Land of the free agent

A comprehensive breakdown of the AFC's hired help

NFC team-by-team breakdown

I want to try to catch up on almost five months of offseason dealing for you; I'll try to give the whole thing an overview and decide whether or not the quantity and quality of players departed equal those of the recent arrivals. For some teams, such as Jacksonville, an overload in the departures column was impossible to avoid, given the Jags' hopeless salary cap situation.

Sorry, but rookies are not factored into this equation, since 1) we've already done a draft analysis; and 2) so far the only measure of their credibility is non-contact work in the minicamps, which ain't enough to go on. One thing always bugs me about these analyses of player movement. A guy is replaced through lack of ability and the team is credited with upgrading the position. But then he goes somewhere else, and presto, his new team is also congratulated for upgrading itself. It's as if the writer doing the analysis has frequent memory lapses. I'll try to avoid this trap. I can't mention every player, but here are the highlights, by division. I'll give you the NFC breakdown separately.

AFC EAST

First they hired Kevin Gilbride, a run-n-shoot guy, to coach the offense; then they traded for Drew Bledsoe, a classic down-the-field thrower. I called GM Tom Donahoe to discuss this possible conflict in approach.

"Kevin's not married to the run-n-shoot," Donahoe said. "He has a solid background in the kind of offense we want to run with Drew." Well, if the formula works, then the trade ranks with the Redskins' pickup of Jeremiah Trotter and Ricky Williams' journey to Miami as the most significant offseason deals. Elsewhere, LBs Sam Cowart and Jay Foreman are gone, and London Fletcher and Eddie Robinson move in. Call it a plus, unless Cowart is fully recovered from his Achilles tendon injury, then it's a big plus for his new team, the Jets. John Fina was showing his years at LT. Now ex-Bronco Trey Teague is the man. The Bills pick up youth here. I don't like new safety Billy Jenkins as much as the man he replaced, Keion Carpenter, but I do like the acquisition of kicker Mike Hollis.

Call it a great offseason if the Bledsoe trade works out and the O-line is sturdy enough to give him time to get the ball downfield.

How will Williams do? Depends on whether Leon Searcy can shake off two years worth of injuries and return to his old form, either at tackle or a new position, guard. The O-line is in flux. Gone are Spencer Folau and Heath Irwin from a banged-up unit that spawned a running attack that finished 23rd in the league last year. I don't much like what's happened to the D-line, either. The Dolphins lost Kenny Mixon, a very sturdy plugger at LE, Lorenzo Bromell and Rich Owens, and acquired Larry Chester, an inside guy, and Rob Burnett, who'll be 35 when the season starts, to replace Mixon. Two years ago Burnett was a terrific player, but he started to wear down last season. And that's about it for significant pickups. Gone is their starting SS, Brian Walker, and their punter, Matt Turk. It's been a fingers-crossed type of offseason, which will get a healthier spin if Williams runs for 1,300 yards or more.

Last year Scott Pioli, the personnel director, and Bill Belichick did about the best job of fitting players into positions that I've ever seen. These guys see things that the rest of the world misses, so when they devote an offseason to more blue-collar people, more role players, such as TE Christian Fauria, former Steelers starting guard Rich Tylski, WR Donald Hayes, CB Tom Knight and a pair of ex-Jet D-linemen, Steve Martin and Rick Lyle, you won't hear any criticism from this quarter. I think they got two terrific special teamers in Ratcliff Thomas and Chris Hayes. TE Cam Cleeland is a good gamble, if healthy, which he's never been. And what have the Patriots lost from their Super Bowl squad? Well, Bledsoe in a trade, and Terry Glenn, who was a non-factor last year, and Brandon Mitchell, a part-time starter on the D-line. Usually the defending champion sees its team decimated the following year, its superstars going the way of the long green. But this team didn't have very many, and the ones who might fall into the superstar category, present or future, are signed. It's a very happy situation.

It all starts with the unit up front that must protect 38-year-old Vince Testaverde. Two starters are gone and Dave Szott, a pickup who was being counted on to start, is out, probably for the year, with a torn ACL. If they can fix this mess from within, fine, but it's a big if. Defensively, they'll probably generate a decent pass rush, but they couldn't stop the run last year. Here comes another if ... if Cowart, who replaces OLB James Farrior, who was starting to come into his own at the end of last season, can return to his near All-Pro form, then they're in business. I think the new corners, Aaron Beasley and Donnie Abraham, will do a better job in run support than last year's departed starters, and the Jets picked up big, tough SS Sam Garnes, not for his coverage but for his run-stopping. Victor Green, a tackling machine for many years, wore down last season. He's gone now. Riddick Parker, Steve White and Larry Webster are the D-line pickups as Lyle, Martin and Shane Burton depart. We'll call this grouping a tie, maybe a slight upgrade. The biggest improvement could be in the punting game where Turk, if he can recapture his old form, replaces Tom Tupa, whose leg died last season.

