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| Wes Welker was introduced as a member of the Denver Broncos this week. Photo credit to ESPN. |
As I promised last week, I will continue my weekly updates
even as I continue to be counted on to cover Maryland basketball for ACC Battles. Speaking of which, if you are an ACC fan, be sure to check out the
site.
The biggest news of this past week was of course free
agency, so that’s my focus today.
Major Additions
The biggest names among free agent signings this past week
were the wide receivers. Peyton Manning already has two young receivers who are
beginning to make their mark on the league, but now he has a seasoned veteran
already used to playing with one of the all-time greats as the Broncos signed
Wes Welker.
Greg Jennings felt “wanted” in Minnesota, so the Vikings
signed their former division rival and the Patriots, to replace Welker, signed
former Ram Danny Amendola.
Steven Jackson considered retirement, but found a home in
Atlanta. The Falcons still have Jacquizz Rodgers, so they will share the load
which should definitely help Jackson last a few more years in the league.
Former Lion Cliff Avril landed in Seattle as they want to
bolster their defensive front and the Vikings found some potential competition
for Christian Ponder by signing Matt Cassel, who was released by the Chiefs
after Kansas City got Alex Smith.
Reports came out last night that Jake Long, who was
considering returning to Miami, decided to accept a deal from St. Louis, which
Sam Bradford must be ecstatic about.
Trying to Get it
Right
The Dolphins and Browns have not been particularly competitive
in my lifetime. I became aware of sports as Dan Marino’s career wound down and
they have only had a couple of decent seasons since. The Browns just haven’t
been good since Baltimore took their original team.
Both teams are trying to get it right and have been big
players in free agency so far.
The Dolphins added Mike Wallace to complement Brian Hartline
and give Ryan Tannehill a much needed second option. A bigger emphasis has been
placed on defense so far. Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler were added to
their linebacker corps and they brought back safety Chris Clemons. Expect them
to continue to play their hand.
The Browns made several nice additions, but none better than
on their defensive front. End Paul Kruger and Tackle Desmond Bryant were signed
on the first day of free agency as Cleveland appears to be building around the
defensive line. I’d like to see them emphasize the offense, but maybe they’re
going about this as a multi-year project, which isn’t a bad idea when you’re as
bad as the Browns.
High Profile Trades
Last week it was Chiefs acquisition of Alex Smith via trade
with San Francisco. The NFC West again worked some deals this week. Anquan
Boldin was likely going to be released by Baltimore. Instead, San Francisco
managed to convince the Ravens to give him up for a sixth round pick as the
49ers did some nice thrift shopping.
Seattle preceded that move by trading for Percy Harvin. The
Seahawks are going to be dangerous this year and these two teams are making it
even harder for St. Louis and Arizona to have any chances of digging their way
out of the abyss.
Fax Fiasco
The Broncos were seething, Elvis Dumervil was seething, and
Dumervil’s agent was looking for anywhere to pass blame until he was fired just
hours after huge mistake caused Dumervil to land in free agency.
Elvis Dumervil has just signed a contract to stay with
Denver when suddenly it all came undone. Apparently the fax with his signed
contract did not reach the Denver offices until minutes after the 4 p.m.
deadline, causing Dumervil to become a free agent. This is a huge loss from a
Denver defense already in need of some patchwork. This is a big step back that
will be difficult to fully recover from this offseason.
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