Free Agency Update

[adam]

Here is a list of our acquisitions, players re-signed, players lost, and remaining free agents:

 

Free Agent Additions

 

Chase Daniel - QB - knows system and Pace, good pickup

Tyler Bray - QB - knows system coming from KC, makes sense

Allen Robinson - WR - coming off injury, but ceiling is pretty high, clearly our #1 (about time)

Taylor Gabriel - WR - versatile WR, can line up anywhere, will be fun to see with Cohen on the field

Trey Burton - TE - not a ton of production for the contract, but upside is there, Burton-Shaheen should be a fun TE Duo.

Aaron Lynch - LB - played for Fangio, should be an immediate upgrade

Cody Parkey - K - look a real kicker

 

Re-signed

 

Sam Acho - good depth, and special teams

Prince Amukamara - good re-signing, another year with the secondary, the continuity should help

Daniel Brown - depth and special teams

Kyle Fuller - kind of crazy the way this played out with the Packers, ultimately Fuller gets $14M a year. I am torn on this, we couldn't let him walk, but he is now a top 5 CB (paid) in the league for at least the next 3 years. Hopefully he plays like one, now the highest paid player on the team.

Pat O'Donnell - He has never lived up to his Mega Punt name, but has been in the top half of the league for net yardage.

Bradley Sowell - Lost Compton and Sitton, so we needed to hold onto someone, will need to address OL in the draft.

John Timu - Another depth/Special Teams resigning.

Sherrick McManis - ST Captain, logical resigning.

Marcus Cooper - haven't seen this official yet, but it looks like Bears cut him and are planning to re-sign him. I don't know, he was pretty bad last year, I would've looked elsewhere. Worst re-signing.

 

RFA's Tendered

 

Josh Bellamy - meh, hopefully only for ST

Bryce Callahan - very solid slot corner, hopefully no one offers him a bigger contract

Cameron Meredith - coming off injury, surprised as the low tender, hopefully no one offers him anything outrageous, it would be nice to keep him on the roster, especially with White as a question mark.

 

 

Lost in Free Agency

 

Tom Compton

Josh Sitton

Andrew DePaola

Mike Glennon (thank god, and LMAO Arizona, did you watch any of Glennon's footage from last season?)

Christian Jones

Cairo Santo - his signature was wide right on the contract he signed

Mitch Unrein - thought he was solid, but DL may be a target in the draft

Pernell McPhee - off-injured

 

UFA's

 

Benny Cunningham - wouldn't mind him back, but nothing special

Lamarr Houston

Dontrelle Inman

John Jenkins

Zach Miller - wouldn't be surprised if he retired

Mike Nugent

Mark Sanchez

Kendall Wright

Willie Young - his cutting was somewhat of a surprise

Markus Wheaton - wow was he a disappointment

 

My one question is why the hell do we still have Dion Simson the roster? What a waste of a roster spot.

[AZ54]

Here is a list of our acquisitions, players re-signed, players lost, and remaining free agents:

 

Free Agent Additions

 

Chase Daniel - QB - knows system and Pace, good pickup

Tyler Bray - QB - knows system coming from KC, makes sense

Allen Robinson - WR - coming off injury, but ceiling is pretty high, clearly our #1 (about time)

Taylor Gabriel - WR - versatile WR, can line up anywhere, will be fun to see with Cohen on the field

Trey Burton - TE - not a ton of production for the contract, but upside is there, Burton-Shaheen should be a fun TE Duo.

Aaron Lynch - LB - played for Fangio, should be an immediate upgrade

Cody Parkey - K - look a real kicker

 

Re-signed

 

Sam Acho - good depth, and special teams

Prince Amukamara - good re-signing, another year with the secondary, the continuity should help

Daniel Brown - depth and special teams

Kyle Fuller - kind of crazy the way this played out with the Packers, ultimately Fuller gets $14M a year. I am torn on this, we couldn't let him walk, but he is now a top 5 CB (paid) in the league for at least the next 3 years. Hopefully he plays like one, now the highest paid player on the team.

