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This is my favorite part of the GM series. I love free agency. I know people bow down to the NFL draft, but since I don't exactly follow college football and think parts of the draft process are just so overhyped and manufactured, I tend to gravitate to this portion of the offseason. I've seen these guys play in the NFL. I've seen them go against the best in the world. These are not a bunch of guys who will be selling insurance after graduating. These moves are what re-energize your fanbase (See: Mario Williams and T.O.).
Since the last post, the Bills have made some moves that I'll use to make adjustments. With Chris Kelsay retiring, the Bills now save 1 million dollars more on the cap than they would have by cutting him like I did. That means I now have 19 million to play with. Also, the Byrd contract doesn't do much because my long-term deal with him was the exact franchise number.
As it stands, my strategy is to get some offensive weapons and possibly another CB. Let us get to it!
Speed, speed, speed
You don't have to own the All-22 subscription to know that the Bills lack a deep threat. It has been that way for the last two years. Stevie Johnson topped the team in yards per catch, averaging just 13.2 yard a catch last year, which ranked 41st in the NFL. As a whole, the Bills WRs averaged 11 yards a catch, ranking 28th in the NFL. They were 24th in yards per pass attempt. You'd have to go back to 2010 to find the last time a Bills WR averaged more than 14 yards a catch with at least 26 catches. OK, you get the point.
Here's my dilemma: I could go after a Greg Jennings or Mike Wallace, but that would pretty much kill the rest of my spending, and I want a CB, too. Also, and this is just my theory, I think speed is something you can find on the cheap because you don't exactly need the guy to produce. You just need the threat of a guy to stretch the field, letting your underneath guys do the work. In other words, you need a decoy.
Enter Randy Moss and Devery Henderson.
All right, I know you probably hate both of these moves. Fine. I happen to be a huge fan of Randy Moss. I think he still has a lot left in the tank and still gets a ton of respect from the opposition. I know his numbers were pretty average last year, 28 catches for 431 yards, but he still averaged 15.5 yards a catch, which ranked 14th in the NFL. Also, if you ask anyone from the 49ers, they will get on their knees and sing the praises of Randy. I don't need Moss to be a 70-catch guy. I want Moss to play the role James Lofton played in 1990, when he had only 35 catches, but averaged 20 yards per reception.
That's all I want. I think Moss can do that. Also, I love the fricken guy. He's an asshole who wears a black hat and doesn't care what the hell you think of him. It is the classic line about Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas and how he always rooted for the bad guys. That's why I like Moss. I already have a joygasm just thinking about how much he'll be hated by anyone who is 50 and over in the local media. It will be great when he decides not say a word to anyone.
As for Devery Henderson, I think it makes sense with the New Orleans connection. Henderson has always been the #3, or in some cases #4, WR in New Orleans. He's only caught more than 34 passes once, but what I like about him is that he can stretch the field. For his career, he's averaged 17.1 yards per reception. He can play in the slot or on the outside. I think with him and Moss on the outside and Stevie and Chandler in the inside, you have weapons that can beat the opposition deep or between the hashmarks. Salary-wise, I think we can get both guys cheap. Moss only made 2.5 million bucks last year while Henderson made 3 million a year from the extension he signed in 2009. I don't think their raises will be too big.
Bills sign Randy Moss for 1 year, 3 million dollars and Devery Henderson for 3 years, 11.5 million.
No need for two backs
I really didn't want to do this, but I have no choice. I came into free agency with about 19 million to spend. Now I only have about 12 left with 5 million of that earmarked for the draft. That's just not enough for me to sign the #2 cornerback I desire. I need to shed some more payroll or in this case, finding someone expendable. That's Fred Jackson. You guys know how much I love the dude and how I defended him whenever anyone hated his guts because he got carries and not CJ Spiller. However, being the #22 homer that I am doesn't blind me. This is CJ's team. We can draft a back in the 5th round to help give Spiller some time off. Jackson's cap hit next year is 3.7 million and if I cut him, the Bills will save only 1.7 million. That's pretty much the reason why I didn't cut him during our purge of the roster during the previous piece. I don't think that 3.7 million would be such an awful salary for another team to pick up, so I think there is a market for him. I think I could get a late 4th round pick or an early 5th for him.
