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2014 NFL Free Agent Tracker

Playoffs said:
Clarence Hill ‏@clarencehilljr
The Cowboys are releasing DeMarcus Ware, per source
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Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet
How much interest has DeMarcus Ware received? Six playoff teams have called. He’d like to move quickly if possible.
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John Middlekauff ‏@JohnMiddlekauff
Talked w/ multiple NFL execs on Ware lets just say expect his phone to blow up. Belief is he can still really play
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Would love to give Decoud a look. That'd be a hard hitting backfield with Swearinger.

OD released today. Kind of sad, kind of saw it as a real possibility. Matt Schaub is another just matter of when cut.
 
Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter
Saints still haven’t released RB Darren Sproles and now plan to trade him due to heavy interest, per ESPN source. Not being released, though
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Chicago Bears ‏@ChicagoBears
LM: #Bears have informed DE Julius Peppers they are terminating his contract.
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Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet
The #Cowboys are set to release WR Miles Austin and designate him a post-June 1 cut, per source.
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Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter
Saints reached agreement with S Jairus Byrd on a six-year deal.

Former Titans CB Alterraun Verner is signing a four-year, $26.5 million including $14 million guaranteed with Tampa Bay
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.
 
Saints reached agreement with S Jairus Byrd on a six-year deal.
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shocker....

I'm in shock.

43395942.jpg
 
Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter
Denver has reached agreement on a 6-year, $57M deal that includes $26M gtd with former Patriots CB Aqib Talib
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Potential for Broncos to add Aqib Talib, TJ Ward, and DeMarcus Ware and return Von Miller, among others. #allin

Ben Volin ‏@BenVolin
The reported $26 million guarantee for Talib is the highest ever for a CB, surpassing Brandon Carr's $25.5 million
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I don't think it was posted here, but just an FYI the Jags found their MJD replacement...

Jaguars sign RB Toby Gerhart (3 years, $10.5M; $4.5M gtd)

lol...
 
According to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, the Dolphins locked up Texans defensive tackle Earl Mitchell with a four-year, $16 million deal, with $9 million guaranteed.


Trent Richardson is the lead RB in Indianapolis as Donald Brown has joined the Chargers, as initially reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. Brown agreed to the three-year contract, with a base value of $10.5 million. Of that amount, $4 million in guaranteed.
 
At some point Denver's going to have to pay for all of this FA spending they've done these past couple of years, no?

Or are they the new Philly?
 
Ben Tate's currently in Cleveland for a visit

Chris Williams stays in Buffalo

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter · 26m
G Chris Williams signing a four-year, $13.5 million deal that includes $5.5 million guaranteed with the Buffalo Bills.
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Dutchrudder said:
I don't think it was posted here, but just an FYI the Jags found their MJD replacement...

Jaguars sign RB Toby Gerhart (3 years, $10.5M; $4.5M gtd)

lol...
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Toby ran like a beast in college. I think if given an extended opportunity that dude can show out. I'm definitely going to sneak him onto my fantasy football team.
 
nero THE zero said:
At some point Denver's going to have to pay for all of this FA spending they've done these past couple of years, no?

Or are they the new Philly?
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They will pay for it after Peyton retires.


Saw this on Donte Whitner, pretty cool:

...

At 6 years old, Whitner was playing catch in his Kinsman Road driveway, and the ball rolled into the street. He darted out after it and was struck by a car driving down the street. His mom, Deborah Robinson, got the call at work that her eldest son had been hit by a car, and she was convinced he was dead.

"Nobody would tell me anything but that he had been hit," she said. "All I could think of was that he was gone and they weren't telling me."

She raced home from her job at a nearby nursing home, blinded by her tears and screaming hysterically. "I could've been killed myself," she said. She was driven to Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, where Whitner had been taken by ambulance.

"I had to be strong in front of him," she said. "But the doctors told me he'd probably never walk again and that he'd never, ever play sports again."

Whitner's legs had been shattered in 15 places, and he was placed in a full-body cast for six months. Robinson bought a little red wagon to cart him around, and carried him up and down the stairs at home. After that, he was placed in a half-cast for another eight weeks and then had to learn how to walk all over again.

"He kept trying to tear those casts off his legs," she said. Whitner vividly recalls being told by the doctors that he would probably never walk again.

"Even when you're 6, you understand what it means when somebody tells you you're not going to walk or play sports again," said Whitner. "It was the first time in my life where I actually had to believe in myself when nobody else did."

About four months after he took those first steps, he asked his mom to buy him a basketball hoop.

"I didn't want to do it," said Robinson. "I was so scared those little legs were going to pop. But I couldn't say no. He was so under the weather that he needed something. Sports was all he thought about."

Before long, Whitner was shooting hoops. By age 8, he wanted to play Pop Warner football, but knew his mom would never let him. He forged her signature and had his aunt help him get the physical.

