Good luck to your team during the start of free agency. On the Browns front, we have offered Anderson a 3 yr deal. If he does not sign, he could be picked up for the highest tender of a 1st and 3rd rounder. Info: http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/article.php?id=8240 Should be interesting to see where the big free agent names end up.
What kind of money are they offering him? I doubt too many teams would want to give up a one and a three for him, but it might be a really smart move. The guy has pretty much proved he is a legitimate NFL QB. A team could easily waste a one on drafting a QB who never makes it. Look at the Bears or Minnesota. With a decent QB, they are playoff threats. If I'm the GM of those teams, I'm all over him. If I'm anderson, I would think hard about taking the one year tender and being an unrestricted free agent next year, unless the current deal is really attractive. I get the sense that the browns wouldn't be all that upset if a team did sign him and gave them the two draft picks, freed up cap space and opened the way for Quinn to play.
There was no waste. We got the guy we wanted. Make no mistake, Quinn IS the future of this franchise. And look what we traded - we basically got this year's #1 last year... meaning, we got the QB we wanted at the same price as this year and were able to let him sit a year... seems brilliant to me. AAA - no releases on the $ part of the deal. I heard he was looking for Romo type money, which is obviously not happening here. You are correct though - I think Savage (GM) and Lerner (owner) would be MORE THAN HAPPY to get a 1st and 3rd and then eliminate any QB controversy in Cleveland. Everyone knows that Quinn is the future, it's just a matter of when. I wish DA the best. He did more with this team than anyone could have imagined and he's a genuinely nice person as well. I've met him a few times at Browns functions and always a very polite young man. How about your team AAA? You guys planning to make a splash in free agency?
Oh yeah - check this shit out - Bernie Kosar brought the AFL to Cleveland!! http://www.clevelandgladiators.com/ I hope it does well here b/c that will help fill the football void for junkies like me. I guess Kosar has wanted to do this for awhile and finally got the Las Vegas franchise to move! Go Gladiators! (maybe time for a new username for me...)
Well, just to restate the obvious, DA has proved he is a legitimate starting QB. Brady hasn't. If he suffers through a couple years of growing pains, fans could get restless, particularly if DA is leading another team deep into the playoffs. That's the risk you take. I honestly don't know what I would do if I was running the Browns. I don't think you can trade Brady, and he is not really a good backup since he has never played. The Redskins have said repeatedly they will not be big players in free agency. They think the talent pool is shallow this year, and because there are not many top players available and because teams seem to have ample cap space, the good players will get astronomical deals. I would love to see them get Alan Fanaca, but I don't knowif they are willing to spend that much for a guard. Asante Samuel would look pretty good in burgundy and gold, but again the dollars are probably too big. They don't have any cap space at the moment, but I suppose they could free some up if they really wanted to.
So Anderson resigned with the Browns for three years for big money. Deal was reported as $24 mill over three years, with over 13 guaranteed. Probably the best move for both player and team. He stays in an offense where he flourished, and they keep the guy who ran a potent offense. Their defense could use the draft picks they used on Quinn but they had no way of knowing they had their franchise QB already. The franchise free agents apparently got huge deals. Asante Samuel to Philly for nearly $10 mill a year. People raised eyebrows that a cheap team like the Iggles would shell out, but they seem to really value DBs and they did the same thing when they signed DE Jevon Kearse a few years ago. Of course, he was a gigantic bust for them and they just cut him. Alan Faneca got a huge deal from the Jets, 4 years and $32 mill with $23 mill guaranteed. Lot of money for a guy whose best years are probably behind him, but barring injuries, it should give the Jets an imposing OL. Miami has been busy in free agency, although they haven't signed any real big names. Jacksonville made a concerted effort to upgrade at receiver, although whether they did or not is open to question. They traded for the Vikes' Troy Williamson and signed former Oakland malcontent Jerry Porter. I don't really understand those moves. The Vikes paid huge money to sign former Bengals S Madieu Williams. Personally, I would have been looking to get a QB and a receiver. Randy Moss is still available. Apparently he and the Pats are pretty far apart on a deal. He took a voluntary cut from $10 mill to $3 last year, but is on a one year deal, so he is an unrestricted FA now. How can Jerry Jones resist going after him?
Looks like the Browns are planning to do everything via free agency this year. No #1 pick via Quinn trade last year. No #2 pick via Corey Williams FA move. No #3 pick via Shaun Rogers FA move. Trade info: http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/02/browns_trade_for_rogers_willia.html Apparently last year was all about upgrading the offense and this year was about the defense. Looking good on paper... Draft will be boring this year for Cleveland, but that might be a good thing....
I don't understand the Shaun Rogers situation. Why would a defensively challenged team like the Lions let a dominating defensive tackle go that cheaply? Lions coach Rod Marinelli is a former D line coach. I'll be curious to see this plays out. The Jags dealing Marcus Stroud for picks seems to fit the same pattern. Jags head coach Jack Del Rio is a former defensive coordinator, and new D coordinator Gregg Williams knows players. Why would they let a Pro Bowler go that cheaply? Along the same lines, the Panthers let DT Kris Jenkins go for a couple of picks. Word I hear is that he is done and the Panthers got the better of that deal. I like the Browns getting Donte Stallworth. That offense is beginning to look scary.
Rogers - whatever, glad to be on the right side of this one! And we took him from Cinci, even better! Stallworth - hello! What an offense the Browns are shaping up to be ... How do you stop: Winslow Edwards Stallworth Jurevicious Cribbs (our secret weapon) And then you have Jamal running the ball behind a stellar OL if you decide to lay off to cover the WR's.... Now, with that being said, the Browns realist in me says that this just can't be that good... SOMETHING will go wrong...