Thirteen moves that have led the way this offseason
Posted: Tuesday March 18, 2003 4:01 PM
When Jacksonville out-bid three or four other suitors in the chase to land defensive end Hugh Douglas on Saturday, signing him to a six-year, $27 million contract, the first phase of this year's NFL free agency period essentially came to a close.
The former Eagle represented the last of the remaining big-money free agents this off-season, and his departure from the market signaled that the opening two-week burst of headline-name activity was over. While some notable free agents still remain -- Emmitt Smith and Vonnie Holliday among them -- the contracts that they'll elicit will be modest by almost any standard.
Teams are now in the mode of reassessing their free-agent needs, balancing them against what might be available in the draft or even the secondary wave of free agency in June. And while plenty of second-tier free agents will continue to sign in the coming weeks, filling holes here and there, most personnel departments have begun focusing the vast majority of their manpower on preparing for the impending draft, which is a little more than five weeks away.
With the bulk of free agency's heavy lifting completed, here's our review of the best moves in the busiest 15 days or so of the NFL's personnel shopping season. We have included trades on our list, which is fairly evenly divided among a collection of stars, solid starters and backup players. After all, sometimes it's the little things in March that mean a lot come September.
Your opinions, of course, may vary:
WR David Boston, San Diego
Here's the real reason the former Cardinals receiver only made one free-agent visit: He carries with him way too much baggage these days to go hopscotching all over the country. At least that's the perception of Boston that lingers after his disastrous 2002, when both injuries and legal problems combined to halt his ascent to superstar status. The Chargers need Boston to confront his maturity issues head on, because the franchise reportedly -- and unwisely -- didn't safeguard itself contractually against the risk of future off-field problems. Still, he's a rare blend of size and speed whose presence outside should make San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson-led running game all the more effective. In the end, Boston was a gamble worth taking.
QB Todd Bouman, New Orleans
Having lost backup Jake Delhomme, the Saints recovered nicely in sending a sixth-round pick to Minnesota for Bouman. The Vikings just wanted to be rid of Bouman, and were determined to dump him after his name became linked to a sexual assault investigation in upstate Minnesota this offseason. That's understandable, but it also could prove short-sighted. So what did the Saints get for the small price of a throwaway draft pick? A quarterback who played superbly in a 2001 late-season stint, and is by all accounts one of the top 10 backups in the league. When the Vikings last season were wrestling with the idea of benching struggling starter Daunte Culpepper, it was Bouman's untapped potential that in part motivated them.
LB Rosevelt Colvin, New England
Forget deal of the offseason, the Patriots' stealthy pursuit of Colvin was one of the most successful maneuvers in recent free-agent history. I would have loved to been able to tap into the phone line when Colvin's agent called the Cardinals to tell them that his client was going to accept a Patriots signing bonus that was half the size of the $12 million beauty they were offering. Colvin injects some much needed youth and speed into New England's defense and it should be fun to see how head coach Bill Belichick uses Colvin's ability to shift between outside linebacker and third-down pass-rushing defensive end.
RB Stephen Davis, Carolina
Steve Spurrier had no use for him in D.C., but Davis could be perfect for what John Fox wants to do in Carolina. The Panthers aren't built around their passing game, so look for Fox to grind it out with Davis sticking the ball in his gut 30 times a game. In a weak year for running backs in both free agency and the draft, Davis was clearly in a class by himself. That didn't earn him the free-agent contract he once had hoped for, but that's okay, he made enough money in Washington to last him. What he has back is what he had lost with the Redskins -- relevance in his team's offensive game plan -- even if he's playing at the bargain price of $3 million per year.
QB Jake Delhomme, Carolina
There's not much of a track record to go on with the former Saints backup, but what we've seen we've liked. More than a few observers thought Delhomme was an intriguing option in this year's veteran quarterback market, and the Panthers came away with him by giving him a deal that pays him halfway between a starter and a top No. 2. With the likes of Rodney Peete, Randy Fasani, and the all but forgotten Chris Weinke as his competition, Delhomme is in good position to claim the starting job at some point in 2003. At 28, he's still young enough for the Panthers to build around, but he has enough experience to allow Carolina to avoid the growing pains of playing an untested quarterback.
