Free Agent News--other teams

[Scout]

Honestly it is better to draft guards than to sign in free agency. You can sign a vet in free agency for a very low deal but those type of players are borderline near the level of the guards you can draft. Those veteran guards just have more experience but the cap use can be better used in other positions that are harder to address through the draft with limited draft selections (eg OT, CB, pass rusher).

 

[bileever]

I know folks thought highly of Damien Lewis, but that O-line wasn't good last year. He was ranked #37 among guards, which only puts him in the middle of the pack. And even though run blocking was supposed to be his thing, he had a run block grade of 57.9, which is not good.

 

[CactusJack]

 

[nanomoz]

That's waaaaaay too much money for Lewis. I'm so glad the Hawks didn't pay him like that. But good for him.

 

[Lagartixa]

And 30mil a year on avg - what is that about 1/5 of the cap - holy spherical objects

$30M/$255.4M ≈ 0.1175 = 11.75% of the cap, or between 1/9 and 1/8 of the cap.

 

[Atradees]

Damien Lewis is getting more than $13m per year. That's absurd.

I'm glad they didn't match it.

That was a crazy overpay. Seems were making different decisions. GOOD

 

[MyrtleHawk]

LMFAO @ Panthers. They went from turning down 2 1sts and a 2nd round draft pick last year to getting a 2nd and 5th this year. What a dumbass decision to make.

 

[Scout]

The Panthers lacked draft capital which forced their hand to improve their interior OL and take as much draft compensation for Burns. The NFCS features a division with some tough front sevens up front. Canales understands that to compete against a division that features players like Warner, Demario Davis, Vita Vea, Jarett, Onyematta, etc. they need to shore up their trenches.

 

[GemCity]

LMFAO @ Panthers. They went from turning down 2 1sts and a 2nd round draft pick last year to getting a 2nd and 5th this year. What a dumbass decision to make.

Some major screw ups..,

 

[Scout]

The Panthers are paying for the mistakes from previous FO/Coaches but I think they might be compounding those mistakes. Still with the extra draft capital they can still build a team. But with free agency their goal is to fix the offense first obviously which is what Canales is trying to do.

Evero is one of the best defensive coaches in the league. But given that the Panthers have unloaded most of the defensive players they stocked up on the last 3-5 years that is a challenge. The challenge will be that they have to add talent to that front seven so Evero can do his work. Right now Evero's defensive squad looks like an XFL lineup.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Still laughing about that Lewis contract. That kind of money for an average Guard? No thx.
The Panthers actually drank the bong water.

 

[SeaWolv]

The guard contracts are asinine. I'm staunchly against all of this Hawkblogger-pushed IOL fetishism. These guards are simply not worth what these contracts are going for, at all. 4/53 for Dame Lewis? I LIKE HIM, and even I can admit he's basically a few notches above replacement level. You can get 80% of his play for pennies on the dollar with baseline competent coaching!

The real acquisition is a good OL coach and a QB who doesn't sell their OL out. That's how you get an OL. (Well... you may need to invest at tackle.)

I wouldn't pay a single guard above rookie contract/vet min until this market corrects. Keep drafting them, keep bringing in fringe guys to compete, and push the money elsewhere.

Yeah when you look at the PFF tracker linked just your post you can see the teams overpaying these guys and the teams that aren't. The Rams and Panthers are screwing the rest of the league and themselves with these overpriced signings.

 

[Bear-Hawk]

Anyone know the quality of Chicago's O-Line?

Because if Waldron actually makes a run-game work there, after what we had going on here the last two years (especially last)... SMH.

Bears still have a big hole at center. I wanted Cushenberry, but people on the Bears forum think he wasn’t worth the cost. The Titans obviously disagree.

 

[Mistashoesta]

 

[Mistashoesta]

 

[Mistashoesta]

 

[Mistashoesta]

 

[Mistashoesta]

 

[Mistashoesta]

 

[SoulfishHawk]

good pickup for them