Free Agency and Trades movements.

minty16

Definitely agree with that. He was a pro-bowler in 2007, thats not too long ago. His production has been poor for two years, but I certainly would still consider him elite. T.O is two or three years older than him and he is still going. A change of scenery is just what TH needs.

eagle eye

Huge trade now, Gonzalez to the Falcons for a second round pick next year.

Matt Ryan might go over 4000 yards this season with this signing.

I'm surprised the Chiefs let him go, the rumours of a very unhappy Gonzalez were clearly true. He acted very professionally as always though, no media hype about this situation.

Hazys

eagle eye wrote: »

Huge trade now, Gonzalez to the Falcons for a second round pick next year.

Matt Ryan might go over 4000 yards this season with this signing.

I'm surprised the Chiefs let him go, the rumours of a very unhappy Gonzalez were clearly true. He acted very professionally as always though, no media hype about this situation.

I think this works for both teams. A 2nd rounder for a vetern is a nice bit of compo for a team that is rebuilding. Gonzalez is a great player but he wont be the difference of the Chiefs making and not making the playoffs in the next 2 years because their chances are slim, and after that hes retired.

It seems a small bit steep for the Falcons, i would have thought a 3rd rounder would have been fair, but it gives them a playmaker for the next 2 years to make them a serious offensive threat

Sea Devils

Makes the Falcons a lot better.He is a consistent target that will take lots of pressure off of Ryan especially in the Red Zone and combined with Rodnet White coming through at WR and their dual backfield they could well have a top 10 Offense.

It may be a high price to pay but from a Falcons point of view it's probably worth it.

tallaghtoutlaws

Sea Devils wrote: »

Makes the Falcons a lot better.He is a consistent target that will take lots of pressure off of Ryan especially in the Red Zone and combined with Rodnet White coming through at WR and their dual backfield they could well have a top 10 Offense.

It may be a high price to pay but from a Falcons point of view it's probably worth it.

Great signing by the Falcons in my opinion. Something the Falcons have cried out for is a competant TE and in Gonzalez they get that and more. It opens up their passing game alot more and Gonzalez is a decent blocker also.

Cant wait to see my two favourite QBs in Foxboro now in Sept.

Hazys

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

Cant wait to see my two favourite QBs in Foxboro now in Sept.

Ya same here, Matt Gutierrez and Chris Redman are legends

jdgryffudd

a 2nd round pick is too much for a 33 year old, unless they get 2-3 pro bowl years out of him. an escalator would have worked better for me like Favre last year.......2nd if he has a 1000 yard season, 3rd if he doesnt.

great deal for the Chiefs though, Scott Pioli loves 2nd rounders coz you get top players on more reasonable salaries, just look at how he treated them in New England

anyone else feel the Falcons got first refusal of Gonzales because of Dimitrioff and Pioli's relationship in New England? same as the Cassell and Vrabel trade.......wouldnt be suprised if there was a couple more trades between these 3 teams this weekend

tallaghtoutlaws

jdgryffudd wrote: »

a 2nd round pick is too much for a 33 year old, unless they get 2-3 pro bowl years out of him. an escalator would have worked better for me like Favre last year.......2nd if he has a 1000 yard season, 3rd if he doesnt.

I dont know the Falcons have gained in this one. Gonz has been looking for someone to throw him the ball and the falcons have been looking for a TE. In fairness to gonz the chiefs havent been at all good in the last few years making Gonz production rate less than it was in previous years. Ryan with a short option is going to be a good thing for the Falcons. And being 33 means fook all if Gonz can stil produce and many believe he can. He still is a strong blocker and as a TE you dont need blistering speed so it will be a good fit for both.

jdgryffudd

definetly, having Ryan rather then Croyle or Thigpen throwing to you will really help the numbers, plus having a genuine number 1 reciever other then yourself will mean more space for him and other recievers, there is no doubting how good he is even at his age

i just think a 2nd round pick is a little bit of a reach, the Giants said no to that last November when we really could have done with him and i agreed with that