DE Hugh Douglas, Jacksonville
Speaking of quiet pursuits and surprise endings, the Jaguars didn't become a serious player in the Douglas bidding until the final 48 hours. But for what amounts to a two-year, $10.1 million commitment, the Jaguars landed the most proven pass rusher available this offseason. That's a relative pittance. In other years, Douglas might have warranted a small-scale Reggie White-like bidding war. Yes, at 31, Douglas is starting to collect some wear on him. But he remains a strong locker room presence, and his team leadership role will be more than tangentially beneficial to the rebuilding Jaguars and new head coach Jack Del Rio.
CB Al Harris, Green Bay
One of the game's best nickel cornerbacks, Harris could have started for more than half the teams in the league in recent years. But playing behind Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor in Philadelphia, that wasn't going to happen. Needing secondary help, Green Bay wisely targeted the Eagles' surplus of defensive backs, sending a second-round pick to Philadelphia for Harris and a fourth-round selection. Though it seems like he has been around for much longer, Harris is only 28, and his cover skills are well-honed. Would the Packers have gotten a comparable starting cornerback with their pick in the second round? Not likely, and certainly not one who's as polished as Harris, plus Green Bay picks up a fourth-round pick it sent to New England in the Terry Glenn trade last year.
S Rodney Harrison, New England
Besides landing a still productive veteran and quality team leader when they swooped in and picked Harrison off the market last week, the Patriots gave themselves options on the Tebucky Jones front. New England put the franchise tag on Jones, but are shopping him in exchange for a second-round pick. If they get their price, they'll have two No. 1's and two No. 2's and could be one of the draft's real movers and shakers. At worse, they'll sit back and stock up. That's still the best way to make a dramatic jump in the standings from one year to the next. The best part? At $14.4 million over six years, including $2.5 million to sign, Harrison came relatively cheaply.
QB Jake Plummer, Denver
There's a real risk factor in turning the Broncos offense over to the mistake-prone Plummer, but the potential benefits outweigh everything else. The best analysis I've heard about Plummer is that he could be the next Vinny Testaverde, who struggled with turnovers and the tag of being a less-than-cerebral quarterback for six years in Tampa Bay before blossoming into a playoff quarterback in Cleveland and later New York. Again, the price that Denver paid for Plummer helped make this a shrewd move. He'll receive basically $4 million per year for two seasons, before Denver must make a long-term decision about the relationship. Unless you're one of the few who believed that Brian Griese's Broncos career was salvageable, Plummer was the percentage gamble.
WR Peerless Price, Atlanta
When the Falcons executed their trade for Price, the Bills' franchise player, I questioned whether Atlanta owner Arthur "Blank Check" hadn't again overpaid a player in terms of signing bonus. Price getting $10 million to sign after just one season of elite receiver production seemed exorbitant. But then along came Daniel Snyder and Laveranues Coles' $13 million signing bonus. Now Price seems like a bargain. I wonder how crazy things might have gotten had Snyder and Blank started bidding against one another for Price, who was originally Washington's top-rated free-agent receiver. In any event, Price gives Michael Vick a legitimate go-to target for the first time in his young career.
LB Takeo Spikes, Buffalo
The Bills have attacked the offseason as effectively as anyone in the league, with Spikes being the centerpiece of that well coordinated plan. He's a tackling machine who is in his prime, and after demanding and receiving his liberation from the Bengals' losing environment, the hope is that Spikes' game will be even further energized. With Spikes and fellow free-agent signee Jeff Posey playing on either side of holdover London Fletcher, the Bills have their best group of linebackers since their Super Bowl era. If Buffalo follows up with a strong effort in the draft, here's guessing that the improving Bills will be the chic pick in this year's AFC East race.
DT John Thornton and DE Carl Powell, Cincinnati
Thornton (left) is a tackle and Powell plays end, but we're lumping together these two signings by the Bengals, because they're similar in many ways. Both Powell and Thornton are young and talented on-their-way-up linemen who many in the league felt were among the best values in this year's free agency crop. Their games aren't flashy, but they're the kind of building block pieces that the Bengals need in order to execute that long-awaited turnaround. Credit should go to new head coach Marvin Lewis for just how much he has already changed the dynamic in Cincinnati. He has identified and aggressively pursued players who are more about substance than style, eschewing the big splash-style signing that prioritizes good publicity over production.
