Ghost of Rob Johnson

Tweet from Glazer: Jay_Glazer RT @SuperEARLII: @AdamSchefter @alexmarvez @blekas @CoachBillick @Jay_Glazer Whats the interest out there for poslusny?>He'll sign w Jags Seems like it's more opinion than anything, but sounding like he's a goner.

Pats traded for Moss, Branch, and Welker. I don't really consider 35 year old Fred Taylor a big signing nor Sammy Morris. I guess maybe Adalius Thomas in 2007? The Bills didn't say they wouldn't sign anyone, just that they wouldn't be active in the first few days spending big money. Almost replicating exactly what the Patriots have been doing the past few years. Other good teams do it also. Rosters from San Diego, Pittsburgh & Green Bay are all almost entirely made up of draft picks. Not coincidentally Nix and Whaley came here from two of those teams.

Not attacking your entire post, but who are the big name, marquee free agents that the Pats have signed recently? It's more typically name players in the twilight of their career signed on the cheap.

Big splashes cost unwarranted money: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/26/charles-johnson-stays-with-panthers-gets-32-million-guaranteed/ Ridiculous, $12.6M per season

Between the rookies, UDFAs, Poz & Florence you're probably talking at least $20M. Another $10M or so to 3 or 4 UFAs.

But it's 8 guys, so for the total draft class you're probably looking at around $11M total.

How much is Dareus and the rest of the rookies going to get?

Has there been any updates on Urbik's injury?

No, you cannot still franchise him, the period for doing so has passed. If he did would he be wrong?

He was given the Franchise Tag by the Steelers, he's not even available.

I agree, I don't think Gailey's offense features a pass catching TE, and that Spaeth is exactly the type of guy he looks for. Plus there is the Whaley connection to Pittsburgh, and Buffalo would be a nice destination for him to give him the opportunity to start. Something he hasn't had with the Steelers.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Ans76TQQihkiCTOEX9fttoNDubYF?slug=jc-cole_2011_nfl_free_agents_tracker_072511 Poz at #23, Whitner at #49.

The Bills did cut Stroud pre-lockout, does that make them faster than the Ravens?

He plays safety, not sure where you expect him to tackle the runner. Based on the attempted signing of Bob Sanders and OJ Atogwe my guess is the Bills take the money they were offering to Whitner and sign another SS to start. Eric Weddle perhaps?

Not with reverting back to the old rules, 4 years of service gains UFA. It was 6 last year without a CBA.

Is it possible that this is the way Buddy Nix feels is best in building a team, rather than the team just being cheap? Looking at the Chargers (Where Nix came from) and the Steelers (Whaley), there doesn't appear to be any big ticket free agent signings on either team.

I disagree, but if that is believed to be the case wouldn't that give less reason to sign a DE like Jenkins? Hindering a young players development to sign a 30 year old to a long term contract doesnt make sense either. And I really don't thnk Jenkins is that large of an upgrade over Edwards.

Around week 4 or 5 - definately.

They could probably be at or near the floor by just resigning Poz, Florence & their rookies.

He had an injury in 2009 that opened the door for Oher at LT. During the offseason they declared that Oher was their LT and Gaither would be moving to RT. He then held out of camps due to his being unhappy about this move. He ended up injuring his back and being placed on IR before playing a down last season. He has an injury history with back and neck issues, and also a history of being kind of a head case. And also has refused to play RT for one of the better teams in the league.

I wouldn't really consider Gaither a high caliber player. There's a reason he was talked of in trade rumors last offseason, and he didn't play last year due to injury.

Wilson signed a 3 year extension before the lockout.

"There also was a problem with some of the NFLPAs complaints. For instance, Smith expressed concern that the owners had agreed on a new revenue-sharing plan on how to split money among teams. While Smith can express concern, its not the business of the NFLPA how the owners split the money they get among themselves. The NFLPA gets to only negotiate what its share of the overall pie can be." http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AsjZkVvEdJnwHZbpEDWpJApDubYF?slug=jc-cole_nflpa_cba_goodell_evans_smith072111

Altogether? I had read they were trying to force the player to apply for comp in the state in which the injury occured, rather than in states where the comp laws are more beneficial for the employee (supposedly California). http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/06/13/nfl-players-prefer-pursuing-workers-compensation-claims-in-california

They voted and approved the CBA.