2014 Free Agency

[Gibbons180]

While the month of February is very boring with no football, (painfully boring).. Lets talk Free Agency with it looming closer and closer. Comment a player you think the colts will sign and what their contract will be. Also, if you are bored comment a free agent and any team you think will sign them. We can get through this drought of no football people... hang in there...

[Tracy Denton]

I think any free agents that are brought in will be mid/low tier guys, I don't expect signing a Mack, Byrd, Hardy or Orakpo. I think any signings will be cap friendly ones. Maybe we can get Richie Incognito cheap ? I would like it !!

[coltsfanatic24]

I think we should sign at least 1 big free agent either Mack, Byrd, or Houston. Even if we have to cut Toler and Satele we need an impact player from free agency. 

 

Cherilus was a good signing and Landry was ok but over paying for career backups in RJF, Toler, and Walden didn't work at all. Paying these mid tier guys/low guys will get you mid to low production.

[Jason_]

I think we should sign at least 1 big free agent either Mack, Byrd, or Houston. Even if we have to cut Toler and Satele we need an impact player from free agency. 

 

Cherilus was a good signing and Landry was ok but over paying for career backups in RJF, Toler, and Walden didn't work at all. Paying these mid tier guys/low guys will get you mid to low production.

 

RJF and Walden worked out very well and Toler would have had it not been for injuries.  However he had injury concerns already so his was a higher risk signing.

 

I do agree with you though in that I think at least one impact player will be signed.

[coltsfanatic24]

For the contracts they were given RJF and Walden didn't work well at all imo. Walden wasn't as bad as RJF but he wasn't good either. I still think that RJF contract was the worst given to anyone in the league last year.

 

RJF and Walden worked out very well and Toler would have had it not been for injuries.  However he had injury concerns already so his was a higher risk signing.

 

I do agree with you though in that I think at least one impact player will be signed.

[COLTS449]

Accidental post. Please delete mods.

Edited February 13, 2014 by COLTS449

[COLTS449]

We have several holes to fill, but I would go with Evan Dietrich Smith. Grigs knows we have to fix the line if we ever want to establish a decent run game. EDS could solidify our line.

[Superman]

For the contracts they were given RJF and Walden didn't work well at all imo. Walden wasn't as bad as RJF but he wasn't good either. I still think that RJF contract was the worst given to anyone in the league last year.

 

That's because you're being sensational. 

 

Paul Kruger, Joe Flacco, Mike Wallace, Percy Harvin, Dannell Ellerbe, etc., all much, much, MUCH worse than RJF. Can't believe anyone would complain so much about a solid player on a flexible contract. 

[Dustin]

That's because you're being sensational. 

 

Paul Kruger, Joe Flacco, Mike Wallace, Percy Harvin, Dannell Ellerbe, etc., all much, much, MUCH worse than RJF. Can't believe anyone would complain so much about a solid player on a flexible contract. 

 

Ellerbe especially. Dude got $7MM annually to be one of the worst linebackers in the NFL.

[coltsfanatic24]

All of those players had down years but i would take any of them over RJF. All of the contracts were bad but RJF was a career backup and didn't do anything with the 49ers to earn his contract other then being on a great 49ers defense.

 

That's because you're being sensational. 

 

Paul Kruger, Joe Flacco, Mike Wallace, Percy Harvin, Dannell Ellerbe, etc., all much, much, MUCH worse than RJF. Can't believe anyone would complain so much about a solid player on a flexible contract. 

[Superman]

All of those players had down years but i would take any of them over RJF. All of the contracts were bad but RJF was a career backup and didn't do anything with the 49ers to earn his contract other then being on a great 49ers defense.

 

You're acting like RJF got paid like a star player. He got a small signing bonus and a moderate yearly average. He had a decent year for us, minus the injury. 

 

Compared to those other players, who all got paid like superstars, at or near the top of the league at their positions, well, there is no comparison. I say all of this just to point out that RJF was NOT the worse contract given in the NFL last year, not even close. Not even close to being close.

 

It's your right to overstate how much you dislike RJF and his contract. It's my right to point out that you're being sensational.

[Superman]

Ellerbe especially. Dude got $7MM annually to be one of the worst linebackers in the NFL.

 

$7m signing bonus, first two years guaranteed. And if we're talking about a career backup who got paid because he was a part of a good defense, the discussion begins and ends with Ellerbe, and Kruger is sandwiched in between.

[Dustin]

All of those players had down years but i would take any of them over RJF. All of the contracts were bad but RJF was a career backup and didn't do anything with the 49ers to earn his contract other then being on a great 49ers defense.

 

Right. I'm sure him being on the 49ers was the only reason he had ~9 suiters in free agency.

 

You're basically implying that Grigson didn't do his homework and only signed this guy because he played in San Fran.

[Superman]

Right. I'm sure him being on the 49ers was the only reason he had ~9 suiters in free agency.

