2010 Free Agency and CBA Information

[Ruhskins]

So, as we start to having these threads about the offseason, wish lists, and things that you would do if you were the owner/GM etc., etc., I think it is important for everyone to be informed about how free agency is going to work in the upcoming 2010 uncapped season.

Right now, the owners and the players association have until March 4th to come up with an agreement in order to prevent 2010 from being uncapped. Since every sports pundit and both sides are very pessimistic about a deal in the next month, it seems an uncapped year is going to happen. Here's a good FAQ page from NFL.com about the CBA and how things are going to work out in the uncapped year:

Key questions and answers about the CBA

As far as who's going to be a restricted or unrestricted free agent, ProFootball Weekly has a nice list of RFAs and UFAs based on an uncapped year. A lot of the marquee players that some here are talking about acquiring, are going to be RFAs, and will only depart from their current teams by ways of a trade.

ProFootballWeekly.com - 2010 NFC free-agent preview

ProFootballWeekly.com - 2010 AFC free-agent preview

So if a team wants the likes of Vincent Jackson, Marcus McNeill, Brandon Marshall, or Ronnie Brown, they are going to have to cough up draft picks.

[GMScud]

Good info here from interviews with DeMaurice Smith and Kevin Mawae down at the Super Bowl.

Union leader: NFL lockout in 2011 quite possible - ESPN

[Schneed10]

The big quote from Smith was that if the scale is 1-10, the likelihood of a lockout happening is about a 14.

The economics are such that it's extremely likely we won't see football in 2011.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

The big quote from Smith was that if the scale is 1-10, the likelihood of a lockout happening is about a 14.

The economics are such that it's extremely likely we won't see football in 2011.

It takes a long time to recover from a strike/lockout. Just ask the MLB and NHL. The fans won't forget this anytime soon if they go through with this.

[T.O.Killa]

I saw lots of Gaurd and linebacker options, but best free agent tackle is Levi Jones.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by T.O.Killa

I saw lots of Gaurd and linebacker options, but best free agent tackle is Levi Jones.

Thats unfortunate. I personally think that Daryn Colledge could be a nice find if he's released by Green Bay. They tried him at LT but it didn't work to well. He's been playing Guard since then but I think he's worth the risk of trying him out at RT. He has all the attributes you need for a zone blocking scheme including experience and on a team that needs two or three tackles we need to start stocking up.

I believe the interior will be situated by adding Ben Hamilton and Chris Kuper, it's both tackle spots that worry me.

[Ruhskins]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

Thats unfortunate. I personally think that Daryn Colledge could be a nice find if he's released by Green Bay. They tried him at LT but it didn't work to well. He's been playing Guard since then but I think he's worth the risk of trying him out at RT. He has all the attributes you need for a zone blocking scheme including experience and on a team that needs two or three tackles we need to start stocking up.

I believe the interior will be situated by adding Ben Hamilton and Chris Kuper, it's both tackle spots that worry me.

Well how about this line:

LT Okung
LG Dockery
C Hamilton
RG Kuper
RT L. Jones

Well I don't know if Jones would play RT, maybe we can do what the Ravens did with Oher and put Okung at RT and keep Levi at LT.

[GridIron26]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

Well how about this line:

LT Okung
LG Dockery
C Hamilton
RG Kuper
RT L. Jones

Well I don't know if Jones would play RT, maybe we can do what the Ravens did with Oher and put Okung at RT and keep Levi at LT.

Ts situation would be nice if we could keep Jones, but the bold part would be nicer.. I don't think we should be so determined with G/C yet, they probably would go after them but I'm sure Shanahan would want whoever who plays best, they get the spot.. Rabach and Ed Williams but yes, I know they are not Shanahan's players.. I'm pretty sure they won't be the only other options, Allen probably would try to bring some vet players/rookies in to compete..

[wolfeskins]

here is some info i just came across. i'm not sure if this is NEW to anyone, but here it is:

The key to the Redskins success in 2010 may very well be the NFL's "Final Eight Plan" pertaining to the collective bargaining agreement, which looks like is about to expire. It basically states . . . During the Final League Year, the eight clubs that make the Divisional Playoffs in the previous season have additional restrictions that limit their ability to sign unrestricted free agents from other clubs. In general, the four clubs participating in the championship games are limited in the number of free agents that they may sign; the limit is determined by the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs. They cannot sign any UFAs unless one of theirs is signed by another team. For the four clubs that lost in the Divisional Playoffs, in addition to having the ability to sign free agents based on the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs, they may also sign players based on specific financial parameters. Those four only will be permitted to sign one unrestricted free agent for $5.5 million (estimated) or more in year one of the contract, plus the number of their UFAs who sign with another team. They also can sign any unrestricted free agents for less than $3.7 (estimated) million in year one of the contract with limitations on the per year increases. In the case of all final eight teams, the first year salary of UFAs they sign to replace those lost cannot exceed the first year salary of the player lost with limitations on the per year increases. Without a collective bargaining agreement, teams like Dallas who made the final eight teams cannot go out and sign unrestricted free agents, unless they lose one. The Redskins can go out and sign any unrestricted free agent without any limit. I believe this could be a huge factor in 2010!!!!!

[Schneed10]

Yeah that's old news, but important news. The only trouble is there aren't many high-impact unrestricted free agents available. The guys who are, like Vince Wilfork, will probably end up franchise tagged anyway.