AFC NORTH

This is the year in which the salary cap sank its fangs deep into the meat of the batting order. I count 12 starters gone from last season, and I might be missing a player or two. You know the names. No need for a full rehash. Go down the roster and there is practically no position that hasn't been hit. And who is the lone pickup allowed by the meager cap budget? QB Jeff Blake, giving it a go with his fourth team. And that's after Brian Billick spent a lot of time at the league meetings telling us how ready the young, untested Chris Redman was. If the Ravens are respectable, it'll be a tribute to Billick's coaching, but they're fighting a terrible numbers crunch in the old personnel department.

Minimal entries, as usual, on the arrival/departure chart. QB Gus Frerotte, backup DE Eric Ogbogu and CB Jeff Burris are new Bengals, and, I'm sorry, but I can't find anything there to excite me. TE Tony McGee and S Chris Carter are gone. Ditto. I apologize for such sparse news but boldness in free agency never has been the Bengals' style. The young guys have to improve (no, I won't say "step up"); rookies have to come through. In other words it has to come from within.

Here is the mandate for 2002 -- run the ball, stop the run. The Browns were last and third from last in those categories last season. OK, to address the former they drafted a runner, William Green, in the first round -- whoops, slipped up there. I said I wasn't going to mention rookies. Well, just this one, OK? New O-linemen are tackles Barry Stokes and ex-Ram Ryan Tucker, who struggled as a pass protector last year but did OK as a drive blocker on the power side. Gone are Roman Oben and Jeremy McKinney. I'd call this a plus. Run-stoppers arrive on defense: DE Kenard Lang, ILB Earl Holmes and SS Robert Griffith, along with CB Emmanuel McDaniel, who's not exactly ferocious against the run but once was a pretty good nickelback for the Giants. Defensive losses? Ends Keith McKenzie and Greg Spires, MLB Wali Rainer. I'd say the Browns are on the plus side of the ledger.

Twenty-and-a-half of 22 starters return. Holmes and Tylski, a part-time starter, are gone. They lost some reserves here and there, nothing to get excited about, and picked up QB Charlie Batch to back up Kordell Stewart; WR Terance Mathis, who has lost a step but still led the Falcons with 51 catches last season; LB Farrior, who might turn out to be better than people expect; and K Todd Peterson. The latter will replace Kris Brown, who came down with a case of the yips last year. Add the rookie crop to this mix and how can you not like the Steelers to make a serious run at the Super Bowl?

AFC SOUTH

Riches in the cap department translates to an army of mercenaries, far too many to name here, and, of course, the arrival/departure chart is meaningless because no one can depart from a squad that had no prior existence. So we'll summarize. Where do expansion teams usually suffer most during their formative years? Defense, you say? I'd be more inclined to say offensive line. And that is exactly where the Texans have devoted their most serious thinking, and surprise, this could be a formidable unit, well suited to protect their hot young rookie QB if LT Tony Boselli is functional. Three shoulder surgeries are not a good sign. On the plus side, he's 30, not exactly ancient for an O-lineman. He doesn't have to be an All-Pro, just good enough, because the people around him can play. Ex-Jets RT Ryan Young is a budding star and he's only 26. I know the ramifications of the deal, but the Jets were still nuts to let him go. Ex-Colts guard Steve McKinney, now working at center, is solid. Ex-Charger DeMingo Graham is a decent drive blocker. The fifth guy, Jeremy McKinney? Well, I'm not wild about him, but he did start for Cleveland. Yeah, I know. I said that the Browns upgraded the unit by replacing him, but four out of five ain't bad. Defensively, my favorite acquisitions are MLB Kailee Wong from the Vikings and ex-Jaguars DT Gary Walker, if he comes back from groin and hernia surgery.

Former Bear Walt Harris is the left corner, Burris is gone, and that's about the most serious free agency move the Colts have made to upgrade a defense that gave up the most points in the league. Unless, of course, you count a draft that devoted its first six picks to defense, but I read somewhere that I'm not supposed to talk about rookies here. Strong safety Chad Cota, willing but not exactly speedy, is gone. So is special teams ace Ratcliff Thomas, a LB. They picked up Titans starting SLB Greg Favors. I don't think the free agency moves are going to turn the defense around. That's up to the gang of rookies. And offensively, I'd say they're in the minus column. Losses include O-line regulars Steve McKinney and Larry Moore, TE Ken Dilger and wideouts Jerome Pathon and Terrence Wilkins, a kick returner of note. Acquisitions? Backup QB Brock Huard, wideout Qadry Ismail, TE Jermaine Wiggins.

