*** Official Off-Season Free Agency Thread ***

Hear a rumor, post it!

Once FA arrives and signings take place, post 'em!

Antrel Rolle Trying to “Sell” New York Giants to Jermichael Finley
February 4th, 2014 at 6:20 PM
By Dan Benton
Although help along the offensive line is the New York Giants' most glaring need, there's little flash about 300+ lbs. men battling it out in the trenches. And as General Manager Jerry Reese can attest, Big Blue fans like flashy. It's for that reason a hot offseason topic will be unrestricted free agent tight end Jermichael Finley, who not only fits a need for the Giants, but would find a comfortable place in a Ben McAdoo-run offense.

Like many fans, Giants players are not immune to this line of thinking. It's for that reason safety Antrel Rolle spent much of Super Bowl Sunday trying to "sell" the New York Giants to the talented tight end, reports Tom Rock of Newsday.

"He said that he would love to be a part of the Giants," Rolle said. "He was telling me Ben McAdoo is a brain, that he’s going to keep defenses guessing, he’s very smart. I just said ‘Yes!’"

And playing for the Giants is not a new thought for Finley. The six-year veteran said during Super Bowl week that "if [Ben McAdoo] came calling, I guess I'd go running."

The major concern with Finley is a serious neck injury — and subsequent surgery — that ended his 2013 season. However, while making the rounds at Radio Row a week ago, Finley told Pro Football Talk that he's about 99.9% recovered and will be cleared for contact sometime over the next three or four weeks. He was previously cleared to run routes and catch passes.

Health could make Finley a hot free agent commodity. In 70 career games with the Green Bay Packers, the tight end hauled in 223 passes for 2,785 yards and 20 touchdowns. His best season came in 2011 when he caught 55 passes for 767 yards and eight touchdowns.

Gonzalez doesn’t rule out a 2014 return

In a new ESPN the Magazine article, retired (for now) Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez muses about a possible return for 2014.

“Maybe, if the team is hot in November, 9–2 or something, I could come back for the last two months,” Gonzalez said.

The article by Seth Wickersham then quickly creates the impression that Gonzalez decided not long after saying that to call it quits, based apparently on an incident during a game against the Packers. Safety Morgan Burnett (who denies it) reportedly said, “F–k you! You ain’t sh-t!” to Gonzalez, and no Falcons teammates intervened.

On Friday, Gonzalez didn’t rule out a bandwagon-type return to the Falcons in 2014, if it appears that the team is on track for a Super Bowl appearance.

During an appearance on CBS Sports Radio, host Doug Gottlieb presented a hypothetical: the Falcons are 10-0, and they have yet to replace Gonzalez at tight end.

“Can I got back to the last couple of years when I used to say I’m 97-percent sure?” Gonzalez said. “I’d probably take them up on that offer, especially if they’re 10-0.”

Yes, he was laughing. But he could have laughed and said, “No. No. No. I’m done.”

He didn’t. Until he does, the door will still be slightly more than zero-percent open, even though he has said he’s 100 percent done.

What becomes of New York Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks remains to be seen, but the general consensus is that he will not return in 2014. As such, the Giants may be in the market for another wide receiver, and now that Ben McAdoo will be calling the plays for them, familiarity could play a role in that search. As such, speculation has begun to circulate about the Giants' potential interest in pending Green Bay Packers free agent James Jones.

Mike Morbeck / Foter / CC BY-SA
The likely key with Jones, as opposed to other high-profile free agents like Golden Tate, is that he's unlikely to break the bank. And with a ton of money already tied up in Victor Cruz, as well as guaranteed roster spots for Rueben Randle and Jerrel Jernigan (who thought we'd ever say that about JJ?), he would appear to make the most sense.

And while a recent projection run by Over the Cap has James landing with the New York Jets, it's his anticipated contract that screams Giants: two-years, $6 million.

Rumor is Eric Decker wants 9 million a season. Will edit with story and full rumor later

zeeshan2 said:

Rumor is Eric Decker wants 9 million a season. Will edit with story and full rumor later

Seen this yesterday... He's in for a long off season if he wants that IMO

Would be surprised if Seattle picks up top WR's at a low cost knowing their ability to get back to super bowl.

Swampies said:

Would be surprised if Seattle picks up top WR's at a low cost knowing their ability to get back to super bowl.

Opps wouldn't be surprised!

LukeB5301 said:

zeeshan2 said:

Rumor is Eric Decker wants 9 million a season. Will edit with story and full rumor later

Seen this yesterday... He's in for a long off season if he wants that IMO

Is Decker asking for $9 mil or is it ESPN's belief that Decker could command it in free agency?

(Rotoworld)ESPN New York expects free agent Eric Decker to command "No. 1"
receiver-type money, or "at least" $9 million per year.

Analysis: It's a pretty optimistic projection in a year where the
incoming collegiate receiver group is considered incredibly deep. We'll say this
for Decker: Greg Jennings landed a deal worth $9 million annually from the
Vikings last offseason, and Decker is worth more than him. Still, if Decker is
going to command that kind of money, receiver-needy teams would be savvy to
exhaust all possible alternatives. He's a strong No. 2 wideout in the NFL, but
does not tilt coverage.

Brandon Weeden wants out of Cleveland:

On Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns organization once again showed signs of its instability when the announcement abruptly came down that both general manager Mike Lombardi and CEO Joe Banner would be leaving the organization, and Ray Farmer–the assistant GM–would be taking over the GM duties.

