Baltimore Ravens:
Keep: Ryan Jensen C
- By no means is he a priority free agent as just a middle of the line center, but he is their best soon to be free agent. Not only that, but he helps keep continuity on a line after having so many moving parts the past couple of seasons. However, with their limited funds they may not be able to retain him. Much like Ricky Wagner last off season when they were forced to watch him walk in the off season. However, unlike Wagner, Jensen is nowhere near that caliber of player and it would be fine to watch some line desperate team overpay him.
Cut: Jeremy Maclin WR and Brandon Carr CB
- Much like Chicago, the Ravens have not done that great with buy low candidates in free agency lately. Two guys they can do well without is Brandon Carr who was just an emergency corner for when others went down. Their better corners should be healthy next year and finding a better one in the draft is not out of the question. Same can be said about Maclin with finding a better option in the draft. If this were five years ago having Maclin would have been great along side Steve Smith, but now he is just a shell of his former self. He cannot create separation on his own and they can do better in free agency and/or the draft.
Sign: Sammy Watkins WR Los Angeles Rams
- Much like the Bears again the Ravens will probably lean towards grabbing a free agent receiver than fail at another high receiver pick in the draft. Jarvis Landry could be in play, but with Flacco's arm I think he would not be as great of a fit. Instead, Watkins could come on a cheap one year deal for him to reestablish himself and possibly get a bigger deal. His speed and ability to stretch the field should be a better fit with Flacco and his arm strength. This should not be their only receiver signing maybe a smaller deals could be made with Paul Richardson of Seattle or Brice Butler from Dallas.
Ideal Draft Pick: Mike McGlinchey OT Notre Dame
- An emphasis needs to be put on improving this o-line after how up and down it has been since their Super Bowl run. They have a great guard in Marshall Yanda and a solid left tackle Ronnie Stanley, but the rest of it is very underwhelming. There really is no great right tackles out there in free agency so drafting Stanley's former teammate on the right side in McGlinchey could create a great young duo. McGlinchey could go higher with teams reaching for tackles, but I think he is being a tad over hyped. He is not a perfect fit for the left tackle and would be best on the right side in the pros.
Cincinnati Bengals:
Keep: Tyler Eifert TE
- The Bengals really do not have any real pressing players to bring back, but I think bringing back Eifert would be a smart move. Even though he is often injured and off the field he is still a difference maker on the field when healthy. Dalton is a severely limited quarterback and needs his weapons to play well. Eifert is one of his go to weapons and a good safety valve for him out of the tight end spot. I think they should be able to give him a cheap one year deal. Even franchise tagging him will not be terrible since the tight end salaries are not as high as say a receivers. Plus, they would be kicking themselves if they see him have success elsewhere.
Cut: Adam Jones CB and Darqueze Dennard CB
- The Bengals need to go through a culture change in the locker room and one place starts with Adam Jones. Not only is he way over the hill, but he cannot stay healthy anymore. Now all he is is just a locker room headache and poisoning the rest of their young players. Cutting him would save them a little over $5 million. Another corner that could be let go is Darqueze Dennard who has been a middling corner since being a first rounder a few seasons ago. He has been essentially jumped over by Dre Kirkpatrick and William Jackson. Cutting him would take over $8 million off the books.
Sign: Andrew Norwell OG Carolina Panthers
- The Bengals let their home grown pro bowl guard walk last off season in Kevin Zeitler and saw him play great for the Browns despite the team's overall record. Why not steal another teams top guard in Andrew Norwell. He could plug the whole left by Zeitler and give the Bengals more draft flexibility. Without him they would need to target multiple offensive linemen and have to rely on rookies to protect Andy Dalton. At least Norwell could be a sure fire stud out the shoot and allow them to worry elsewhere.
Ideal Draft Pick: Joshua Jackson CB Iowa
- The Bengals always draft first round corners and not that they hit on any yet, but they should continue to try. Ideally they would love to get Quenton Nelson, but I doubt he makes it here. They could draft Mike McGlinchey, but I think he is a tad overrated and there are some intriguing second day options they can look at in the first round. Instead, this corner class is a little underwhelming and Joshua Jackson is by far one the top prospect at the position. He has the length, ball skills, and ability to fit perfectly in the Bengals press scheme. Giving them a good compliment with the young William Jackson who was less than stellar in his first full year of starting.
Cleveland Browns:
Keep: None
- One good thing about having such a bad team there really is not any players you need to resign. Maybe the would like to keep Isaiah Crowell on a cheap deal, but it's not a desperate thing they have to have. Otherwise just saving money and looking towards the draft would be a better idea.
