Lance Briggs - Potential Free Agent

[firstdown]

Hmm, this sounds like another time we go out pay a guy a bunch of money and do not get what we paid for. I would rather see us look for some O line and a D pass rusher. I think we have had and still have enough of these high dollar players.

[MTK]

Briggs is a baller, I'm not advocating for bringing him here but I wouldn't have any concerns about him not living up to his reputation once he gets the big deal he's looking for.

LB is a position that may need to be looked at this offseason but I don't see the need for paying for a guy like Briggs.

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by That Guy

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 :/.

Absolutely right. Corner is shaping up to be a huge need for us.

[4mrusmc]

Oh my God, it's August all over again. Before we talk about who we can pick-up in the free agent market, let's focus on supporting the current team members drive to THIS years playoff drive.

[Schneed10]

One thing I REALLY don't get.

How is it that so many people in this thread, arguing against the idea of obtaining Lance Briggs, are some of the very same people who argued that trading for him back in April was a good idea? We were ready to pay the guy a huge signing bonus then, and we had fans of that trade. What's different now? Is our LB corps so much better now? I doubt it, not with Rocky out for a season and a half, not with Marcus Washington constantly in and out of the lineup, not with Dallas Sartz getting axed, and not with a short-term solution like Randall Godfrey.

And if you want Blades to try to fill in for Rocky next year at OLB, who the hell is going to be your depth? I absolutely don't get it.

The reason the Briggs deal didn't make sense was because we had Rocky. Now we don't have Rocky. And by the time Rocky comes back, Marcus Washington will likely be on the downside and will have a contract that lends itself to salary cap casualty.

I think WR is a bigger priority, but I'm dumbfounded at the faith we have in our current LB corps sans Rocky. If you don't like Briggs because of his price tag, at least acknowledge that we're paper-thin and LB will need to be addressed in the offseason.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Hmm, this sounds like another time we go out pay a guy a bunch of money and do not get what we paid for. I would rather see us look for some O line and a D pass rusher. I think we have had and still have enough of these high dollar players.

On the offensive line, are you talking about a starter? Or just depth? Because if you'd try to upgrade one of our starters along the line, that's a SERIOUS misallocation of resources.

As for pass rushers, is 10 sacks through 14 weeks not good enough for you? I mean what the hell does Andre Carter have to do to get some love?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

Absolutely right. Corner is shaping up to be a huge need for us.

OK, somebody has to explain the math to me on why corner is a need. We have Carlos Rogers, who was injured like Rocky, but injured early enough in the year to actually play during 2008. Shawn Springs is still a very good corner in this league, and is Fred Smoot not playing like a quality starter?

I don't see salary cap forcing any of our three guys out the door next year. With Carlos hurt, I see the need for some depth, but Asamuwaghwaghwaghwagh will cost a buttload of money (he's very highly thought of).

Entering next season, we'll have 2 good starting CBs in this league, Springs and Smoot. We'll also have a 3rd very good young CB coming back from injury. That seems to cover 2 starting CB positions in my mind.

LB on the other hand, we'll have 2 good starting LBs in this league, Washington and Fletcher. If we stand pat, we'll have either old man Randall Godfrey manning the other spot, or a totally unproven youngster who was drafted with the intent to inherit the Mike position from Fletcher. So we've got two good answers for 3 starting spots. At corner, we have 2 good answers for 2 spots, and another that will get healthy halfway through 2008.

And let's not even talk about what we've got behind our 3rd LB. I just don't get how CB can be considered a greater need than LB.

[rk3025]

Are thrre any Free Agent Conditioning Coaches available? not Briggs
Look at Patten and he is having a healthy great year in Saint land but here could not stay healthy

Originally Posted by Schneed10

OK, somebody has to explain the math to me on why corner is a need. We have Carlos Rogers, who was injured like Rocky, but injured early enough in the year to actually play during 2008. Shawn Springs is still a very good corner in this league, and is Fred Smoot not playing like a quality starter?

I don't see salary cap forcing any of our three guys out the door next year. With Carlos hurt, I see the need for some depth, but Asamuwaghwaghwaghwagh will cost a buttload of money (he's very highly thought of).

Entering next season, we'll have 2 good starting CBs in this league, Springs and Smoot. We'll also have a 3rd very good young CB coming back from injury. That seems to cover 2 starting CB positions in my mind.

LB on the other hand, we'll have 2 good starting LBs in this league, Washington and Fletcher. If we stand pat, we'll have either old man Randall Godfrey manning the other spot, or a totally unproven youngster who was drafted with the intent to inherit the Mike position from Fletcher. So we've got two good answers for 3 starting spots. At corner, we have 2 good answers for 2 spots, and another that will get healthy halfway through 2008.

And let's not even talk about what we've got behind our 3rd LB. I just don't get how CB can be considered a greater need than LB.

[SFREDSKIN]

And Chris Clemons with 7 sacks for the Raiders. I wish they would have kept him.

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

OK, somebody has to explain the math to me on why corner is a need. We have Carlos Rogers, who was injured like Rocky, but injured early enough in the year to actually play during 2008. Shawn Springs is still a very good corner in this league, and is Fred Smoot not playing like a quality starter?