In this case, I'm picking the Lions. It was between them and Denver, but I think Detroit's lack of running backs helps in this case. Jim Schwartz is pretty much in a make it or break it year. I think Jackson would be a nice fit there. Detroit was 23rd and 25th in rushing yards and rushing attempts. If healthy, Jackson would be a more than capable back for them. Again, this is mostly about dumping salary, so asking for a 5th round pick is probably the best I can do. I guess I could try and XBoxing my way into a 4th, but since Lynch got a 4th in Seattle and Fred is coming off a subpar year, I think a 5th shall do.
Bills trade Jackson to Detriot for a 5th round pick. Cap savings would be 3.7 million.
Finding #2 CB
As of right now, I have about 16 million left and about only 11 million to play with in free agency. I've gone on record quite a few times saying CBs are overrated. NFL rules are so in favor of WRs that using a high pick or a lot of money on CBs doesn't make sense. Also, I think a good pass rush will make your secondary that much better. Obviously, that wasn't the case last year with the Bills and maybe my blanket statement is wrong. However, finding a #2 CB is about the philosophy the Bills are running. If Pettine's defense mirrors what the Jets did, you need to have solid corners. That's why they invested money and high picks in Revis, Cromartie, and Kyle Wilson. They leave these guys on islands while they have tons of guys blitzing. I'd rather have Wilson and Tom Hanks on that island than Aaron Williams. Maybe he'll get better next year, but for now, he's my 3rd cornerback.
I need a solid #2 corner to make this defense work. That's why the Jets' defense worked over the years. I need a good cornerback. I also need a cornerback who is use to playing in a defense that blitzed a lot and left their corners on man-to-man coverage.
I see guys like Charles Woodson who are just too old. Then we have Cary Williams, who did a nice job in Baltimore when Webb went down with an injury. However, according to ESPN Insider, Williams gave up 39 first downs in the regular season and six more in the postseason, meaning his combined 45 first downs surrendered were the second highest of all cornerbacks. I also don't know about giving a former 7th round pick all that money off one season. There's Aqib Talib, but he's injury-prone and he's had a few off the field issues. I'm going to roll the dice with someone who has the talent to be a top CB in this league because he's done it before, but has struggled over the last few years.
Enter Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
No question, DRC has struggled since the Eagles traded for him during the 2012 offseason. They had him play mostly in the nickel over the slot WR and it didn't suit him. However, you can't ignore how well he played in Arizona. Advanced Stats had him ranked as the 2nd best corner in 2009 as he was 2nd in the league in pass defend with 34 and only one off of Revis lead. However, DRC fell majorly in 2011, as Advanced stats ranked him as the 93rd best CB in the league. This was of course during the Eagles "Dream Team" era.
Last year, he did rebound by having three picks but still wasn't near as good as he was in Arizona. However, I still think he's the best cornerback out there and his talent is undeniable. Plus, Philly has kind of the same defense we plan on running, which is tons of blitzing and a lot of man-to-man coverage. DRC is use to that. Now, CB free agency happens to be a very costly market. I think DRC can get between 8-10 million a year. I'm going to give him 9-million. Is it costly? Yes. But the Bills really need an outside CB who isn't named Aaron Williams
Sign Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for 6 years, 54-million
Final word: This was a lot harder than I anticipated. I really wanted to sign the Giants TE, Martellus Bennett, but I couldn't make it work financially. He'd probably get like 4-5 million a year and with Scott Chandler on the roster, it would have been a luxury signing. I was actually going to cut Mark Anderson, but his cap savings would have been only 450K. As for the WRs, I just didn't want to give Mike Wallace 12 million a year when I think I can get about the same threat with Randy Moss. Henderson was more about depth and having another deep threat and knowing the offense. DRC is pretty much my crown jewel of free agency. That's why I'm giving him a lot of money. I can't stress how important the CBs will be on this squad if the Bills are trying to run the Jets' style of defense.
Up next: Draft!
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