Mason has 8 seasons of 70 or more catches and 1000 or more yards in his last 9 seasons, despite spending all of this time with the Titans and the Ravens, two of the most notoriously run heavy conservative offenses in the league. He caught 103 passes in 2007 with a pile of crap at quarterback and he has caught 153 yards over the last 2 years, despite being 34 and 35 years old, and playing with a rookie quarterback. The Ravens have added two receivers, Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth to the mix this offseason, but there is nothing like bringing back a proven thing, who has good proven chemistry with your franchise quarterback. No one should be happier about this move than Joe Flacco and if your young franchise quarterback is happy, you, as a team should be happy. Flacco now has Boldin, Mason, and Ray Rice, all of whom caught more than 70 passes last year, and Stallworth, who has upside if he can bounce back from a season in which he was suspended. Oh, and they are only playing Mason 8 million over 2 years, another brilliant value move for this franchise.

Grade: A

Mason’s reception totals have dropped in each of the past 4 seasons, from 103 to 80 to 73 to 61 last year and he’s 38 in January so I don’t think he has a ton left, but at the same time, this was never a guy who relied on speed and athleticism even in his prime. He’s a crafty veteran who did catch 61 passes last year and the Jets are getting him at the veteran’s minimum to be their slot receiver, so this is a nice, cheap signing.

Grade: A

 

Running Back

Kentucky

5-8 188

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #94

Draft Board Overall Running Back Rank: #9

Rating: 69 (Late 3rd)

40 time: 4.46

2/19/11: At 186 pounds, Derrick Locke is not going to be an every down runner in the NFL. However, I think he can hold up as a 3^rd down back, a la Darren Sproles. Locke was one of the most explosive runners on the college level last year. It didn’t take a lot to bring him down, but with his initial burst and good leverage and elite shiftiness, he’s also tough to find. His 40 time is going to be one of the fastest, but if you look at his first 5 or 10 yards, he might be the fastest player at the Combine. His initial burst is that good.

He also catches passes well, with 88 catches in his last 3 seasons, and anytime you put the ball in his hands, he’s a threat to go the distance. He also returned kickoffs for Kentucky, returned 2 to the house in 3 seasons and putting up a solid average in the process. His high at Kentucky in carries is 195 and I doubt he ever breaks that in the pros, but he’s certainly got late 3^rd round value as a luxury pick and a cool weapon. With so many RBBCs in the league right now, Locke has a place in the league.

NFL Comparison: Darren Sproles

 

 

Bio:

Derek has been blogging about the Baltimore Ravens (as well as the MLB’s Baltimore Orioles) on his personal website, B’More Birds’ Nest, since 2007.  Since then, his work has been featured on other sites such as Bleacher Report, Baltimore’s WNST Sports Talk 1570, the Baltimore Sun’s Charm City Current, Yardbarker, and others.  He blogs under the name “NestMinder” on B’More Birds’ Nest, which received a full write up in a Baltimore Sun article about Ravens bloggers during the 2008 NFL Playoffs.  Derek was only a year old when the Colts left town, so grew up as a fan of the NFL but of no team in particular.  He then had no reservations about jumping in with both feet when the Ravens arrived in 1996, and has been a huge fan ever since.  Derek’s favorite sports memory to date is Super Bowl XXXV, and when he isn’t blogging you can probably find him enjoying a fine craft beer or playing with his two dogs.

Feel free to contact Derek any of the following ways:

Website: www.bmorebirdsnest.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/BMoreBirdsNestcom/137196162972064

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bmorebirdsnest

E-mail: nestminder@bmorebirdsnest.com

 

I don’t know how much this deal is for, but if the Panthers plan to start him week 1 like John Clayton suggested they could, they’re just stupid. I understand letting Newton sit behind a veteran presence is a good idea, but what the hell is Newton going to learn from Anderson. How to overthrow everyone? How to blow up in a post game press conference? How to take this shit seriously? How to win a game despite completing 2 passes?

If the Panthers were smart, they’d let Jimmy Clausen start a few more games in hopes of potentially boosting his trade value. Newton doesn’t necessarily need to sit behind an accomplished veteran (if you can even call Anderson that). He just needs to sit for a little bit, get a complete grasp of the offense, especially after a lockout shortened offseason, so he doesn’t go out there and start building bad habits.