Kansas got Vrabel AND Cassel for the 34th overall pick this year, so the 55th pick for just the Gonz is a little rich

i also dont see how the Chiefs have gained out of all of this unless Vrabel teaches all the linebackers to be good and Cassel proves to be more then a system quarterback..............because if not the Chiefs lost the Gonz and gained Cassel and Vrabel and moved down 21 places in the 2nd round

tallaghtoutlaws

jdgryffudd wrote: »

i also dont see how the Chiefs have gained out of all of this unless Vrabel teaches all the linebackers to be good and Cassel proves to be more then a system quarterback..............because if not the Chiefs lost the Gonz and gained Cassel and Vrabel and moved down 21 places in the 2nd round

Well I didnt actually say anything about Kansas gaining. When I said good fit for both I meant player and club. Kansas have a huge hill to climb either way and need to be very smart with their draft picks to benefit having Vrabel and Cassel. Vrabel offers them experience and will mold any younger LB into shape and Cassel is a system QB and you can be sure Pioli has thrown his weight around to implement a new system. And between Pioli and Haley im sure their system will benefit Cassel. Losing Gonz doesnt affect Cassel much as when at the Patriots he barely used his TE unlike his mentor Brady.

But Kansas are most definitely gambling on the draft and Pioli fixin their problems. Only time will tell.

Karlusss

Obviously Kansas City figured that they would cash in on a player who has been unhappy for a number of years but too loyal to blow up like Chad Johnson or whoever. That's commendable I think.

But as for picks being better than players for a rebuilding team - why did they take on Zach Thomas and Mike Vrabel then? I thought KC were going to have a go at actually winning a bit this year.

frostie500

Last year the Eagles offered a third for TG and the trade was rejected so the Chiefs got a pretty good deal on this one.
As far as the Falcons are concerned this fills a position of need that they either would have filled in the first round with Brendon Pettigout the OSU Tightend or else picked up a lesser talent in the later rounds. Cant see it being too bad for the Falcons all in to be honest.

Sea Devils

It's official, The Edge has been released by the Cardinals like expected.

Hightower and Beanie Wells will be sharing the load. I think Edgerrin should be on a team before the season starts, but as a backup. Rumours are that the Saints have made an approach for James already

Also, seems like the Steelers are trying to trade Larry Foote, or cut him if not. Wouldn't be a bad pickup for a team in need of a vet at LB, and probably won't cost more than a 6th or 7th rounder in next year's draft

Neil3030

Seahawks have agreed to terms with fullback Justin Griffith and cornerback Ken Lucas.

eagle eye

Patriots sign TE Alex Smith from Tampa Bay Bucs for an as yet undisclosed draft pick in 2010. I think there is more to this than just signing a tight end, its adds depth in the position but I feel thats not the reason for the trade.

Hazys

eagle eye wrote: »

Patriots sign TE Alex Smith from Tampa Bay Bucs for an as yet undisclosed draft pick in 2010. I think there is more to this than just signing a tight end, its adds depth in the position but I feel thats not the reason for the trade.

More to this trade? What are you eluding to Eagle Eye, do tell?

Alex Smith looks like a nice pickup, I wonder what the compensation was? but i guess we wont know that till the week of the 2010 draft...damn ur secrecy BB! Along with the pickup of Chris Baker both have a good mix of receiving and blocking skills could see the end to David Thomas and Ben Watson as Patriots.

I always thought Watson never lived upto his rep as a first round pick, a solid player but not great. Thomas i felt had great potential especially after the Jags game where he had over 100yrds receiving but injuries and lack of form have hampered his career. Both their contracts end after this season.

We have 6TEs at d mo i dont see us having 6 for training camp and no more than 3 to make the roster so it'll be interesting to see who will make the team.

ReacherCreature

Hazys wrote: »

Alex Smith looks like a nice pickup, I wonder what the compensation was? but i guess we wont know that till the week of the 2010 draft...damn ur secrecy BB! Along with the pickup of Chris Baker both have a good mix of receiving and blocking skills could see the end to David Thomas and Ben Watson as Patriots.

Always been a fan of Thomas, would like to see him stick around.

Karlusss

I think the pick for Smith was a fifth in 2010, which is one of the picks they gave up for Winslow.

Sea Devils

Here we go again. Not surprising, but nevertheless, something to talk about. It looks like Farve may be coming out of retirement... again, and all fingers point towards him playing for the Vikings.