Pat O'Donnell - He has never lived up to his Mega Punt name, but has been in the top half of the league for net yardage.

Bradley Sowell - Lost Compton and Sitton, so we needed to hold onto someone, will need to address OL in the draft.

John Timu - Another depth/Special Teams resigning.

Marcus Cooper - haven't seen this official yet, but it looks like Bears cut him and are planning to re-sign him. I don't know, he was pretty bad last year, I would've looked elsewhere. Worst re-signing.

 

RFA's Tendered

 

Josh Bellamy - meh, hopefully only for ST

Bryce Callahan - very solid slot corner, hopefully no one offers him a bigger contract

Cameron Meredith - coming off injury, surprised as the low tender, hopefully no one offers him anything outrageous, it would be nice to keep him on the roster, especially with White as a question mark.

 

 

Lost in Free Agency

 

Tom Compton

Josh Sitton

Andrew DePaola

Mike Glennon (thank god, and LMAO Arizona, did you watch any of Glennon's footage from last season?)

Christian Jones

Cairo Santo - his signature was wide right on the contract he signed

Mitch Unrein - thought he was solid, but DL may be a target in the draft

Pernell McPhee - off-injured

 

UFA's

 

Benny Cunningham - wouldn't mind him back, but nothing special

Lamarr Houston

Dontrelle Inman

John Jenkins

Sherrick McManis - ST Captain, would like to keep him

Zach Miller - wouldn't be surprised if he retired

Mike Nugent

Mark Sanchez

Kendall Wright

Willie Young - his cutting was somewhat of a surprise

Markus Wheaton - wow was he a disappointment

 

My one question is why the hell do we still have Dion Simson the roster? What a waste of a roster spot.

 

Good summary. I like the offensive FAs we brought in as they should fit the scheme we're going to run very well. Now teams have to defend against both Cohen and Gabriel, often at the same time. Neither is a full-time player but each offers enough big play potential to turn a game around. TEs in Shaheen and Burton will also keep LBs and safeties busy. All orchestrated by a very mobile QB. Last year Trubisky was stuck playing chess with only pawns. This year he's got almost the full array of pieces to work with.

 

One thing remains missing and that is a solid starting RB who can handle both running and pass receiving. Howard improved his receiving quite a bit last year but he's not Matt Forte. You may have read the quote from Pace where he said that Nagy was very adamant about how important having a good move TE (the U TE now) is to his offense, and Pace went hard after Trey Burton. Paid a bit more than I expected for him too, but after reading that later on I realize why Pace made the commitment. The question remains: Did Nagy say the same thing about having a RB who can function well as a receiver? I suspect he did and that a rookie RB is headed our way, maybe as high as the 2nd Rd. If not there, likely with one of our 4th Rd picks.

 

I too was surprised we kept Sims around. I realize we already paid about $4mil but I won't be surprised if he's included in a draft day trade to help us move up. This is not a good draft for TEs and for a team needing an inline blocker like Sims he'll now be cheap for them. On the other hand, Nagy likes to throw deep about 7 times per game plus he is helpful to have as the blocker in the red zone while Shaheen handles the receiving duties. Sims won't be here next year.

 

Arizona saw Glennon up close at the preseason game last year (so did I <_ he was signed to make their defense look good during practice.>

 

I was a proponent of keeping both Fuller and Amukamara so I can't complain. Fuller did get more than expected once the Packers got involved but finally having some continuity here will be nice for once. Amukamara got paid well too but as is typical Pace, we can get out of his deal after just one year if we choose. Was keeping both part of the deal when we kept Fangio? Cooper coming back was the biggest surprise for me.

 

I like having several of our core special teams player back and that includes Bellamy, Acho, and the recently re-signed McManis. Until we see how the draft plays out, how the rookies and other young players look on special teams in the preseason, having these options on the roster is a very good thing.

