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Post by spiderfan on Mar 11, 2024 17:44:40 GMT -8
 It is that time of year once again! Free agency is upon us SCtoC! This is one of my favorite times of the year, as keeping up with signings and trades is always compelling and it always makes me more excited for the season to begin. I'll be providing my thoughts on the major signings and trades as they happen. Russell Wilson to SteelersQuick thoughts: How are the mighty fallen. After Sean Payton decided to completely wreck the Broncos' salary cap to get rid of Russell Wilson, something which everyone except Payton knew was inevitable at some point, Wilson ended up signing for the veteran minimum with the Steelers? Why such a tiny sum? You might think because that the salary he deserves at this point, and that is certainly is true in theory, but is not the reality of the situation. The reality is that because the Broncos are STILL paying Wilson over 39 million dollars, any sum he gets from another team, in this case the Steelers, would chip away at the money the Broncos owe him. Good ol' offset language am I right? Apparently the Steelers made it clear to him he isn't going to the be the starter, at least going into training camp/preseason, which considering the tiny contract value, makes me wonder why Wilson didn't just wait to see if he got any better offers and sign in the summer. My guess is that the Steelers want Kenny Pickett to make the jump to good young QB from mediocre young QB, so having Wilson adds a little heat to his seat. And so begins Russell Wilson's career as a journeyman backup! He'd have been better off taking a job at ESPN as far as I'm concerned. Kirk Cousins to FalconsQuick thoughts: Kirk Cousins was brought to the Vikings to get them to the Super Bowl. They didn't even get back to the NFC Championship Game. Cousins infamously has a ceiling going all the way back to his days in Washington. Having said that this is a fantastic signing by the Falcons. This is a team that was in the playoff hunt until the last week of the season with some atrocious QB play. If Cousins stays healthy? I think it is practically guaranteed they make the playoffs, something they haven't done in a long time. Saquon Barkley to EaglesQuick thoughts: How fitting is that the Tinys lose the best player they've had over the last 5ish years to their division rival? It is just fodder for me at this point, it's just too easy. Setting aside comedic value, it is a great signing by the Eagles. Barkley is highly dynamic and when combined with Jalen Hurts is going to produce offensive fireworks. |
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Post by spiderfan on Mar 11, 2024 22:30:25 GMT -8
Sam Darnold to VikingsQuick thoughts: By October this will have been a forgotten signing. However, because Darnold is going to take training camp, preseason, and September reps from whoever the Vikings draft, this signing is worth discussing. Gardner Minshew went to the Raiders for a similar price and he isn't even the proclaimed starter and Russell Wilson, as I discussed above, went for pesos on the dollar. Heck, Mac Jones was traded for pesos on the dollar and he is still on his mid 1st round rookie contract. All of these guys are better than Sam Darnold, which to be fair isn't saying a whole lot, but it shows that the Vikings overpaid and could have gotten someone better. Does me make me wonder who they'll draft...
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Post by spiderfan on Mar 12, 2024 10:55:51 GMT -8
Derrick Henry to RavensQuick thoughts: The Ravens tried to get Henry at the trade deadline last year and would have gotten him if not for Titans ownership vetoing the trade according to reports. Now they get him without having to trade any draft picks. Gus Edwards was a solid running back for years and was someone who would be difficult to upgrade from usually. Except the Ravens got Henry, who is certainly an upgrade at the position. Combining him with Lamar Jackson is going to keep the Ravens well within the Super Bowl hunt and I wouldn't be surprised to see them right back in the AFC Championship Game. Joe Mixon traded to TexansQuick thoughts: The Bengals are going to regret this trade. Mixon has been one of the best running backs in the league for years now, having been a key contributor for multiple deep playoff runs. He will help the Texans do the same.
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Post by spiderfan on Mar 12, 2024 13:05:04 GMT -8
Patrick Queen to SteelersQuick thoughts: The leader of the top defense in football is now playing for the division rival Steelers. This is a coup for the Steelers as far as I'm concerned as TJ Watt now has a good compliment in the linebacking corps. The Ravens are going to have problems replacing Queen, and while their offense improved with the addition of Derrick Henry, their defense is without question worse. We'll see if it evens out or not.
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Post by spiderfan on Mar 12, 2024 16:23:27 GMT -8
Danielle Hunter to TexansQuick thoughts: Pairing Danielle Hunter with Will Anderson Jr? That is one of the best moves of free agency so far. But that is kind of obvious when you consider having two really great DEs will immediately make the defense dominant or if nothing a defense to be feared.
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Post by spiderfan on Mar 13, 2024 17:26:39 GMT -8
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Post by spiderfan on Mar 15, 2024 7:52:08 GMT -8
Hollywood Brown to ChiefsQuick thoughts: Brown is now easily the best WR the Chiefs have had since JuJu Smith-Schuster left. This a great start for the Chiefs in improving their WR corps, now the question if they do much further WR corps improvement or not.
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Post by spiderfan on Mar 16, 2024 19:33:51 GMT -8
Justin Fields traded to SteelersQuick thoughts: The Steelers have now undergone a complete revamp of their QB room. Kenny Pickett was traded to the Eagles and Mason Rudolph left to go the Titans. Now enter Justin Fields. At one time, people thought Fields was going to be traded for a significant sum. Turns out he was traded for half a bag of chips at Subway. He's better than Russell Wilson is, so if the Steelers are smart, they'll play him instead. It sounds like a competition isn't happening though, so once again Mike Tomlin takes advantage of having no organizational resistance to questionable decisions that fans will inevitably hate at some point. I do feel bad for Fields who is a lot better than his Bears tenure would suggest it is. Good luck Caleb!
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Post by spiderfan on Mar 27, 2024 17:00:12 GMT -8
Jadeveon Clowney to Panthers
Quick thoughts: Clowney is coming off his best season as a pro, and is now going from one of the best teams in the league to the worst. He'll put up solid numbers and be a good contributor. I want to say that he'll help improve their record, but I was someone who thought the Browns improved entering 2017, and they ended up going 0-16. Sooooo....
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Post by spiderfan on Mar 30, 2024 8:06:20 GMT -8
Haason Reddick traded to JetsQuick thoughts: An already strong Jets defense gets stronger. The question now becomes if Aaron Rodgers can stay healthy and the Jets offense can score enough points for the Jets to win games.
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Post by spiderfan on Apr 3, 2024 8:10:22 GMT -8
Stefon Diggs traded to TexansQuick thoughts: And the power balance in the AFC shifts ever so slightly. Diggs is what helped push the Bills to contender status, a status they've never fully capitalized on in the Josh Allen era, and now it looks like that status belongs to the Texans, or at least it should because the Bills are going to be a worse team without Diggs and the Texans will be better.
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