Grade: F 

 

 

Debate the Denver Broncos’ Offseason Possibilities in The Football Fan Forum

2010 Preview:

I don’t like Denver this year and I’ll tell you why. I know what you’re thinking, didn’t you predict they’d be bad last year and then they proved you wrong and even when they were playing well to begin the year, you still didn’t think it was a good team? Most of that is true, except they didn’t prove me wrong and they didn’t play well to begin the year.

They started out 6-0, one of those wins was on a freak catch that bounced off a defender, a catch that I’m willing to bet Brandon Stokley couldn’t make again in a game 95 times out of 100. Another was in overtime, a win that, if the coin had flipped the other way to start the overtime, they could have easily lost. The Broncos won on a long field goal after winning the coin flip, while Tom Brady had to sit on the sideline and watch. They also beat Dallas by a field goal, which is kind of an impressive win, but considering the Cowboys weren’t playing well at the time, and it was only a field goal, I don’t think it’s as impressive as it sounds when people say they beat the division winning Cowboys. They beat Cleveland and Oakland, two teams that ended 5-11. Their most impressive win was against San Diego and when I say San Diego, I mean a 2-2 Chargers team that struggled out of the gate, not the 13-3 one that ended the season very strongly and destroyed Denver in a rematch.

Now, of course, if they had continued to play well after that, then I would have seen them as legitimate. But the fact that they went 2-8 after their 6-0 start really shows that they weren’t as good as their record showed to start the year and adds a lot of life to the word “fluke” I used to describe some of their early wins. They could have easily been 4-2 or 3-3 to start the year last year, if a coin had flipped the other way or Stokley hadn’t made that catch or they had caught Dallas or San Diego at their best.

This year, I actually think they’ll be worse. Brandon Marshall was their top deep threat last year. Without him, this is a short throw offense only. We saw them try to be a short throw offense only, without Marshall week 17 last year, and they got destroyed by the lowly Chiefs. They picked off Orton three times on short throws, because the Broncos were becoming extremely predictable. Two of those picks were returned for scores, fueling a 44-24 Chiefs win.

Another thing with the short throw offense, it limits your running game because the defense can come out in an eight man box and still effectively guard the pass. Kyle Orton is simply not as good of a quarterback as Marshall made him look last year and his receiving corps is not going to help him out this year much. His top 4 receivers are two rookies, a player in Eddie Royal who struggled mightily last year, and a journeyman in Jabar Gaffney. His tight end is an undrafted 2^nd year player out of Central Arkansas. They won’t help him as much as he needs. Also, remember Ryan Clady’s injury. That hurts Kyle Orton a lot as well. Unless Brady Quinn or Tim Tebow win the job and become a top 15 quarterback, this is not a good offensive bunch, and I can’t see Tebow doing that this year or Quinn doing that ever.

Defensively, they’re improved this year, but the loss of Mike Nolan as defensive coordinator hurts. Their age in the secondary hurts as well as they are projected to start 4 defensive backs over the age of 30 again. We saw last year how those guys tired out late in the season. That could happen this year, only worse. Justin Bannan and Jarvis Green are solid players and decent signings but shouldn’t be anything more than strong backups on a playoff team (which is were they were just that last year). Jamal Williams is also a solid player, but he’s getting up there in age. Their front 3 will be better this year, but still not as good as they need it to be. The loss of Andra Davis at middle linebacker also hurts their front 7 and I don’t think Elvis Dumervil can quite repeat what he did last year.

Overall, their offense is not going to be good and their defense is not going to be anywhere near good enough to make up for their offense’s shortcomings. Broncos fans can hate me all they want (and they do, trust me), but I am not a believer in this team this year.

Projection: 4-12 4th in AFC West

Power Ranking: 29 

Last season: 8-8 

Draft:

#22 WR Demaryius Thomas (Georgia Tech)

Thomas fills a need, but he’s not a very good player. He doesn’t run routes and he has shaky hands. He also is going to struggle to gain seperation at the next level and he is coming off of a foot injury. He was decently productive last year, but Danario Alexander was way more productive in a very similar offense (screen/short pass heavy) to Thomas and Alexander didn’t even get drafted. Neither of those guys have had experience running NFL caliber routes. I’m not saying they should have drafted Alexander here, but it’s pretty bad when you use a 1^st round pick on a guy who, by all indications, is, at the very least, not much better than a guy who wasn’t drafted.

