2016 NFL Free Agency Thread

[ducky]

They would have had to pay an additional 900k to make him a 2nd round tender, and with a team that has barely any cap space and a coach who churns out RB's like they're nothing they most likely felt it wasn't worth it. Even a 1 $2.5 million offer would be too much considering they can get the same production from a guy making 900k.

And if they put a 2nd round tender on him I doubt any team would have went for that since that's a high price to pay for any player so then they'd be stuck paying him more than they want and a team with extremely limited cap space would be even more limited.

Yeah with a 2nd round pick no one would have come sniffing around.

But to me an extra 900K is peanuts to assure you have the most talented RB on your squad still in the fold. Now they have to go out and find a new RB too. With all the holes that they have on that team, they didn't need another one at the RB position. And if you think that they are going to vet min CJ Anderson's production, you are crazy. CJ wasn't what people thought he would be last year but that had a lot more to do with the putrid play of the OL early in the season than anything.

IMO this was a mistake on the part of Elway big time. He misjudged whether teams would come sniffing around CJ and as it turns out there were about 3 teams that were interested in him.

Hell if they really didn't care if CJ was back with them, they could have tagged him with the 2nd round pick value and told his agent to go nuts in trying to find CJ a deal and let the other team know that they would trade him for as little as a 6th if they wanted to sign him. That 2nd round tag value is negotiable. At least then they get something for him.

 

[cdumler7]

Yeah with a 2nd round pick no one would have come sniffing around.

But to me an extra 900K is peanuts to assure you have the most talented RB on your squad still in the fold. Now they have to go out and find a new RB too. With all the holes that they have on that team, they didn't need another one at the RB position. And if you think that they are going to vet min CJ Anderson's production, you are crazy. CJ wasn't what people thought he would be last year but that had a lot more to do with the putrid play of the OL early in the season than anything.

IMO this was a mistake on the part of Elway big time. He misjudged whether teams would come sniffing around CJ and as it turns out there were about 3 teams that were interested in him.

Hell if they really didn't care if CJ was back with them, they could have tagged him with the 2nd round pick value and told his agent to go nuts in trying to find CJ a deal and let the other team know that they would trade him for as little as a 6th if they wanted to sign him. That 2nd round tag value is negotiable. At least then they get something for him.

Going to have to disagree with you here. This is where not following a team means you miss some of the little details of the season. CJ yes some of his struggles were OL related but there is more to the picture. He showed up out of shape and in my opinion because of that ended up getting hurt during training camp. He hurt his toe to the point he had to wear a steal plate inside his shoe to help protect it from further damage.

There is a reason he actually was benched for Hillman of all people who is more of a 3rd down RB than a starter.

Now don't get me wrong the guy has talent but he also has some major red flags. Heck with the last coaching regime he ended up big time in the dog house for how bad of shape he showed up to training camp in. They moved him to 4th string RB at one point. This to me is why Elway put the RFA Tag on him that he did. Yes they wouldn't mind having him back but they think they can find a better fit for what they want to do. It is why as soon as Miami made the offer they did the first call they made was to Alfred Morris. This is a position they feel they can fill for much cheaper to help devote more money to other positions and still get lots of production from the position.

 

[ducky]

Going to have to disagree with you here. This is where not following a team means you miss some of the little details of the season. CJ yes some of his struggles were OL related but there is more to the picture. He showed up out of shape and in my opinion because of that ended up getting hurt during training camp. He hurt his toe to the point he had to wear a steal plate inside his shoe to help protect it from further damage.

There is a reason he actually was benched for Hillman of all people who is more of a 3rd down RB than a starter.

Now don't get me wrong the guy has talent but he also has some major red flags. Heck with the last coaching regime he ended up big time in the dog house for how bad of shape he showed up to training camp in. They moved him to 4th string RB at one point. This to me is why Elway put the RFA Tag on him that he did. Yes they wouldn't mind having him back but they think they can find a better fit for what they want to do. It is why as soon as Miami made the offer they did the first call they made was to Alfred Morris. This is a position they feel they can fill for much cheaper to help devote more money to other positions and still get lots of production from the position.

Morris is a MAJOR downgrade. He has ZERO ability in the passing game. He was already shown signs of wearing down (although maybe being in a RBBC last year will refresh him this year). He has no zero game changing ability.

Can he get you 4 yards a carry? Yeah sure. Dude is a gamer. But he isn't as good or as versatile as Anderson.

