Free Agent Bonanza Thread

[Bulltalk]

Just what the title says. It's going to be a whirling dervish of activity starting in about a week. I hope we have all of our ducks in a row.

[Sweezo]

So let me see if I get this straight...the plan is to finalize the CBA on Thursday, give the teams about 72 hrs. to study the new CBA, then 72 hrs. to add UDFA while having a chance to retain their own players...then it's full on free agency, where teams will have basically couple days to sign players before training camp/pre-seaso games start as previously scheduled.

As boring as the last four months have been, the sheer insanity of what will happen on July 28th and beyond may be so awesome that, dare I say, it might all be worth it.

I have no idea what we can or cannot get, but if we end up with a LG [Gallery], FB [Leach, Kuhn], and a CB [J. Joseph] that might be about much as I can hope for. I am thinking the Kolb talk is mostly a smokescreen, and that the team's really going to do what it can to upgrade the running game/protect the QB. A guy like Whitehurst isn't optimal, but in an offense with a diverse running attack and a talented line, his ability to bootleg and throw short to mid-range passes might be enough.

I do not know what we will/can do on the DL...if Mebane walks, that unit is weak. But the FA market also looks a bit limited as well.

[Bulltalk]

So let me see if I get this straight...the plan is to finalize the CBA on Thursday, give the teams about 72 hrs. to study the new CBA, then 72 hrs. to add UDFA while having a chance to retain their own players...then it's full on free agency, where teams will have basically couple days to sign players before training camp/pre-seaso games start as previously scheduled.

As boring as the last four months have been, the sheer insanity of what will happen on July 28th and beyond may be so awesome that, dare I say, it might all be worth it.

I know. This is going to be insane. There are going to be home runs and busts. lol We are going to know pretty quick just how good our management is, how attractive Seattle's market and money is.

[Sweezo]

Exactly.

You know, I think the new 'cap' will also make it less likely that we [1] spend alot on a veteran QB, or [2] pay a premium in terms of draft picks for a new QB. When you see how quickly that $38 million in cap space can dry up, it dries up even faster when you are spending $8 million a year on a new QB.

Plus, the new CBA is a deathblow to the crazy contracts 1st round QBs have been getting. Those draft picks are looking a lot more valuable than they used to. And we might trade a 1st and a 3rd for a guy like Kolb that we'd then have to re-sign to a more lucrative deal? I don't buy it.

[TTown]

At least the Mariners got us through most of the lockout before going in the tank.

I'm interested in seeing what we're going to do with Hass. There's a lot of buzz that Tennessee is targeting him. How much is too much to keep him?

[Sweezo]

You know what helps out defensive line? Not this:

Seahawks NT Colin Cole revealed that he underwent surgery on his left ankle a few weeks ago.
Cole's foot is still in a boot, and he doesn't expect to be cleared by team doctors for training camp. The Seattle Times reported in mid-April that Cole was recovering from a left ankle scope after playing with the injury in December. Cole's own timetable suggests this latest procedure is a follow-up. He's a good bet to open training camp on the PUP list.

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/2734/colin-cole

So no one [including Mebane] really expects Mebane to return. Now Cole might be unable to play. I don't think Siavii, Alford, or Terrill was signed past last season. Do we have anyone who can play DT on the roster?

[Bulltalk]

According to Clayton's figures, we presently have the second most available amount of CAP room to spend at just over 39 million. Only Tampa Bay has more.

[TTown]

That $38 mil in space seems kind of like a mirage to me. I mean, it's a lot of money, but we have something like 22-25 open spots yet to fill, and what's the NFL minimum, $600-700k? A lot of that money is going to be soaked dry just signing practice bodies. And I think Sweezo was dead-on: dropping $7 or $8 mil on a QB seems unlikely. John Clayton's rumor? Tavaris Jackson is coming to the Great Northwest, the same Tavaris Jackson who Minnesota pushed to the side in order to bring in Grandfather Time for a couple seasons. Not exactly Carson Palmer...

Kid can move, no question about it, but he's had one season in his career where he's playing in double-digit games (12), and his TD/INT ratio was 9:12. If Clayton is to be believed, and he usually is regarding his hometown Seahawks, I'm guessing Jackson and Whitehurst would battle it out, and we wouldn't enter the bidding war for Hass?

[Danny Darko]

giddyup!

Yeah, Mebane might be offended to the point where he'd make a point, but he'll be a hefty wallet hit if not... not to say we have alot of choice.

I would go cheap on QB this year... I'd rather see Charlie struggle and take a crack at one of the big three in the draft than gamble on Kolb or Face Palmer or over pay for Hasbeenbeck.

spend on Gallery, a CB, a FB(shouldn't cost too much), another DT, and some depth.

[Danny Darko]

Arrrrggg from bad to lame

Liz Mathews-
Per Clayton: "Everything I hear they (Seahawks) are going to make a move on Tarvaris Jackson at the expense of Matt Hasselbeck. But, Matt is the best quarterback. He can win. If I was the GM, I'd go for Hasselbeck."

Link:
https://www.facebook.com/lizmathews

[TTown]

Tough to get an early read on anything coming out of Seattle right now. Everything I know about Pete Carroll tells me he'd rather lose a foot than go 4-12, but (potential) moves like parting ways with Hass in favor of Tavaris Jackson tells me we're going balls out for Andrew Luck.

