K.C. KEEPS CASEY PLUS 2, SOME BIG NAMES CUT, BUT NOT AS FRENZIED AS I EXPECTED
Right off the bat Scott Pioli did a very smart thing for the Chiefs, he worked out a 1-year deal with center Casey Wiegmann. The veteran, thru his agent, told Kansas City he wanted to play one more season, but only with the Chiefs. With 2nd round pick Rodney Hudson, the center of the future, missing all of the off-season training & classroom time, it would've been difficult for him to start opening day. Now he can learn behind one of the league's better pivots. Also agreeing to new contracts were cornerback Travis Daniels & wide receiver & special teams ace, Terrance Copper. Kent Babb of The Kansas City Star reported tonight the Chiefs were close to agreements with defensive lineman Shaun Smith & safety Jon McGraw. Since I voiced my support for Wiegmann, Copper, Smith & McGraw last week, I'm pretty happy with the moves from today. K.C.'s franchise player, OLB Tamba Hali, was probably smiling all night long after Carolina came to an agreement with defensive end Charles Johnson on a 6-year, $76 million deal with $32 million of it guaranteed. Hali's stats are far better than Johnson's, more sacks, more forced fumbles, more tackles. Tamba's in for a major payday. The Chiefs also came to agreements with a few undrafted college free agents, but the only one I was able to verify was offensive tackle David Mims from Virginia Union, also a prospect I liked. Hopefully by tomorrow, the Chiefs will be able to name all of their college free agents, but knowing Pioli's penchant for secrecy, we may not know until they are actually signed.
Two other undrafted free agents I was interested in, Mizzou's Kevin Rutland & Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, are now locked in with other teams. Herzlich will go to camp with former B.C. coach Tom Coughlin & the New York Giants. Rutland will join Tiger teammate Blaine Gabbert in Jacksonville.
Tampa Bay agreed to terms with their 1st round pick, Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn & 3rd round selection, Washington inside linebacker, Mason Foster. The Bucs went to war with the Dallas Cowboys for the services of offensive tackle Doug Free before withdrawing. Free will sign a 4-year contact with the Cowboys.
Jets starting right tackle Damien Woody announced his retirement on Tuesday. Former Chiefs' quarterback Tyler Thigpen will be reunited with his old offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, now the head coach in Buffalo. Frisco QB Alex Smith agreed to a 1-year deal to remain in the Bay Area, it's worth $5 million, all guaranteed. The Niners already lost inside linebacker Takeo Spikes, who agreed to a 3-year deal with San Diego. With his departure, San Francisco will be desperate to keep nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin so that their tackling machine, linebacker Patrick Willis, has a little protection. I want Franklin to play for the Chiefs, but that wish got tougher on Tuesday.
Seattle moved on from Matt Hasselbeck after the veteran quarterback rejected a 2-year deal. I expect the Tennessee Titans to go after Hasselback. It makes good sense, he already has a relationship with the Titans' 1st round draft pick, University of Washington QB Jake Locker. The quarterback situation in Seattle is pretty sad. They retained backup Charlie Whitehurst, agreed to terms with former Viking Tavaris Jackson & later on, the rumors began to fly Matt Leinart was also going to Seattle to join his college coach Pete Carroll. Pretty sad trio.
Quite a few veterans were released or informed they would be cut on Tuesday. Baltimore will dump the contracts of veterans Kelly Gregg(NT), Derrick Mason(WR), Todd Heap(TE) & RB Willis McGahee. It clears a bunch of salary cap for a run at Nnamdi Asomugha or WR Steve Smith. I expect a couple of these Ravens to be brought back under more favorable(for Balt.) contract terms. The Ravens also worked out a new deal for unrestricted free agent O-lineman Marshall Yanda.
Dallas dumped some healthy cap money too. Running back Marion Barber, guard Leonard Davis, offensive tackle Marc Columbo & wide receiver Roy Williams have all played their last downs for Dallas. Williams is especially troubling for Cowboy fans, just 3 years ago Jerry Jones traded a 1st, 3rd & 5th round draft picks to Detroit for his services. Williams managed just 94 receptions over his 2 1/2 season Cowboy career. As I said above, tackle Doug Free was retained.
Giants offensive linemen were in danger of being cut yesterday. Turns out center Shaun O'Hara, guard Rich Seubert & tackle Shawn Andrews were all sent packing. Coach Coughlin will meet with free agent WR Plaxico Burress on Wednesday. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora may be a holdout when Giants camp opens this week.
The Patriots found out on Sunday OLB Tully Banta-Cain, tied for the team lead in sacks, underwent surgery for a torn abdominal muscle he suffered in a non-football incident & would be sidelined for 5-6 weeks. New England cut him on Tuesday.
Green Bay released inside linebacker Nick Barnett. He had a injury-riddled career with the Pack, so his departure wasn't a surprise. Barnett said farewell to Green Bay fans with a very classy Tweet & Facebook post "Thank you for all your support, I will always remember my time in Green Bay fondly. Goodbye!"