Grade: D

#25 QB Tim Tebow (Florida)

This is an interesting pick. I love Tebow and I think he can be a solid quarterback in the NFL. I think Tebow has to be very pleased with going to the Broncos. He won’t have to contribute right away. Josh McDaniels, as moronic of a drafter as he is, is good with quarterbacks. Tebow also fits the shotgun style offense the Broncos run. However, I can’t give them a great grade considering they traded up, losing a ton of value according to the NFL Draft Trade Value Chart in the process, to take Tebow over Jimmy Clausen. Plus, I can’t say quarterback was a huge need for the Broncos considering they already have Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn on the roster and their run defense is still horrible.

Grade: B+

#45 OT Zane Beadles (Utah)

Beadles is a pretty big reach here and I can’t say he fills a huge need. Beadles can play some guard, but guard isn’t a big need for them either, especially not here. You can find solid guards in the 4th or 5th round, if the Broncos wanted some depth behind Hochstein and Kuper.

Grade: D

#80 C JD Walton (Baylor)

Walton is the top center in this draft class in my mind and a decent value in the 3^rd round and he does fill a need, but the Broncos still have not addressed the front 7, which was horrible last year. They got some solid front 7 players in free agency, but Jamal Williams is getting up there in age and both Jarvis Green and Justin Bannan shouldn’t be anything more than solid backups on good teams (that’s why they both were last year). Walton doesn’t have the positional value you’d like out of this pick considering how much help the Broncos need on the defensive line.

Grade: B

#87 WR Eric Decker (Minnesota)

I would have liked to have seen them take a front 7 player here, but after they traded Brandon Marshall, wide receiver became their biggest need and taking Thomas in the first doesn’t fill that need completely. Decker is a better receiver than Thomas in my mind and a great value in the 3^rd round and if Thomas somehow pans out, extremely doubtful, Decker can be a solid #2.

Grade: A

#137 CB Perrish Cox (Oklahoma State)

Cox is a great value as a late 3^rd round prospect in the 5^th, but cornerback was the one defensive position they didn’t need to address. They have two solid starters in Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman and they traded this year’s first round pick for Alphonso Smith last year. What are they going to do about the front 7? They couldn’t stop anyone on the ground last year, especially late.

Grade: C

#183 C Eric Olsen (Notre Dame)

Huh? Josh McDaniels really hates positional value doesn’t he. Olsen is a solid value, but this is the 2^nd center this have taken in this draft. I know it was a need, but two? Considering how low of a value the center position is and how much they need young talent in the front 7, this was pretty stupid.

Grade: F

#225 CB Syd’Quan Thompson (California)

Still not a front 7 player, but Thompson is a huge steal here and can play the role of nickelback in the future for this team, assuming one of Perrish Cox and Alphonso Smith don’t pan out.

Grade: B+

#232 RLB Jammie Kirlew (Indiana)

Finally a front 7 player, but rush linebacker was their least needed position of their front 7 needs. Also, Kirlew should not have been drafted because I don’t think he’s very good, and he doesn’t fit their 3-4 scheme at all. He’s basically a really, really, really poor man’s version of Robert Ayers.

Grade: D

Overall:

When Josh McDaniels took over this team, they were coming off of a season in which they were awful against the run. Since then, he has drafted two front 7 players, both of which are rush linebackers, and both of which don’t fit the scheme. This year, he made a huge reach in the 2^nd round, drafted 2 centers, took a player who isn’t first round caliber at all in the first, and took two more cornerbacks. Tebow makes some sense and could be their quarterback of the future and Decker was a solid value in the 3^rd round, but other than that, there wasn’t a lot to like. Overall, this team isn’t much better, if any better from this draft and considering they came in with two 2^nd rounders, that’s pretty bad.

Grade: D

Key undrafted free agents

OT Chris Marinelli (Stanford)

RB Toney Baker (NC State)

TE Nathan Overbay (Eastern Washington)

RB Chris Brown (Oklahoma)

S Kyle McCarthy (Notre Dame)

TE Riar Greer (Colorado)

WR Alric Arnett (West Virginia)

Positions of need: 

Nose Tackle:

They played Ronald Fields, a 311 pound former backup 3-4 defensive end as their primary nose tackle this year. The only reason they were better this season against the run is because, well, it was hard to be worse than they were in 2008 and/or Mike Nolan is a defensive genius. However, better doesn’t necessarily mean good. They were still really bad against the run, especially late in the season. A real nose tackle could fix that.

Signed Jamal Williams 

Middle Linebacker:

Their top middle linebacker this year was Andra Davis, a former Browns castoff, and somehow, he had a good year. I’m guessing Mike Nolan had something to do with that and now Nolan is in Miami. Davis is also 30 and had one year left on his contract so they’ll need a longterm replacement next to DJ Williams in the middle otherwise they will suck again against the run. Rolando McClain is going to be very tempting at 11.