(which is probably the 'best' move long term, don't get me wrong... but it's still a tough pill to swallow at the onset of a season, when optimism is supposed to be high)

Jackson's mobility would fit well with our OL, which has potential but is so darn young. But if he couldn't cut it with Minnesota's playmakers, OL, Adrian Petersen... hey, good luck here, man.

[Sweezo]

So far, this free agent bonanza hasn't really gotten going yet...would've thought more stuff would be leaking out by now as I don't believe there is a restriction on negotiating.

Jackson's mobility would fit well with our OL, which has potential but is so darn young. But if he couldn't cut it with Minnesota's playmakers, OL, Adrian Petersen... hey, good luck here, man.

Jackson basically sounds like Whitehurst: Good mobility, strong arm, poor at making his reads.

[TTown]

Being reported through numerous outlets that Tennessee has offered Hass a 'huge' contract, and he's Titan-bound as of Friday.

Bittersweet, but best of luck to him.

[Sweezo]

Being reported through numerous outlets that Tennessee has offered Hass a 'huge' contract, and he's Titan-bound as of Friday.

Bittersweet, but best of luck to him.

It's a good fit for them. The odds of a rookie QB being able to start right away, whether Locker or someone else, seem longer than normal this year. They're probably better off with a veteran who knows what he is doing as there will be precious little time for a rookie to acclimate himself properly.

To me, it's simply time to move on. Oh sure...there will be times this season where I'll find myself wondering if we should have kept him when Whitehurst/Jackson/whomever makes some bone-headed decision, but I'll also have to remind myself that Hass was often prone to unforced errors himself.

[TTown]

According to NFL Network, we're now the leader to land Kevin Kolb.

Knee-jerk reaction: It's either a giant smoke screen to drive up the price for Arizona, or PC really believes Kolb helps us more this year and in the future than potentially landing Luck or Barkley in the next draft.

In news perhaps more inviting to Hawk fans (Kolb would undoubtedly be controversial, especially since we'd likely give up a 1st), we're also major players in the Sydney Rice sweepstakes according to several sources. Rice, Williams, Tate? Not too shabby. Add Butler and Obu, I'm on board with that group.

[Sweezo]

According to NFL Network, we're now the leader to land Kevin Kolb.

Knee-jerk reaction: It's either a giant smoke screen to drive up the price for Arizona, or PC really believes Kolb helps us more this year and in the future than potentially landing Luck or Barkley in the next draft.

In news perhaps more inviting to Hawk fans (Kolb would undoubtedly be controversial, especially since we'd likely give up a 1st), we're also major players in the Sydney Rice sweepstakes according to several sources. Rice, Williams, Tate? Not too shabby. Add Butler and Obu, I'm on board with that group.

I think the Kolb thing is a smokescreen. Philly does a great job of inflating the trade market and the're likely just putting mis-information out there because they want a player and a good pick from the Cardinals.

Meanwhile, Clayton's reporting the Seahawks may have a deal in place with Tavaris Jackson by this evening. I can't imagine Jackson would be brought in as a 3rd stringer [nor would he likely sign a deal so quickly if he knew that was what his role would be].

Rice is an interesting thought, and I'm certainly not against the idea of adding him depending on the cost. To me, CB/DT/LG are priorities though. We have glaring weaknesses at those spots that simply have to be addressed. Our WR group may not be stellar but it is competent.

[Danny Darko]

Yep Matt's out and Jackson is in:

#Seahawks have agreed to terms with Tarvaris Jackson, confirming news that @SoftyKJR reported earlier.

http://twitter.com/#!/dannyoneil

Free-agent quarterback Matt Hasselbeck does not plan to re-sign with the Seattle Seahawks, a source confirmed to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6804275/matt-hasselbeck-unlikely-return-seattle-seahawks-source-says

[Bulltalk]

Already getting interesting.

I like Hass, but I wasn't going to get in a huff about losing him because I felt that we've needed to seriously address finding his replacement for 2 years now (we haven't). I hope that our search for a franchise QB doesn't become a decade long one. That's a fear of mine. Condemned to mediocrity for this reason.

[Danny Darko]

Supposedly Leinart is also in. I actually like this as a great competition for next years backup spots. You want a guy mentoring Luck hehe or whoever that knows the system and isn't going to poison chemistry when he's second string... all of these guys should be able to come to reality that they aren't winning the starting job for long.

[Sweezo]

...and we may add one more QB:

The Seahawks are out of the Kevin Kolb sweepstakes, according to a source. They had reservations about how steep the price would be in trade compensation paid to the Eagles and financial compensation paid to the QB.

The Seahawks have agreed to terms with Tarvaris Jackson, who played under offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell in Minnesota. Seattle also is expected to sign Matt Leinart, coach Pete Carroll‘s former QB at USC, to join Charlie Whitehurst on the roster.

Vikings WR Sidney Rice remains a prime free-agent target, according to the source.

http://blogs.nfl.com/category/jason-la-canfora/

Having a three way QB battle is interesting...but not as interesting as, say, having one good QB who's a clear cut starter.