the free agent frenzy 2021 - a thread to discuss what teams with money are doing with it

[squire12]

2 minutes ago, PossibleCabbage said:

Deadlines spur action, presumably the player would rather get their signing bonus ASAP but the team doesn't actually have to do anything for months potentially.  The first big deadline was "get under the cap before the start of the league year" and there isn't another one for a while unless they have a player they really want to sign.

Agreed.  Deadlines spur action.  And it takes 2 sides to agree on the deal.  

[Refugee]

2 hours ago, beekay414 said:

Can't wait to watch 'Tae cook him.

BTW, is it 'Tae for phonetic reasons or just 'Te because of how he spells his name?

You could ask him, @tae15adams on Twitter. 

[beekay414]

11 minutes ago, Refugee said:

You could ask him, @tae15adams on Twitter. 

I think his handle answers it lol

[Green19]

43 minutes ago, squire12 said:

so player A is supposed to sign an extension when the team needs the money to free up cap space?

If the extension is a good deal to do, why wait to do it until you need the money?

When the team needs the cap space, why would the player not say, " well, I think a few more million in guaranteed money is in order"?  

Again, I don't think Adams would do that, but giving the player the leverage in this situation just seems like a risky set up

We are operating under different assumptions, from what I can tell.

Im under the assumption GB has talked to the players they have targeted on the team for either a restructuring or extension and have a very good idea what those look like. I believe they likely have a break glass in case of emergency scenario too. Ala P Smith didn’t want to restructure... ok cut him.

im sure they also have spent months on the FA class and know what the likely market and price tag for these players are.

It’s pretty clear they aren’t going to “make room” until they need to. There isn’t a rule saying you can’t talk to players unless you have X amount available in cap space.

I trust this front office isn’t being caught flat footed by FA, their own guys or potential guys they could add. I don’t think this group is that underprepared or is that terrible at their jobs. 

As Aaron Nagler has stated... if they want A GUY they can find the money for A GUY. They can’t just can do what New England did and sign like everyone.

[FinneasGage]

crossed a lot of names off this 

tyler ervin - cheap returner/satellite guy  
tj yeldon - maybe on a minimum deal. exp with hack. 
damien williams - STFA so wouldn't affect comps. if near minimum a good 3rd back. year off should be fresh
duke johnson - STFA can never stay on the field but if on near minimum would be great unlikely tho

kenny golladay - i'd say no way, but apparently we were in on thuney so who knows 
will fuller - i don't want this to happen... but my eye's on it
ty hilton - there's "rumors" we're linked to him. i can't imagine he'd come super cheap like green might 
golden tate - STFA pretty toast, but a cheap thing if he wants it maybe 
sammy watkins - another washed guy that might be cheap
adam humphries - flopped in tennessee for some reason, but could be a nice cheap get and give us a move the chains kinda guy 
breshad perriman - could cash in on another prove it deal here, fits what we do 
willie snead - move the chains guy. maybe
keelan cole - will probably get a decent deal from someone, goes to highest bidder which prolly won't be us
jojo natson - return option coming off injury 
dede westbrook - doesn't fit what we do really, but would give us something different, cheap/prove it coming off injury
josh reynolds - feels like a packer. fits what we do. is in his "prime". good guy. no idea what kinda deal he fetches, but could be an option
cordarrelle patterson - getting old but maybe we sign a legit returner 

marcedes lewis - should be back assuming he still wants to play
kyle rudolph - STFA if we lose marcedes could use a good inline blocker, he's sufficient. probably will fetch more than we could budget
trey burton - good blocker... move piece. not really needed, but whatever

alejandro villanueva - can't imagine they'd cut wagner and then sign a different aging tackle... but AV would be a slight upgrade prolly
dennis kelly - STFA low grade band aid on the RT spot

trai turner - STFA we were in on thuney, why not trai
brett jones - apparently we're interested... i guess ok. 
austin blythe - could start at center or guard for us. should have a big market, this is super unlikely
lane taylor - maybe a minimum deal to see if he's got anything after the injuries
ben garland - cheap bandaid center
david andrews - should have a decent market, this is unlikely