Signed Akin Ayodele, Traded for Joe Mays

3-4 Defensive End:

I may not have mentioned this before, but the Broncos sucked against the run late last season, well, really for more of the last few years. Even if, by some miracle, Robert Ayers bulks up enough to play the position longterm in the future, they would still need one more end.

Signed Jarvis Green, Justin Bannan 

Rush Linebacker:

In case you could not tell, I was not a fan of the Broncos front 7 last year as shown by the fact that I listed every single 3-4 front 7 position as a need. Rush Linebacker will become even more of a need if Elvis Dumervil follows Mike Nolan to Miami. He had 17 of their 39 sacks last year. Even if Dumervil stays, they need to get someone opposite him. If it weren’t for Josh McDaniels stupidly hating Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler, I would just tell the Broncos to go with the best available 3-4 front 7 player for the first 4-5 rounds. If it weren’t for Josh McDaniels being an inept drafter, he might actually do that. Most likely he’ll just draft 17 defensive backs.

Wide Receiver:

As bad as their defense is, if they stupidly trade Brandon Marshall, this becomes need #1. In the one game they tried to play without Brandon Marshall, they got destroyed by the Chiefs because all Kyle Orton could do was attempt short throws to receivers who couldn’t do anything after the catch. Why do you think Brandon Marshall caught 22 passes in one game and the team still lost? They have nothing after him at receiver. If they let Marshall go and don’t replace him, their entire offense will look like it did week 17 last year for the entirety of the 2010 season. Dez Bryant has to be their pick at 11 if Marshall is traded. Hopefully McDaniels would get at least a 1^st rounder in return for Marshall if he did trade him because then they could use that on defense.

Drafted Demaryius Thomas (#22), Drafted Eric Decker (#87) 

Offensive Guard:

The top 4 guys on their depth chart at guard are all free agents. Hopefully they resign one and get another through free agency, but they may be forced to take one late in the draft. Guard doesn’t have a huge positional value which means McDaniels could target one in the first 3 rounds.

Tight End:

Tony Scheffler is also on Josh McDaniels’ naughty list for whatever reason and I doubt he’ll be brought back as a restricted free agent this offseason. Robert Quinn, their 2^nd round pick in 2009, had a grand total of 0 catches this year. I know he was drafted as a blocker, but still, they could have drafted him as a blocker in the 7^th round. Anyway, with both Quinn and Daniel Graham being blockers, they’ll need a pass catching tight end, maybe a guy like Garrett Graham in the 5^th round. Or maybe they’ll just take another blocker like Colin Peek.

Quarterback:

Kyle Orton is a restricted free agent this offseason which means Josh McDaniels could have to part with his neck bearded lover. No worries, McDaniels can just draft Colt McCoy in the 3^rd. Colt McCoy can do all of the things Kyle Orton can do. He can throw 5-10 yard passes out of shotgun, he can, wait, whoops, that’s it. He can even grow a neck beard too.

Traded for Brady Quinn, Drafted Tim Tebow (#25) 

 

Free agents:

QB Kyle Orton (restricted)- resigned 1 year

QB Chris Simms- signed with Titans

QB Tom Brandstater 

RB LaMont Jordan 

RB Chris Brown 

RB Kolby Smith 

WR Brandon Marshall (restricted)- traded to Dolphins

TE Tony Scheffler (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million

OT Maurice Williams 

G Ben Hamilton- signed with Seahawks 1 year

G Russ Hochstein

G Chris Kuper (restricted)- 1 year 2.5 million

C Casey Wiegmann- signed with Chiefs 1 year 

NT J’Vonne Parker

3-4 DE Le’Kevin Smith- resigned

3-4 DE Kenny Peterson 

RLB Elvis Dumervil (restricted)- resigned 6 years 61.5 million 41 million guaranteed

MLB Nick Greisen- resigned

MLB Andra Davis- signed with Bills 2 years 

CB Ty Law

S Josh Barrett (restricted)- resigned 1 year

K Matt Prater (restricted)- resigned

Offseason moves:

Broncos sign RB LenDale White

Broncos waive RB Kolby Smith

Broncos acquire MLB Joe Mays from Eagles for RB J.J. Arrington and 2012 conditional pick