"One day, his coach called me and said, 'Where's Donte? He's missed a few practices and we really need him!' " recalled Robinson. "I said, 'You must be talking about one of my nephews. Donte doesn't play football.' "

Robinson searched the back porch and found Whitner's hidden uniform.

"He had stopped going because he thought I wouldn't approve," said Robinson, who keeps the forged registration form in a frame. "And he's right, I probably would've never let him play."

As time went on, word kept getting back to Robinson about how good her son was in football. "I went and watched and I could see what they were talking about, when I was able to keep my eyes open."

...
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http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2014/03/donte_whitner_cleveland_browns_1.html
 
And on the second day of 2014 NFL free agency, the Eagles continued to rebuild their special teams unit. Earlier in the day, they signed safety/special teams ace Chris Margaros. Now, the Eagles have announced the signing of linebacker/special teams contributor Bryan Braman. It's a 2-year deal for Braman.

Braman, 26, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Houston Texans in 2011. He stands tall at 6-5, 251 lbs.

Most importantly, though, Braman is tough. Look at him make this tackle despite not having his helmet on:
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http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/...adelphia-eagles-sign-bryan-braman-free-agency
 
Good for Braman! He has quite the back story. None of this came easy to him. I wish him all the best with one of the Cowboys' division rivals.
 
Dutchrudder said:
Looks like my dinner tonight will not include hats.

@AdamSchefter 37s
Former Texans defensive tackle Earl Mitchell is expected to land a 4-yr, $16M deal that includes $9M GTD with Dolphins.
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Getting closer... :kitten:

Aaron Wilson ‏@RavensInsider
Earl Mitchell Dolphins deal: four years, $19 million, $8 million guaranteed, $2 million bonus, salaries $3 million, $4M, $2.975M, $3.975M
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Either way, the Dolphins are overpaying him. That's too much guaranteed and APY. I don't think anyone else was really fighting for him.
 
Though the Texans can't afford Raji, Terrance Cody would be a nice bargain player. Strictly a 2-down guy, but would add some run stuffing
 
The Browns are really pulling out all the stops to get Ben Tate to sign. The airports have been closed today just to keep him in town!
 
PFF 2014 Free Agency Deal Grader
A cap rise means NFL players hitting free agency can be expecting some big paydays in their future. Of course as good as that is for them and as easy as it is to get caught up in handing out big money, that doesn’t necessarily make the deal a good one for a team.

So as we do every year we’re bringing back our annual deal grader using the PFF methodology for grading to tell you what we think about how the deals shake up. You’ll get more updated feedback and analysis from our Live Reaction Blog but if you want to see how we see deals compared to each other, here’s the place to be.

Note: We’ll only be grading deals where players have hit the open market. So players cut are fair game, while as players re-signed before 4pm on Tuesday 11th of March will not be.

+2.0: A move that is guaranteed to take your franchise to another level

+1.5: That’s just great value!

+1.0: That should work out very nicely!

+0.5: Common sense shines through

0.0: Color us indifferent

-0.5: Did you really need to make that move?

-1.0: That’s an awfully big gamble there

-1.5: Now why would you go and do that?

-2.0: You’re bringing back Brett Favre?
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See the grades/updates: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/03/11/2014-free-agency-deal-grader/
 
@AdamSchefter 3m
Filed to ESPN: Pending a physical, former Cowboys DE DeMarcus Ware reached agreement with Broncos on 3-year, $30M contract include $20M gtd.

The rich get richer.
 
jaayteetx said:
Ok, I'm beginning to wonder, how can the Broncos afford all these guys?
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Obviously they're going all in due to forehead's age. They're going to have to pay the piper at some point...and it will hurt

The Talib deal is just plain stupid no matter how you look at it.
 
jaayteetx said:
Ok, I'm beginning to wonder, how can the Broncos afford all these guys?
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Beats me, but we should look at trading Rick Smith for one of Denver's guys...

Overthecap says this about Denver's cap position before free agency started:

Est. Salary Cap Space: $27,471,486
Offensive Spend: 31 Players $75,657,767
Defensive Spend: 31 Players $33,860,431
Specials Spend: 3 Players $7,633,834
Dead Money: $3,935,450

Total: $117,152,032

If the cap is 132 million this year, that would give them about 15 million in free space, plus any carryover from the previous year.

They signed TJ Ward for 5.5m per year, Talib for about 9m a year, and Ware for 10m a year. So yeah, I have no idea where all that money is coming from.
 
Playoffs said:
Jason La Canfora ‏@JasonLaCanfora
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They can definitely have him at that price.

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer · 11m
McCown's deal in Tampa is worth $10M over two years, with upside that could take it to $15 million.
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Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter · 15m
Bucs gave former Bears QB Josh McCown a two-year deal worth $10 million -- $4.75M this year $5.25M next year, per sources.
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Dutchrudder said:
Beats me, but we should look at trading Rick Smith for one of Denver's guys...

