Free Agency Predictions
 

Give me your FA predictions.

I think we follow a similar pattern as before. We will be in a on few big names then get outbid. We will pick up tier 2 guys and round out the roster so we can go BPA in the draft. I think we sign a DT, DE, and a WR. Maybe Wolff or Shelby Harris, Sheard, and Emanuel Sanders.

I think we sign Rivers and draft a low round QB. Rivers said he only wants to play two more years so he is essentially a stop gap.

I predict it will be difficult to get quality free agents to come without overpaying, so I'm tempering my expectations.

Matt Judon, Shelby Harris, Austin Hooper/Hunter Henry.

- Sign OT Catonzo to new contract before free agency opens

- Sign one DE. I think we will swing and miss on Clowney and then "settle" for either re-signing Sheard or a lesser talented veteran like Shaq Lawson, Emmanuel Ogbah, Markus Golden or Vic Beasley.

- Try to sign a veteran TE but I think Henry will be tagged and I think Hooper will end up signing for CRAZY money so I think we will miss out. Jordan Reed would be okay but my guess is that we will have to draft someone.

- Sign one of: NT D.J. Reader, Javon Hargrave, Jarran Reed. Might end up being the "biggest impact" free agent of the class.

- Sit until the "value" portion of free agency to pick up a veteran WR to help mentor the younger guys (Pascal, Fountain, Campbell) and 1 or 2 rookie draft picks alongside T.Y.

- Sit until the "value" portion of free agency and pick up O-Line depth.

If we can get a NT, DE, WR and O-Line depth in free agency, that opens the draft up to draft BPA with our first 4 draft picks (rounds 1 - 3).

Now, watch Ballard go sign Rivers, Hooper, Amari Cooper and Clowney on day one of free agency (and see our cap go up in smoke! )

I pretty much agree. They’ll sign Rivers and draft Fromm or Gordon. They’ll “go after” the top tier guys, but settle on the a couple tier 2 and tier 3 guys. The exception possibly being Hunter Henry (if you consider him top tier). I think he’ll be heavily pursued by the Colts and could possibly be landed since TE isn’t a “premier” position (not the same dollars as DE, DT, or OT). We saw what Ebron meant to the system and Henry obviously has familiarity with Rivers, so he makes sense on multiple fronts.

I’m not sure I agree on Sanders though. He’s not a fit due to age IMO. I could see like Higgins or Agholor. And of course they’ll add someone in the first two rounds of the draft and possibly an additional one later. Although I’m hoping they resign Funchess instead of double dipping in the draft - WRs often take a year or two to develop.

I agree on DE and DT - they’ll settle on a lower tier guy still in his mid to late 20s. And they‘ll spend one of the other first or second round picks on the other position.

Personally I’d like to see them pursue Byron Jones. They need help at CB and if they are signing Rivers I think they need that help now. I doubt they’d land him if they do though.

I can’t see Fromm, Ballard likes his athletes and traits. Fromm has the mental makeup and I think he will interview well, but he struggles to make basic throws and I can’t see him making big throws. Gordon has a quick release but that’s about it. His mechanics are a mess and he is a statue in the pocket. Eason is a possibility in my mind, he has the arm and athletiscm, but he needs to sit and learn. Also needs to grow up a little. Rivers might be a good mentor for him. They also looked at the Northern Colorado QB Joe Knipp today.

I hope they do not sign Agolohor, that guy couldn’t catch the corona virus if he was stuck in an over crowded woohan hospital. But I agree he might be more likely than Sanders.

I’m not sold on Funchess, and I think his tag is too high. If he is cheaper. I think they want a tall guy who can jump ball it. But I think they need a route runner who can get open. There are a lot of big guys with big wing spans in this draft.

If this is true, I don't see Colts paying that? :cool:

Free-agent CB Byron Jones expected to become highest-paid DB ever next week with deal worth $16-18M a year, per @TomPelissero

Probably true on Fromm. I thought about Eason as well, but Ballard has put a lot of emphasis on leadership when selecting other positions. I find it hard to believe he’d overlook it at QB. It’s probably my personal opinion, but at QB I’d definitely rank the mental aspects higher than the physical. And I’m not sure I’d count on Rivers being much of a mentor. My memory is he’s had an issue with previous talk about the Chargers drafting his replacement. I’m not sure he’d accept that role.

