City Chiefs

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The idea that a team might not be able to hold onto a 22-sack player might sound patently ridiculous. However, that is the very situation the salary-cap-strapped Kansas City Chiefs appear to find themselves in with sackmaster extraordinaire Justin Houston.

While not an unrestricted free agent like many of the other top players capable of swapping laundry this offseason, Houston's offseason could be the most intriguing—or if you're a Chiefs fan, painfully drawn out and excruciating.

The Chiefs have slapped a nonexclusive franchise tag on Houston worth $13.1 million, according to Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star, but that doesn't appear to be enough to satiate the high-motor star.

According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Houston will reportedly solicit offers from other teams as free agency begins in the hopes of securing a better deal:

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First, he enters the process after completing a 22-sack season.  No player with that kind of performance has been available on the heels of it, with or without compensation.

Second, he's motivated to move on.  Per multiple sources, Houston is very upset with the Chiefs.  It's believed that he'll actively solicit an offer sheet in the hopes the Chiefs won't match it.

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Any team wishing to sign Houston away from K.C. will have to give up two first-round draft picks to do so, per Florio, a deal breaker if there ever was one.

Of course, Houston might be worth the trouble. He was perhaps the most outstanding defensive player not named J.J. Watt in 2014 and has improved his numbers with each year in the league.

Season	G	Tackles	Sacks	FF	PD
2011	16	56	5.5	1	4
2012	16	66	10	1	6
2013	11	44	11	1	4
2014	16	68	22	4	5

Houston can certainly engage in some tough negotiation tactics if he's truly upset with the Chiefs, per Paylor:

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Or, if he wants to play hardball, he can simply let the July 15 deadline for him to agree to a long-term deal with the Chiefs pass without signing the tender. Until Houston signs it, he's not obligated to attend any of the team's offseason workouts, and it's worth noting that Houston skipped those same workouts last spring in an effort to show his displeasure with the lack of a long-term deal in place.

What's more, Houston is not obligated to sign the tender, or show up, at all, until week 10 of the regular season. At that point, he has to join the team to earn an accrued season, which will essentially be another step toward unrestricted free agency.

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While the Chiefs will want to avoid the Week 10-holdout scenario at all costs, there is a possibility that comes to pass with the high barrier other teams will have for negotiating with Houston.

Those picks would probably have to come from a team with low picks and ample cap space. Houston would seem unlikely to take a salary discount just because another team has to limit its draft options for a couple of seasons.

Houston stands to make a fortune this season with the nonexclusive tag; he will be hard-pressed to find that money elsewhere. While the likes of Oakland, Jacksonville and Tennessee are flush with cap room (although that could change soon) and could use a player like Houston, they are rebuilding squads that can't afford to give up picks.

If they are so inclined, the Indianapolis Colts would appear to have the cap room, roughly $36 million this season, per Spotrac, and franchise stability with quarterback Andrew Luck to make a play for Houston while punting on the next couple of drafts.

Considering how high the price will be for Houston, it may take some time for a team to get the guts to come through with a killer offer and make peace with giving up two highly coveted draft picks. If the offers trickle in slowly, don't be surprised if Houston grits his teeth, plays through the franchise tag in order to show he's willing to suit up through a less-than-ideal situation and lets the saga pick up again in 2016.

Prediction: Houston stays with Chiefs

Taylor Mays, FS, Cincinnati Bengals

Taylor Mays' name doesn't inspire the kind of unabashed fan-salivating that accompanies players like Houston, Ndamukong Suh or Darrelle Revis, but it appears several teams covet the hard-hitting veteran free safety and might drive up the price for his services.

According to Florio, five teams are reportedly looking to acquire Mays this offseason, including his current squad, the Cincinnati Bengals.

"Mays, traded from the 49ers to the Bengals in 2011, has drawn attention from multiple teams, per a league source," Florio wrote. "The Vikings, Raiders, Rams, and Washington are leading the way, but the Bengals have a strong interest in keeping Mays around."

Despite enjoying an illustrious college career at USC, Mays has been something of a disappointment since joining the NFL. The 27-year-old has accrued just 98 tackles in five seasons while missing six games in 2011 and eight games in 2013. He's yet to pick off a pass in the league.

At this point, he appears unlikely to develop into a capable starter and would be a pure depth play for these secondary-needy teams. He has excellent size at 6'3" and 225 pounds and could be inclined to move into more of an enforcer-type role although Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune notes that there may be an opening at safety in Minnesota:

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It's unclear whether the Vikings see Mays as a potential starter or a reserve. But the safety position next to Harrison Smith, which is unsettled for a second straight offseason, is an obvious priority for the Vikings. Robert Blanton was tabbed as the Week 1 starter in 2014. He had his moments throughout the season but was ultimately replaced by Andrew Sendejo in December.

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Mays has familiarity with Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer from the latter's days as the Bengals defensive coordinator, and he might see that as the best chance for him to contribute on defense as well as special teams.

Prediction: Mays signs with Minnesota