Cut: None
- Again, having a bad team mostly comprised of mostly rookies and young players there really is not any reason to cut anyone. They already have a $100 million in cap space and they should not need to cut anyone to free up more cash.
Sign: Kirk Cousins QB Washington Redskins
- I think the Browns should go all in with signing Cousins. They will be mocked for giving an above average quarterback a ton of money more than he deserves, but they would finally have a sure fire starting caliber quarterback. For all his issues, Cousins is a gamer who has never had a strong running game or offensive line the past few seasons. While still putting up good numbers and playing well. He is not as accurate as the conservative Alex Smith or as savvy as the veteran. However, he does have a good arm and continues to get better each year. The Browns roster is better than people give it credit for and with a good quarterback they should immediately win more games. Plus, signing Cousins gives them flexibility to move that first pick for a boat load of more picks. They could even keep it and take Saquon Barkley or some other top prospect. Then they could move the 4th pick that's right in front of quarterback needy Denver and the New York Jets. They have the cap space and have not drafted quarterbacks well so to me this makes too much sense.
Ideal Draft Pick: Saquon Barkley RB Penn St
- If they sign Kirk Cousins I think they would then love to grab Barkley to pair with their new quarterback. Which, is why I can see them keep the first pick and not risk the Colts taking him. Barkley would give Cousins him a top running back for the first time in his career and create a nice back field tandem between the two. They would still have Duke Johnson a great pass catching back and with Barkley on the field at the same time could cause headaches for defenses trying to defend both of them. Plus, Barkley has very little bust ability in my opinion unlike Trent Richardson who they drafted in the first round a few years ago and was run into the ground while at Alabama. Barkley is a more modern day back with good hands and awareness not to take on big hits.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
Keep: None
- Yes, none. The only name of note possibly leaving the Steelers is Le'Veon Bell who I think ran his course with this franchise. Between his me first attitude with wanting a new contract before the biggest game of the year for them and his hold out at training camp since he did not want to risk injury. He clearly has told the team he only cares about himself and anything else comes second. Bell needs to look in the mirror and realize he is the reason he is not getting a new big deal from the Steelers. He showed up late to practices, has gotten suspended twice already over drugs, and has missed plenty of games due to big injuries. The most important players on this team is Big Ben and Antonio Brown. They will be just fine without Bell like they have done before. They also have $-6 million in cap space so they really do not have room for him anyways.
Cut: Vance McDonald TE, Joe Haden CB, Mike Mitchell S and J.J. Wilcox S
- If it were up to me all their defensive backs would be cut after how bad they looked against Blake Bortles, but that is nearly impossible to pull off. Instead, they should start by cutting Haden who when healthy is a great corner. However, he proved again to be incredibly fragile and unreliable to be out on the field. Cutting him would free up $8 million for them. Meanwhile, safety Mike Mitchell has been caught in my ire for awhile now. He has been a pathetic safety for awhile now who likes to bark a lot and never backs it up. He regularly gets beat bad when they go against New England and Gronk. They would be a lot better off without him and would save $6 million. J.J. Wilcox was a non factor after coming from Tampa and would free up $3 million. Same goes for Vance McDonald when he came from San Fran mid season. He is an okay option, but really is just an overpaid emergency back up. Cutting him would give them another $4 million and all in all give them $15 million in space to use elsewhere.
Sign: LaMarcus Joyner S Los Angeles Rams
- Joyner may end up out of their price range when it is all said and done. However, the Steelers need to be in play for a safety in free agency to help out this pitiful secondary. Of course they could target a corner as well, but I think Joyner is one of the better secondary players available. He has improved greatly every year for the Rams and should continue to carry that success elsewhere if he walks. If not him grabbing Eric Reid or Tre Boston who might be cheaper would be solid fall back options.
Ideal Draft Pick: Tremaine Edmunds LB Virginia Tech
- I have no idea why he is suddenly gaining traction up draft boards, but I think he is better off going in the late first round range. He is a solid mobile linebacker with the ability to cover and knife into the back field. However, off ball linebackers are still limited in the ability of impact they can make on an overall game and Edmunds is not particularly adept at creating turnovers from what I have seen. That being said if he lands in Pittsburgh's lap they should jump all over him. They were in need of a linebacker prior to Ryan Shazier's injury, but now with Shazier's future up in the air they really need to find a new linebacker to man the middle of the defense.
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