If the cap is 132 million this year, that would give them about 15 million in free space, plus any carryover from the previous year.

They signed TJ Ward for 5.5m per year, Talib for about 9m a year, and Ware for 10m a year. So yeah, I have no idea where all that money is coming from.
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If they use the same front loaded contracts everyone else uses, 4 contracts that average $4M cap hits for 2014, they can sign about 4 impact players.

Tj Ward probably has a $1M cap hit, Ware & Talib probably $5M each.

$1M+$5M+$5M=$11M leaving them another contract similar to Tj Ward's, maybe two (depending on how far off my assumptions are) to give out before restructuring or cutting other players.
 
thunderkyss said:
If they use the same front loaded contracts everyone else uses, 4 contracts that average $4M cap hits for 2014, they can sign about 4 impact players.

Tj Ward probably has a $1M cap hit, Ware & Talib probably $5M each.

$1M+$5M+$5M=$11M leaving them another contract similar to Tj Ward's, maybe two (depending on how far off my assumptions are) to give out before restructuring or cutting other players.
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Not sure what you are trying to describe by using front loaded there.

Your numbers are off. For example, TJ Ward's contract averages $5.75. He is getting $14 mil guaranteed. Typically most of the guaranteed money is signing bonus, say $8 mil. A league minimum base salary is $730k. With prorated signing bonus that would be $2.73 mil cap hit in 2014.
 
thunderkyss said:
If they use the same front loaded contracts everyone else uses, 4 contracts that average $4M cap hits for 2014, they can sign about 4 impact players.

Tj Ward probably has a $1M cap hit, Ware & Talib probably $5M each.

$1M+$5M+$5M=$11M leaving them another contract similar to Tj Ward's, maybe two (depending on how far off my assumptions are) to give out before restructuring or cutting other players.
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There are already reports out there about what these players will make 2014, so no need to make up stuff. One of the guys on Twitter said D Ware will be a 10.25 million caphit this year.
 
Dutchrudder said:
There are already reports out there about what these players will make 2014, so no need to make up stuff. One of the guys on Twitter said D Ware will be a 10.25 million caphit this year.
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I'm not making anything up... the word is assumption & average are in my post. I think "probably" is in there some where as well. Ware's contract is unique, because it's such a short term, 3 years. doesn't give them a lot of room to work with, but it's the same concept. all together, their cap hits will be substantially less than the avg/yr..... & yes, I meant back loaded, not front.
 
Well ESPN says Ware will get 13 million this season, 7 next, and I would assume 10 the last year of the contract. I dont see any signing bonus numbers. So it seems pretty straight forward.

So with the Broncos estimated cap availability of 15 million (per Dutch) I am not sure how they are going to get Ward and Talib under the cap without restructuring Manning and maybe some others.

Edit: Spotrac shows them 24 million under the cap.
 
Dutchrudder said:
Beats me, but we should look at trading Rick Smith for one of Denver's guys...

Overthecap says this about Denver's cap position before free agency started:

Est. Salary Cap Space: $27,471,486
Offensive Spend: 31 Players $75,657,767
Defensive Spend: 31 Players $33,860,431
Specials Spend: 3 Players $7,633,834
Dead Money: $3,935,450

Total: $117,152,032

If the cap is 132 million this year, that would give them about 15 million in free space, plus any carryover from the previous year.

They signed TJ Ward for 5.5m per year, Talib for about 9m a year, and Ware for 10m a year. So yeah, I have no idea where all that money is coming from.
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We already got Rick Smith from Denver, I guess he didn't learn anything while he was there!
 
Blake said:
Well ESPN says Ware will get 13 million this season, 7 next, and I would assume 10 the last year of the contract. I dont see any signing bonus numbers. So it seems pretty straight forward.

So with the Broncos estimated cap availability of 15 million (per Dutch) I am not sure how they are going to get Ward and Talib under the cap without restructuring Manning and maybe some others.

Edit: Spotrac shows them 24 million under the cap.
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Look for Clady as a cut/restructure. He is in the 2nd year of his contract with an $8.6 mil cap hit but his signing bonus was only $3 mil so they can clear $6.2 in space by dumping him. Or they can convert most of his 2014 salary to bonus and reduce his cap hit to about $3.4.

Welker is on the last year of his contract so they are stuck unless they extend him. Cutting would clear $6 mil but they are already losing Decker.

Vasquez doesn't save anything to cut.

Von Miller is on the last year of his rookie deal so they would need a big resigning for him.

Demaryus Thomas is in the same boat as Miller.

Manning they could convert salary to bonus and clear about $10 mil. That's major kicking the can and would make his cap next year go to $27 mil.

That's their top 6 guys.

Tamme and Dreesen if cut would clear about $3 mil and $2.5 mil.
 
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