RealGM

We got a thread for the draft, with talk about Peppers, I thought it'd be nice to start a free agency thread.

Who's available? Who do we have a slim chance of actually signing?

Runningbacks I want:
Ronnie Brown
LenDale White
Leon Washington
Jason Snelling
Larry Johnson

Wide Receivers
Brandon Marshall
Miles Austin
Kevin Walter
Lance Moore
Davone Bess

OLineman:
Jahri Evans
Marcus McNeill
Willie Colon

DLineman:
Julius Peppers
Elvis Dumervil
Aaron Kampman
Marcus Spears

Linebackers:
Shawne Merriman
D'Qwell Jackson

DB's
Dunta Robinson
Richard Marshall
Carlos Rogers

Bartender wrote:Runningbacks I want:
Ronnie Brown
LenDale White
Leon Washington
Jason Snelling
Larry Johnson

Wide Receivers
Brandon Marshall
Miles Austin
Kevin Walter
Lance Moore
Davone Bess

OLineman:
Jahri Evans
Marcus McNeill
Willie Colon

DLineman:
Julius Peppers
Elvis Dumervil
Aaron Kampman
Marcus Spears

Linebackers:
Shawne Merriman
D'Qwell Jackson

DB's
Dunta Robinson
Richard Marshall
Carlos Rogers

Two names that would be nice in Detroit, but not gonna happen. I would concentrate on Ronnie Brown (restricted FA).

Is Ronnie Brown expected to be healed by the start of next season. How serious was his foot injury that ended his season??

What about Pierre Thomas from NO. I believe he's a RFA. He's only 25 and has improved each season. He only started 6 games for the Saints last year. He could be our full-time starter next season.

I agree with Miles Austin. He too is only 25 and would help Calvin out immediately. He only started 8 game for the Cowboys. He could be our #2 WR right out of the gate.

Any good offensive linemen we could get, I hope Mayhew goes after. We have to protect Stafford. But as far as position players, I hope Mayhew goes after young guys who can grow with this team and would probably jump at the chance to start if they got paid well enough.

Could you imagine Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, Miles Austin, Pierre Thomas, and Aaron Brown on offense?? That is one helluva young core.

I don't really trust Pierre Thomas. He was a beast, yeah.. but he is running behind one awsome ass offensive line.

I have to believe NO is gunna lock up Thomas and let Bush walk. Pierre is their man there

I think Leon Washington would be a nice compliment to KSmith and Kevin Walter a good compliment next to CJ. Those would be my realistic and moving forward moves

ajaX82 wrote:I have to believe NO is gunna lock up Thomas and let Bush walk. Pierre is their man there

I think Leon Washington would be a nice compliment to KSmith and Kevin Walter a good compliment next to CJ. Those would be my realistic and moving forward moves

agreed. Either LenDale or Leon would be my RB choices. and Walter is something I see happening as well.

ajaX82 wrote:I have to believe NO is gunna lock up Thomas and let Bush walk. Pierre is their man there

I think Leon Washington would be a nice compliment to KSmith and Kevin Walter a good compliment next to CJ. Those would be my realistic and moving forward moves

Agree, Bush walks. Pierre stays. Agree with Kevin Walter. Another poster mentioned LenDale White, he is not someone the Lions should get. He is on downside of career and the Lions need a threat at RB. I wouldn't be against a one year contract, but nothing that hinders them signing or drafting a #1 RB in the future (probably next year's draft). Bush is out of their league, too much money. Plus they need a RB - runner, not another RB that specializes as a receiver. Bush would put some people in the seats, though. Bush could help with punt returns... For the record, I am against the Lions pursuing Reggie Bush.

LenDale isn't on the downside of his career lol This is his 4th year in the NFL. He's just stuck behind the best RB in the NFL this year. He wants to be a starter and has something to prove. The year he started, he had 1110 yards and 7 TD's and as the backup last season, he had 15 TD's. He's the power back Detroit needs.

Bartender wrote:LenDale isn't on the downside of his career lol This is his 4th year in the NFL. He's just stuck behind the best RB in the NFL this year. He wants to be a starter and has something to prove. The year he started, he had 1110 yards and 7 TD's and as the backup last season, he had 15 TD's. He's the power back Detroit needs.

