There are a lot of threads going around whenever so-and-so gets cut and we should sign him (guilty!), so I'm going to make an extremely deep Offseason mock. Figuring out dollars will take forever, so I'm just going to try and be realistic. Without further ado...

Free Agency

Walking
Ronnie Brown
Patrick Cobbs
Joey Haynos
Richie Incognito
Quentin Moses
Cory Proctor
Chad Pennington
Tyler Thigpen
Ricky Williams
Pat McQuistan

Re-Signs
Nate Garner (RFA)
Lex Hilliard (RFA)
Tony McDaniel
Lydon Murtha (ERFA)
Kory Sheets (ERFA)
Paul Soliai (Franchise)

Signings
Seneca Wallace
Joseph Addai
Santana Moss
Jeremy Shockey
Harvey Dahl
Lyle Sendlein
Barrett Ruud
Julian Peterson
Darnell Bing
Dashon Goldson
Philip Buchanon

Cuts
Jonathon Amaya
Tyron Culver
Nate Ness
Benny Sapp
Ikaika Alama-Francis
Ryan Baker
Quentin Moses
Robert Rose
AJ Edds
Mark Restelli
Mike Rivera
Ray Feinga
Matt Kopa
Allen Barbre
James Marten
Tom Brandstater
Deon Anderson
Lousaka Polite
Jeron Mastrud
Patrick Carter
Brooks Foster

Draft
1(15) Mark Ingram
3(79) Jake Locker
4(110) DeMarcus Love
5(143) Henry Hynoski
6(174) Tyrod Taylor
7(205) Rodney Gnat
7(208) Colin Baxter

New Depth Chart
QB: Chad Henne - Seneca Wallace - Jake Locker
RB: Mark Ingram - Joseph Addai - Lex Hilliard - Kory Sheets
3DRB: Joseph Addai - Henry Hynoski
FB: Henry Hynoski
WR: Brandon Marshall - Brian Hartline
WR: Santana Moss - Marlon Moore
SLOT: Davone Bess - Brian Hartline
TE: Jeremy Shockey - Anthony Fasano - Mickey Shuler
LT: Jake Long - DeMarcus Love - Lydon Murtha
LG: Harvey Dahl - Nate Garner
C: Lyle Sendlein - Joe Berger - Nate Garner
RG: John Jerry - Nate Garner
RT: Vernon Carey - Lydon Murtha - DeMarcus Love
DE: Kendall Langford - Tony McDaniel - Jared Odrick
NT: Paul Soliai - Jared Odrick - Chris Baker
DE: Randy Starks - Philip Merling - Jared Odrick
OLB: Cameron Wake - Rodney Gnat
ILB: Karlos Dansby - Tim Dobbins
ILB: Barrett Ruud - Channing Crowder
OLB: Julian Peterson - Koa Misi - Darnell Bing
CB: Vontae Davis - Nolan Carroll
FS: Dashon Goldson - Chris Clemons - Reshad Jones
SS: Yeremiah Bell - Darnell Bing - Reshad Jones
CB: Sean Smith - Will Allen
NICKEL: Phillip Buchanon
K: Dan Carpenter
P: Brandon Fields
LS: John Denney
KR: Kory Sheets - Nolan Carroll
PR: Kory Sheets

New Roster
1) Henne
2) Wallace
3) Locker
4) Ingram
5) Addai
6) Hilliard
7) Sheets
8) Hynoski
9) Marshall
10) Moss
11) Bess
12) Hartline
13) Moore
14) Shockey
15) Fasano
16) Shuler
17) Long
18) Dahl
19) Sendlein
20) Jerry
21) Carey
22) Murtha
23) Love
24) Berger
25) Garner
26) Starks
27) Merling
28) Langford
29) Soliai
30) Odrick
31) McDaniel
32) Baker
33) Wake
34) Peterson
35) Crowder
36) Dansby
37) Ruud
38) Bing
39) Misi
40) Gnat
41) Dobbins
42) Allen
43) Carroll
44) Buchanon
45) Davis
46) Smith
47) Goldson
48) Bell
49) Clemons
50) Jones
51) Carpenter
52) Fields
53) Denney

