Love it or Hate it – Veteran Free Agency

Previously on the free agency discussion… We discussed the Jaguars positions of need and the players that could potentially fill those needs. The CBA has (hopefully) been pushed through with a NFLPA* vote expected on Monday, with the last minute squabble being mostly over the new Supplemental Revenue Sharing clause. I’ll be doing an article on Supplemental Revenue Sharing hopefully in the future (its what all Jaguars fans should hope for, intra-league revenue sharing).  The new CBA (if it happens) brings good news for the Jaguars.

Under the new CBA*, players with three accrued seasons are to become restricted free agents, and players with four accrued seasons are to become unrestricted free agents. That being said, those players who may have been tendered by their previous teams will become unrestricted free agents and will not require compensation from the teams that sign them. Hooray for that. The Jags have ample room to sign free agents and to resign or extend their own players, being that they are $26.2 million dollars under the cap (remember, there is a 99% cap expenditure clause). The prior article did a quick break down and listed a couple of players at positions of need. In this article, we are going to look at an expanded list of potential free agents.

Wide Receiver – Follow me here. I know that the Jaguars have stated they are happy with their current crop of wide receivers and would like to see it played out, however, with $26.2 million to spend, I could see GM Gene potential going after a veteran or a younger player with upside and letting them compete, especially with MSW being let loose. Think Torry Holt.

1. Sidney Rice – WR – 25 – Positives – size and speed, good hands, talent has been underutilized in the Minnesota QB carousel – Negatives – Coming of a hip injury, has only had one good year
2. Malcom Floyd – WR – 29 – Positives – big, fast, downfield threat, jump ball target – Negatives – Tapered off at the end of last season, ended season battling injuries, older, never been super productive
3. Santana Moss – WR – 32 – Positives – good production, stays healthy, quick, offers schematic versatility – Negatives – old
4. Ok, I only see a few guys that are viable here. I think most of the competition will come from UDFA’s and practice squad guys.

Defensive Line – The Jaguars are age and youth at the DE position, with a smattering of injuries in to make is a bit sweeter. Kampman is coming off of his second knee injury, Mincey gets an injury every year. Lane, Morgan and Hart are all 2nd year players, with the only legitimate playing time coming from Lane. Harvey is still an enigma, one who can play the run effectively, but still is half a step too slow. DT is a little better off, with Pot Roast and Alualu manning the starting spots, but behind them it gets cloudy. Douzable is a try hard guy, CJ Mosley only had one tackle on the season, D’Anthony Smith is coming off an Achilles rupture, which is notoriously hard to recover from and hasn’t played a snap and Nate Collins had zero tackles. Don’t be surprised if the Jags bring in a veteran to help solidify the rotation at all four positions.

1.  Charles Johnson – DE – Positives – Young, had a monster season, could set the other end of the line up nicely, giving Lane, Hart and Morgan time to develop. Negative – one  monster season, two average seasons, what would you be paying for? Can he work the opposite side of the line? Size may be of concern in a front-four attacking scheme.
2. Ray Edwards – DE – Positives – Has had 4 average/above average seasons, good size, good player – Negatives – May be too much of a talker for GM Gene, played along a very, very good DL and may have benefited from that, will probably want to break the bank

1. Brandon Mebane – DT – 26 – Positives – big, stout, looks to be a penetrator, more of a run stopper though – Negatives – a little undersized
2. Barry Cofield – DT – 27 – Positives – massive, has some pass rush ability, more of a run stopper, played on a productive DL – Negatives – played on a good line, so ability may be over-stated
3. Mike Patterson – DT – 27 – Positives – solid run-stuffer, big, played on a productive DL – Negatives – may only be a run stuffer, played on a good line, so ability may be over-stated

Linebacker – This is where the Jaguars will see the most new faces, with only Daryl Smith and Russell Allen returning as the only guys to have seen significant game time. I expect Kirk Morrison to be resigned, but you never know. The Jags need the help both inside and out.

