free-agent shopping list

kellmellus50 · Post #1 » by **kellmellus50** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:38 am

Expect a free agent frenzy this spring in the NFL that could lead to an unprecedented buyer's market for the Lions front office.

Charley Casserly, a former Redskins and Texans general manager, estimated last month that "more than 25 percent" of the NFL will be unrestricted free agents this spring — expected to be the most in league history.

Lions take you pick from list below

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2012 ... ext|Sports

Piston Pete · Post #2 » by **Piston Pete** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:36 pm

What will our cap situation be like this offseason? Will we have money to spend and make a splash in free agency?

It would be pretty sweet if Schwartz could lure in CB Finnegan and S Griffin out of Tennessee. Demetrius Bell (OT) would be nice too.

Get those 3 guys and re-sign Avril and call it a day IMO.

Post #3 » by **Icness** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:18 pm

The writer from kell's link apparently doesn't watch a lot of non-Lions football :roll:

Ernie Sims? Brandon Meriweather? Tim Jennings? Those are top candidates?! None of those guys would start ahead of guys already here. Anthony Gonzalez wouldn't even be our #4 receiver and he's the top name there.

Thomas Jones still having tread? He's gone from 4.2 ypc to 3.7 to 3.1 the last three years and couldn't outrun Fili Moala on a stretch play early this year.

Demetrius Bell is intriguing but he gives up an awful high percentage of QB pressures, very streaky. Exceptional run blocker though. Gaither is done, he cannot bend enough to even touch his knees.

Lionlifer · Post #4 » by **Lionlifer** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:28 pm

Outside of the people Pete mentioned, the only other person that has me interested is Devin Thomas, and that's mostly cause I'm a huge MSU fan/homer...

Landry also intrigues me, but he'd have to come real cheap, as he has some baggage.

Post #5 » by **Icness** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:34 pm

If you're looking more top-shelf...
RBs:
Ray Rice, unlikely he gets out of BAL though
Matt Forte
Cedric Benson
Peyton Hillis
BenJarvis Green-Ellis

WRs:
Reggie Wayne
Wes Welker, probably won't hit market
Dwayne Bowe
Vincent Jackson, probably will want too much $$

or if you trust that Calvin is #1 and Titus is #2:
Robert Meacham
Early Doucet
Harry Douglas
Eddie Royal

OL:
Carl Nicks, and the Saints almost certainly cannot pay him what he deserves
Anthony Collins, starting RT upgrade from Cherilus
Adam Snyder
Jeremy Zuttah
Levi Brown
not a bad year to pluck a guard, the tackles are pretty uninspiring

CB:
Carr
Finnegan
Richard Marshall
Jason Allen
Peanut Lowery
Elbert Mack

S:
Landry, but the Achilles is an issue
Tyvon Branch, but he can't cover at all
Michael Griffin, who has been lousy without Schwartz
Thom Decoud
Courtney Greene
Dashon Goldson

Post #6 » by **Icness** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:51 pm

Not sure yet about Lions cap situation. They appear to have between $22M-$30M depending on where the cap gets set.

Avril will get at least $8M of that. His franchise tag figure would be about $12.2M if it comes to that. Some other DE base salaries for 2012:
Jared Allen $11.6M
Peppers $8.9M
Freeney $14.1M
Dumervil $14M
Justin Smith $5.75M
KVB $5M
Charles Johnson, the most comparable player who signed recently, will get $4.75M but he got $5M bonuses in both '11 and '12 and Carolina backloaded the deal. I could see Avril getting a very similar deal, one that goes up from $4M the first year to $11M the 6th year with the up-front bonus of $30M hitting the cap evenly every year. That would put Avril at just under $10M against the cap in '12.

More money could be freed up with KVB restructuring or being released. Same with Burleson, Williams, and Scheffler.

Calvin could be extended and if done right that could free up space this year with the issue of taking a major hit later on.

Piston Pete · Post #7 » by **Piston Pete** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 5:06 pm

Combining the lists, this is my (dream) wish list:

1) CB Finnegan
2) OG Nicks
3) RB Hillis, Tolbert, or Bush
4) WR Meacham

If we got those guys, I'd call it a day and look to fill the rest via the draft.

Guys I might consider if they came cheap and/or if we miss out on anyone from above:

OT Bell
OT Collins
S Griffin
WR Earl Bennett
CB Grimes

Post #8 » by **Icness** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 10:41 pm

Finnegan would be interesting because he's a big-time hit/miss guy and he brings the kind of undisciplined mentality that drives us all crazy. But he can be a great cover guy and receivers hate playing against him and we need more of that.

Carl Nicks would be awesome. I don't care if it's Peterman or Sims he's replacing and I like both those guys.

I think Hillis is in for a rude awakening in free agency. He was thinking top 5 RB money last summer and now he'll be lucky to get top 15 RB money. Or maybe he'll sucker someone. He did finish the year well and the image of him running right over Troy Polamalu will carry some weight.

Post #9 » by **ajaX82** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 12:04 am

The real issue is what to do with Calvin. He is going to command a massive payday coming up and this article is frightening

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_ ... ons-future

Post #10 » by **Icness** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 2:04 am

ajaX82 wrote:The real issue is what to do with Calvin. He is going to command a massive payday coming up and this article is frightening

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_ ... ons-future

Mayhew has to figure out one year to bite that giant salary and load CJ's contract to fit that plan.

Just a random thought but if he wants to make it 2013, trading next year's 1st (which would be '13) in this upcoming draft is a pretty good idea.

TSE · Post #11 » by **TSE** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:54 am

A decent upgrade to help out at LT or CB would be nice for FA but not much there to pick from. Brent Grimes saved his health by not playing in the last game so that's good for us plus since he will be billed as not a team player that could cut his price tag down. Maybe we can get a decent deal. Michael Griffin could be interesting at safety if he wants to play for Schwartz, and him with Delmas and Spievey and the cheap freeroll of Silva would be a respectable S group. I don't think Delmas is very good as a FS, so I would start Griffin at FS and Delmas at SS with Spievey and Silva as the backups. It could also work well if we redesigned our defensive scheme to something that was a better strategy which would amplify the values of Griffin and Delmas the way that they could and should be used in that new system. Although my personal opinion is that Delmas' best use was as trade bait from the second we drafted him.