Who doesn’t love a good NFL rumor? There’s not much else going on in the sporting world right now besides regular season NBA and NHL games, so this is the perfect time to start digging through the rumor mill.
It gets even better when the names involved this free agency talk are some of the most talented players in the league. So who are some players that could wind up on new teams next year, now that the franchise tag deadline has passed?
Jimmy Graham
Even before the end of the season, people were already talking about Graham’s impending free agency. After the Saints slapped the franchise tag on him, the rumors surrounding him kind of slowed down, but there is still the possibility that he could leave New Orleans.
The NFL ruled on Monday that Graham’s franchise tag should pay him as a tight end, although Graham was pursuing a wide receiver’s paycheck because of the number of snaps that he played in the slot this season. Plus, it means more money for him.
Since the ruling didn’t go Graham’s way, he has the option to file a grievance, which would force a neutral arbitrator to decide which position Graham should be paid as. If that arbitrator rules that Graham should be a tight end, he could potentially refuse to sign the franchise tender and sit out the 2014 season, which is pretty unlikely but is still a possibility.
The Saints’ franchise tag on him is also non-exclusive, so other teams can still negotiate contracts with Graham. New Orleans does have the right of first refusal, which means they could match any offer given to Graham by another team. If the Saints would choose to not match that offer, the team that does sign Graham has to give up two first-round picks as compensation.
That can get pretty confusing, but with how valuable Graham is, none of these options are out of the question. Even if he gets paid as a tight end, though, it’s hard to see him leaving the Saints and it is even harder to see the Saints allowing him to walk.
Jairus Byrd
Byrd is one of the most sought-after defensive free agents, and also has the largest volume of rumors surrounding him right now.
He wasn’t franchise tagged by the Bills, and he is now an unrestricted free agent. But, according to the Bills’ official website, they are still open to re-singing Byrd.
“We always valued Byrd as a very good player and a player that we wanted to keep and we think we’ve done everything in our efforts to try and keep him,” Buffalo’s general manager Doug Whaley said at a press conference on Monday. “And we’ll still keep trying.”
Byrd is incredibly talented and is going to get some looks from other teams that need help at safety. Among the rumored teams include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (according to Peter King), the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons, who looked awful on defense this year and have a lot of cap room to spend.
There’s definitely the possibility that Byrd returns to Buffalo, but if he is looking for money, there are a lot of other teams out there who can offer him larger contracts than the Bills can.
My favorite right now to land Byrd is the Atlanta Falcons, who were looking at Brian Orakpo before he was tagged by the Redskins but still have over $26 million in cap space. The Falcons will be primarily focusing on defense in free agency and Byrd is one of the top defensive players available right now.
Michael Bennett
Bennett was another defensive player who got passed up during the franchise tag period. The Seattle Seahawk’s defensive end is now an unrestricted free agent, but Bennett is still looking to re-sign or the long term with Seattle, according to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com.
He was one of the better defensive players for the Seahawks, who had the best defense in the league and rode it to a Super Bowl victory, but because of that, his value is inflated.
Pretty much every team could use a pass rusher, and Bennett is one of the best in the league right now, recording 17.5 sacks combined in his last two seasons. Potential suitors include the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have a serious need for pass rushers and have almost $60 million in cap space and the Indianapolis Colts, who need to fill in some gaps on defense despite winning a playoff game this year.
There is also the Cleveland Browns who could be in the hunt. Only two teams have more cap space than Cleveland, and although they already have a strong base on defense, they just released D’Qwell Jackson and could use another pass rushing option.
Given the large number of potential teams who would be interested in Bennett, it would be hard for him to turn away from some of the eventual offers, but the Seahawks are one of the youngest teams in the league, and it would be even harder for him to leave that opportunity behind.
Danny Amendola
Not a free agency rumor, but still worth talking about. After a disappointing year in New England, Amendola could be a trade piece for New England by the end of the month. Amendola was supposed to be Wes Welker’s replacement, but he battled a groin injury all year and was generally a disappointment.
Part of his contract could become guaranteed if he is still on the roster by 4 p.m. on March 11, and the Patriots could try to avoid that by trading him, according to The Boston Globe and Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report. By the end of the season, Amendola had fallen out of favor with Tom Brady, but cutting him would cost the Pats too much in cap space.
If he is traded, New England could use the money they save to re-sign free agent Julian Edelman, who had a much better season than Amendola. He had two much better seasons with the St. Louis Rams, so some teams could hope that he would put up similar numbers if he can stay healthy.
There are no teams floating around right now that might be interested in making a deal with New England, but this could be an interesting name to keep an ear out for.