Agholor isn’t who I’d like them to sign, but he’ll be in the age and price range and has history with Reich so I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

I wasn’t sold on the Funchess signing last year because it was only a one year deal. But they supposedly saw something in him they went after heavily and unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to see it on the field to know. He still fits the bill age wise and whatever they saw should still be there. And he knows the system. His cost should be lower this year than last although I’d still prefer to overpay this year with a team option for another year. Overall, I hope for a round 1-2 rookie, resigning of Funchess, and another low tier free agent. Then let them compete.

Yeah if that’s true then they’ll pass and I won’t blame them.

I don't think we are going after Rivers....I think JMV's "colts insider" source is solid. I think it's more likely we use one of our 2nd Round picks and draft a "developmental" QB and start the season with JB. Whether we finish the season with JB is a function of Frank's QB whisperer prowess and Ballard's ability to find a diamond that others miss (a la the maniac). The thing that changes this scenario is if Tommy Terrific goes to Las Vegas (unlikely IMHO), then I think we get in on the Carr sweepstakes, but probably loose out to someone who doesn't care about getting value in contracts.

The rest of the draft is BPA with a focus on both lines....necessary depth....and a WR with a later pick.

I heard a national guy (forget who) say that Colts and Giants are the top suitors for Clowney.....I think the Giants will write a bigger check and get him if he hits the market.

Forgot to mention Funchess.....I think they resign him but to a more team friendly deal. Forget the exact quote, but I heard Ballard speak about him on one of the local shows last week.....I recall thinking that he still sounded pretty positive about the guy.

The primary reason I think the smoke around Rivers is true is because of how much everyone associated with the team has went out of their way to not endorse JB. If the plan was just to draft a developmental guy I’d think they’d be expressing more confidence in him - at least for season ticket holders sake. I think they’d have been talking more about the first half of the year and giving him more of a pass due to injury on the second half.

If Carr becomes available then I definitely agree he should be a target for them. I’d give up one of the two 2nd rounders for him. Don’t think I’d give up 13 though.

Higher taxes in NY. But of course more endorsement opportunities probably offset those taxes.

JMV is usually pretty reliable. Kinda bummed they want to try Jacoby 2.0, I just don’t see the upside.

Leonard endorsed JB the other day when asked about the rumors. But the staff is kinda non commital.

I think JB will be a hard sell for fans. They need to show either a commitment to the present or a young gun in the wings. Considering how much cap they have too, I think they need to show fans they are committed to improving and not in the perpetual rebuilding mode.

Chargers are tagging TE Hunter Henry per Rapoport:

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1238516268497604615

Mike Garafolo‏Verified account @MikeGarafolo

The #Ravens are placing the franchise tag on Matt Judon, sources say. Expected. Soon will be official.

:cool:

Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet · 55m55 minutes ago

The #Broncos have also administered the franchise tag to S Justin Simmons, source said, an expected move for a big part of their defense.

:cool:

Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet

The #Jaguars have officially franchise tagged pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue, source said. Expected, but now official.

:cool:

Earlier this offseason, Schefter had reported that Judon may be a "tag and trade" candidate. I am sure Baltimore would like to have him back but they may have some difficult decisions to make - it will be hard to re-sign all of their own free agents. Judon has also indicated that he would prefer to have a multi year deal instead of a one year contract. Be interesting to see where the negotiations go or if he is traded and signed to a multi year deal with a new team like Dee Ford and Frank Clark last year.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...trade-interest

Free agency is fun to talk about & speculate but I don't expect Ballard to do much. When it comes to spending $ in free agency is asshole is tighter than a snare drum.

I predict I'll be disappointed with Ballard....again.

Yeah, but you're forgetting about the extra wins you get at the end of the season for having the most cap space :rolleyes:

I predict there won't be a season to worry about, let alone free agent signings. 100,000+ US deaths and rising will make the rest of the 45 million without health insurance in America constantly look over their collective shoulder. I hope I'm very, very wrong.

It's possible, but now that the US government has decided to get serious, I think the numbers will be much lower. World wide it's going to be pretty bad. Iran is a poster child for listening to science and not attempting to BS your way out of disease.

It will get worse. And it may not be the last one we will see in our lifetimes.

We land Clowney, I believe this is who they targeted all along the Texans knew it and tried to keep him away as hard as they could

I hope not

A. You know that 64,000 died last year from the flu in the U.S., right? While is will be more televised this year because of #OrangeManBad, 100,000 COVID-19 deaths is not that big of a leap.

B. Briefing I received on Friday from base medical indicated that:
85% that get it will have flu-like and recover with no problem (the same as normal flu)
15% will need medical care.
- Of those that receive it medical care, morality rate is 0.5% ( same as normal flu)
- Of those that do not receive medical care, morality rate is upwards of 4-5% greatly exceeding normal flu rates.