Broncos extend RLB Elvis Dumervil

Broncos claim RB Kolby Smith 

Broncos re-sign RLB Elvis Dumervil

Broncos cut OT Maurice Williams 

Broncos waive QB Tom Brandstater

Broncos sign FB Kyle Eckel 

Broncos claim MLB Bruce Davis

Broncos announce retirement of G Matt McChesney

Broncos sign OT Maurice Williams

Broncos waive RB Chris Brown 

Broncos re-sign MLB Nick Greisen

Broncos sign MLB Akin Ayodele 

Broncos trade Tony Scheffler (Detroit) and a 7th rounder (Detroit) for a 5th rounder (Philadelphia) 

Broncos re-sign QB Kyle Orton

Broncos re-sign TE Tony Scheffler

Broncos trade WR Brandon Marshall to Dolphins for 2010 2nd-rounder and 2011 2nd-rounder 

Broncos re-sign WR Brandon Marshall

Broncos re-sign G Chris Kuper 

Broncos re-sign S Josh Barrett

Broncos cut QB Chris Simms

Broncos acquire QB Brady Quinn from Browns for FB Peyton Hillis, 2011 6th-rounder and 2012 late-rounder

Broncos cut ILB Andra Davis

Broncos cut NT J’Vonne Parker

Broncos re-sign 3-4 DE Le Kevin Smith

Broncos cut 3-4 DE Kenny Peterson

Broncos sign NT Jamal Williams

Broncos sign 3-4 DE Jarvis Green

Broncos re-sign K Matt Prater

Broncos sign CB Nate Jones

Broncos sign 3-4 DE Justin Bannan

Broncos re-sign G Russ Hochstein

Broncos sign RB J.J. Arrington

Broncos tender WR Brandon Marshall

Broncos tender RLB Elvis Dumervil

Broncos tender QB Kyle Orton

Broncos tender G Chris Kuper

Broncos tender TE Tony Scheffler

Broncos cut RB LaMont Jordan

Broncos cut C Casey Wiegmann 

 

 

Tight End 

BYU

6-4 245

40 time: 4.63

Draft board overall prospect rank: #55

Draft board tight end rank: #3

Overall rating: 77*

 2/27/10: Not necessarily known as an elite athlete as rather a guy with good hands, Pitta benched 225 pounds 27 times, 2nd most among tight ends, and ran a 4.63 40.

1/18/10: Over an entire career, its tough to find a tight end who was more productive than Pitta. After he came back from his Mormon mission in 2007, Pitta looked like a man among boys catching 204 passes for 2726 yards and 19 touchdowns in three years. The only thing, he practically was a man among boys. Because his mission lasted two years, Pitta is currently 24 years old and does not have a huge upside. He’s probably better than half of the starting tight ends in the league right now with his good agility and soft hands, but scouts don’t really think he’s going to get much better than that. He’d be an ideal fit for a west coast offense and can help a team out right away, but his lack of upside, along with Rob Gronkowski surprisingly declaring for the NFL draft, he could slip to the 3^rd round. 

Update (11/2/09): Could start at tight end for about 8 NFL teams right now, but he’s 24 and has little upside. 

            8/8/09: Dennis Pitta is one of the most talented pass catching tight ends in college football and could start for a bunch of teams in the NFL right now. At 6-5 250 with a mid to late 4.6 40, his too big of a matchup for defensive backs and too fast for linebackers. He’s an excellent route runner and has an extremely high football IQ. He has great reliable hands and put up amazing stats last season for BYU with 83 receptions for 1083 yards and 6 touchdowns. Don’t diminish those stats because he plays in the Mountain West. The MWC is as good as any BCS conference and BYU played one of the tougher schedules in college football last season. Despite his big frame, he’s not a great blocker and will function best in the NFL as purely a pass catching tight end, paired with a good blocking tight end or a good offensive line. NFL scouts could be scared off by his age. The reason he plays and looks so mature on the NFL is because he actually is mature. He, like everyone who goes to BYU, had to go on a 2 year Mormon mission, so he’s essentially a 6^th year senior. He doesn’t have huge upside. His stats did come in a very pass heavy BYU offense. Despite his height, he has yet to establish himself as an end zone threat. He’d probably fit best in a west coast, pass heavy offense where he can use his hands, size, and great route running abilities to make a ton of short catches and where he wouldn’t have to block as much. With another big season, he could become a 2^nd round pick. Right now I have him on the border between the 2^nd and the 3^rd rounds. The tight end is not always one of the most targeted position in the first two rounds and I still have Pitta ranked behind Jermaine Gresham and Rob Gronkowski because I think they are better natural athletes with higher upsides. However, Pitta is still a fine prospect who could start for about 8-10 teams in the NFL right now, with his best fit being for a west coast offense team.

