St. Louis Rams
Tuesday was the first official day in free agency and the Rams were extremely quiet. The two biggest things that involved the Rams were letting offensive tackle Rodger Saffold walk, which was a very wise decision in my opinion, and exercising the team option on Robert Quinn’s contract. They also cut offensive guard Harvey Dahl to save $4 million in cap space. Like I said, the Rams have been very quiet on the first day of free agency. If you’re a Rams fan, don’t panic. Usually it’s the teams with the least sexy free agent runs that turn out to be the winners here.
San Francisco 49ers
The big news in San Francisco is the departure of strong safety Donte Whitner and the subsequent signing of his replacement, Antoine Bethea. This was one of the more talked about story lines so far this offseason for the 49ers. Bethea is a very good replacement for Whitner. He is an exceptional locker room guy, great tackler, and very smart. It allows the 49ers a little more wiggle room in the draft too and he will be an excellent person for a young safety to learn under. Some news that didn’t get much hype but is absolutely a big deal is the re-signing of kicker Phil Dawson. Another under the radar move on Tuesday was the re-signing of cornerback Eric Wright.
Speaking of cornerbacks, the 49ers still remain in play for another cornerback and, due to the soft market at that position, could very well end up re-signing Tarell Brown. If they don’t go that route, Charles Tillman is still very much in play. The 49ers were busy doing more than signing free agents on Tuesday, they were busy making trades to add depth. They traded a 6th-round draft pick to the Jaguars for quarterback Blaine Gabbert and traded a conditional 7th-round draft pick for offensive tackled Jonathan Martin from the Dolphins. Also today they officially cut cornerback Carlos Rogers.
Tuesday was a very unusual first day for the 49ers in free agency. Usually they wait days, even weeks, to make significant moves. But this year they were making moves from the start (the Bethea deal was done in the first hour of free agency). We’ll see how this approach turns out for them.
Arizona Cardinals
The biggest need for the Cardinals this offseason is their offensive line. Tuesday they paid a lot of money to start fixing that by signing offensive tackle Jared Veldheer. While adding to their offensive line, linebacker Karlos Dansby left for the Cleveland Browns. They also lost third wide receiver Andre Roberts. Earlier this week they were able to re-sign kicker Jay Feely. There hasn’t been much news about potential signings for the Cardinals, but the one player that Arizona is reportedly “in play” for is outside linebacker Mike Neal. They are also expected to look into DeMarcus Ware but Arizona doesn’t seem to be a likely landing spot for Ware. But the fact that they’re looking into these pass rushers tells me they might be looking to address their pass rush in the early rounds of the draft this year.
Seattle Seahawks
A few days ago there were reports that Michael Bennett was set on testing the market in free agency, but the Seahawks ended that talk by getting him to sign a new deal on Monday. Some guys that did end up leaving Seattle during free agency so far were linebacker O’Brien Schofield and defensive lineman Clinton McDonald. Another defensive lineman the Seahawks have been speaking to and have brought in for a visit is defensive tackle Jason Hatcher, perhaps to replace Red Bryant. Another person the Seahawks are rumored to be looking at is defensive end Jared Allen. Adding him to that pass rush is a scary thought for the rest of the league. The Seahawks could stand to get better at tight end this season and one person they are looking to bring in to do just that is Jermichael Finley. If he can play and stay healthy, that would be a very good addition to start their title defense. I look for Seattle to make some more moves as we go forward, although most of their moves go unheralded. But rest assured, those unheralded moves usually pay dividends when all is said and done.