2018 NFL Free Agents Thread

[big9erfan]

29 minutes ago, Forge said:

No, Lynch is definitely gone. He was a healthy scratch in a lot of the games down the stretch. Safe to assume that the staff isn't a huge fan of him. 

I'd expect Hyde, Reid, Lynch all gone. Johnson should be gone as well, and I'd be surprised if Gilliam is back. I don't think that Tank will be back either - he will have better opportunities at other places, and I think it may even make more sense for  us to roll with Blair, who honestly has flashed just as much as Tank when on the field. I'm not sure about Fusco - I think he was our best interior player last year, but with Tomlinson still under contract (as well as Beadles, though why he wouldn't be cut, I have no idea...I'd rather have the three million), Garnett coming back, and the possibility of drafting / signing someone in free agency, we may not see a need. Tomlinson is fine as the back up, I suppose. Kilgore I definitely expect re-signed...he's well loved, even if he's really bad at his job. Mostert is an ERFA, I believe, so he'll definitely be back if for nothing more than what he provides on special teams. Croyle is probably a lock to be back as well. The fodder pieces like Asa Jackson, Leon Hall, Logan Paulsen, Exum, Louis Murphy I would all expect to be gone and then potentially resigned throughout the season if we have injury issues. Unfortunately, depsite liking what I saw from him on the field, I can't imagine Douzable will be back either. 

I think is a really good analysis of the situation. I"d love a guy like Pugh that can be a really good G but backup at T in a pinch, or a rookie like Price that can play C but back up at G in a pinch.  Sure I want guys that are good at their defined position, but game day rosters are so small that versatile linemen are a necessity.

[GW21]

I’ve heard Ansah’s name thrown around a lot on this forum this year and I got to say that I’m not a fan of that. I think he’s going to make way too much money for what he does. Honestly I’d rather make a run at Shaquil Barrett and throw him in at SAM than I would Ansah taking into account their price tag. The only guys that I want to go after that will be getting big money are Allen Robinson and Kyle Fuller. There are plenty of guys in that second tier that I’d be a big fan of as well; guys like Bashaud Breeland & Sammy Watkins. 

[big9erfan]

1 hour ago, Gore Whore 21 said:

I’ve heard Ansah’s name thrown around a lot on this forum this year and I got to say that I’m not a fan of that. I think he’s going to make way too much money for what he does. Honestly I’d rather make a run at Shaquil Barrett and throw him in at SAM than I would Ansah taking into account their price tag. The only guys that I want to go after that will be getting big money are Allen Robinson and Kyle Fuller. There are plenty of guys in that second tier that I’d be a big fan of as well; guys like Bashaud Breeland & Sammy Watkins. 

I don't know what Ansah will cost, but I also really don't like this approach at all. Ansah when healthy can be a minimum 10 sack a year guy.  Barnett has barely got 10 in his 4-year career. Pass rushers are the second most important position on a team after QB and you can't get by with pass rushers on the cheap any more than QBs on the cheap.  If you want a rusher with the potentila for double digit sacks you either get lucky enough to find one in the draft, or you have to pay well to get one. A 2 or 3 sack a year guy might be cheap, but you're getting what you pay for ... which happens to be not the kind of guy that makes a difference. Baalke always tried to get guys at bargain basement prices, and what we got were has-beens or never-weres.

[John232]

Regardless, Ansah isn't going to fix our pass rush problems. We have to get more production out of guys like Thomas, Dumerville, the SAM position and to a much lesser extent, Buckner. I want Ansah, but if he doesn't hit the market, I'm not going to be freaking out about it. I would say it greatly increases the odds of us going after a pass rusher in the first round. Whether it be Landry, or Davenport. 

[DirtyJersey9er]

10 hours ago, John232 said:

Regardless, Ansah isn't going to fix our pass rush problems. We have to get more production out of guys like Thomas, Dumerville, the SAM position and to a much lesser extent, Buckner. I want Ansah, but if he doesn't hit the market, I'm not going to be freaking out about it. I would say it greatly increases the odds of us going after a pass rusher in the first round. Whether it be Landry, or Davenport. 

Ansah is the kind of guy who will demand attention at worst and will get his 10+ whole opening things up for other pass rushers.

Since we run a similar Defense look at Seattle in 2013.  They invested in pass rushers by paying Cliff Avril AND Michael Bennett while also picking up Bruce Irvin the year before in the draft.  I'd rather invest to bolster the pass rush than cheap out.  Cheaping out on key positions is what Baalke would have done.

[Chrissooner49er]

11 hours ago, John232 said:

Regardless, Ansah isn't going to fix our pass rush problems. We have to get more production out of guys like Thomas, Dumerville, the SAM position and to a much lesser extent, Buckner. I want Ansah, but if he doesn't hit the market, I'm not going to be freaking out about it. I would say it greatly increases the odds of us going after a pass rusher in the first round. Whether it be Landry, or Davenport. 

Ansah is the most proven product who will be available (other than Lawrence, who has some character issues). Landry and Davenport are all about 'projected potential' as they will be rookies. If you want more production out of Solomon, Elvis, Buckner, etc Ziggy just might be the 'Ansah'. 

