It is now officially Friday, February 27, and you know what that means: the NFL free agency period has finally begun.
There is some elite talent available and while it is likely that none of these players will have even the most remote contact with the Packers, the fact that they are out there is still worthy of some comment.
So, without further adieu, here are the top five free agents, along with some prognosticating on where they will likely land:
1. Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee Titans, 27 years old
Haynesworth does have some knocks on him. He hasn’t played a full 16 games since his rookie year and has only been dominant the last two years (plus my lingering suspicion that he’s buying a chain of Old Country Buffets with his signing bonus). Still, truly dominating defensive tackles who can command constant double teams don’t come along that often and Haynesworth is absolutely one of those.
Over half the league will probably want him, but only a few true contenders should emerge in the battle for his services: Washington (owner Daniel Snyder loves to make the big splash and this would be it…literally), Detroit (laugh if you want, but new head coach Jim Schwartz was previously Haynesworth’s coordinator and would know how to motivate him) and Tampa Bay (always focused on defense and has the most cap space in the league).
Expected destination: Washington. Despite a serious lack of cap room, Snyder usually knows how to get what he wants and he wants Haynesworth. Badly.
2. Kurt Warner, QB, Arizona Cardinals, 37 years old
Warner capped off his career resurgence with an astounding run in the postseason, one that fell just short of him earning his second World Championship. Talks have not been good with the Cards regarding a new contract, as Warner wants to be paid like a top five quarterback. He’s completely justified in this request, but the Cards are being their typical selves (read: cheap).
If Warner doesn’t end up back in the desert, he’ll probably make good on his threat to retire. In the event he doesn’t, though, there are only two places he could possibly land: New York (Jets) and Minnesota. Both teams have a lot of the necessary pieces in place to be contenders and both are severely lacking at the quarterback position (Sage Rosenfels notwithstanding).
Expected destination: Arizona. The Cardinals might be cheap, but even they have to know they’ve got a great thing going on now, really for the first time in franchise history. That should be enough to get them to pay up.
3 and 4. Bart Scott and Ray Lewis, ILBs, Baltimore Ravens, 28 and 33 years old, respectively
This outstanding pair of inside linebackers are grouped together here because both played for Baltimore and have roughly the same overall value. Scott is quite a bit younger and definitely still in his prime. That’s not to say Lewis, the heart and soul of the franchise, is on the downside of his career. But at his age, he’s not far away, either.
Dallas has been rumored as a desired destination of Lewis’, but it seems impossible they would be able to afford him. Scott is rumored to be interested in the Jets, which makes sense as new head coach Rex Ryan was previously Scott’s coordinator. Baltimore would love to keep the trio of Scott, Lewis and Terrell Suggs together, but in today’s NFL, those sorts of things usually don’t happen.
Expected destination: Lewis in Baltimore and Scott in New York. The Ravens will make sure Lewis ends his career as a Raven. As a result, they’ll have to part with Scott, who will find familiarity with his old coach in New York.
5. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, Cincinnati Bengals, 31 years old
In a very thin crop of available wideouts, Houshmandzadeh stands as the one true playmaker of the bunch. Yes, he did most of his damage from the No. 2 receiver spot. But he’s been over or near the 1,000-yard receiving mark in each of the past five seasons, averaging just over seven touchdowns a year in that same span. There are a lot of No. 2 receivers in the league; most of them don’t come close to those numbers.
There are numerous good/very good teams in the league who are but a playmaker or two away from being elite teams. From that group, four stand out: Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Baltimore and Tennessee. All have some very good things going for them, but only one team has a proven superstar at quarterback. That team will end up with “Housh”.
Expected destination: Philadelphia. Donovan McNabb, with very little help, got the Eagles within one drive of the Super Bowl. He’s been harping for some help. He’ll get it.
-Chris Lempesis
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