Even going into the offseason with the assumption that you were going to be able to retain Osweiller, having a drop off in the RB situation should have been a non-starter. Especially considering that you once again are likely to suffer a major drop off in the OL department when all is said and done. Now with Osweiller gone, things could get so hairy for that offense.

The Broncos should have been aiming to IMPROVE their run game if anything this year. Not just get "good enough" production. Now they have absolutely zero upside ability than a RBBC that doesn't scare extra defenders into the box making life more difficult on their QB (whoever that might be).

You can try and defend it anyway you want but this was a mistake on the Broncos part. They let a talented young RB with very little miles on the tires who was instrumental in their playoff run get away from them over $900k. There is NO scenario where that $900K allowed them to make another move or kept them from making one. Now they'll be forced to go with less upside vet approach with the only redeemer being that they might be able to find a 6th rounder to plug in year 1 that might be an upgrade.

 

[Duffman]

Morris had his best 2 seasons under Mike Shanahan and he runs the same Offense as Kubiak so he's a great fit for the Broncos.

Also Anderson had 720 yards and 5 TD's last season so you're crazy if you don't think the Broncos can find a cheaper player to match or even beat that production.

 

[ducky]

Morris had his best 2 seasons under Mike Shanahan and he runs the same Offense as Kubiak so he's a great fit for the Broncos.

Also Anderson had 720 yards and 5 TD's last season so you're crazy if you don't think the Broncos can find a cheaper player to match or even beat that production.

He also had 234 yards in 3 games during the playoff run. Broncos don't win the SB last year if Anderson gets hurt in the final game of the regular season. And all that behind what was just a pathetic OL (look at how Hillman was completely shut down in the postseason).

It did take Anderson a long time to get going last year. But most RB's would have struggled behind that OL early in the season.

Anderson behind the Denver OL last season: 4.7 ypc
Morris behind a better Washington OL last season: 3.7 ypc.

I loved Morris his first couple of seasons. But he is a short shelf life RB with the pounding he takes. Unless his body bounces back, he is a RB that will get you 3 yards when you need 2 and he will get you 3 yards when you need 4. And he will give you nothing in the pass game like Anderson.

It's a downgrade. I don't think there is anyway to dispute that. And if you had Payton Manning from 3 seasons ago QB'ing your team, it wouldn't be a big deal. But because you have a terrible offense, with only god knows who at QB, with what is likely to be a subpar OL, downgrading at RB shouldn't have happened....ESPECIALLY over $900k in a league where that type of money gets lost in the couch cushions.

This was a mistake by the Broncos. No if, and or but's about it IMO. If the Broncos really didn't want him back they wouldn't have tagged him at all. They wanted him back but misjudged his value around the league and thought no one would sniff around him.

 

[Duffman]

He also had 234 yards in 3 games during the playoff run. Broncos don't win the SB last year if Anderson gets hurt in the final game of the regular season. And all that behind what was just a pathetic OL (look at how Hillman was completely shut down in the postseason).

It did take Anderson a long time to get going last year. But most RB's would have struggled behind that OL early in the season.

Anderson behind the Denver OL last season: 4.7 ypc
Morris behind a better Washington OL last season: 3.7 ypc.

I loved Morris his first couple of seasons. But he is a short shelf life RB with the pounding he takes. Unless his body bounces back, he is a RB that will get you 3 yards when you need 2 and he will get you 3 yards when you need 4. And he will give you nothing in the pass game like Anderson.

It's a downgrade. I don't think there is anyway to dispute that. And if you had Payton Manning from 3 seasons ago QB'ing your team, it wouldn't be a big deal. But because you have a terrible offense, with only god knows who at QB, what is likely to be a subpar OL, downgrading at RB shouldn't have happened....ESPECIALLY over $900k in a league where that type of money gets lost in the couch cushions.

You're missing the point about Anderson and Morris, it's a different system and RB's perform differently in different Run schemes. The only far comparison is that Morris had 4.8 YPC in 2012 and 4.6 in 2013 when he was in same system as Anderson so he's not a downgrade.

And 900k may seem like chump change if you have $20million to spend but for Denver that's like 1/5th of their cap space so it is a big deal especially on a guy you feel like you can get the same production for cheaper with someone else.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[HammerDown]

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[cdumler7]

Morris is a MAJOR downgrade. He has ZERO ability in the passing game. He was already shown signs of wearing down (although maybe being in a RBBC last year will refresh him this year). He has no zero game changing ability.

