With free agency looming, no one wants to sign this year’s Brock Osweiler. While I have nothing against Brock, there is not one human that could convince me that he was worth the huge contract that he got. Overpaid is a term that gets thrown around too much. If someone is willing to pay a certain amount for the player…then that is literally their value. If the Texans hadn’t jumped on the Osweiler bandwagon, another team that was desperate would have. Although you may be on the outside one year, this year it might be your team that brings in a name who killed it last season but might’ve only flourished for a small amount of time for whatever reason. The point is the goal of free agency is to do a few different things, but in the end, come out having a better roster than you did after last season. Teams like Jacksonville and Washington will always be huge players in the free agency game, with teams like Pittsburgh and Green Bay sitting back and watching. Oddly enough, the latter is usually a bit better every season.
Free agency is exciting for everyone involved.
The front office of the team is excited they just landed a player that will take them one step closer to the big game. The fans are excited because, well because it isn’t football season and their team is doing something to get better. Lastly, the players are excited because if money were to ever literally fall out of the sky… NFL free agency might be another analogy used. So if you aren’t a Houston fan and you were able to laugh at the Texans’ misfortune…here are players that could kill your owner’s wallet and your team’s chances at the playoffs.
In no particular order…..
Desean Jackson:
Speed kills. Two words that can really affect a team’s mindset. Desean Jackson has become one of the most lethal weapons on offense, but he has basically been a deep threat and that is it. With the passing attack game growing more every year, he is the prototypical receiver for the boom play that offensive coordinators look for on every play. Jackson has the opportunity to click with an offense if placed in the right system, but most likely he will be highly overpaid and be expected to produce WR 1 numbers. A possible reunion has been on the rumor mill involving Philly, which would make for an interesting story. But it is pretty doubtful that Jackson ends up being worth the possible double digit millions per year he could get.
Terrelle Pryor:
This is one of the times that I really hope I am wrong. The journeyman kid who has made the near impossible change in position at the NFL level. I’d love to see Pryor succeed. After switching from QB to WR and joining the atrocious Browns, you couldn’t have written a better season that Terrelle had. On the other hand, it might end up proving to just be an extremely high usage season because… well who else are the Browns supposed to give the ball to? With Cleveland most likely the suitor in this deal, we may never know really how it could’ve turned out.
A.J. Bouye:
The cornerback from Houston is facing a huge payday. If you could improve your stock from undrafted to possible top cornerback money, you would’ve thought that it was insane. Bouye did exactly that. He proved that he can match up with anyone on the field. With just 19 career starts under his belt, he is a risk just because of that. If A.J. is going to go out and get the big dollars like most expect, the Texans might not be able to contain him… so let the games begin.
Martellus Bennett:
This one is going to surprise some. When called upon, Bennett has come up big, but after an odd season in New England, he will be 30 years old going into the next season. With Patriots fans tweeting at him to take less money because the team won’t overpay, it seems inevitable that he won’t. When Gronk got hurt, you would’ve thought that Marty would jump in as the perfect fit. From week 11 and on, Bennett only averaged 28 yards per game. Along with only accumulating 98 yards in 3 playoff games, the Patriots are obviously not going to pay him top dollar, especially since Gronk will be back. Martellus will be expected to bring a team to the next level…I don’t see that happening.
Mike Glennon:
Mike has not proven anything in the pros, yet there are murmurs that he might have a big check coming for him. The quarterback is easily the most valuable player on a football team. Finding the diamond in the rough at the position would be the ultimate victory for a team that is in desperate need of a winning season. During the season Adam Schefter said that it was a possibility Glennon could get up to $15 million per year. Teams think they need to get the best player available at the quarterback position when maybe they should be putting their money somewhere else and waiting for a QB to actually fit their system.
Even though there will be big names that bust, there will be small names that pop out of nowhere. Everyone needs a great scout team I guess.