sheldon rankins - young talented dline, a little undersized
daquan jones - good big body. 30.
carlos watkins - big guy that gets some push. 28. 
chris wormley - big body 5t. 28.
lawrence guy - how tf is guy only 30? i remember drafting him what feels like over a decade ago. 
mike pennel - bring back some penneltration
snacks harrison - didn't use him when we had him... maybe bring back him tho 
jurrell casey - can never stay healthy. maybe we give him a cheap try. 32.
kawann short - STFA can never stay healthy. maybe we give him a cheap try. 32.
john jenkins - big body. 31. 
abry jones - body body. coming off injury
zach kerr - STFA big body
danny shelton - STFA run plug

efe obada - really no need to spend on edge, but he fits what we like 
randy ramsey - could do it

anthony walker jr. - good run stopper / great leader. only 26.
devondre campbell - gonna be too expensive
eric wilson - i have no idea how good this guy is, but he filled up the stat sheet last year. prolly too expensive i dunno. 
avery williamson - gonna be too expensive 
reggie ragland - slow run stopper.. should be cheap
vince williams - STFA run stuffer
kj wright - good lb too exepensive prolly
josh bynes - decent old vet
damien wilson - decent lb
will compton - good guy. old and probably done tho
james burgess - maybe bring back / st'er
kwon alexander - STFA coming off injury / undersized... would bring some speed/coverage. 27
nick bellore - can take snaps at FB and LB, but really just a great STer. duct tape 
nick dzubnar - good STer

adoree jackson - STFA prolly too expensive 
richard sherman - too expensive prolly
malcolm butler - STFA too expensive prolly
desmond trufant - is he even good anymore?
casey hayward - STFA pretty old at 32, but would love a short reunion 
desmond king - doesn't really fit what we look for
troy hill - real good nickel. 30. worked with barry last year
mackensie alexander - wanted him bad last year. want him now.
brian poole - good nickel
aj bouye - STFA is he washed at 30? 
kevin king - yuck 
kabion ento - maybe

malik hooker - most injury prone guy in the league. give him a prove it deal. gives a single high type
tashaun gipson - always solid. allows us to use savage more uniquely 
karl joseph - decently cheap option maybe for 3rd safety
raven greene - maybe probably 
marcell harris - decent guy
will redmond - ST 
george odum - maybe best STer in the league has low tender on him but is pissed about it
miles killebrew - good STer
jordan dangerfield - good STer

[FinneasGage]

bring me adoree jackson. and danny shelton on a near min deal. 

[squire12]

7 hours ago, Green19 said:

We are operating under different assumptions, from what I can tell.

Not really

7 hours ago, Green19 said:

Im under the assumption GB has talked to the players they have targeted on the team for either a restructuring or extension and have a very good idea what those look like. I believe they likely have a break glass in case of emergency scenario too. Ala P Smith didn’t want to restructure... ok cut him.

I agree they have had discussions and talked numbers.  Preston Smith was different in cut vs restructure as the cap hit vs cap savings were equivalent.  Adams would be nice savings if extended,  but cutting Adams would create a huge hole and negate any savings.  So extension is the only option.  His agent knows that.  So any numbers previously discussed can change as GB needs the space.

Rodgers is the same situation.

Lowry creates a few million in spand creates another need.

7 hours ago, Green19 said:

im sure they also have spent months on the FA class and know what the likely market and price tag for these players are.

It’s pretty clear they aren’t going to “make room” until they need to. There isn’t a rule saying you can’t talk to players unless you have X amount available in cap space.

Agreed they aren’t going to make room until they need to, which shifts the ever age to the player in that set up.

7 hours ago, Green19 said:

I trust this front office isn’t being caught flat footed by FA, their own guys or potential guys they could add. I don’t think this group is that underprepared or is that terrible at their jobs. 

Didn't say they were terrible.   Just seems like a risk that is unnecessary 

7 hours ago, Green19 said:

As Aaron Nagler has stated... if they want A GUY they can find the money for A GUY. They can’t just can do what New England did and sign like everyone.

Agreed. That was obvious given the cap space going into FA.

[Chili]

Just posting the updated list. Some guys have already signed elsewhere. It's not a great list, the only one I have eyes on is Adoree Jackson.