 

You're basically implying that Grigson didn't do his homework and only signed this guy because he played in San Fran.

 

Yeah, Grigson can't think beyond the obvious. He makes decisions about individual players on the basis of the team they played with before. 

[coltsfanatic24]

I don't think he did much because Cherilus was the only great signing imo. Every gm makes mistakes but Grigson made more then most, hopefully he'll learn from them and we can get players in FA that can have greater impact.

 

Right. I'm sure him being on the 49ers was the only reason he had ~9 suiters in free agency.

 

You're basically implying that Grigson didn't do his homework and only signed this guy because he played in San Fran.

[Superman]

I don't think he did much because Cherilus was the only great signing imo. Every gm makes mistakes but Grigson made more then most, hopefully he'll learn from them and we can get players in FA that can have greater impact.

 

[Gibbons180]

Last year's FA wasn't the best. EVERY GM makes mistakes. But Grigson is extremely unfairly criticized IMO. G. Cherilus was a great addition. Walden was solid. If you look at Walden's stats in 2013 vs. Freeney's in 2012 at OLB and the difference in pay, you'll see especially salary wise. I think this year he has to get high quality starters and pay them like they should and not the mid-level tier with high quality starter pay approach. But, he must stay smart with the cap knowing A. Luck and T.Y. Hilton and D. Allen. and etc contracts are up soon. I think it should be an exciting off-season.

[COLTS449]

I don't think he did much because Cherilus was the only great signing imo. Every gm makes mistakes but Grigson made more then most, hopefully he'll learn from them and we can get players in FA that can have greater impact.

 

I agree with you in part. RJF was pretty good, but we could have done better. We could have had Shaun Phillips, Desmond Bryant, Darryl Smith, and Brent Grimes on defense, and Matt Slauson at G. Traded down in the draft, picked up Eddie Lacy, Keenan Allen, and Brian Schwenke. There is also no way Grigs could have known the impact some of these guys would go on to have.

[ztboiler]

All of those players had down years but i would take any of them over RJF. All of the contracts were bad but RJF was a career backup and didn't do anything with the 49ers to earn his contract other then being on a great 49ers defense.

 

Being the main rotational piece behind Ray McDonald and Justin Smith, who happen to play a high percentage of snaps, does not make you a career backup, it makes you a desirable trench player that a lot of teams had interest in.  The addition of RJF to our rotation with Redding and Moala made us a better defensive front in 2013 than 2012, and he came on a low guarantee contract in exchange for higher base salary that he'll have to play well to receive....sounds like a good deal for everyone, not the worst signing in the NFL.

[Superman]

I agree with you in part. RJF was pretty good, but we could have done better. We could have had Shaun Phillips, Desmond Bryant, Darryl Smith, and Brent Grimes on defense, and Matt Slauson at G. Traded down in the draft, picked up Eddie Lacy, Keenan Allen, and Brian Schwenke. There is also no way Grigs could have known the impact some of these guys would go on to have.

 

I would have liked to have had the FAs you mentioned, for the most part. But free agency isn't like grocery shopping, where you just pick and choose who you want. Shaun Phillips reportedly wanted to play for SD or Denver; same thing with Louis Vasquez (you don't mention him, but he was rumored to be on our wish list). Desmond Bryant, ehh, considered damaged goods because of his arrest, and he signed for much more than RJF at the same position (bigger signing bonus, more guaranteed, higher average). Grimes was coming off of a serious injury. Smith and Slauson would have been nice to have.

[Track Guy]

From the open market, these are some of the names I'd be eyeing if I was Grigson...

 

OC - Alex Mack, Evan Dietrich-Smith, or Brian De La Puente. We need an upgrade on center, Mack is the best option while EDS and DLP are good players who are probably more realistic with the price tag.

 

DT - Arthur Jones. If I were to make one big signing on defense it would be adding a stud D-lineman rather than a guy like Jarius Byrd. Byrd is one of a few secondary players who could be worth shelling out big money to because he's just that good, but I think Jones will be cheaper and ultimately still bring a ton of value to the team. Linvall Joseph is an option here too but I prefer Jones and I don't think the price tag will vary by too much.

 

OG - Travelle Wharton, Rodger Saffold, Willie Colon, Kevin Boothe, Chad Rinehart, Jon Asomoah, Geoff Schwartz. If we don't address guard in the draft, I think we need to bring in a mid-tier veteran to compete for a starting position and add to depth. I'd prefer one of the first 2 mentioned because they have the ability to swing out to tackle in the unfortunate event that one of the starters goes down, but having any of these guys would help.

 

CB - Tarell Brown. We could just as easily target this position in the draft, but I'd take a serious look at signing a guy like Brown because the market could be down on him as he's got benched and he is 29. But he would be a high quality corner to play opposite Davis. I hope we can retain Davis without going over 7 million per year on him, while Brown would surely be less.