1. Paul Posluszny – ILB – 26 – Positives – a tackling machine, good size, smart, hard worker, good athletic ability – Negatives – has only played one complete season, suffering some injuries
2. Stephen Tulloch – ILB – 26 – Positives – 2nd in tackling in 2010, tackling machine, thick, good run stopper, decent athleticism – Negatives – short, questionable speed
3. Kirk Morrison – ILB – 29 – Positives – solid tackler, good leader, decent athleticism – Negatives -slow to analyze, should play better if he is resigned as his play got better later in the year
4. Barrett Ruud – ILB – 28 – Positives – good size, extremely productive – Negatives – not super fast, had some issues with his former team
5. James Anderson – OLB – 27 – Positives – good size, great 2010 season, good speed, athletic – Negatives – only one full season under his belt, may be a contract year wonder
6. Manny Lawson – OLB – 27 – Positives – extremely athletic, good size, decent production- Negatives -comes from the 3-4, may struggle in space, not super productive
7. Rocky McIntosh – OLB – 28 – Positives – Consistently productive, good speed, – Negatives – struggled in the 3-4 switch in Washington but still had over 100 tackles.
8. Quincy Black – OLB – 27 – Positives – good size, extremely athletic, good timed speed – Negatives – not overly productive, no full season of starting
9. Stephen Nicholas – OLB – 28 – Positives – decent athleticism, from Jacksonville, associated with Mike Smith which always is good – Negatives – not overly productive, doesn’t have a full season of starting to his name
10. Thomas Howard – OLB – 28 – Positives – good size, extremely athletic, very productive when he started – Negatives – odd man out in Oakland,
11. Clint Session – OLB – 26 – Positives – decent production, decent athleticism, practiced against Peyton Manning – Negatives -smallish, lost last year to injury
12. Ernie Sims – OLB – 26 – Positives – typical weak side coverage backer, good athleticism, productive – Negatives – smallish, has had issues with concussions in the past, some old character concerns

Defensive Back – The Jaguars and the rest off the world know they have problems at the safety position. However, the team like Courtney Greene, who could be the answer at strong safety, if he stays healthy. Prosinski looks to be a rangy safety that is a good tackler. Don Carey is a converted CB who struggled mightily at the FS position. The safety carousel looks to stop with the signing of a free agent, preferably a ball hawking free safety. Check back to Andrew’s series on potential Free Safeties Part I and Part II

Safeties

1. Eric Weddle – S – 26 – Positives – young, talented, tackling machine, smart – Negatives – not a massive playmaker, more of a strong safety, will break the bank
2. Brodney Poole – S – 27 – Positives – good size, good athleticism, decent production, played on a very good Jets defense – Negatives – has a history of concussions
3. Michael Huff – S – 28 – Positives – very athletic,  had a good 2010 year, good size – Negatives – not always as productive as you’d like, had a bad junior year, more of strong safety
4. Dashon Goldson – S – 26 – Positives – good size, good production, played on a decent defense, produced turnovers – Negatives – slower than you’d like, played injured last year
5. Tom Zbikowski – S – 26 –  Positives – stayed physical in the offseason boxing, athletic, played for the extremely good Ravens defense with the likes of Ed Reed and Ray Lewis – Negatives – more of a strong safety, smallish, ended the season on IR, no full season of starts
6. Darren Sharper – S – 35 – Positives – smart, savvy, good production for his age – Negatives – old, has lost a step
7. Quintin Mikell – S – 30 – Positives – played on a good Eagles D, pro bowl player, productive over the last 4 years, good athleticism, consistent, a Free Safety – Negatives – older, may be on the downswing, could be a great 2-3 year bandaid

Cornerbacks

1. Richard Marshall – CB – 26 – Positives – stays healthy, good athleticism, good production – Negatives – smallish, struggled some in 2010
2. Johnathan Joseph  – CB – 27 – Positives – great athleticism and speed, decent production – Negatives – struggled in 2010
3. Carlos Rogers – CB – 30 – Positives – athletic, good size, solid all around, 24 pass breakups in 2008 (extremely impressive) 12 each in 2009 and 2010 – Negatives –  older, not really a play maker
4. Eric Wright – CB – 26 – Positives – decent size, young, talented, great speed – Negatives – has regressed every year on the Browns, a change of scenery could do him wonders, dealt with injuries
5. Josh Wilson – CB – 26 – Positives – good athleticism and speed, played for the Ravens – Negatives – no full year of experience, shortish

– Jason Love