Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

According to this article, Lance Briggs is considering testing the free agent market. As you'll recall, we almost traded for him, but the Bears wanted Rocky McIntosh and we balked. Pretty good move that we did, as Rocky has turned into a fine player.

But now that Rocky is hurt and won't play for much of 2008 (and if he plays at all he won't be himself), do we consider signing Briggs?

Before we jump on the cost issue, let me say that if the Skins want him, they can make cap room for him without much trouble. That will not be a big issue. Where we'd get into cap trouble is if we tried to sign three or four studs like Briggs.

I think we should go for it. He's had an amazing season in a year when Chicago's D has been off. He's actually been better than Urlacher this year. I'm all for a prudent move here or there in free agency, without overdoing it. He'll be expensive, but the talent is crazy. This should be our one free agent signing, IMO.

[URL="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/12/19/bears.briggs.ap/index.html"]SI.com - NFL - Briggs wants to test free agency waters - Wednesday December 19, 2007 7:31PM[/URL]

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

How about Alan Faneca for the OL?

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

Money is limited, We have to spend it on the lines.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Last time I checked, Lance Briggs does not rush the passer. This is why you draft and have guys waiting in the wings. Blades needs to step up and I think he will.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

Absolutely not for Briggs, he's looking for a payday right now. Absolutely not to Faneca too, that guy is ancient.

If we go into free agency, I want us to focus on guys we got like M Washington, Randy Thomas, etc. Guys with lots of upside, pretty young, and preferably someone who won't cost a draft pick. Only thing I'd consider tossing huge cash at would be a blue chip Olinemen that's young, or maybe a chad johnson or stud DE. Jared Allen type of DE.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

briggs aint that great, he's overpriced, and mcintosh is injured, so keeping him or not is pretty much moot since he's proven very little besides his ability to stay out of the starting line up :/


if we play FA, let's get someone that can prove more useful, like CJ or NA (CB oak), or even better, OL/DL. faneca is great, but he's not 25 anymore :/.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

What exactly are we supposed to do with Briggs when Rocky comes back? Unless we're planning on getting rid of Marcus Washington which IMO would be a mistake.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

nope. I think blades can play, and rocky may be back mid season next year.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

I love the Chad Johnson idea.... I would buy his jersey in a heart beat. We could get rid of B.Lloyd. Think about lining up with Santana on one side, 85 on the other, Cooley in the slot and Portis behind Campbell..... now that is scary. Then get some more deepth on the oline.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

We don't need Briggs and we certainly can't afford him. Teams to used to run all over us when they ran left and since Rocky became a starter we haven't been gashed like we use to. Now that Rocky is out it will be interesting to see how we do this weekend against the Vikings' who will no doubt run left all day long and exploit our weakness with their strength.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

We don't need CJ, bad idea. Too much firepower, and it wont work. We already have Moss, ARE, Cooley plus good vets like McCardell. Let's chill on WRs for a bit and focus on the line where we are short.

We saw what happened this season, we need some studs for the future.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[QUOTE=CanadianSkin;395560]I love the Chad Johnson idea.... I would buy his jersey in a heart beat. We could get rid of B.Lloyd. Think about lining up with Santana on one side, 85 on the other, Cooley in the slot and Portis behind Campbell..... now that is scary. Then get some more deepth on the oline.[/QUOTE]

Life ain't that good I love the idea tho. But we aren't that luck to land #85 in D.C. plus I feel we would have some cap issues.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

Keep dreaming, the Bengals aren't going to let Chad Johnson walk! He'll be tagged and fenced.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

I disagree with the too much firepower. Look at offenses like the pats and colts... they have 2 pro bowl receivers.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

We can't afford Briggs, he is overpriced. He's good and all but we have other issues. Rocky will be back!!!

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

I remember posting a thread about Briggs in the offseason when he was holding out. As soon as he started talking I knew the skins would be interested in him.

He was promised something like a $20mil signing bonus if that trade was made. At that price, we should stay away. If somehow he tests the market & nobody's offering him what he wants, he's certainly a good OLB. I just doubt that he will be relatively cheap, can't see him settling for less than $15mil guaranteed.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

Based on the response, that's a solid........maybe???
I really like what the team is doing with young talent. I would like to see them continue to travel that road and leave the $$$$ FA's alone whenever possible. I am excited to see more of Blades

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

It is [SIZE="4"][I]ABSURD[/I][/SIZE] to discourage making an offer to Chad Johnson in the offseason, if available. You think he'd take our offense to the next level? Of course he would! He has no off-field troubles that I've heard of, and, on the field, he is that kind of force opposing defenses must adjust their entire gameplan toward. To think The Danny won't shell out the going tag price for CJ is using revisionist history. We all might be worried about cap hell, but as everyone seems to agree on this site, Snyder finds uncanny ways to manage that department. I would go as far as to state our O [I]instantly[/I] becomes top-tier in the league with that kind of acquisition.