Furious, churning activity has marked the Jags' offseason. Here and there, some interesting pickups, but some tough cap hits, too. Let's touch on the highlights on a few positions. WR: Keenan McCardell gone, Patrick Johnson and Bobby Shaw on board. That's a minus. OL: Boselli and regular center Jeff Smith gone, Raleigh Roundtree, Chris Naeole, Kevin Long and Daryl Terrell aboard. A minus if Boselli regains something close to his old form with the Texans, a plus if his injuries keep him out again. It's a hard, nasty way to look at things, but this is the kind of tally personnel people keep. DL: Three starters, E Renaldo Wynn and both tackles, Seth Payne and Gary Walker, gone, Stalin Colinet, Tim Morabito and Marco Coleman aboard. A minus, although I think that the 32-year-old Coleman still has some good football left in him. LB: Kevin Hardy and an aging Hardy Nickerson gone, Wali Rainer on board. A minus. CB: Aaron Beasley gone, Ike Charlton on board. Can't say. K: Mike Hollis gone, Jaret Holmes on board. Looks like a minus, but you never know with kickers. Sorry Jags, too many minuses.

I like what the Titans have done in the backfield, picking up two underrated players, RB Robert Holcombe and FB Greg Comella, to offer support to Eddie George. Jeff Smith replaces C Kevin Long, who had fallen out of favor. Defensively, they've lost more than they've gained. Ex-Niner Lance Schulters is a big league strong safety, if his shoulder is OK, and he replaces Blaine Bishop, a proud old warrior whose body simply started breaking down. But look at the losses: DBs Michael Booker and DeRon Jenkins, starting LBs Greg Favors and Eddie Robinson, D-linemen Jason Fisk and Josh Evans. Which is why their first six draft picks were all on the defensive side.

AFC WEST

Last year they brought in a mob of free agents. Remember how giddy everyone was about Leon Lett and Chester McGlockton? Didn't exactly work out, did it? Well, they've cut back now. Some of their acquisitions are interesting, such as 34-year-old TE Shannon Sharpe, who returns after a two-year sojourn in Baltimore; some are gambles that could pay big dividends, such as ex-Cardinals WR Rob Moore, who's been out of football for two years. Blocker Howard Griffith is gone. So is LB Bill Romanowski, LT Trey Teague and Lett. They'll be OK on the O-line, with ex-Bear Blake Brockermeyer replacing Teague, but even through Romo was slowing down, his smarts on defense will be missed. Two interesting pickups are ex-Cowboys DB Izell Reese and Lional Dalton, who was effective in the D-line mix in Baltimore. Last year the Broncos' offense was crippled by a jayvee set of wideouts, but if Moore is anywhere near his old form, the position could be a real plus.

Can OT Willie Roaf, coming back from an injury plagued season, replace departed Victor Riley on the power side? Can they find an OLB as active as Donnie Edwards, who's gone now? Will Morten Andersen, at 42, still be able to get that old oomph into his field goals as Todd Peterson's replacement? Nagging questions, but serious enough. They pick up 50 catches with Johnnie Morton (77) replacing Derrick Alexander (27) at wideout, and that's about the extent of the free agency activity I can report from K.C.

This is an old team, but I guess you're tired of reading that by now, and it didn't get any younger by plugging in 36-year-old Romanowski and 33-year-old Gerald Dixon at the outside LB spots, replacing William Thomas (33) and Elijah Alexander (31). How about their second first-round pick, Napoleon Harris, you ask? Sorry, we don't talk about rookies here, not even about top choice Phillip Buchanon, who'll replace the retired Eric Allen at CB. OK, let's change the rules. This is a free agency column, but we'll mention a rookie when absolutely necessary. How's that? At 37, Rod Woodson should have just the right amount of seasoning to step in as Al Davis' free safety. The question is, has Willie Brown really retired, or is he ready to give it one more go for the Silver and Black? Yeah, I know, I'm being a smartass and the Raiders have done just fine without my help. On the D-line, Grady Jackson, Darrell Russell and Regan Upshaw (torn ACL) are gone, but the Raiders helped ease the pain by signing one of the game's finest run stoppers on the interior line, ex-Charger John Parrella. They'll need him. Enemy runners gained 4.6 yards per carry against the Raiders' D last year, second worst in the league.

Their new OLB, Donnie Edwards, is quick and active. It'll be interesting to see how he fits in with Junior Seau. Ex-Titan Jason Fisk is a run-stopping DT in the Parrella mold, although not quite as sturdy. Wideout Jeff Graham is gone and so are three O-linemen. The new guys up front are Bob Hallen and Cory Raymer, who started at center for the Redskins. Another ex-Skin, Stephen Alexander, is one of those tight ends who's always talked about in the future. He replaces Freddie Jones, a go-to receiver. Yep, it'll be up to the rookies to inject new life into a team that wins more fans every day by threatening to move to L.A.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Paul Zimmerman covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. To send a question to Dr. Z's Mailbag, click here.