Major Moves in the NFL So Far
There has been a lot of wheeling and dealing in the NFL since free agency started. Here is all that’s happened so far. I’ve listed them in the order that they happened.
-Jacksonville Jaguars signed DE Aaron Kampman
-Baltimore Ravens acquired WR Anquan Boldin from Arizona for a 2010 third- and fourth-round pick and signed him to a four-year contract.
-Carolina Panthers released QB Jake Delhomme, DT Damione Lewis, DT Maake Kemoeatu, LB Na’il Diggs and LB Landon Johnson.
-Chicago Bears agreed to terms with DE Julius Peppers on a six-year contract and TE Brandon Manumaleuna on a five-year contract and RB Chester Taylor on a four-year contract.
-Detroit Lions agreed to terms with DE Kyle Vanden Bosch on a four-year contract. Acquired DT Corey Williams from Cleveland for a 2010 fifth- and seventh-round draft pick.
Right now I think the Bears are the biggest winners. It seems to me that a few teams are in rebuilding mode like Carolina, Arizona, and even the Detroit Lions. I think the Lions are finally starting to get it, but then again maybe not. A lot of more free agent signings to come. There are a lot of great players out there who need home. The draft is six weeks away and look for some more big things to happen. I’ll keep you posted on all that happens.
You forgot about Nate Burleson for the Lions, that's kind of a big deal being that he's the biggest free agent they've acquired so far.
Signing Chester Taylor and Julius Peppers is great for the Bears, but neither of those things do anything to fix their most glaring weakness, their offensive line. Being that Chicago doesn't have the draft picks from the Gaines Adams and Jay Cutler trades and don't pick until the middle of the 3rd round, that could be a huge problem.
Carolina isn't rebuilding, they're just retooling what they've got right now. Dropping Jake Delhomme for Matt Moore isn't a dropoff in talent, and all the the defensive line losses outside of Peppers are negligible (and Lewis will most likely be coming back cheaper anyway). They'll be just fine next season in a very competitive NFC South.
The Cardinals are definitely rebuilding. Losing a HoF caliber QB and massively downgrading to Matt Leinart, going from Anquan Boldin to Steve Breaston, losing Antrelle Rolle, and losing Karlos Dansby? That's absolutely huge, and I'll be shocked if San Francisco doesn't walk all over that division next season.
I've said it before, but I really really like what Martin Mayhew is doing in Detroit. It seems as though every move he makes is a positive, and even the small ones you can appreciate. If the Lions manage to pick up Chris Houston (who was *very* well thought of when he was coming out of college) for a 4th rounder like I've been hearing, this will have been a tremendously successful offseason for the Lions (in relative terms of course).
One more good draft and there could be, gasp, optimism in Detroit about football.
Burlseon, are you kidding me? His numbers are horrible and for that kind of money, that's even worst
How are Burleson's numbers horrible? He had a washed up Matt Hasselbeck and a terrible Seneca Wallace throwing him the ball all year, and he *still* managed to average more yards per catch than "huge free agent acquisition" TJ Housmandzadeh, and only had 100 yards less than him overall last season.
The looks he should see on the other side of Calvin Johnson will make the relationship mutually beneficial, and it should improve the passing game as a whole. He's not Bryant Johnson out there.
He's also a good kick/punt returner, something the Lions have been lacking for quite some time.
As far as the money goes, 11 million guaranteed is not a king's ransom by any means. Five million annually isn't going to be a death sentence for the team (and that's if he's with the team for the duration of the deal), and it's just the Ford's money anyway.
I'm very anxious for the Lions upcoming draft, and I think Mayhew is going to continue impressing.