I'm for it all the way! We know how much Joe likes high-character guys, too, and how urgently we need a big-time playmaker.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

I am one of the Chad Johnson idea lovers. I think the guy is an awesome receiver and we would be pretty hard to stop with Him, Santana and Randel el lining up. I think our D needs to be addressed with a DE. LB position, we have some guys that can play, but if we can get a reasonable priced FA to come in and play while Rocky is out, or let HB win or lose the job is fine. The guy was the best LB in the big east, and one of the best in the country. I would like us to get a CB in the draft. Smoot is oft injured, springs is getting old and Carlos wont be back until mid season. I think of the FA out there for CB, they will be too high priced. Draft a couple of O-lineman mid round.

MOCK draft has us taking a DE out of Miami.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

Overrated!!!!!!

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

I like the briggs idea more than CJ. While he's a great reciever, he has shown more of that dreaded selfish WR behavior over the past couple years & that might be why the bengals won't make much of an effort to re-sign him.

A dude like CJ is not what our young qb needs. We need his talent, but not attitude.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

freddy,

Isn't Romo young? Isn't he saddled with TO? Looks to me their relationship is working just fine. You can't blame everything on JC's youth. You'd think Saunders/Gibbs learned from their mistake of watering down the playbook for JC this season. Would you want to make another possible mistake by blaming JC's youth on not bringing in a proven marquee player who could transform our offense into a scoring machine?????

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

I wouldn't be surprised if we pursue Briggs. The problem with Rocky is his knees were a known issue when we drafted him and his health will probably always be a concern. The truth is due to his knees he's a bit of a risky commodity.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

We could use another linebacker. Rocky has an injury history, MW has been nicked up quite a bit lately, and Fletch is no spring chicken. While Briggs could be a fine addition to this team, I'm sticking with my Karlos Dansby campaign.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

CJ would wind up getting p***** b/c he wouldn't get # in our offense. It just wouldn't work.

Briggs i believe is a good player but i do think he has benefitted from playing on a great Chicago defense the last few years. I think we would be overpaying for Briggs if we got him. I'd rather spend the $ on other areas like oline, dline, safety, wr if we had to.

Too much $ for that player.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

For the record I'd prefer to stay away from Briggs. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Blades does.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[quote=RMSkins;395545]What exactly are we supposed to do with Briggs when Rocky comes back? Unless we're planning on getting rid of Marcus Washington which IMO would be a mistake.[/quote]

i like MW, but before this year i had an inkling that if he didnt have a great season he might be gone . . . and hes not having a great season. im loyal to the man but there is room to improve talent at that spot.

go skins!

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[quote=Mattyk72;395639]For the record I'd prefer to stay away from Briggs. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Blades does.[/quote]

Isn't he built more for the Mike position?

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[quote=Rock31;395615]freddy,

Isn't Romo young? Isn't he saddled with TO? Looks to me their relationship is working just fine. You can't blame everything on JC's youth. You'd think Saunders/Gibbs learned from their mistake of watering down the playbook for JC this season. Would you want to make another possible mistake by blaming JC's youth on not bringing in a proven marquee player who could transform our offense into a scoring machine?????[/quote]

good point about Romo/TO, but if you remember the first games Romo played, he was looking TO's way too much. This issue resurfaced in the philly game last week. Don't call the TO experiment in Dallas a success just yet, he's got plenty of time to screw that team.

JC will be in his 4th year next season, so you're right, the youth tag is wearing out. Maybe I should've just said we don't need a player w/such selfish tendencies as Johnson. It's a double edged sword - you want a wr that is confident & wants the ball, but you don't want him to lobby the qb to the point of forcing plays.

That became an issue in Gary Clark's last years here. He was constantly griping to Rypien to get him the ball & it affected Rypien's play (and that was one dude that didn't need help screwing up). They let GC walk in free agency to the cards.

overall, I just don't see C. Johnson as a good fit, regardless of his ability. I especially don't see him as a good value free agent. I would rather us pick up Briggs if the price is right, but I doubt that it will be.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

FYI - The salary cap situation is such that cost will not be an issue on Lance Briggs. Even with a $20 million signing bonus.

I can understand the debate over adding a LB when other needs may be paramount, but if you're concerned on salary cap, you're incorrect.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[quote=Schneed10;395656]Isn't he built more for the Mike position?[/quote]

that's what I thought, and that's what he played in college. I was always hoping he'd be a fletcher clone in a couple years.

