Today was the first official day of Free Agency and we've already had several large signings. CB Nate Clements signs a HUGE (biggest contract ever given to a defensive player) contract with the 49ers - 8yrs, $80 million, $22 of it guarenteed OT Eric Steinback signs for 7yrs, $49 million with the Browns, $17 million guarenteed G Derrick Dockery signs for 7yrs, $49 million with the Bills, $18.5 million guarenteed Those are some HUGE contracts. The Clements one will come back and bite them in a couple of years. RBs and CBs are the quickest to wear down.
MLB London Fletcher signs a 5yr, $25 million contract with the Redskins NFL.com - Washington Redskins Team News
LB Adalius Thomas signs with the Pats for 5 years and $37.5 million. The Lions make a splash by signing DE Dewayne White (no relation to Rodney) to a 5 year, $29 million deal. I've never heard of this guy before, but he has played for Rod in Tampa, so hopefully he knows what he's doing. That's a lot of money to throw at a guy with 14 career sacks. That's an average of 2.8 per season. NFL.com - Dewayne White
Dewayne White?? Who?? This is what happens when you have coaches dictating who is signed a pathetic GM who doesn't have a clue. So now you have two overpaid ends that can't get to the QB in Kalimba Edwards and this Dewayne White character. Great!!!! :nerd2:
Exactly!! Hall is injury prone but atleast he gets after it when he is in there playing. With these two non-factors in Kalimba and Dewayne White the other teams can double team Shaun Rogers all day long. The secondary is going to get torched. Nothing new.
The White signing is actually being called one of the few smart moves of the offseason so far! NFL.com - New York Jets Team News I couldn't believe it. I thought I might have accidentally been transported to Bizzaroweb or maybe Matt Millen's homepage or something, but it's true. Someone actually thinks the Lions made a smart move. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT]
The Lions sign former Michigan State Spartan T.J. Duckett to a 1yr $1.5 million deal. I like this move. Duckett is a powerful runner, someone who can "pound the rock" in goal line and short yardage situations - 2 areas where the Lions have been HORRIBLE at for a long time. Duckett scored 27 TDs between 2003 and 2005. The contract, at only 1 year and $1.5 million is nice too. Even if he sucks, he doesn't cost much and will be off the books after the season. Assuming no one is traded and Jones and Bryson can get healthy, that's a solid group of guys. Bell and Jones will make a great 1, 2 punch and can be split in the backfield on some plays, posing huge matchup problems for the defense. Bryson will most likely be the team's FB this season. He has great hands and unheard of speed out of the FB position. Adding Duckett gives us a great change of pace, short yardage and goal line back. Calhoun will most likely find himself on the PUP list and then the IR this season, allowing the team to retain him without taking up a roster spot.
Hey, Jammer, I read somewhere that teams will be clamoring to get the Lions' No. 2 pick. Here's where I read it: Mock draft No. 3 - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
Thanks for the link GG. The Lions have quite a few options with the 2nd pick. There are quite a few highly coveted players available that early and teams in the later top 10 will be looking to move up to grab one of them. Teams wanting a WR will be looking to trade up and grab Calvin Johnson. Teams that need help on the O-line will be looking at Joe Thomas. Russell and Quinn at QB and Adrian Peterson at RB could all go in the top 5. If they decide to trade down a few spots, they'll be able to grab an extra pick or two and still be able to fill a need with top end talent like Jamaal Anderson or Gaines Adams.
i love the duckett signing just because i remember watching him annihilate defenders at MSU and reading about him benching 525 pounds or whatever ridiculous amount it was. plus just a year at only $1.5 million? i'm actually liking the lions' offseason moves...kind of scary.
I'm wondering if the Lions are stockpiling RBs to move Jones. 3 potential starting backs is kinda strange considering it wasn't deemed one of their primary needs. Unless this Jones injury thing is worse than we thought.
I don't think Jones is going anywhere. Martz seems to really like Jones. I think the Calhoun and Bryson injuries are more serious than Jones'. I have a feeling that Calhoun and maybe Bryson will end up on the PUP list (Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning they can't practice with the team or play in a game until after the 6th week of the season). I have a feeling Calhoun will end up on IR. Bell is a speed back, Duckett is a power back and Jones is a combination of the two. I think all 3 will stay with the Lions and they'll all compliment each other well. Bryson will fit in to the Martz style hybrid FB once he's healthy.
Fair enough... this will be interesting to see how it plays out... then there's always that insurance in case one of your backs gets hurt.. Could it be possible that they use Ducket as a FB?
Exactly. Depth is never a bad thing, especially at $1.5 million for 1 year. I had thought that as well when I first heard the signing. I can't remember where I saw it, either MLive or Detnews, but they were saying that Duckett will be a RB, not a FB. But Martz is known for having guys play multiple positions, moving guys around and keeping teams on their toes, so I wouldn't be surprised if we saw him at both positions this season.
The Lions signed WR Shaun McDonald to a 2yr, $2.8 million deal. NFL ROUNDUP: Lions add former St. Louis receiver
The Detroit Rams... er, Lions have signed former Rams CB Travis Fisher to a 1 yr contract (not sure of the $ amount yet). Reports are that the Lions are still talking to former Ram WR Kevin Curtis. MLive.com: Everything Michigan
Just an update: Lost Curtis to the Eagles. No matter at that price! $32M with $9.5 guaranteed. The 2 (Fletcher and Curtis) we targeted got a collective $25M guaranteed. Fletcher is 32 and Curtis 29. Good passes on those as far as I'm concerned.
I completely agree. This team isn't 1 player away. They need to build with inexpensive, young and hungry players. I've liked their moves so far this offseason.