Royal Seahawk

Sea Devils wrote: »

Here we go again. Not surprising, but nevertheless, something to talk about. It looks like Farve may be coming out of retirement... again, and all fingers point towards him playing for the Vikings.

And why not. If a team is willing to sign him and pay him and if they believe he can still do a job then more power to him i reckon.

His legacy is assured, he personally has nothing to lose.

Karlusss

Sage Rosenfels is delighted with his latest career move, I'd say.

Sea Devils

Raiders sign FB Lorenzo Neal to a one year deal as well as Free Agent RB Gary Russell.

The Chicago Bears came to terms Monday on a one-year contract with tight end Michael Gaines, who spent last season playing for Detroit.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed FA QB Todd Bouman. He had previously been on the Jags roster in 2007, and spent 2008 with the Baltimore Ravens

The Cincinnati Bengals acquired Brian Leonard in a trade with the St. Louis Rams on Thursday. The Rams got reserve defensive tackle Orien Harris in the deal

Hazys

Jason Taylor resigns with the Dolphins on a 1yr $1.1m deal.

Damn really thought he has going to sign with the Patriots, we badly need some OLB pass rushers

tallaghtoutlaws

Hazys wrote: »

Jason Taylor resigns with the Dolphins on a 1yr $1.1m deal.

Damn really thought he has going to sign with the Patriots, we badly need some OLB pass rushers

Peppers will fit better into the Pats system as an Pass Rushing OLB.

Hazys

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

Peppers will fit better into the Pats system as an Pass Rushing OLB.

We cant afford him, we only have $4m in cap space and still have to sign our 12 draft picks.

Sea Devils

Good deal for the Fins. Basically means they loaned Taylor for one season to Washington in exchange for a 2nd and 6th round pick (the 2nd was Pat White). Should be a nice fit as a situational pass rusher

tallaghtoutlaws

Hazys wrote: »

We cant afford him, we only have $4m in cap space and still have to sign our 12 draft picks.

Those Rookies will only eat up 1.5m of that remaining 4m which actually stands at 4.5m right now. Also I can see some of the older heads signing longer contracts to free up some cap space also. I found the below which explains the rookie contracts better oh and not all 12 of those rookies will be signed. a few of them usually get cut.

The rookie contracts that will impact the Patriots CAP will be Chung, Bulter, Brace, Vollmer, Tate, and possibly Mckenzie. The others will not meet the roughly 500K top 51 cut off, and their signing bonuses will be minimal especially since they will be pro-rated.

The total additional top 51 CAP hit for the 5-6 players mentioned above should be around 1.5 million. This is because they will be replacing the bottom 5-6 players who are already counting 400-500K against the CAP. The pro-rated roster bonuses for the other picks they sign should'nt count more than 300K. So my estimate of an additional 1.8 million dollar CAP hit is very close to "STI"s.

This would leave the Patriots close to 3 million in CAP space to sign a LB via future trade or CAP casualty. However, the Patriots generally carry about 3 million in CAP space for emergency in season signings. Which can be gained by extensions, restructuring, or cutting a player like Dave Thomas (If they carry three TE's) resulting in a net savings of roughly 700K toward the CAP.

Chucky the tree

What do Pats plan on giving up? Next years first at least or some players?

tallaghtoutlaws

Chucky the tree wrote: »

What do Pats plan on giving up? Next years first at least or some players?

I would imagine a 1st round and 4rd round pick. Knowing the Pats they will trade their way through next years draft again anyway.

Sea Devils

A few notes

:Brandon Marshall requests a trade. Smart move from his perspective because his contract expires after next year and he knows he's gonna be franchised, so he's already working to avoid it

:Vikings trainers have met with Farve to give him tips for his shoulder. Still no word when he'll be ready.

: Plaxico's chance at playing in 2009 looks extremely slim. Teams are still waiting on what Goodell will do to discipline him, but at the same time, Goodell could be waiting to punish him til after the trial... which was pushed to September.

: LB Greg Ellis signs with the Raiders. Nice player. I don't really get why Dallas cut him, but hey, all the better for Oakland. Should still give them a couple of decent seasons.