FA Thoughts as we Head to Day 3
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

Bottom line, Wes Welker shouldn’t have dropped that ball in the Super Bowl. Things were never the same.

The Patriots are the Patriots, and they do things their way. Welker’s defection to Denver for $6 million/year opened the door for Bill Belichik to do exactly what he was hoping, fill the role with a younger, faster Danny Amendola for exactly $6.1 million/year.

As for the Broncos side of this deal. The value and allure of Welker were just too much. Not a huge position of need for Denver—they would have never signed Danny Amendola. It was Welker they wanted, and they got him. On the surface the move sounds good, and they haven’t committed too much money. Yet, offensive overkill comes to mind, and it doesn’t solve the problem of flailing safeties and aging cornerbacks.

How do the Seattle Seahawks keep doing it? Cliff Avril now? Sheesh…..good luck to opposing quarterbacks.

Sorry Dolphins fans, your team overspent like discretion-less idiots. Opening the vault for two linebackers nobody ever heard of before last year and a receiver that runs three routes. The good news is, RB Lamar Miller could be a fantasy sleeper of epic proportions.

Michael Huff is a free safety that can play corner and support the run. The Cowboys and Browns should be taking a long hard look at him. Huff will be had for a very reasonable price.

It looks like the Bills learned their lesson about big spending in free agency. After going apeshit on Mario Williams last year it has been very quiet in Buffalo. Hopefully, their fans understand.

The Lions free agent acquisitions are rarely impressive. Add Reggie Bush to that list. Sure, he’ll make an impact. The Lions will still miss the playoffs.

We said it yesterday. It’s time for Ed Reed to leave Baltimore. They have clearly chosen to rebuild around their franchise quarterback (Big Ben snickers). The next move for the Ravens is to trade Terrell Suggs while he’s still young enough to garner value. Sure, there is a deep pool of veteran free-agent pass rushers, but Suggs is the youngest of the group and would immediately shoot to the top of the list. Ozzie wouldn’t mind Jacksonville’s early second round pick. After all, new Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley covets a LEO edge player and their current draft position doesn’t guarantee they get the proper value on an impact rookie to fill that role.

Joe Banner has put the Browns in position to draft the best available player after shoring up the defense in free agency. Candidates will include special talents such as CB Dee Milliner, WR Cordarrelle Patterson, possibly even OLB Jarvis Jones (who fits the Steeler mold of 3-4 OLB—which is the system in which Browns DC Ray Horton is indoctrinated—and you can never have to many pass rushers.) Still, the recent personnel moves open the door much wider for a surprise selection of Geno Smith. Well, at least you and I won’t be surprised.

We are happy to see Aaron Ross back in New York. They need him and he will again flourish.

Chicago’s acquisition of Martellus Bennett should inspire Bears fans. Finally, the return of the tight end. He can catch, and probably more importantly to Marc Trestman, he can block like a big rig. Sounds like we are on the verge of a balanced offense in Chicago.

Speaking of the Bears, and the Colts—pat them on the back. They each addressed the protection of their quarterback. The same can’t be said for St. Louis, Arizona, or Philadelphia yet. Maybe those are the smart teams, though, being careful not to overpay with the impressive depth of OT talent available this offseason.

Texans fans shouldn’t get too worked up about the loss of Glover Quin. Wade Phillips doesn’t assign much value to the position. More importantly, the safety class in this draft is cavernous. Hopefully, the team doesn’t overcompensate by overspending on Connor Barwin. Fans would love to see the team make at least a small investment in a wide receiver. In a dream world, we’d be talking Danario Alexander. Darrius Heyward-Bey or Domenik Hixon are probably more likely. Wouldn’t mind seeing DHB in Carolina either.

Greg Jennings isn’t fast enough to be the ideal complement Houston needs at receiver, but I don’t see any way in hell the reports are accurate that Green Bay is still willing to offer him $10 million per year. The market has been so dry for Jennings, he may end up being a bargain. If that’s the case Minnesota, Houston, Carolina, or some other lucky team could still move in for the steal.

Mike Wallace would have never been able to replace to Percy Harvin in Minnesota but Victor Cruz is a player that could. If the Vikings don’t strike a cap-friendly deal with Jennings, it’s time to pony up the first-round compensation for Cruz. They can’t get anyone better in the draft.

Are the Falcons moving slowly on SJAX because he is old, can barely lift his knees, and is allergic to the endzone? Or is it because they’ve seen Eddie Lacy fall to the end of the first and beginning of the second in recent mock drafts?

We met a lot of new front office blood in Indy. All very impressive. Fresh. Young. Smart. Obsessed with value. The management talent is showing up league wide as we see very few teams overspending. Nowhere is this more evident than on the aging DL market. All premier players just a few years ago, teams have yet to throw crazy money at Richard Seymour, Dwight Freeney, John Abraham, or Osi Umenyiora. Undoubtedly, a few of these new-breed GMs will find value on a cheap contract with a couple of these guys.