Now generally with movement like this, there are some serious ripple effects, and one effect regarding this particular situation may involve former first-round draft pick, Brandon Weeden, making his move away from the team as NFL.com’s Mike Silver points out that Weeden feels a change is indeed in order.

NFL: AroundTheLeague @NFL_ATL
Follow
Mike Silver: Brandon Weeden wants out of Cleveland.
7:04 PM - 11 Feb 2014

zeeshan2 said:

Brandon Weeden wants out of Cleveland:

On Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns organization once again showed signs of its instability when the announcement abruptly came down that both general manager Mike Lombardi and CEO Joe Banner would be leaving the organization, and Ray Farmer–the assistant GM–would be taking over the GM duties.

Now generally with movement like this, there are some serious ripple effects, and one effect regarding this particular situation may involve former first-round draft pick, Brandon Weeden, making his move away from the team as NFL.com’s Mike Silver points out that Weeden feels a change is indeed in order.

NFL: AroundTheLeague @NFL_ATL
Follow
Mike Silver: Brandon Weeden wants out of Cleveland.
7:04 PM - 11 Feb 2014

Ha I bet he'll handcuff Gordon while he's at it telling him where ever I go you have to follow me!
Since Gordon made him look like a QB!

More Browns news:

Looks like Greg Little will stay another year in Cleveland.

Ian Rapoport @RapSheet

Under the old regime, WR Greg Little was almost certainly going to be cut. Now? Maybe he has a chance to stay another year.

I really think Seattle takes a wr in the draft. Benjamin or Robinson or Adams could be a great addition

The Lions released Nate Burleson and veteran safety Louis Delmas on Thursday in cost-saving moves that freed up $11.5 million in much-needed cap space. He was set to count more than $7.5 million against the cap because of previous contract restructures, and at 32 was coming off two injury-riddled seasons.

New England Patriots Could Be Potential Landing Spot for New York Giants WR Hakeem Nicks
February 15th, 2014 at 9:00 AM
By Doug Rush
Four months ago at the NFL trade deadline, there was a lot of speculation and rumors about the possibility of the New York Giants dealing away disappointing wide receiver Hakeem Nicks — especially when the team was at 0-6 and looking like their season was a lost one. Ultimately, the Giants decided to hang onto Nicks for the second half of the season and attempted to make a playoff run with him in the offense.

Before the team made their attempt to get back in the thick of the playoff race, there were several teams linked to having interest in Nicks with the New England Patriots being one of them. Now that Nicks is a free agent and likely going to land elsewhere in 2014, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald alluded to how the team could make a run at Nicks in free agency if they aren't able to bring back Julian Edelman.

"However, the Patriots have more immediate needs to fill in the early rounds, especially on the defensive line and at tight end. Unless Evans or Benjamin falls, it might be counterproductive to add another youngster to the mix, as it would actually put Thompkins and Boyce on the roster bubble. That puts the Pats in play for a free agent, and last year’s upper-echelon group (Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings) earned between $9 million and $12 million in average annual value, and that might be Eric Decker this offseason. After Decker, the biggest names are Jeremy Maclin and Hakeem Nicks, but their value will be determined by their medical checks."

With Wes Welker departing to the Denver Broncos in free agency, Edelman ended up taking over Welker's role in the Patriots offense and became a favorite for Tom Brady and broke out in 2013 with a 105 catch, 1,056 yard and six touchdown season; one that could score him a nice payday on the open market and maybe even out of the Patriots price range; some have said the Houston Texans could be a landing spot for Edelman considering former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is now Houston's head coach and Edelman could find familiarity in the offense and team under O'Brien.

Edelman's status to the Patriots has been stressed by a lot of people in the New England area especially because Danny Amendola never lived up to the hype that came with him when he signed as a free agent and was looked at to be the Patriots number one receiver, but instead, put up more number two receiver numbers with 54 catches for 633 yards and two touchdowns; thus why people up in Boston are high on Edelman coming back. But if not, Nicks could be someone the Patriots end up targeting in free agency, that is if he is still available.

In 2013, Nicks had a very disappointing year in his contract season as he had 56 catches for 898 yards and no touchdowns and while Victor Cruz has been lobbying for the team to re-sign his friend and teammate, many around the league and team think that due to the disappointment over the last two seasons, Nicks' departure after five seasons is likely to happen and if the Patriots are unsuccessful in bringing back their new emerging target, they could end up buying low on Nicks and hope that he rekindles his talents playing alongside another top quarterback in Brady.

Wow Nicks in NE; I am also hearing Ravens are targeting Julian Edelman

Love both those spots for Nicks and Edelman.

This gets a little old after a while. What is it with news reports linking almost every FA WR with NE year after year?

branch0095 said:

This gets a little old after a while. What is it with news reports linking almost every FA WR with NE year after year?

I agree. I'll wait to see who signs where before I make any decisions.

TBL said:

Love both those spots for Nicks and Edelman.

I think Edelman anywhere else is NOT good for him... JMO

Edelman in Denver? Im hearing they may have interest if they let Decker & Caldwell go.

Decker's market value is estimated @ 9-11 mil per year & Denver will probably max their offer @ 5mil as they have DT & Julius contracts up next year.

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