The kicker is that it is 6 to 8 times more contagious than normal flu so a whole lot of folks will end up getting it raising that 15% number to a LOT of folks.

The travel bans and cancelled meetings / social distancing is to slow down infection rates so less are sick at once and the medical community can keep up with the numbers. It will lengthen the overtime frames before it burns out but overall deaths will be much less.

What you are seeing in Italy and Iran are medical systems overwhelmed and then thousands dying because they cannot get a bed in a hospital.

Isolation and slowing infection rates is the key. Everyone sick will get seen in emergency rooms regardless of insurance status.

Yes I’m sure this is only being talked about because #OrangeManBad, otherwise no one would give a fuck about an unexpected 100K deaths in the US. I mean Italy is really doing their fucking part to make sure #OrangeManBad is paid attention to - shutting down the whole country.

I’m assuming you realize it is not a flu replacement right? It is on top of the normal flu deaths, which admittedly may go down BECAUSE of the steps taken to minimize COVID-19 deaths.

The rest of your post is accurate, but how the fuck you shut shit down to slow the spread to not overwhelm healthcare and then claim it’s only getting attention because of #OrangeManBad is beyond fucking stupid. I’m sorry to tell you, but when the NCAA cancels March madness, people are going to fucking notice - whoever the goddamn president is. Trump is getting the attention he deserves for down playing the beginning of this, cutting CDC funding, and getting rid of the pandemic response team. Not to mention - cases zero very soon, you can go to work, etc.... get the fuck out of here with your bullshit.

https://www.livescience.com/new-coro...-with-flu.html

A little off with your numbers.

Normal flu season is .1% Big difference if you are talking about the entire US population.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...195-X/fulltext

Also the fatality rate around 3-6%. So lets just say 4%. IF you find that there was twice the number of cases, that means 2 % fatalities, vs. 0.1% That's a lot when you look at a nation with 300 million. That would be 6 million dead if everyone caught the virus.

Granted that won't happen. IF there are a million casualties, that's only 20 000 dead. Still a lot.

This virus is a warning. This will happen again. And it would be insane to stand around and BS the citizens hoping the the best and not planning for the worst.

That’s a splash signing and he’s a game wrecker which we desperately need on the D line and Ballard doesn’t lose any picks that he loves so much

I think Clowney is definitely a little over hyped, but he’s also better than anyone currently on the Colts DL. A Clowney signing coupled with drafting an impact DT would improve the DL tremendously. And that would make every level of the D significantly better.

I would sign Clowney. I think he would wreck the Texans big time and like you said he is better than anyone currently on the Colts DL.

More tags:


https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/sta...30220245352449


https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/sta...27351240863744

I think the Colts might surprise some of you this offseason and sign a big name free agent like Clowney. Ballard has suggested as much by saying team chemistry has progressed to the point where they could take on such a player, and I still think that their ability to talk Castanzo out of retirement is telling (though I was expecting a one-year deal, which would have been even more telling).

However, I don't really trust new reports saying who the Colts are purportedly interested in, since Ballard keeps such a tight lid on leaks. In past offseasons, the media hasn't been very effective at reporting accurate info in this regard. So, I'm not convinced the Rivers-to-the-Colts reports are very reliable.

Anyway, I'm excited for the beginning of free agency - anything's better than the never-ending Coronavirus news coverage

Joel A. Erickson‏Verified account @JoelAErickson

The Colts have placed the ERFA tender on wide receiver Daurice Fountain, per source. If a team extends a tender to an exclusive rights free agent, the player cannot sign with another team. If they had decided not to extend the ERFA tender, Fountain would have become a FA

:cool:

Adam Schefter‏Verified account @AdamSchefter

Titans placed franchise tag on RB Derrick Henry, per source.

:cool:

Adam Schefter‏Verified account @AdamSchefter

Bengals placed franchise tag on WR AJ Green, per source.

:cool:

Bet they do that till he starts to show some decline then they move on. 1-2 years.

Adam Schefter‏Verified account @AdamSchefter · 4m4 minutes ago

Cowboys placed exclusive franchise tag on QB Dak Prescott, per source. No other team allowed to sign him.

:cool:

2020 TAGS SO FAR :cool:


Anthony Harris
Leonard Williams
Joe Thuney
Kenyan Drake
Dak Prescott
Chris Jones
Yannick Ngakoue
Shaq Barrett
Derrick Henry
A.J. Green
Brandon Scherff
Leonard Williams
Matt Judon
Hunter Henry
Bud Dupree
Justin Simmons