Practice Squad
1) Tyrod Taylor
2) Chris Baxter
3) Dedrick Epps
4) Roberto Wallace
5) Austin Spitler
6) Julius Pruitt
7) Chris Prosinski (UDFA)
8) Lionel Dotson

Hope you guys enjoy :)

 

No, probably not... this is what I would do if I was in charge haha...

But both are falling down draft boards and have some potential. Tyrod has gone all the way down to 6-7 in the mocks I've seen; those guys get paid ~$400,000 annually. As a wildcat guy and POTENTIAL QB option down the road, it'd be worth it. $1.2 million over 3 years is enough time to find out and a small enough gamble that it's definitely worth taking.

Locker, on the other hand, is a bigger gamble. He MAY not fall down to the third, and I was going to have us trade with someone for a second, but I didn't want to sit here for another hour to figure that out.

Something that comes to mind is Henne + our 3rd for someone's 2nd. We use that 2nd to draft Locker and sign Vince Young to start, with Wallace and Locker battling for backup.

Down the road, if Locker does pan out, it'll be a good problem to have, because VY will have rebuilt trade value by then, and there will always be a team looking for a starting QB.

 

Thanks.

The draft is really why I made this thread in the first place, and then I just branched out from there. I've long been a proponent of drafting Newton, but his surging stock has me thinking we won't get him. If he does, somehow, make it to us, I'm still not so sure if I'd bite... he's acting a lot like Leaf lately. He needs to shut his mouth from now until April for me to even think about him again.

Locker, I've liked from the get-go. He wouldn't be drafted to start in year one. He has a lot of critics due to accuracy, which are well-deserved, so I can't argue there. He's a project.

The rest of the draft is predicated on infusing new talent to the lineup. The one move I knew people would pick up on was Polite. He's good, no doubt, but he's 30 and he's not really anything more than a blocker.

Henry Hynoski (also from Pitt) compares his game to that of Mike Alstott and is undoubtedly the best fullback in the '11 class. Having watched all of Pitt's games last year, I can tell you this guy can do it all. I can't remember a 3rd or 4th & short where he didn't move the chains. He's also an exceptional lead blocker and receiver out of the backfield. An all-around phenomenal, underrated player. He will add a new dimension to our offense. Below are some of Rhino's highlights.

[video=youtube;0a4x6V31BMQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a4x6V31BMQ[/video]

As for the free agents, the plan was to spend big on the offensive line and then get a bunch of low-key, undervalued offensive guys. I've also been wanting DeAngelo Williams, but thinking about it, if we're going to splurge in free agency, it needs to be on the line.

 

Well there are a lot of free agents.

http://www.kffl.com/static/nfl/features/freeagents/fa.php?option=All&y=2011

If we avoid signing an Asomugha or a D.Williams, that leaves us with tons of cap room. If you spend all of the money on $5 million-and-under guys, you can get a few.

The Redskins, last year, overhauled give or take 40% of their roster. It didn't necessarily work immediately, but I'm sure the Shanahans are working towards something. It's not unprecedented.

Anyway, with this plan, we actually keep 15 out of 22 starters on offense/defense and the special teams unit stays in tact, entirely. That's just starters; I'm not talking about guys who will be displaced, like Crowder and Clemons.

 

At free or strong? There's been some debate on that front.

If strong, that'd make Bell expendable. He's probably almost done (1-2 years?), so it'd be nice to try and get a late-round pick for him.

 

To each his own, I suppose.

If we all had the same point of view and player evaluations, then there'd be no point for this mock :)

 

I can understand peoples' discontent with Locker. Really. I just like him because of dedication; it tells me that he'd be the first guy in practice and the last guy out. He'd be a real leader and if there's any potential that he could fix his accuracy woes, he'd do it... that's in addition to his other-worldly potential, of course.