 

With Unrein gone I suspect there is some confidence in RRH and/or Bullard improving this year. My money is on RRH. I still think we'll add a vet FA DT to support the rotation up front.

 

OLB remains the top need heading into the draft.

[Stinger226]

Good summary. I like the offensive FAs we brought in as they should fit the scheme we're going to run very well. Now teams have to defend against both Cohen and Gabriel, often at the same time. Neither is a full-time player but each offers enough big play potential to turn a game around. TEs in Shaheen and Burton will also keep LBs and safeties busy. All orchestrated by a very mobile QB. Last year Trubisky was stuck playing chess with only pawns. This year he's got almost the full array of pieces to work with.

 

One thing remains missing and that is a solid starting RB who can handle both running and pass receiving. Howard improved his receiving quite a bit last year but he's not Matt Forte. You may have read the quote from Pace where he said that Nagy was very adamant about how important having a good move TE (the U TE now) is to his offense, and Pace went hard after Trey Burton. Paid a bit more than I expected for him too, but after reading that later on I realize why Pace made the commitment. The question remains: Did Nagy say the same thing about having a RB who can function well as a receiver? I suspect he did and that a rookie RB is headed our way, maybe as high as the 2nd Rd. If not there, likely with one of our 4th Rd picks.

 

I too was surprised we kept Sims around. I realize we already paid about $4mil but I won't be surprised if he's included in a draft day trade to help us move up. This is not a good draft for TEs and for a team needing an inline blocker like Sims he'll now be cheap for them. On the other hand, Nagy likes to throw deep about 7 times per game plus he is helpful to have as the blocker in the red zone while Shaheen handles the receiving duties. Sims won't be here next year.

 

Arizona saw Glennon up close at the preseason game last year (so did I <_ he was signed to make their defense look good during practice.>

 

I was a proponent of keeping both Fuller and Amukamara so I can't complain. Fuller did get more than expected once the Packers got involved but finally having some continuity here will be nice for once. Amukamara got paid well too but as is typical Pace, we can get out of his deal after just one year if we choose. Was keeping both part of the deal when we kept Fangio? Cooper coming back was the biggest surprise for me.

 

I like having several of our core special teams player back and that includes Bellamy, Acho, and the recently re-signed McManis. Until we see how the draft plays out, how the rookies and other young players look on special teams in the preseason, having these options on the roster is a very good thing.

 

With Unrein gone I suspect there is some confidence in RRH and/or Bullard improving this year. My money is on RRH. I still think we'll add a vet FA DT to support the rotation up front.

 

OLB remains the top need heading into the draft.

I think they must see some value in Cooper and after one year in the system think he will improve on his poor play last year. They know what they have but now it is cheaper.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Good summary. I like the offensive FAs we brought in as they should fit the scheme we're going to run very well. Now teams have to defend against both Cohen and Gabriel, often at the same time. Neither is a full-time player but each offers enough big play potential to turn a game around. TEs in Shaheen and Burton will also keep LBs and safeties busy. All orchestrated by a very mobile QB. Last year Trubisky was stuck playing chess with only pawns. This year he's got almost the full array of pieces to work with.

 

One thing remains missing and that is a solid starting RB who can handle both running and pass receiving. Howard improved his receiving quite a bit last year but he's not Matt Forte. You may have read the quote from Pace where he said that Nagy was very adamant about how important having a good move TE (the U TE now) is to his offense, and Pace went hard after Trey Burton. Paid a bit more than I expected for him too, but after reading that later on I realize why Pace made the commitment. The question remains: Did Nagy say the same thing about having a RB who can function well as a receiver? I suspect he did and that a rookie RB is headed our way, maybe as high as the 2nd Rd. If not there, likely with one of our 4th Rd picks.

