| Contributing editor Joel Buchsbaum
gives ProFootballWeekly.com his thoughts on the recent cuts, salary-cap situations and
franchise-tagged players throughout the NFL. 
Buchsbaum: Some clubs, such as the Bills, will do whatever it takes to get out of
salary-cap hell. Other clubs, such as the Jaguars, are saying that they may create even
more problems for themselves down the road, but they want to get it right this year. And
then there are other teams, such as the Colts, which are in good salary-cap shape right
now, but are risking being in bad shape down the road to have even more money available to
sign a couple of quality free agents — possibly a Marcellus Wiley or Kenny Holmes in
the Colts’ case. That would really upgrade the Colts’ defense and give them a
legitimate shot at winning the Super Bowl this year.
QB John Friesz being cut by the Patriots was no surprise. He made too much money, and
Tom Brady has made too much progress. The Patriots also sent Michael Bishop to NFL Europe.
OGs Keith Sims and Tré Johnson are expected cuts by the Redskins. Neither is healthy.
Johnson has a huge contract and Sims has a pretty big one.
WR Tony Martin was an expected cut from the Dolphins. If he wanted to work for a lot
less, such as the veteran minimum, they would’ve taken him back.
Jacksonville, obviously, by restructuring with OT Tony Boselli and working on
restructuring with other players including QB Mark Brunell, is saying, "Despite how
far over the cap we are, we feel we still can win this year or next year." And they
won’t say it, but they are going to put themselves in salary-cap hell eventually,
like with the 49ers (all those IOUs are going to come due). But they hope to get in a
couple of big years before those IOUs start coming due.
The Rams’ cuts of DLs Ray Agnew and D’Marco Farr were expected. Agnew is a
solid player, but not a (big-salary) player, considering his age and how he has started to
show signs of slipping. Farr was a Pro Bowl player. But his knee has gotten progressively
worse, and it’s at the point now where he’s just a situational player and
he’s not even effective at that. LB Mike Jones is a guy everybody knew wouldn’t
be back. He’s lost a step and he has to make big plays, because he’s not a
strong point-of-attack player. And he wasn’t making the big plays last year, plus he
was missing a lot of open-field tackles last year, which was something he never had done
before.
The big question for Bills QB Rob Johnson is: Will he go to San Diego, where John
Butler (who traded a first-round pick to get him in Buffalo) and head coach Mike Riley
(who was his offensive coordinator at USC) both are. With regard to the Bills, it’s
obvious they’re going to get themselves out of salary-cap hell this year, and
they’re going to hope to have a competitive team with Doug Flutie at quarterback.
They realize that this is going to be a step back, but they’ve got to do it. They
could have an all-new defensive line and they may go to a 4-3 look, instead of a 3-4 look.
With regard to Ted Washington, he’s the premier inside run stuffer in the game
today, and the best at keeping blockers off linebackers. So it will be interesting to see
how effective the inside linebackers are without him protecting them — Sam Cowart and
John Holecek (if they keep him, but I think they’re going to go to a 4-3 and faze one
of them out). On the other hand, Washington’s going to be 33 years old. He was
scheduled to make more than $7 million this year, and he wears down, so you can’t use
him on every down, and he’s not a pass rusher.
OG Joe Panos was a good player, but since he was injured, he has not been a good
player. Chris Mohr is basically a journeyman punter whose production has dropped off a
little bit in recent years.
The Jets’ cuts are basically a strong indication that they will go to a 4-3,
considering the players they cut. LB Roman Phifer’s a very good player, still,
he’s probably lost a step. He’s not an impact player, though he made that type
of money. LB Bryan Cox is a great leader, if he gets along with you. He can be a big
positive or a big negative in the clubhouse or on the field. He’s instinctive, he can
rush the passer, but he lacks speed and range and is coming off an injury. LB Dwayne
Gordon is a solid backup in a 3-4 scheme. He’s better inside in a 3-4 than in a 4-3.
Ernie Logan is a nose tackle (in the 3-4).
With regard to the franchised players: The Rams will trade Kevin
Carter (if that’s what he wants), if they can get not two, but one first-round pick
for him. When the Lions and Giants don’t use the franchise tag, it shows they feel
they have trust in the players they are negotiating with and that it avoids animosity.
Basically they’re saying to the players that they’re going to offer them more
money than the franchise tag would’ve been, and that they respect the players and
they hope the players respect that they will make the players a fair offer. And there will
be much better feelings all-around. The Bears wanted a deal done very badly with DL Bryan
Robinson, but couldn’t get it done. They like him a lot. They feel he’d probably
be a better tackle. The Cardinals just could not afford to lose Aeneas Williams. They just
don’t have enough at cornerback and they didn’t want to put the tag on Simeon
Rice, who has such a lousy attitude. The Colts put the tag on TE Marcus Pollard, not
because he’s a franchise player, but because the average of the top tight ends is so
low that that’s the type of money they’re talking about anyhow, and it
guarantees the amount. DE Jason Taylor is the guy the Dolphins wanted a deal done with,
but couldn’t reach it. They’re still a little skeptical over last year, because
the year before, he did so little. If they just have to pay him for one year and see how
he does, it might actually turn out in their benefit. |