[Forge]

58 minutes ago, Chrissooner49er said:

Ansah is the most proven product who will be available (other than Lawrence, who has some character issues). Landry and Davenport are all about 'projected potential' as they will be rookies. If you want more production out of Solomon, Elvis, Buckner, etc Ziggy just might be the 'Ansah'. 

This is true...I still don't know that it makes him worth a long term investment or that he'll be good for whoever he plays for. Recurring nagging injuries (back and legs, not exactly the injuries you want on someone who relies on speed and power from his base), not to mention, I really haven't felt he has been that impressive the last few years. Even this year, with 12 sacks, it was a pretty unimpressive 12 sack season given the way it occurred. And I had this conversation earlier that his numbers were just hollow to me. Personally, he's not the type I want to put big money into. If he had a clean bill of health, I may take that shot, but not what I view as underwhelming play + injuries. Those are the types of guys you give prove it or moderately priced deals to. I think I'd be more inclined to sign Trent Murphy to a prove it or smaller deal and then draft a guy more so then I would sign Ziggy. While we have the money to sign Ansah, I just don't think that's going to turn into a good investment. we still have plenty of cap room,  but it's amazing how fast it can go, and I don't think that we are in a position where we can give out bad deals, especially with Jimmy G counting so much against the cap.

[DTMW78]

I'm more confident about this F.O's ability to get the right guy weather it be in F.A or the draft.

It was great to see so many rooks come in and make a impact.

Been a while since that has happened.

[GW21]

I will throw this disclaimer out there, I have not watched a ton of Lions football in my lifetime other than on thanksgiving, but looking at the numbers, Ziggy has 9 of his 12 sacks this year in 3 games. Obviously stats aren’t everything and do not fully represent the impact a player has on the game, but I’d rather invest my money someone on the younger side (Ansah will be 29 when the season starts) who can stay on the field (missed 7 games in 5 years) and produces at a more consistent rate. I think what this comes down to is the price tag that I think will be associated with Ansah; if we are going to break the bank on a DLineman, we might as well go after Lawrence (assuming he is available) as he has much more upside imo.

[Forge]

15 minutes ago, Gore Whore 21 said:

I will throw this disclaimer out there, I have not watched a ton of Lions football in my lifetime other than on thanksgiving, but looking at the numbers, Ziggy has 9 of his 12 sacks this year in 3 games. Obviously stats aren’t everything and do not fully represent the impact a player has on the game, but I’d rather invest my money someone on the younger side (Ansah will be 29 when the season starts) who can stay on the field (missed 7 games in 5 years) and produces at a more consistent rate. I think what this comes down to is the price tag that I think will be associated with Ansah; if we are going to break the bank on a DLineman, we might as well go after Lawrence (assuming he is available) as he has much more upside imo.

Its not just that they came in 3 games (and 6 in the last 2), but check who they came against. I think it was the Giants, Bengals, and Packers. The Giants and Bengals had two of the worst offensive lines in football; the Giants had Flowers (who, in the interest of full disclosure, did eventually turn his season around and looked like he may have figured something out, though he's generally been one of the worst tackles in the football the last couple of years) and the Bengals were just terrible. For the packers, I broke it down earlier, but it's not like his sacks came on guys like Bakhitiari or Bulaga...I think one came on their third string tackle and two against their 4 or 5th string guard. His sack against Carolina shouldn't even have been his, it should have gone to Akeem Spence, I believe. His stats are fool's gold type stats from last year. He has free agent bust written all over him if you're going to make him one of the highest paid pass rushers in the nfl, which I think he will be coming out of free agency. 

The problem is, I don't know if the pass rush is a question with a great answer this year. Ziggy is the "premiere" pass rusher on the market, that's true. I just don't like the risk involved. Lawrence actually carries some of the same risk, but he's younger, though I don't think he'll hit the market. Trent Murphy had 9 sacks in 2016 before blowing out his acl last year, so he's a guy that I think could be a value / low risk signing, but he could easily go back to 3 sacks like he had the two years previous (you're just not risking the long term investment), which wouldn't really help us out. But I also don't love the options in the draft. I don't think that there's a great pure pass rusher at the top of the draft. Davenport has a heavy hand and crazy power and length, but he's played strictly as a stand up rusher, is super raw playing against a lower level of competition (he wasn't great at the senior bowl, though he did improve as the week went on). Key and Landry have some issues, and I'm not taking either of them in the top 10. That's why I'm not opposed to a buy low scenario this year at the position and sort of punt it with a guy like Murphy + a second/third round pick to see if we can get something and then tryingn for a premier type pass rusher later on. 

[NcFinest9erFan]

1 hour ago, Forge said:

Its not just that they came in 3 games (and 6 in the last 2), but check who they came against. I think it was the Giants, Bengals, and Packers. The Giants and Bengals had two of the worst offensive lines in football; the Giants had Flowers (who, in the interest of full disclosure, did eventually turn his season around and looked like he may have figured something out, though he's generally been one of the worst tackles in the football the last couple of years) and the Bengals were just terrible. For the packers, I broke it down earlier, but it's not like his sacks came on guys like Bakhitiari or Bulaga...I think one came on their third string tackle and two against their 4 or 5th string guard. His sack against Carolina shouldn't even have been his, it should have gone to Akeem Spence, I believe. His stats are fool's gold type stats from last year. He has free agent bust written all over him if you're going to make him one of the highest paid pass rushers in the nfl, which I think he will be coming out of free agency. 