The average career of an NFL RB is 2.6 years. Chris Johnson was drafted in 2008 at pick #24 (first round). LenDale White's good season was 2007. If White was so fabulous, why did the Titans find the need to draft another RB in the first round, in 2008? It is because he is in the downside of his career. There is a long list of RB's that were good for a few years, then slid. He is one of them. LenDale White:

2007 3.7 avg
2008 3.9 avg
2009 3.5 avg

Those are not the stats of a starting NFL RB. We need a starter, not a rehash #2. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have LenDale on this team...but he is not a #1 RB. He wasn't even the main threat at RB on his own college team (Reggie Bush).

That's an unfair judgement. Felix Jones wasn't the number 1 in college. He backed up Darren McFadden and Felix's career avg is close to 6 ypc. Reggie Bush was one of the best college players of the decade. Chris Johnson slit to 28. There was no they could pass up on that speed and potential. Even in CJ's rookie year, LenDale rushed for 15 TD's. Reason his ypc is so low is cuz he's a power back. His OLine never was the best and in order to be a successful power back, you have to have an oline that can get you 3-4 yards untouched then they do the rest.

Bartender wrote:That's an unfair judgement. Felix Jones wasn't the number 1 in college. He backed up Darren McFadden and Felix's career avg is close to 6 ypc. Reggie Bush was one of the best college players of the decade. Chris Johnson slit to 28. There was no they could pass up on that speed and potential. Even in CJ's rookie year, LenDale rushed for 15 TD's. Reason his ypc is so low is cuz he's a power back. His OLine never was the best and in order to be a successful power back, you have to have an oline that can get you 3-4 yards untouched then they do the rest.

For your reasoning alone...is why LenDale White will not and should not be on this team. From the time LenDale White was 18 years old, he has not started for his football team. Why should the Lions bring him to Detroit?

So would you be against bringing Cadillac Williams or Felix Jones to Detroit? Both Felix and Cadillac never started in college? That logic is stupid.

Bartender wrote:So would you be against bringing Cadillac Williams or Felix Jones to Detroit? Both Felix and Cadillac never started in college? That logic is stupid.

I don't respond to that sort of response...

Off that list, some "realistic" options could be CB Carlos Rogers, RB Leon Washington, and DE Elvis Dumervil. All are still young, and might be lured here with promises of starting.

Miles Austin will cost a fortune. First off, he finished the season outplaying Roy Williams, and secondly, we'd have to outbid the Cowboys for him. DOUBTFUL....

Elvis Dumervil leads the league in sacks. He's not very realistic imo. He'll be getting an Albert Haynesworth type contract.

He could be an option - Denver is a mess, and he didn't get the PT he wanted last season, although his production was great.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE Dumervil... don't get me wrong. I just don't think it's realistic. He'll end up in either Washington, Cleveland, or Dallas me thinks.

If we ended up getting Dumervil and drafting Suh, Patrick Robinson, and Javair Arenas... then we would have prolly the biggest upgrade in defense in the NFL. I honestly think Ernie Sims would be elite if he had a defensive line that was above average.

I would also like Johnny Jolly from Green Bay. He's a very very underrated D.End. I also expect Schwartz to aim for Kyle Vanden Bosch since him and Schwartz have a special relationship together. Idk if I like that one since he seems past his prime.

In order, my ideal FA signing would be something like this:
1. Elvis Dumervil (DT)
2. Julius Peppers (DE)
3. Shawne Merriman (OLB)
4. Marcus McNeill (LT)
5. Miles Austin (WR)
6. Carlos Rogers (CB)
7. Dunta Robinson (CB)
8. Donald Penn (LT)
9. Johnny Jolly (DE)
10. Leon Washington (RB)

Personally, the less targets the better:

1) DE Dumervil
2) RB Washington
3) CB Rogers

4) OT McNeil would be great, but its doubtful he'd leave SD, plus we'd likely have to cut Backus


Pair Dumervil, Washington, and Rogers with a draft of:

1) Suh, 2) Iutupi, 3) Warren 4) best S available