Time to catch up on the weeks happenings in the NFC West!
The Seahawks paid up to nab WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, which could end up having a tremendous trickle down effect on the draft day top 20 or so. Arizona finally got Kurt Warner under wraps and the 49ers are slowly solidifying role players on offense and defense. St. Louis has been less than active, but locking up C Jason Brown will turn out to be one of the biggest moves in free agency, and re-signing their own CB Ron Bartell may end up being one of the better long term signings they could have made.
Below you will find the charts updated and notes on the most recent signings. See you below the fold!
|
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
2008 Record and Rank: 4-12 3rd place |
Team Needs | Likely DraftTargets (rd) |
| WR, CB, OT, FS, SS, RB, QB, OG | WR, Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech(1st) | |
| Free Agents Acquired | Current Free Agents | Free Agents/Players Lost |
|
DT Colin Cole (signed) WR TJ Houshmandzadeh LB LeRoy Hill UFA*(franchised) |
QB Charlie Frye UFA FB Leonard Weaver UFA WR Bobby Engram UFA WR Ben Obomanu RFA WR Koren Robinson UFA TE Will Heller UFA TE Itula Mili UFA PK Tyler Jones UFA OG Chris Gray UFA OT Floyd Womack UFA C Steve McKinney UFA LS Jeff Robinson UFA OT Ray Willis UFA DL Rocky Bernard UFA DL Howard Green UFA DL Marcus Tubbs UFA LB D.D. Lewis UFA LB Wesley Mallard UFA CB Kevin Hobbs RFA FS C.J. Wallace RFA |
RB Maurice Morris (signed) OG Chris Gray (retired) DT Rocky Bernard (signed) |
- With FB Leonard Weaver taking himself off the table with the Saints, signs are pointing towards him being most comfortable resigning with the Seahawks on their terms.
- Signing DT Colin Cole could be a significant upgrade for the 'hawks, but he will need to prove he has enough gas to be an everydown player. As a net gain over Rocky Bernard, however, it is almost foolproof.
- Seattle is getting warmed up to some more free agents, including LSers Mike Leach and Bryan Pittman. They are also looking for a sure upgrade at FS, and right now that looks to be Jermaine Phillips.
|
ST LOUIS RAMS
2008 Record and Rank: 2-14 4th place |
Team Needs | Likely Draft Targets (rd) |
| OT, CB, ILB, OLB, QB, C, OG, DT, TE, SS, WR |
OT, Eugene Monroe,Virginia(1st) OLB Aaron Curry, WF (1st) |
|
| Free Agents Acquired | Current Free Agents | Free Agents/Players Lost |
|
QB Brock Berlin (unknown) WR Matt Caddell (res/fut) WR Travis Brown (res/fut) DL Willie X. Williams(res/fut) WR Nate Jones(res/fut) DL C.J. Ah You(res/fut) FS Jimmy F. Williams(res/fut) WR Joe Filani(Res/Fut) LB Quint Culberson (unknown) CB Ron Bartell C Jason Brown OG Richie Incognito UFA*(tendered) DL Victor Adeyanju RFA*(tendered) FA Oshiomogho Atogwe UFA*(franchised) |
RB Travis Minor UFA RB Samkon Gado UFA FB Richard Owens UFA WR Dante' Hall UFA WR Dane Looker UFA TE Dominique Byrd RFA OG Mark Setterstrom RFA OT Adam Goldberg UFA OT Anthony Davis UFA OT Brandon Gorin UFA OT Rob Petitti UFA C Nick Leckey UFA C Corey Withrow UFA C Brett Romberg UFA DL La'Roi Glover UFA DL Eric M. Moore UFA LB Gary Stills UFA CB Fakhir Brown UFA CB Jason Craft UFA CB Ricky Manning Jr. UFA |
QB Trent Green (cut) WR Drew Bennett (cut) SS Corey Chavous (cut) |
- The signing of crown jewel free agent C Jason Brown should make Stephen Jackson happy. As one of the top 5 overall talents available in free agency, the Rams chose wisely on where to spend their cash.
- With both Torry Holt and Orlando Pace on the trading block, the team only realistically looks to get something for Pace at this point. Holt should be released soon, an will end up being a great signing for some team looking for a couple of good years from a productive receiver with solid hands and routerunning.