 

I too was surprised we kept Sims around. I realize we already paid about $4mil but I won't be surprised if he's included in a draft day trade to help us move up. This is not a good draft for TEs and for a team needing an inline blocker like Sims he'll now be cheap for them. On the other hand, Nagy likes to throw deep about 7 times per game plus he is helpful to have as the blocker in the red zone while Shaheen handles the receiving duties. Sims won't be here next year.

 

Arizona saw Glennon up close at the preseason game last year (so did I <_ he was signed to make their defense look good during practice.>

 

I was a proponent of keeping both Fuller and Amukamara so I can't complain. Fuller did get more than expected once the Packers got involved but finally having some continuity here will be nice for once. Amukamara got paid well too but as is typical Pace, we can get out of his deal after just one year if we choose. Was keeping both part of the deal when we kept Fangio? Cooper coming back was the biggest surprise for me.

 

I like having several of our core special teams player back and that includes Bellamy, Acho, and the recently re-signed McManis. Until we see how the draft plays out, how the rookies and other young players look on special teams in the preseason, having these options on the roster is a very good thing.

 

With Unrein gone I suspect there is some confidence in RRH and/or Bullard improving this year. My money is on RRH. I still think we'll add a vet FA DT to support the rotation up front.

 

OLB remains the top need heading into the draft.

Nice piece AZ.

 

As for RB, maybe Howard will dedicate his off season to becoming a better receiving back. That would be something. I remember when Movie challenged Tim Jennings and he came back leading the NFL in INTs. Heck, maybe Jeremy Langford would have value back again as he was a good receiving back.

 

Sims has value as our only inline blocking TE. He is expensive but I don't see him going anywhere this year. Shaheen will get there. I dont know if he is athletic enough to be a move TE yet and Brown will get more of those backup plays.

 

Not sure if Gabriel will be more part time or out there all the time. He will be the Tyreek Hill imo, but damn what do you do with Cohen. Nagy has some work to do to figure it all out.

[Mongo3451]

Nice piece AZ.

 

As for RB, maybe Howard will dedicate his off season to becoming a better receiving back. That would be something. I remember when Movie challenged Tim Jennings and he came back leading the NFL in INTs. Heck, maybe Jeremy Langford would have value back again as he was a good receiving back.

 

Sims has value as our only inline blocking TE. He is expensive but I don't see him going anywhere this year. Shaheen will get there. I dont know if he is athletic enough to be a move TE yet and Brown will get more of those backup plays.

 

Not sure if Gabriel will be more part time or out there all the time. He will be the Tyreek Hill imo, but damn what do you do with Cohen. Nagy has some work to do to figure it all out.

Gabriel and Cohen will be a nightmare for defenses.

[BearFan PHX]

OLB remains the top need heading into the draft.

 

or at least the defensive front 7. I almost certainly would agree, except for what I see in Edmunds. I think he can be a crazy difference maker at ILB.

 

Imagine having Urlacher there whenever you happen to be in cover 2, and then a beast of a man coverage guy when youre in man, AND a great spy on running QBs, which is more and more common, and hes a pretty good pass rusher too, especially when it's a surprise.

 

I could imagine Fangio really coveting a player like that.

[AZ54]

Gabriel and Cohen will be a nightmare for defenses.

 

Gabriel stretches the defense vertically and Cohen takes them sideline to sideline. We'll have Burton floating about everywhere in between. Last year defenders would challenge Cohen quickly knowing the next level of defenders was right behind them. This year the help defenders won't be able to make that commitment without getting beat deep (Robinson, Gabriel, and even Meredith). The first defender can challenge Cohen early but if they miss it's a big gain of 15-20yds. Or they'll back off him a bit hoping to corral him into a shorter gain of 5-7yds.

[lemonej]

This off season's theme seem like take care of the coaches and Trubisky.

Nagy got his gifts in FA as well as Trubisky

Fangio got Fuller, Amukamura, Acho,Timu and Lynch

 

So far Hiestand has got nothing!

 

The two most important assistants on any NFL staff is the DC and OL coach.

Time to take care of Hiestand.