Running back is our biggest need, with only Hilliard and Polite on the roster. Filling this need could be very tricky. Ricky does not look like an option. Ronnie was very disappointing, and there are no guarantees we could re-sign him IF we wanted to. DeAngelo Williams could be a FA option, although he says he wants to stay put. There are a few lessor RB's in FA. Then, there is Ingram in the draft or, others available later. IF a new CBA is reached in the next few weeks, FA will come before the draft, as always. This is not a good thing for us, as the best RB's are likely to be signed before we know who we can get in the draft. Do we sign one before the draft? If so, who? Do we wait until the draft, and roll the dice? Do we try and do both? How do you solve this puzzle?
Well, you bring guys in SB, that is why the folks turning their nose up at Kevin Smith have me puzzled, you draft some guys, and you see what Lexxy has to offer. This is a great time to be in the market for running backs as the NFL has reduced them in importance.
Padre, IF we are targeting Ingram, it makes a difference on who we would look at in FA. If we are targeting a change of pace back in the 3rd round, the same is true. As disappointed as I was in Ronnie, I am now wondering if he may be our best choice as insurance going into the draft. I believed the draft would come first, which would make a big difference.
Well, here is the thing with Ronnie B, he will want 3 million per yr, he may or may not be worth that, so the question then becomes do you create value by keeping him and going in a different direction (away from running back) at #15, or going with a running back and letting Ronnie B walk? To me, if we went with a Olineman or OLB at #15, and kept Ronnie B on a 2 yr rental, it would be difficult to complain as long as we also replaced Williams;, if we let both walk, which I think will happen, we have just created 2 holes that have to be filled but that maybe is for the best. If Cobbs walks then we have 3 holes to fill, but once again that is something I think should happen.
I would be shocked if either R&R was retained. Just too many flaws. I'm in favor of signing a starting quality RB in FA and drafting 1 or 2 guys to give us some talent and depth at the spot. The better the FA we sign, the longer we can wait to draft one, or vice versa since the draft is coming prior to FA.
Well, yes and no GMJ, for myself the reason we'd keep Ronnie B is we know he do things like Blitz pickups, which is one less concern for Henne, and he is a low mileage 29yrs old, now whether or not the 2 major leg injuries have stolen his speed is an open question BUT he could overcome a loss of that top gear by changing his running style into more of a power back approach which Jamal Lewis did when he went to the Browns. I could see him leaving simply because they want more explosiveness, but isn't that the knock against Ingram? So a 1 or 2 yr rental of Ronnie B, or the #15 on Ingram?
I would much prefer Ingram and a change of pace back from the draft. The problem is I don't know that we can do that. IF we signed Ronnie, Ingram could replace Ricky. Not my favorite option but, one to consider. I cannot see taking an OLB at #15 to sit behind Wake and Misi. I prefer to address the OL in FA. With Incognito, Garner, and maybe Jerry, we only need one.
Draft Ingram, Sign Sproles (Solves KR/ And secondary RB needs). I'd take Kevin Smith if Sproles prices himself out.
IF the draft were prior to FA, I would agree but, it looks like it may not. This is the reason for this thread. Who will you want in FA IF it is before the draft with Ingram potentially waiting?
Ronnie is one of the best blocking backs in the NFL, and is a VG receiver. Another poster mentioned having him play FB, which is a nice option.
Lexxy could replace Ricky W, we could retain Ronnie B, and have Sheets compete with a draft choice for the #3 running back/returner role, or add Ingram, and we could have a backfield like the Giants had when they had Jacobs/Bradshaw/Ward. Figure right around 60 offensive plays per game, 12 carries by Ronnie/Ingram, 15 by Lexxy, and maybe 8 by Sheets or whomever. Henne would typically have 25 passing attempts per game. That to me would be the best course of action as Henne throwing 35 times per game is not a good thing imho. They wouldn't, they would be the nickel passrusher in place of Misi.
This is food for thought. I wonder if after we couldn't break free from the 500% blues Ricky and Ronnie started playing at 1/2 speed. With free agency at the end of the season they probably didn't want to risk getting injured on a team going no where. Both are my favorites and very capable backs, but it would not be the first time a player "hoodwinked" their way into fresh legs for free agency. It is a business after all and who would want to pay an injured free agent? Bigger money and a better team could await them in free agency as long as they stayed healthy I guess. This may or may not be true, I don't know but it's just food for thought.
DeAngelo won't be retained. He's going to command top-10 runningback money and I don't think the Panthers are going to pay that for a guy who's going to cap at 200 touches with Jonathan Stewart ready to take the reins.