I don't see salary cap forcing any of our three guys out the door next year. With Carlos hurt, I see the need for some depth, but Asamuwaghwaghwaghwagh will cost a buttload of money (he's very highly thought of).

Entering next season, we'll have 2 good starting CBs in this league, Springs and Smoot. We'll also have a 3rd very good young CB coming back from injury. That seems to cover 2 starting CB positions in my mind.

LB on the other hand, we'll have 2 good starting LBs in this league, Washington and Fletcher. If we stand pat, we'll have either old man Randall Godfrey manning the other spot, or a totally unproven youngster who was drafted with the intent to inherit the Mike position from Fletcher. So we've got two good answers for 3 starting spots. At corner, we have 2 good answers for 2 spots, and another that will get healthy halfway through 2008.

And let's not even talk about what we've got behind our 3rd LB. I just don't get how CB can be considered a greater need than LB.

there's a good chance springs won't take a pay cut and will be released... and rogers will be out at least 8 games next year from what i've heard, which leaves either the #3 or the #3 AND the #1/#2 (pick one) spot open for CB(s). that's the thinking there (and with the flood of CBs and a couple RFAs (det's wilson, den's foxworth), there might be a deal in there.

on CJ - can't have too many weapons, and he's a true lock at #1 with all the tools (and none of the hamstring issues).

on LB - briggs will be overpriced and a guy like dansy has a better chance as far as price/performance and letting the team address other needs. decent lbs are always available at vet min, and we've got two at high price tags (depth IS unproven though).

on OL/DL - upgrades to pete kendall, possibly jansen, but the real threat on our OL is age. our line isn't young and our realistic depth is stephon heyer and not-so-young todd wade... draft picks would be best there (2nd-3rd round). at DE, carter has played extremely well... he turned his game around as much as campbell. I mean, it's been shocking, though he stopped playing like crap late last year, he was never all that effective. He's fine, but daniels is ancient and the depth just ain't there. at DT we've got good depth, but the #2 DT isn't amazing, and griffin might go away sooner than later. Our depth is still learning the NFL and can very well get better, but it's never a bad idea to look at backup plans.


the cuts to guys like griffin wouldn't be forced due to cap issues per say, but adding flexibility down the road and making the roster younger might be a good idea, depending on availability and prices (of course). Right now we've got a LOT of old guys that get hurt (a lot).

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by That Guy

there's a good chance springs won't take a pay cut and will be released... and rogers will be out at least 8 games next year from what i've heard, which leaves either the #3 or the #3 AND the #1/#2 (pick one) spot open for CB(s). that's the thinking there (and with the flood of CBs and a couple RFAs (det's wilson, den's foxworth), there might be a deal in there.

I agree with most of what you said in that post, but I have to put this Shawn Springs might be cut notion to bed right now. In fact I should probably start a thread educating the public on his salary cap status so more people see it.

In 2008, his cap number is $7.5 million. His base salary that season is $5 million. We can cut him and save $2.5 mill, but the Skins can also reduce the cap number by $2.5 million by simply restructuring the guy. With the restructure, he wouldn't take one ounce of paycut, he'd simply get his money up front instead of in base salaries. He'd have no incentive to refuse that, and if you're the Skins, what would you prefer? Save $2.5 million with Springs off the roster, or save $2.5 million with Springs on the roster?

On top of that, there's still the chance that they extend his contract another 2 years or so to reduce the cap hit even further, a la Jon Jansen two years ago.

The only way it makes sense to cut the guy at this point is if you think he's going to be an ineffective CB next season. With the way he's playing now, I have absolutely no idea why anyone would think that.

[skinsnut]

Briggs is fine but will cost too much.
I dont know where the Chad Johnson talk came from...those guys dont fall on trees and there is no way the Skins get him unless they trade...and that would worry me.

We really can handle LB and WR with the draft...we could hide a LB issue easier than WR though..we still need D line and youth on the Oline..a young corner and RB and TE depth are needs too.

I just dont see the need unless our LB backups crash and burn.
Making a big splash could hurt us if we are trying to finally shift to a draft first team

[BleedBurgundy]

RE: Faneca

There's not too many FA's that Pittsburgh lets go that have any kind of career later on. Their personnel dept knows what the hell they're doing.

[SFREDSKIN]

Originally Posted by BleedBurgundy

RE: Faneca

There's not too many FA's that Pittsburgh lets go that have any kind of career later on. Their personnel dept knows what the hell they're doing.

Yeah, but he doesn't sound happy in Pitt. Didn't he almost retire at the beginning of the season? I think he's in a situation like Kendall was with the Jets.

[Schneed10]

Per the WP:

Several league sources believe the Redskins will heavily pursue Chicago freeagent linebacker Lance Briggs, whom Washington attempted to land in a trade last offseason. The Redskins have long pursued a stable third wide receiver as well, and potential free agents such as Drew Carter and Bernard Berrian are possible targets. They would like more youth along the offensive line and in the secondary as well, but have tempered their sweeping pursuit of free agents.

"We'll continue to exhaust all resources and take a look at personnel out there," Williams said. "But we also don't want to disrupt chemistry."

Redskins Peek Back, Look Ahead - washingtonpost.com