- Signing CB Ron Bartell should work out to a great deal for the Rams. They underpaid him compared to some of the top deals for CBs in this free agency period, and yet got one of the best young players, and one of the more productive players at the position.
|
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
2008 Record and Rank: 7-9 2nd place |
Team Needs | Likely DraftTargets (rd) |
| QB, RT, OLB, DE, CB, FS, RB, WR, FB |
DE/OLB, Everette Brown, Florida St(1st) OT, Andre Smith, Alabama (1st) |
|
| Free Agents Acquired | Current Free Agents | Free Agents/Players Lost |
|
WR Micheal Spurlock(Res/Fut) FS Jimmy Williams(undisclosed) LB Takeo Spikes FB Moran Norris DE Demetric Evans QB Damon Huard CB Allen Rossum WR Brandon Jones |
QB Jamie Martin UFA RB DeShaun Foster UFA FB Zak Keasey ERFA TE Sean P. Ryan UFA TE Billy Bajema UFA OG Tony Wragge RFA OL Damane Duckett UFA DE Roderick Green UFA CB Donald Strickland UFA |
SS Keith Lewis (cut) LB Tully Banta-Cain (cut) QB J.T. O'Sullivan (signed) DL Ronald Fields (signed) WR Bryant Johnson (signed) S Keith Lewis (cut) |
- The Brandon Jones came in a little on the expensive side, and the deal sounds like guaranteed starter money. For a team that is looking to run first, second and often, this move seems highly dependent upon the 49ers plans at QB going forward.
- The Niners are looking at the Demetric Evans signing as catching a player on the upswing, but with his swithc from 4-3 to 3-4 and limited production even at his best, they would have a right to be wary. he probably won't put up big numbers in SF either, but he will be key depth to keep their line playing fresh.
|
ARIZONA CARDINALS
2008 Record and Rank: 9-7 1st place |
Team Needs | Likely Draft Targets (rd) |
| RB, DE, OLB, OG, TE, P, CB |
OLB Clint Sintim, Virginia (1st) RB Chris Wells, Ohio State (1st) |
|
| Free Agents Acquired | Current Free Agents | Free Agents/Players Lost |
|
DT Keilen Dykes (Res/Fut) CB Wilrey Fontenot (Res/Fut) WR Onrea Jones (Res/Fut) SS Dennis Keyes (Res/Fut) WR Lance Long (Res/Fut) C Ben Claxton (Res/Fut) FB Justin Green (Res/Fut) QB Tyler Palko(Res/Fut) P Waylon Prather (Res/Fut) DE Jason Banks TE Alex Shor RB Chris Vincent S Keith Lewis LB Karlos Dansby UFA*(Franchised) DL Gabe Watson RFA*(tendered) TE Leonard Pope RFA*(tendered) QB Kurt Warner P Ben Graham QB Brian St. Pierre |
FB Tim Castille ERFA* FB Terrelle Smith UFA TE Ben Patrick ERFA* TE Jerame Tumane UFA TE Stephen Spach ERFA* C Lyle Sendlein ERFA* C Pat Ross ERFA DL Bertrand Berry UFA LB Monty Beisel UFA LB Pago Togafu ERFA* OG Elton Brown UFA G/C Scott Peters UFA T Elliot Valejo ERFA* LB Clark Haggans UFA CB Ralph Brown UFA CB Michael Adams ERFA* CB Eric Green UFA |
LS Nathan Hodel (cut) RB J.J. Arrington (signed) DL Antonio Smith (signed)
|
- The Cardinals still have a lot of work to do in free agency, and many of their UFAs including Clark Haggans, Eric Green and Elton Brown have been getting long looks from teams around the league.
- Resigning Kurt Warner was huge, and reports that he was willing to "take one for the team" to get Anquan Boldin to resign are sweet, really. There was no way that would have seriously impacted the Boldin situation, but it is the thought that counts.
- Edgerrin James' situation looks like it is likely to be a "veteran minimum" by the time it gets sorted out after the draft. They don't seem to be in any hurry to peruse the RB free agents, and they still have unfinished business to do with reassembling the coaching staff, so Edge may just have to wait.
- The Cardinals look to be in the market to replace their longsnapper and are looking at Mike Leach currently. They also have their eye on CB Bryant McFadden, though he wouldn't get the payday he was expecting if he settles for the Cards.