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

The big quote from Smith was that if the scale is 1-10, the likelihood of a lockout happening is about a 14.

The economics are such that it's extremely likely we won't see football in 2011.

Even if the owners decide to go the scab route? I don't know enough about the factors involved in a lockout; if there is one it then prevents any union member from crossing the line, right? Or does it lead to decertification of the union, thus eliminating it?

1987 wasn't a "lockout" correct, just a players strike?

If that 87 scenario happened today, I think a lot of players would cross the line. This era of players, like society as a whole, has more money tied up in investments, luxuries, etc. & not enough saved to maintain their lifestyle. The economy would make it harder for the players these days to liquidate assets too. I think the owners are in a good position.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

Even if the owners decide to go the scab route? I don't know enough about the factors involved in a lockout; if there is one it then prevents any union member from crossing the line, right? Or does it lead to decertification of the union, thus eliminating it?

1987 wasn't a "lockout" correct, just a players strike?

If that 87 scenario happened today, I think a lot of players would cross the line. This era of players, like society as a whole, has more money tied up in investments, luxuries, etc. & not enough saved to maintain their lifestyle. The economy would make it harder for the players these days to liquidate assets too. I think the owners are in a good position.

The players union has for sometime now, been telling the players to put money away. Will all of them, no, but will any with halfway decent accountants - I would think so.

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

The players union has for sometime now, been telling the players to put money away. Will all of them, no, but will any with halfway decent accountants - I would think so.

I'm sure some will be in fine shape, but I bet the majority would be forced to make some significant changes, e.g. sell a house. In this market that's not so easy. By 2011 maybe it will be much better though.

I also think players & their agents are much more aware of their age/ability to earn $. A player that's 28-29 is in a tough spot if he takes a year off. A year off for an older player can of course mean the end of his career. As players are playing longer to earn more $ these days, I think most would not want to strike or sit out a year.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

Well how about this line:

LT Okung
LG Dockery
C Hamilton
RG Kuper
RT L. Jones

Well I don't know if Jones would play RT, maybe we can do what the Ravens did with Oher and put Okung at RT and keep Levi at LT.

I was personally hoping for from of a situation like this.

LT - C. Brown (rookie USC) - L. Jones
LG - D. Dockery - B. Hamilton
C - C. Rabach - E. Williams
RG - C. Kuper - Kory L.
RT - D. Colledge - Jason Fox (rookie Miami)

On this line you need your first name to start with a D or C. No exceptions

I think the thing though that people don't realize is that Rabach is a lot better then people give him credit for and now he's about to enter a system that is virtually tailored to his skillset. Hamilton is a nice guy to have around, thanks to his versatility and experience in a ZBS, but from what I've heard from the Denver fans is that we'd be better off having him around as a backup at this point in his career.

Colledge is the wild card and he's more of a personal preference that I think we could use as a nice audition at RT and a stopgap to get a better tackle prospect next year. Green Bay (who runs a ZBS) initially tried him at LT and he struggled there leading them to move him to Guard. He as all the prereq's you want in a zone blocker but he's had mixed results at the pro level. Nevertheless he's pretty versatile.

Okung would definetely work and he's one of the better sure fire first round tackle prospects to fit in a zone blocking scheme. By the same token I haven't found much evidence that none of them would have trouble fitting (Buluga - Iowa, Campbell - UMD, Davis - Rut, Williams - OU). Personally I hate Davis for the same reason I don't like Iupati in that they both seem to be blatant holders.

Still don't discount those second round tackles. Capers (WVU), Brown (USC), and Ducasse (UMass) would all work here at LT. Also worth mentioning is the fact that with no cap to limit teams from cutting players we could see a few surprises in free agency. Especially players from small market teams who will be looking to unload for the sake of saving money, now that they don't have a salary cap to supplement their income.

Also another second round tackle to look out for could be Indiana's Rodger Safford. He seems to have pretty good footwork and he faired well against top competition.

01/19/2010 - East-West Shrine Tuesday Practice: The matchup between Ole Miss defensive end Greg Hardy and Indiana tackle Roger Saffold was worth the price of the flight to Orlando. Saffold controlled Hardy in most one-on-one drills, eating up a spin move, turning him and allowing him no space in which to work. - Chad Reuter, The Sports Xchange, NFLDraftScout.com

Rodger Saffold, OT, Indiana. Saffold arrived in Orlando with questions about his quickness, athleticism, intensity and strength. From Day 1, he shined on the field. He showed the quickness and athleticism to slide to the corner and cut off edge rushers, keeping his knees bent and blocking with good leverage. Saffold proved he has what it takes to play left tackle in the NFL. He certainly moved into third-round consideration, and he could go as high as the second round with a string of good pre-draft workouts.

The great thing about this draft is the fact there a LOT of options at the tackle position.

[GusFrerotte]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

The big quote from Smith was that if the scale is 1-10, the likelihood of a lockout happening is about a 14.

The economics are such that it's extremely likely we won't see football in 2011.

Screw it. These guys need to accept a major paycut.Only the cream of the crop should be making a million a year, and I am talking about Brady, Manning, etc. It is sad when in the summer of '07 the NFL asked the Federal Govt for $2 billion to cover operating costs. Maybe the idiots need to scale down their operations(hype machine). AS for the economy, hell yeah you won't see any football in 2011, nobody is going to be able to afford to go to a game, or probably won't care since they will be using every moment they are awake trying to survive.