I don't think it will matter much if FA is before or after the draft this year b/c all the top #1 caliber backs have been given at least 1st round tenders....... and there's no way that we give up our 1st round pick on a back who will cost us at least double Mark Ingram. IMO Lex will be signed and he'll be one half of our 1-2 punch. This regime is already familiar with him. They know what he can or can not do, and they know that he'll bust his butt for us, which gives him a leg up on the rest of the 2nd tier FA guys....... and he's injury free with a LOT of tread on his tires (which gives him the nod over Michael Bush, Addai, and Cedric Benson IMO). If anyone has earned some reps, it's Lex...... and I predict he has a season similar to Mike Tolbert's. He's a good fit in a single back offense if we're going to more 3 WR sets <to keep Bess on the field>. From there <if FA comes first>, IMO we'll go after a complimentary COP back or 3rd down back <who is good out of the backfield> like Mewelde Moore, Jerious Norwood, Tim Hightower, or Sproles. If the draft comes first, I think we'll address the other part of our 1-2 punch, a dual threat guy who can make plays on his own w/o necessarily needing a FB paving the way. I'm guessing that's either Ingram, Mikel LeShoure (my first choice to compliment Lex), Daniel Thomas, or Ryan Williams in the 1st tier..... or Jamie Harper, Delone Carter, Shane Vereen, or Alex Green in the 2nd tier. Then I could see us targeting a playmaker to round it out. If we aren't in position to grab a tier one back from above, we might grab a tier 1 playmaking COP back like Taiwan Jones (the cream of the crop this draft), Kendall Hunter, or possibly Jordan Todman. If we do draft an every down tier 1 back, then we'll probably finish it off with a mid to late round COP back like Quizz Rodgers, Derrick Locke, or Dion Lewis. Personally I'd love to see a trio of Lex, Taiwan Jones, and either LeShoure, Ryan Williams, or Daniel Thomas...... but that would require trading back our 1st and using 2 of our first 3 picks on RB. However that would still leave room to grab a playmaking WR, a seam-busting TE, and picks 5-7 on Oline.
I'd sign off on any of that but I'd also hope that Ireland knows every running back that was on the practice squad last season. For the depth portion of the position. They'd come cheaper and would not cost them a pick...
My dream offensive offseason would be: -RB: LeShoure, Taiwan Jones, and Lex. -Playmaking WR: Greg Little, Edmund Gates, or Jerrel Jernigan..... preferably Little (and if we can trade up our 5th for Gates or Jernigan, I'd do it). -#2 TE: Seam-busting, playmaker Jordan Cameron or Virgil Green. -Oline: Harvey Dahl (stud Falcon guard) in FA.
Well, I'd love to resign Ronnie. If we can get him for 2-3 million to be our #2 RB, he's worth it, both as a backup RB and a receiving RB (if Daboll is smarter than he-who-won't-be-named). I'd be very happy with Ingram as the starter, with Ronnie and Lexy as our 3 RBs.
Yes, it probably would matter. Those tenders that guys like Williams and Bush have been given are for restricted free agents. The only reason they're restricted free agents is because technically they're still working under the rules of an uncapped year, which pushed the years of service for unrestricted free agency to 6 years. Teams are only giving out those tenders to protect their interests in the event free agency would be allowed to proceed under the rules of the uncapped year. When a new CBA finally gets signed, it's far more likely than not that it'll revert back to 4 years of service, making a lot of players who have received those tenders unrestricted. At this point, given what the NFLPA is being asked to hand back, the amount of service a player must have in order to become an unrestricted free agent would most certainly be negotiated back to what it was. I can't see the NFLPA waivering on that one. If they can get an arrangement in place soon, there could very well be a flood of free agents on the market.
Great point. The NFL expects 495 FA's. I believe that all the tags will be meaningless, as they are under the old CBA, and changed after the opt out. With 495 FA's, and none of ours being overly important, we should be able to fill our needs.
IMO Mark Ingram=Ronnie Brown Just That Brown is More Versitile but has been injured alot If Anything Im Very High on Dion Lewis he reminds me of Ray Rice
The one thing I might be cautious about though is that there may be a grace period between when an agreement is reached and when free agency will officially begin, giving teams some leeway in prioritizing and re-signing their own players once they know what they'll have to deal with under the terms of a new CBA.
I think they will draft a rb in the mid rounds and sign another UFA to compete with Hilliard and Sheets.