On a side note, looking back at last year's draft, the front office certainly made the right picks. Landry and LB depth, hard to argue w/those decisions now.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[quote=Schneed10;395656]Isn't he built more for the Mike position?[/quote]

Yeah but he seems versatile enough to play outside too.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

I would also prefer Karlos Dansby to Lance Briggs

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

Lance Briggs -> NO
Chad Johnson -> YES

I wouldn't panic at linebacker. I like our reserves. This is their opportunity to contribute.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[quote=Schneed10;395659]FYI - The salary cap situation is such that cost will not be an issue on Lance Briggs. Even with a $20 million signing bonus.

I can understand the debate over adding a LB when other needs may be paramount, but if you're concerned on salary cap, you're incorrect.[/quote]

Schneed, the two are one in the same w/regard to personel; priority & cap space. If you're saying that it's not only possible, but feasible to sign Briggs, I won't argue w/you, as I trust your cap analysis. However, the issue is w/regard to the salary & cap space that Briggs will command, 1) is he worth it?, and 2) is he a higher priority than DE, CB,WR, S, etc.?

My point is that we should not break the bank for the guy for a no. of reasons, but mainly because his deal would disproportionately affect our ability to address other needs.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

If they are going to spend big free agent dollars there are much more needed players than Briggs. I would rather have Bob Sanders or Asante Samuel to name a couple...or I am just as good laying low and not spending big since we always seem to have a better team when we don't sign big free agents.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[quote=SmootSmack;395627]We could use another linebacker. Rocky has an injury history, MW has been nicked up quite a bit lately, and Fletch is no spring chicken. While Briggs could be a fine addition to this team, I'm sticking with my Karlos Dansby campaign.[/quote]

Agreed, Dansby is a better player with a cheaper price tag. Not come off as a complete clone or anything, but the players to target (depending on $$, draft, etc. - and I'm not saying to get all of them) are Dansby, Justin Smith, Bernard Berrian, and maybe Trufant (but the dollars for Trufant will probably be way too high).

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[QUOTE=freddyg12;395689]Schneed, the two are one in the same w/regard to personel; priority & cap space. If you're saying that it's not only possible, but feasible to sign Briggs, I won't argue w/you, as I trust your cap analysis. However, the issue is w/regard to the salary & cap space that Briggs will command, 1) is he worth it?, and 2) is he a higher priority than DE, CB,WR, S, etc.?

My point is that we should not break the bank for the guy for a no. of reasons, but mainly because his deal would disproportionately affect our ability to address other needs.[/QUOTE]

dead on balls accurate...

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

[quote=freddyg12;395689]Schneed, the two are one in the same w/regard to personel; priority & cap space. If you're saying that it's not only possible, but feasible to sign Briggs, I won't argue w/you, as I trust your cap analysis. However, the issue is w/regard to the salary & cap space that Briggs will command, 1) is he worth it?, and 2) is he a higher priority than DE, CB,WR, S, etc.?

My point is that we should not break the bank for the guy for a no. of reasons, but mainly because his deal would disproportionately affect our ability to address other needs.[/quote]

OK I'm on the same page with you.

I see the personnel decision tree going like so:

1) Can you fit the player under the cap? If yes, proceed to step 2. If no, STOP, do not sign the player.

2) Do you already have a plan to address higher priority areas of need? If yes, proceed to step 3. If no, STOP, do not sign the player until you have addressed more important needs.

3) Consider signing the player.

Ultimately we're saying the same thing. The cap figures into the decision, but so do overall team needs. My feeling is LB is a bigger need than most around here think. Godfrey is a nice backup, but he's older. Blades to me is a Mike, and I don't see him having the range to keep up with TEs and guys like Brian Westbrook in coverage like Briggs could. Rocky's not going to be right until 2009 at earliest. Washington is still good, but he's hurt more often these days.

I agree that we need a WR pretty darn bad. I've been saying that for some time. I'd put that at a higher priority than LB. I'd love Chad Johnson here, but get real people, there's no way he gets away from Cinci.

Re: Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent
 

Here are Briggs stats for this year, he ranks 28th overall.

[url=http://www.nfl.com/players/lancebriggs/profile?id=BRI150227]Lance Briggs[/url]

I would sign him for a lot less than they were offering last year (1/2 price) otherwise no deal. The other free agent I would pursue would be Nnamdi Asomugha. His stats are not impressive which leads to believe that he would be more affordable than Samuels or Trufant, but he's a hell of a player and is 6'2".

[url=http://www.nfl.com/players/nnamdiasomugha/profile?id=ASO415291]Nnamdi Asomugha[/url]