Why no interest in Kelly or Villanueva in FA?

[BProland85]

I still wonder why Ballard and this front office has shown zero interest in either OT Dennis Kelly or Alejandro Villanueva in free agency.

 

They are certainly better options than both Tevi and Davenport who were signed. Not to mention at this point they wouldn’t cost much at all to sign them. 

[Zoltan]

I would say we don't know if we have contacted certain free agents our front office is pretty quiet. As for Villanueva it seems him and the Ravens already have a deal in place, just waiting after the draft to sign.

[TomDiggs]

33 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

I still wonder why Ballard and this front office has shown zero interest in either OT Dennis Kelly or Alejandro Villanueva in free agency.

 

They are certainly better options than both Tevi and Davenport who were signed. Not to mention at this point they wouldn’t cost much at all to sign them. 

My guess is multi-fold:

 

1) Age:....Tevi and Davenport are both 26. Villanueva and Kelly are 32 and 31 

 

2) Cost: We spent $990K on Davenport (max) and $2.5M max on Tevi. While Kelly or Villanueva may come relatively cheap at this stage in the game, they are both likely starters and wouldn't be $2M cheap. My guess is Villanueva will still command some coin on a 1 year deal. Maybe at least 3x what we paid Tevi and likely closer to 4x-5x even this late in the game

 

3) Draft: Why pay any kind of a premium for a starter....even a one year starter....if you are hopeful to take advantage of a deep rookie OL class at a cheaper rate. If we signed a "bridge" vet then that rookie doesn't get the reps and experience needed. Most likely we will throw them into the fire and the signings are depth only. We wouldn't pay the going rate for Villanueva for depth. Maybe Kelly but even then I am not sure.

 

At the end of the day my guess is that Ballard looks at this as we head into the Draft and see what we get. If value doesn't net us a viable starter in the Draft then we turn our attention to whats still out there (Villanueva, Okung, Schwartz, Fisher)

 

I personally would love to grab Fisher, but he may not help right away.

 

He would be a guy I'd love to sign to a one year deal after drafting a rookie (maybe in the second). Let the rookie play. If he plays well we never have to rush Fisher back and he gets healthy and is amazing depth mid-year and could even start if we shuffle the line eventually to get the best 5 out there. And if he leaves in the off-season it is because the rookie worked out. If the rookie struggles, Fisher is there when healthy to step in.

 

Doubt it happens but a guy can dream lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OhioColt]

A lot has to do with the Vetted players and signing them before the draft with regards to losing future compensation picks.  Teams are more likely to wait until after the said trade deadline post NFL draft to keep compensation picks.

[DownHillRunner]

2 hours ago, BProland85 said:

I still wonder why Ballard and this front office has shown zero interest in either OT Dennis Kelly or Alejandro Villanueva in free agency.

 

They are certainly better options than both Tevi and Davenport who were signed. Not to mention at this point they wouldn’t cost much at all to sign them. 

 

Age is a primary factor that determines who Ballard signs. One of the reasons why he hasn't brought back Justin Houston. 

[Jackie Daytona]

15 hours ago, BProland85 said:

I still wonder why Ballard and this front office has shown zero interest in either OT Dennis Kelly or Alejandro Villanueva in free agency.

 

They are certainly better options than both Tevi and Davenport who were signed. Not to mention at this point they wouldn’t cost much at all to sign them. 

AV, age and he'll get a longer deal than Ballard wants him for likely....also he's a very one dimensional blocker.....now, he does that one thing much better than any of our current OT have ever demonstrated, but it still is only one thing.....and the other he pretty much sucks at