The problem is, I don't know if the pass rush is a question with a great answer this year. Ziggy is the "premiere" pass rusher on the market, that's true. I just don't like the risk involved. Lawrence actually carries some of the same risk, but he's younger, though I don't think he'll hit the market. Trent Murphy had 9 sacks in 2016 before blowing out his acl last year, so he's a guy that I think could be a value / low risk signing, but he could easily go back to 3 sacks like he had the two years previous (you're just not risking the long term investment), which wouldn't really help us out. But I also don't love the options in the draft. I don't think that there's a great pure pass rusher at the top of the draft. Davenport has a heavy hand and crazy power and length, but he's played strictly as a stand up rusher, is super raw playing against a lower level of competition (he wasn't great at the senior bowl, though he did improve as the week went on). Key and Landry have some issues, and I'm not taking either of them in the top 10. That's why I'm not opposed to a buy low scenario this year at the position and sort of punt it with a guy like Murphy + a second/third round pick to see if we can get something and then tryingn for a premier type pass rusher later on. 

After doing some reading, the one thing that scares me about Lawrence is that he's had 2 back surgeries(2016-2017) but like @Forge said I don't think he will even get to test the market.  Maybe we can Get Ansah to sign a deal like Okung did two years ago. 4 year deal(was really a one year deal with a three year option). 

What about Hercules Mata'afa? I don't watch a lot of college games but he's another name that comes up.

[Chrissooner49er]

I also like Trent Murphy, so no issue there if we go with him instead. I just do not see Landry nor Davenport as deserving a top 10 pick...perhaps not even top 25. As I have said before, Landry appears to be another Solomon to me. Davenport is a question mark due to level of competition. There isn't a Clowney or Miller or etc. premiere pass rusher in this draft at all.

Yes, last year's performance for Ansah wasn't that great, but the guy produces sacks on a regular basis the like of which we have not seen since a certain individual 'went off the deep end'. He did have a sack against both the Panthers (disputed?) and Vikes this year as well as the 6 mentioned vs. weak lines. He has averaged almost 9 sacks per season in 5 years. 

I like Hercules Mata'afa, actually. I still think he is rather raw though regarding his pass rush ability. Tools to work with to be certain.

[Forge]

1 minute ago, NcFinest9erFan said:

After doing some reading, the one thing that scares me about Lawrence is that he's had 2 back surgeries(2016-2017) but like @Forge said I don't think he will even get to test the market. 

What about Hercules Mata'afa? I don't watch a lot of college games but he's another name that comes up.

I honestly didn't know about the back surgeries. I knew he had some injuries in the past, didn't know that they were back related. That would scare me as well. The concept of back and leg injuries for guys who basically get all of their skill from the ability to drive physically from their base (thus needing their back and legs a lot) terrifies me. 

[John232]

4 hours ago, Chrissooner49er said:

Ansah is the most proven product who will be available (other than Lawrence, who has some character issues). Landry and Davenport are all about 'projected potential' as they will be rookies. If you want more production out of Solomon, Elvis, Buckner, etc Ziggy just might be the 'Ansah'. 

 

6 hours ago, DirtyJersey9er said:

Ansah is the kind of guy who will demand attention at worst and will get his 10+ whole opening things up for other pass rushers.

Since we run a similar Defense look at Seattle in 2013.  They invested in pass rushers by paying Cliff Avril AND Michael Bennett while also picking up Bruce Irvin the year before in the draft.  I'd rather invest to bolster the pass rush than cheap out.  Cheaping out on key positions is what Baalke would have done.

 

To clarify, I'm a fan of grabbing Ansah, but i'm leaning a bit with Forge...It's a risky investment that has potential to blow up in our face. If you're asking me which guys in the whole of the free agency pool i'd want to give big money too, Ansah would probably not be in the top 5. How he got his numbers was a bit irksome (but also worth noting we played against god awful lines too and couldn't get anything going..so if he can do that, it still means something), the injuries are legitimately concerning long term and he's going to be 28 looking for a 5 year contract. Really, the best thing we can hope for is the league unanimously looks at Ansah as a huge liability, similar to Jeffery (who one could argue was the WR version of Ansah). 

I would be far more inclined to pay Landry, Robinson, Fuller, Trumaine Johnson, Norwell and Even Jensen before I pay/entertain Ansah. 

[John232]

Definitely like the idea of trying Trent Murphy out as a LEO, he could also probably play the SAM too. If we miss out on Ansah, I really wouldn't be surprised to see us trade up into the first or early second again if it means we can grab Adren Key, ogbonnia okoronkwo, Harold Landry or Marcus Davenport.

 

As disappointing as Davenport was, physically he's a freak of nature and by all accounts has a great head on his shoulders. Really would love to see us trade up for him if he's in the early second, Regardless of grabbing Ansah/murphy or not.