To preserve our compensatory picks here are the list of free agents who were cut:

DT Kawann Short
DT Treyvon Hester
DL Quinton Jefferson (Raiders)
DL Ronald Blair
DT Malcom Brown (Jaguars)
DT Zach Kerr
DT Danny Shelton
DT Andrew Brown (Colts)
DT Malik Jackson (Browns)
DT Beau Allen
DT Geno Atkins

DE Adrian Clayborn
DE Carlos Dunlap
EDGE Takkarist McKinley (Cleveland)

LB Kwon Alexander
LB Kyle Van Noy (Patriots)
LB Malik Jefferson
LB Curtis Bolton
ILB Vince Williams

CB A. J. Bouye
CB Malcolm Butler
CB Janoris Jenkins (Titans)
CB Justin Coleman (Miami)
CB Casey Hayward
CB Adoree Jackson
CB Buster Skrine
CB Rashaan Melvin (Carolina)
CB Desmond Trufant (Bears)
CB Kyle Fuller (Broncos)

DB Larmarcus Joyner (Jets)
FS Tre Boston
S Kenny Vaccaro

T Rick Wagner
LT Riley Reiff (Bengals)
RT Mitchell Schwartz
OT Dennis Kelly
OL Zach Fulton

G Chance Warmack
G James Carpenter
G Trai Turner
G Joe Dahl
C Nick Martin (Raiders)

TE Kyle Rudolph (Giants)
TE Jared Cook (Chargers)
TE Jesse James
TE Darren Fells

WR DeSean Jackson
WR Adam Humphries
WR Emmanuel Sanders (Buffalo)
WR John Brown (Raiders)
WR Marquise Goodwin
WR Alshon Jeffery
WR Marqise Lee
OT Bobby Hart

RB Duke Johnson
RB Damien Williams
FB John Lovett

Edited March 20, 2021 by Chili

[FinneasGage]

is the boyle deal good enough for a 7th? 

[moretti19]

I forgot about Carlos Dunlap! He would be an awesome upgrade over Lowry.

I also like the idea of Dede Westbrook, think he could do real well here.

[packfanfb]

Here it is in pretty simple terms. If the Packers want to add some pieces, they have the money to do it. Currently, we are about $3.5m under the cap. You could instantly add up to $16.3m from Rodgers if the Packers WANT to do that. That's $20m. With that much cap space, you could easily add 2-3 veterans players at CB, DL and OL on low-average deals, especially if any of those deals are multi-year where the 2021 cap hit is lowered. 

Also, Dean Lowry must have dirty pictures of Gute...

 

[Packerraymond]

Why do we keep wanting to cut Dean Lowry? You get what 3m in cap space? Dean is a starter for us, we've gone 26-6 with him there. He's somewhere between average to below average, but that's what 3m is going to buy you on the market too.

Just keep him at this point. Ideally we need 1 DB, we can get 16m from Aaron and 9 from Tae. We don't need another 3m.

[CWood21]

3 hours ago, FinneasGage said:

is the boyle deal good enough for a 7th? 

Maybe.  The problem is we're probably going to hand more compensatory picks out ahead of him.

[packfanfb]

20 minutes ago, Packerraymond said:

Why do we keep wanting to cut Dean Lowry? You get what 3m in cap space? Dean is a starter for us, we've gone 26-6 with him there. He's somewhere between average to below average, but that's what 3m is going to buy you on the market too.

Just keep him at this point. Ideally we need 1 DB, we can get 16m from Aaron and 9 from Tae. We don't need another 3m.

I think ideally you need more than 1 CB. Are we going another off-season without at least adding a competent body to the DL? 

As for Lowry, you approach him about a paycut. Not a chance in hell he would get close to $6m on the open market right now. You go to him like we did with Lane Taylor last year and ask him to cut his salary in half. Given him an incentive to earn some of it back. 

Edited March 18, 2021 by packfanfb

[Chili]

Lowry is a perfect candidate for a pay cut. He is the highest earning "underperforming" player on the Packers. If he refuses a pay cut then cutting him will free up about $3m in cap space which is nothing to sneeze at. Can get a couple of low priced free agents for that. Due to the depressed cap some good players are going for bargain basement prices and it presents a rare opportunity to stock up on talented depth. Also signing players on 1 year deals and then letting them hit big in free agency the following year could net us some good compensatory picks. It's a good year to be proactive in FA in my opinion.

We still need to make more room for the rookie draft class and perhaps one or two low priced free agents if Gute is so inclined. Other than restructuring Rodgers, Lowry, Jackson and Adams are next on the list, perhaps Burks and Sternberger too.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Chili