Our defensive line is our number one weakness, and I have been saying that since last year at this time. I warned that if Jenkins was to go down our defensive line would be useless. Well, the worst happened and to my surprise guys like Pohua and Sean Ellis really stepped up. That was a bit of a shock, but if we plan on staking our future on a 32 year old DE and a DT like Pohua who is turning 30 himself I would be a little concerned. Now is the time to start to infuse this squad with some youth. But, this post is about free agency.
Because the Jets made it to the final four, we are very limited by the league rules regarding free agency. We won't be able to chase any big names like Julius Peppers unless they are under contract and released. Players like Calvin Pace and Bart Scott who were signed as UFA's after their contracts expired with their previous teams are not an option for us.
However, if a guy like Joey Porter was released from the Dolphins he would be fair game. If we were to release a high priced veteran like Rhodes for example, we would then be allowed to sign a player of equal or lesser value off of the FA market. Trades and restricted free agents are not effected.
We will be stuck aiming for guys like Watson and Gradkowski who I mentioned in my last post. It will be interesting to see if Mr. T decides to try and trade Thomas Jones and/or Kerry Rhodes, or if he just dumps them so that we can bid on some prime UFA's. We are almost sure to dump Sheppard, so that might help out a little.
You have to dig deep to find guys who we could realistically land if we don't release a big name guy. If noting changes I'd target Barry Cofield from the NYG, Anthony Montgomery for the Skins' and Tank Johnson from the Bengals to address the D-line. They all have great upside and would probably flourish under Rex.
As for our LB's ad secondary we are pretty well stocked. That's a lucky thing because the pickens' are slim. As for trades, I have already recommended making a move for Richard Seymour of the Raiders or Osi Umenyoria of the NYG.
No comments:
Post a Comment