Can he get you 4 yards a carry? Yeah sure. Dude is a gamer. But he isn't as good or as versatile as Anderson.

Even going into the offseason with the assumption that you were going to be able to retain Osweiller, having a drop off in the RB situation should have been a non-starter. Especially considering that you once again are likely to suffer a major drop off in the OL department when all is said and done. Now with Osweiller gone, things could get so hairy for that offense.

The Broncos should have been aiming to IMPROVE their run game if anything this year. Not just get "good enough" production. Now they have absolutely zero upside ability than a RBBC that doesn't scare extra defenders into the box making life more difficult on their QB (whoever that might be).

You can try and defend it anyway you want but this was a mistake on the Broncos part. They let a talented young RB with very little miles on the tires who was instrumental in their playoff run get away from them over $900k. There is NO scenario where that $900K allowed them to make another move or kept them from making one. Now they'll be forced to go with less upside vet approach with the only redeemer being that they might be able to find a 6th rounder to plug in year 1 that might be an upgrade.

This is what makes me laugh so much about fans these days. People panic at the smallest of things. "Oh my goodness look at some of the players they have lost...they are doomed!" Bronco fans heard this all last year with Manning struggling at the end of the season, us losing about 4-5 starters, and the change at the coaching helm. I mean there were Chief's writers going crazy saying they were popping champagne as it was the end of the Broncos. Yet they went out and made a few small moves and guess what the team improved and won the Super Bowl.

Throw in we are not even a week into Free Agency! 532 players last year in FA changed teams. It was a record for the NFL. This past season only 4 players that changed teams even made the Pro Bowl which had again a record number of players be able to say they qualified for the Pro Bowl. They were practically begging people to go and yet only 4 FA signings actually ended in a Pro Bowl player. So sorry if I am not panicking as a Bronco fan.

This is exactly why the Broncos have been one of the winningest organizations over the last 40 years. It is why we have the longest streak of not having consecutive losing seasons in the NFL with 43 years of no back to back losing seasons. Next closest is 24 years in Green Bay. We don't panic and pay a QB with 7 starts $18 million a year. We realize that while Anderson has talent it isn't like he is this can't lose player that we can't go out and find an even better player. I mean look at the Chiefs this year when Charles went down and everybody figured they were going to tank the season. The Back Ups came in and did an even better job than Charles. Doesn't mean Charles isn't still a talent but it just goes to show you can win and be just fine even without a Super Star and Anderson is nowhere near a Super Star RB.

Also this so called can't lose RB you are talking about had only 5 games this past season before the playoffs where he had more than 50 yards rushing. He had 6 games this past year where he rushed for less than 30 yards. He was benched this year for Hillman because he was out of shape and was struggling with the new offense to find the holes.

As for the OL you saying they are going to be worse and acting like it is some kind of fact is just crazy. Maybe they are worse but there is a good chance that OL that was down right terrible this last year has 4 new starters. We have our 2 starting Tackles (at least who were supposed to be the starting Tackles) fully healthy and back from the IR. This past season we had 3 guys starting/playing that had never taken a snap in the NFL. We were the youngest starting OL in the NFL. So now that those guys have experience and the return of our starters plus whoever else we bring in there is a good chance they are improved. Throw in some of the guys we let go already this off season were let go because they were a terrible fit in Kubiak's scheme. Takes a while to get the right players for what you want to do. I'll stop here as reading your post honestly is a bit disappointing. I always thought you were pretty level headed and understood that a team is not built or destroyed in a matter of 5 days of FA. The teams that overpay and go crazy during this time are actually the ones that stay in mediocrity. It is the teams that can wait, find the right priced guys that fit their system, and then draft well that continue to stay on top.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[Stomp]

3y/15.3 million Chargers are bargain hunters

 

[HammerDown]

 

[HammerDown]

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[elw4corps]

Wow i thought he was going to end up with the raiders

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

What was all that "I want to play for a contender" talk? Looks like he chose a paycheck over a trophy.

 

[boltfan72]

What was all that "I want to play for a contender" talk? Looks like he chose a paycheck over a trophy.

Kind of surprised me too. I wish him the best. He was one of my favorite players but was off last year. Glad he didn't stay in the AFC West.

 

[cdumler7]

Kind of surprised me too. I wish him the best. He was one of my favorite players but was off last year. Glad he didn't stay in the AFC West.

This was my thought too. When I heard the Raiders being linked to him just kept saying "please don't go to Oakland!" I had never heard the Ravens name as a team that was interested in him so very surprised by this decision.