NFL Comparison: Chris Cooley 

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

 

Demetress Bell, who now spells his name wrong, signed 5 year, 35 million dollar contract with the Eagles. It’s a front loaded deal with not a lot of guaranteed money so he probably won’t be in Philadelphia for much longer than a year. They need a new left tackle with Jason Peters hurt and Bell was the best available left on the open market. They did overpay slightly for a player who can’t seem to stay healthy, but they almost had to and there wasn’t a whole lot of guaranteed money. Bell is great when healthy, but because he rarely is, expected them to still target an offensive tackle on day 2 of the draft, preferably one who could also play inside long term.

Grade: B

 

By Trey Huguley 

 People stop freaking out. Yes, it stinks to be losing DeMeco Ryans for the season, but it isn’t the end of the world.  In case you missed it somehow, at the end of the first half Ryans fall down without contact as he tore his Achilles tendon; a terrible injury that can keep a player out for months and can even threaten careers.

Granted, Ryans is the leader of the defense and makes a lot of big plays, but there a number of reasons why it won’t be detrimental to the team or the outcome of our season to play with out him.

1.) Pollard Becomes the Leader – Pollard has been a second leader on the defense and a strong voice that has been waiting on an opportunity to lead his team. He is an animated guy with the ability to fire up his teammates and keep them fired up to make big hits and big plays (despite his poor coverage ability). With Ryans out, Pollard become the defense’s leader by default and will be a damn good one.  It’s not that Ryans doesn’t fire up the defense, he just does it in a different way. Due to Pollard’s explosive influence, there is a chance we will see a more fired up defense who will want to win in DeMeco’s name.

2.) Darryl Sharpton is Great – In pre-season, rookie middle linebacker Darryl Sharpton stepped up and made some BIG TIME plays. He may be young, but the kid out of Miami is fast, good sized and smart. Is he ready to be a starting NFL linebacker? I’m not sure, but he is certainly capable and talented enough to be a big part of the defense and help pick up the slack in Ryans’ absence. If he can get over his nagging ankle issues, Sharpton should be a viable substitution while Ryans is out.

3.) Spark the Other Players – While definitely not a good thing, maybe this injury is something that has been needed to spark the rest of the defense and get them playing up to their potential. Knowing he is out, may get stuck in the heads of Williams, Cushing and the rest of the defense and give them subconscious reason to step up and make big plays since Ryans won’t be able to.  

4.) Can the Defense Get Worse? – I’ll go out on a limb here and say that I don’t know if the defense can get any worse. This injury will shake things up a little, get other guys playing better, give new guys an opportunity to show what they have and give the Texans pathetic defense a little bit of inspiration.

Luckily (if you can use that word), this injury happened right before the bye week, giving the Texans two weeks to figure out what the plan in spending the rest of the season without Ryans. They still need to figure out what in the hell they are going to do about their secondary too, so there should be a lot of attention on the defense over the bye.

http://www.houstonsportblog.com/

Go back to Texans Fan Spot

 

Trade for Eagles: Whoa, how did the Eagles pull this one off? Instead of trying to pay Curtis Lofton or David Hawthorne, they get Ryans for a reasonable rate over the next 4 years, 26.1 million total. Hawthorne was ProFootballFocus’ 15^th ranked middle linebacker, Lofton 17^th, and Ryans 20^th.

Ryans will only be better back in a 4-3 in Philadelphia (he’s a 2 time Pro Bowler) and they got Ryans for roughly the same amount they would have had to pay Hawthorne or Lofton, maybe even less. Having missed out on Stephen Tulloch earlier in the day, this was a smart 2^nd alternative and it only cost them a 4^th rounder (as well as swap of 3^rd rounders).

Grade: A

Trade for Texans: The Texans might have cut Ryans if they couldn’t cut something for him so credit them for getting something for him, but you do have to wonder why the Texans, as good as they were last year, are fine letting productive players like Eric Winston and DeMeco Ryans go for next to nothing.

I understand they feel they have replacements on the roster (Daryl Sharpton will start at middle linebacker instead of Ryans) and they are pressed somewhat against the cap, but it’s not like they have any more major free agents to resign or are targeting any major free agents on the open market if there are even any left. It seems like they should have gotten rid of either Winston or Ryans not both (I would have gotten rid of Ryans over Winston because Ryans is less valuable to the Texans and had more trade value).

Grade: C