Late tonight it was reported the Vikings & Redskins had come to an agreement to send QB Donovan McNabb to Minnesota for 2 sixth-round draft picks. The only thing holding the deal up was the Vikings demand for a renegotiated contract. It could happen early Wednesday.
Pittsburgh shelled out enough cash to retain cornerback Ike Taylor, an important part of the Steeler defense. This came as quite a surprise as it's well known the Steelers don't shell out the premium bucks during free agency.
I was honestly surprised how few free agent deals were consummated on Tuesday. I do hope the Chiefs sign a couple more besides their own. Aubrayo Franklin, ILB Barrett Ruud, DE Cullen Jenkins, OT Matt Light, WR Steve Breaston or RB Jason Snelling would help Scott Pioli's team.
Two other undrafted free agents I was interested in, Mizzou's Kevin Rutland & Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, are now locked in with other teams. Herzlich will go to camp with former B.C. coach Tom Coughlin & the New York Giants. Rutland will join Tiger teammate Blaine Gabbert in Jacksonville.
Tampa Bay agreed to terms with their 1st round pick, Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn & 3rd round selection, Washington inside linebacker, Mason Foster. The Bucs went to war with the Dallas Cowboys for the services of offensive tackle Doug Free before withdrawing. Free will sign a 4-year contact with the Cowboys.
Jets starting right tackle Damien Woody announced his retirement on Tuesday. Former Chiefs' quarterback Tyler Thigpen will be reunited with his old offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, now the head coach in Buffalo. Frisco QB Alex Smith agreed to a 1-year deal to remain in the Bay Area, it's worth $5 million, all guaranteed. The Niners already lost inside linebacker Takeo Spikes, who agreed to a 3-year deal with San Diego. With his departure, San Francisco will be desperate to keep nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin so that their tackling machine, linebacker Patrick Willis, has a little protection. I want Franklin to play for the Chiefs, but that wish got tougher on Tuesday.
Seattle moved on from Matt Hasselbeck after the veteran quarterback rejected a 2-year deal. I expect the Tennessee Titans to go after Hasselback. It makes good sense, he already has a relationship with the Titans' 1st round draft pick, University of Washington QB Jake Locker. The quarterback situation in Seattle is pretty sad. They retained backup Charlie Whitehurst, agreed to terms with former Viking Tavaris Jackson & later on, the rumors began to fly Matt Leinart was also going to Seattle to join his college coach Pete Carroll. Pretty sad trio.
Quite a few veterans were released or informed they would be cut on Tuesday. Baltimore will dump the contracts of veterans Kelly Gregg(NT), Derrick Mason(WR), Todd Heap(TE) & RB Willis McGahee. It clears a bunch of salary cap for a run at Nnamdi Asomugha or WR Steve Smith. I expect a couple of these Ravens to be brought back under more favorable(for Balt.) contract terms. The Ravens also worked out a new deal for unrestricted free agent O-lineman Marshall Yanda.
Dallas dumped some healthy cap money too. Running back Marion Barber, guard Leonard Davis, offensive tackle Marc Columbo & wide receiver Roy Williams have all played their last downs for Dallas. Williams is especially troubling for Cowboy fans, just 3 years ago Jerry Jones traded a 1st, 3rd & 5th round draft picks to Detroit for his services. Williams managed just 94 receptions over his 2 1/2 season Cowboy career. As I said above, tackle Doug Free was retained.
Giants offensive linemen were in danger of being cut yesterday. Turns out center Shaun O'Hara, guard Rich Seubert & tackle Shawn Andrews were all sent packing. Coach Coughlin will meet with free agent WR Plaxico Burress on Wednesday. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora may be a holdout when Giants camp opens this week.
The Patriots found out on Sunday OLB Tully Banta-Cain, tied for the team lead in sacks, underwent surgery for a torn abdominal muscle he suffered in a non-football incident & would be sidelined for 5-6 weeks. New England cut him on Tuesday.
Green Bay released inside linebacker Nick Barnett. He had a injury-riddled career with the Pack, so his departure wasn't a surprise. Barnett said farewell to Green Bay fans with a very classy Tweet & Facebook post "Thank you for all your support, I will always remember my time in Green Bay fondly. Goodbye!"
Late tonight it was reported the Vikings & Redskins had come to an agreement to send QB Donovan McNabb to Minnesota for 2 sixth-round draft picks. The only thing holding the deal up was the Vikings demand for a renegotiated contract. It could happen early Wednesday.
Pittsburgh shelled out enough cash to retain cornerback Ike Taylor, an important part of the Steeler defense. This came as quite a surprise as it's well known the Steelers don't shell out the premium bucks during free agency.
I was honestly surprised how few free agent deals were consummated on Tuesday. I do hope the Chiefs sign a couple more besides their own. Aubrayo Franklin, ILB Barrett Ruud, DE Cullen Jenkins, OT Matt Light, WR Steve Breaston or RB Jason Snelling would help Scott Pioli's team.
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