It’s that time of year when the NFL’s new season officially starts and players are let loose on the open (and sometimes not so open) market. Players are dealt, college players are scouted for the coming draft and even some trades are made. So what happened over the weekend you might ask? Well I’ll tell you.
Dallas dealt oft-injured defensive tackle Jason Ferguson to Miami for pretty much nothing. When he’s healthy, Ferguson is a solid guy to have in the middle of your line. If Jason Taylor does stick around, Miami could have a decent pass rush going on. Even better depending who they draft first-overall.
Shaun Rogers had his own battle of Ohio going on. Before being sent to the Browns, the Bengals had a deal in place for him that fell through.
Derek Anderson cashed in on his Pro Bowl season and is staying with the Browns for three more years. I don’t expect him to be around after one when Brady “The Future” Quinn takes the starting job from him. Look for Anderson to be traded around this time next year.
In Jets land, Alan Faneca and Kris Jenkins have hopped on-board. Faneca inked the biggest deal in the league for an offensive lineman while Jenkins was traded from the Panthers. The team sent stud linebacker Jonathon Vilma packing to New Orleans also. Vilma is a great young player and I’d want him as my middle linebacker.
The 49ers are the new owners of old Isaac Bruce. At this point in his career, he can still play a bit, but is more so collecting some cash for retirement. The Niners also picked up Justin Smith to play defensive end. Their defence has quite a few big names now; let’s see if they can play together though.
The over-rated Michael Turner and his highly inflated 5.5 yards per carry landed in Atlanta. They will be disappointed when that number crashes back to earth without the Chargers’ line blocking and the increased pressure of being a number one guy.
I still don’t know why the Falcons dropped Alge Crumpler, the best player the had pretty much, but he’s signed on with the Titans now. I guess he likes playing with scrambling quarterbacks and missed having a Michael Vick-type throwing to him.
Lance Briggs is staying with the Bears but Bernard Berrian is not. Smart move signing Briggs, he’s worth the cash and keeps the Bears LB core around the top of the league. Dumb move letting Berrian walk, he was the best wide out they had.
Just a quick note to Dolphins who inked quarterback Josh McCown: He is not the solution. You might have been better off keeping Joey Harrington if you think McCown’s going to help.
And nothing makes me happier than seeing the current Pats exodus. While star cornerback Asante Samuel left to sign a huge deal with Philly, their other starting corner Randal Gay signed on with the Saints. New England may have to play d-back again if this keeps up.
Quick note on Samuel for Eagles fans. He’s soft and he’s more than likely not going to work in your system. You would have been better off keeping Lito Sheppard.
Randy Moss is more than likely not staying with the Pats. He’s going to make some big money from any team that needs receiving help. Jacksonville, looking your way.
And alas, Daunte Culpepper is unemployed still. There’s talk he may follow Moss wherever he goes in an attempt to resuscitate his career.