I'm also the one who started the Kaepernick thread, and in my opinion, got a lot of people here on his bandwagon. I wouldn't be objected to drafting him, but we'd need to sacrifice drafting Ingram OR trade up into the early-mid second, which we might not have the ammunition to do... and if we do, it's a pretty big gamble.

Ryan Mallett intrigues me as well. He's not as mobile as the QBs I like, however, he's a giant. In regards to his combine weigh-in:

His potential is high, but he has several red flags, which may drop him to anywhere between the 2nd and 5th.

Lastly, you need to calm down about Seneca Wallace. He has shown to be a competant starter in both Seattle and Cleveland, both of which have receivers that are on the Roberto Wallace/Marlon Moore level. Furthermore, he can create space with his feet and throw on the run. He's not a flashy playmaker, but he gets the job done. Also, he worked with our offensive coordinator in Cleveland AND he'd only be brought in to play backup to Henne.... so if you have a complaint on that front, file it in one of the many Anti-Henne threads.

 

Thanks. I was actually getting new carpeting, so I was confined to my room and figured this would be a great way to kill the time!

As far as Moses goes; you think so? Do you think he's a better player than Misi? In any case, I hope you're right, because I'd love an in-house option to complement Wake.

I'm not really that high on Brandstater, though. He wasn't really that good in Fresno (in a pretty weak WAC AND riding Ryan Mathews' coattails to the moderate success he DID have) and then in the NFL, he got cut in favor of Brady Quinn and then, Curtis Painter. When his tenure with us began, he couldn't even get on the field amidst all our injuries/QB controversy late-season. I just don't see him as a viable option, even as a backup. As it goes in my mock, I'd prefer Henne, a seasoned vet and a rookie/project

I'm glad you agree on the TT and fullback fronts. I know it was kind of out of left field to some, but if we make that kind of move in the draft, I think we'll be glad we did it a year or two from now.

Lastly, CK and JL, I just addressed in the above response.

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

First and foremost, I'm under the impression that if the CBA is not reached by next Friday (the set deadline), that there will be a lockout, so if it doesn't happen then there's no point to this forum because there won't be football for another 500 days or so. If an agreement IS reached, though, then free agency will immediately begin (its normally scheduled time) and trades will be permitted. Essentially, the NFL will go on as if nothing ever happened.

Moving on; how is Barrett Ruud a journeyman? He was drafted by Tampa 36th overall and has played there for six consecutive years since, the last four of which, he's had 114, 137, 142 and 120 tackles... He's one of the premier ILBs available this year and is one of the most under-appreciated and underrated players in the league.

I don't know why everyone is so high on Tyler Thigpen. The only success he's ever had in the NFL was running a gimmicky offense with Chan Gailey, who suddenly made Ryan Fitzpatrick relevant. That's it. Say what you will about Gailey, but he's got one heck of an offensive mind; if Buffalo gets a hold of Newton, he will be a star... anyway, that's off-topic.

I understand your qualm about Tyrod (I had him not even making the team, actually), so I'm not going to debate you there, but you can't just write off a guy with that much talent.

Lastly, Ronnie is too injury-prone and Ricky has grown old/ineffective (not to mention he sort of burned some bridges with our staff). I think it'd be best to look elsewhere at this point. I love both of them, really.... but last year proved that their train has left the station.

 

Well if we were to do the cuts I suggest, you add another $5 million or so on top of that. That'd allow us to give each free agent approximately $4 million, being that Soliai is factored into your figure and that the rest of the re-signs would be < $1 million.

As it stands now, only 6 guys on our team make more than $4 million annually. Not many football players do.

Out of those free agents (9), I'd bet only Addai, Dahl, Sandlein and MAYBE Moss would require >$4 million.

The rest would probably be ≤ $2 million.