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Not exactly flotsam and jetsam Players still left on free-agent market who can contribute
Posted: Tuesday May 09, 2000 11:25 PM
By Jon A. Dolezar, CNNSI.com Player movement has slowed from a gallop to a trot, with teams assessing what needs remain to be filled after the draft. The pickings are somewhat slim on the unrestricted free-agent market, but the unsigned players are the kind of role players who could push a mediocre team into the playoffs, or turn a playoff team into a title contender. We have compiled a list of the 10 best unrestricted free agents who have yet to sign. None of these guys are as recognizable as Jeff George, Shannon Sharpe, Jon Runyan, Chuck Smith, Norman Hand, Randall Godfrey or Lawyer Milloy, the big-name unrestricted free agents who commanded immediate attention -- and top dollar -- from teams on Feb. 11 when the free-agency season opened. Also missing from the list are franchise players such as Jaguars defensive end Tony Brackens, Chiefs guard Will Shields Lewis and Redskins running back Stephen Davis, all of whom have yet to sign, but would cost teams two first-round picks to sign away from their current team. Most of the players on the list are veterans who likely won't be back with their former team due to a free-agent signing or drafting of a player at their same position. The list was updated after the Cowboys signed linebacker Joe Bowden, who had been ranked third on the preliminary version of this list.
Ben Coleman has been a key part of the offensive line in Jacksonville, starting 65 of 74 games he played during five years with the Jaguars. It is unlikely the Jaguars will re-sign Coleman, with high-priced Tony Boselli and Leon Searcy already manning the front five that protects Mark Brunell. Coleman filled in quite well for Boselli after the superstar left tackle tore up his knee in the final week of the regular season against Cincinnati, but cap restrictions will probably force the Jaguars to watch this 330-plus pound luxury of a backup head elsewhere for his eighth NFL season. Jacksonville has youngsters Anthony Cesario and Steve Ingram to provide depth on the offensive line, and the Jags used draft picks on offensive linemen Joey Chustz of Louisiana Tech and Mark Baniewicz of Syracuse. Cincinnati Bengals strong safety Myron Bell is a sure-tackling defensive back whose cover skills may scare some teams off from his salary demands. A seventh-year player out of Michigan State, Bell recorded 54 solo tackles, two sacks and one interception last year, and has seen his tackle total improve in each of his NFL seasons. The knock against Bell is that he has only four career interceptions, a low total for a defensive back who has seen significant action in each of his first six years. The Bengals really don't have much depth in the secondary behind Bell, so Cincinnati could make an offer to keep him. The team didn't sign or draft any safeties, so re-signing Bell, or finding a suitable replacement, is a priority. Cornerback Terrell Buckley will be entering his ninth year in the NFL, but he will be only 29 years old when the season kicks off. The Miami Dolphins are not going to pursue Buckley; they spent their third-round pick on cornerback/return man Ben Kelly of Colorado, and used a seventh-round pick on Georgia's Jeff Harris. Buckley has 32 career interceptions, including three returned for touchdowns. He has slightly toned down his chatty ways from earlier in his career, and is likely to be a positive influence on whatever team signs him. Running back Greg Hill is like that trusty old neighborhood restaurant you just keep going back to when you are really, really hungry -- never spectacular, but always productive. Hill will be playing for his third team in three years this fall. The Detroit Lions signed former Jaguars running back James Stewart to a lucrative deal, and used a third-round pick on Reuben Droughns of Oregon. Hill carried the ball 144 times for 542 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions last year, almost exactly matching his career per-season average of 536 yards. He has good hands, but his lack of size makes coaches wonder if he can withstand the pounding as a feature back. The guess here says he ends up as a backup with a West Coast offense team, where he can use his explosiveness and pass-catching ability to augment the skills of a feature runner. Tony Mayberry had to sit through all those awful years in Tampa, and right when the Buccaneers are on the verge of becoming contenders, they go out and sign Jeff Christy from the rival Vikings. Ouch. Mayberry will latch on somewhere, and probably has several productive years left. However, the numbers the Bucs produced on the ground last year may prove Mayberry's best drive-blocking days are behind him -- Tampa Bay ran for only seven touchdowns, and managed only a 3.5 yards-per-carry average. Don't cry for Mayberry; intelligent, nimble centers become multi-millionaires in free agency, though he may look enviously at Christy's $3.5 million-per-year contract. Phillipi Sparks won't be back with the New York Giants this season after they signed veteran cornerback Dave Thomas away from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Sparks finished third on the Giants with 62 tackles last season, and recorded 22 interceptions in his eight years with New York. He is a solid-tackling cornerback who isn't afraid to come up in run support, as evidenced by his career average of 49 solo tackles per season. The Giants also drafted Ralph Brown of Nebraska in the fifth round, virtually sealing Sparks' fate of having to find work elsewhere. Linebacker Gabe Northern looks like the prototype middle linebacker -- the kind of guy who would rip his mother's head off if she was carrying the football toward him. But his stats leave you scratching your head wondering why he doesn't make more plays. Northern recorded only 28 solo tackles and 3 1/2 sacks last season, numbers which should improve in his fifth season. But that fifth campaign may not come in Buffalo. The Bills spent two draft picks on linebackers -- 5-11, 223-pound Corey Moore of Virginia Tech, and 6-1, 233-pound DaShon Polk of Arizona. Either of these smaller players could probably match Northern's production of the last couple seasons, so Bills management may opt to spend their money elsewhere rather than re-sign Northern. At only 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, safety Chris Hudson has been surprisingly productive in his four-year career. Last season with the Chicago Bears, Hudson recorded 46 solo tackles, picked off three passes and had one sack. He has 11 career interceptions, the first three of which he spent with Jacksonville. Hudson's time in Chicago likely is over after the Bears inked former Dolphin Shawn Wooden to a three-year, $3.6 million deal, and drafted safety Mike Brown of Nebraska in the second round. Hudson will be a bargain for whatever team picks him up; his strong tackling ability and adequate cover skills are complemented by his ability to return punts and help out on kick coverage as well. Wide receiver Justin Armour would fit into the sleeper category in free agency, as he has tasted some success in his five-year career. Armour was second on the Baltimore Ravens in receptions and receiving yards last season, behind only breakout player Qadry Ismail. A lanky Stanford product, Armour caught 37 passes for 538 yards and four touchdowns, but now may be expendable after Baltimore took Travis Taylor with the 10th overall pick. Taylor will step into the starting lineup with Ismail. Jermaine Lewis will serve as the third wideout. But don't completely rule out the possibility of Armour returning to the Ravens. Brian Billick frequently runs three-receiver sets, and would love to have the talented young duo of Armour and Lewis as his backup receivers to speedsters Ismail and Taylor. The Philadelphia Eagles released center Steve Everitt on April 25 to clear salary cap space, but he is not a player they necessarily wanted to lose. Everitt joined the Eagles in 1997 as an unrestricted free agent from the Baltimore Ravens, and he had started the last 29 consecutive games for Philadelphia. Still shy of his 30th birthday, Everitt has some good years left in him, as centers usually take longer to mature than players at the other offensive line positions, and therefore play later into their 30s. A team like the Vikings which needs help in the middle of the offensive line could probably get Everitt at a reduced salary than what he had been playing for, and get a relative bargain with him.
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