The new NFL season began with a flurry of activity in the early evening Tuesday as 28 free agents quickly agreed to deals with new teams. That might not seem like a lot considering the 477 players who are currently listed as free agents according to the NFL, but if you trying to keep up with all of the action it has been a blur. Let’s break down some of the bigger deals that were inked over the first two days and see what fantasy impact they will have this Fall.
Jets Add Decker
I can only hope that fantasy football players are smarter then to believe that Eric Decker will be able to post similar numbers in New York with Geno Smith as he did in Denver with Peyton Manning. Decker signed a five year $36.25 million deal with $15 million guaranteed. While this is less than he was originally asking for, this is still a lot of money for a player that isn’t a difference maker. It is strange how certain teams just cannot identify elite talent and seem to run their franchises like a bad fantasy owner. Decker is not a top 20 WR in 2014.
The Golden Child
The more I think about it the more I do not hate the Lions signing Golden Tate. Tate is an underrated WR mostly because Seattle just wasn’t a passing team. He is going to have ample opportunity now in single coverage for the Lions to amass quite a bit of catches and yards.
New Sheriff In Tampa
Not only did the Bucs sign Josh McCown to a two year $10 million deal, head coach Lovie Smith has made it known that the journeyman QB will be his QB1 in 2014. For that kind of money they could have bought Marc Trestman too!!
Just For Clarification
Difference makers and franchise type players are not let go by two different teams in consecutive years while in their prime. Darrelle Revis is a great cornerback but isn’t worth the type of money the Jets paid him two seasons ago. This is further proven by the Patriots only giving him a one year deal.
I Am So Happy
Anybody who has listened to my rants on SiriusXM radio knows that I despise watching Steve Smith pretend to play football every week. He was once an inspirational little man playing a big man position and doing it well. For the past three seasons now he has been what Panthers GM Dave Gettleman described Wednesday as a “distraction.”
The Browns Are Completely Lost
While the signings of Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner you would think that the Browns really helped out their ailing defense. But when you factor in $24 million for Dansby, when you already had D’Qwell Jackson it just isn’t a big upgrade. Jackson is three years younger and would have cost nearly half of what Dansby got.
Safety Donte Whitner comes over after resurrecting his career with the 49ers. But even he comes as the expense of T.J. Ward who again is younger and would have cost the Browns less money. These moves are just plain erratic and screams of a franchise who doesn’t even know what its identity is right now.
Odd’s & End’s
I truly thought that the Raiders franchise couldn’t get any worse than when Al Davis was running the team while obviously not of sound mind but I was wrong. His son Mark Davis is a complete and utter failure and running a football team. Everything they do is absolutely terrible and screams of people who don’t know the first thing about the game of football.
The Ravens keeping Jacoby Jones with a four year $14 million deal is solid. Jones is a playmaker and those aren’t easy to find especially at this price.
The Broncos are completely mortgaging their future in order to get a Super Bowl ring while Peyton Manning is still around. The DeMarcus Ware signing along with Aqib Talib were perfect moves for a defense that is allowed to play with its ears pinned back thanks to the big leads they have been given. When Manning retires the Broncos will still owe a lot of elderly players a lot of money however.
The Cardinals signed Jonathan Dwyer to a one year contract on Tuesday. Is it just mandatory to have an obese RB in Arizona or something? This move makes no real sense to me and I have always liked Dwyer.