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| Tuesday, February 25 Updated: February 27, 9:52 AM ET NFC West: Free agency breakdown Pro Football Weekly |
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PFW breaks down each team's plan of attack in free agency.
Each team's capsule contains a list of players who are scheduled to become free agents on Feb. 28. Unrestricted free agents (UFAs) are players who have accrued four or more NFL seasons and are free to sign with any team unless given a franchise or transition tag. Restricted free agents (RFAs) are players with three accrued seasons. The player's current team has a right of first refusal on offers from other teams. If the team chooses to let a restricted free agent leave by opting not to match an offer, the team will receive draft-choice compensation from the player's new team. Those who have been designated "franchise" players are required to be paid at least the average of the top five players at their position or a 20-percent raise, whichever is higher. "Transition" players require an offer of the average of the top 10 players at their position or a 20 percent raise, whichever is higher. In both cases, the original team has the right to match, and compensation for signing another team's franchise player is a pair of first-round picks.
Arizona Cardinals
 Analysis: Despite having more spending money under the cap than any team in
the league, the Cardinals probably won't make the biggest splash in this
year's free-agent market. But they'll definitely make their presence felt.
They appear very willing to open the vault for one or two impact,
front-seven defenders. And with the odds strong that Jake Plummer will be
moving on, they almost certainly will look for a mid-tier quarterback to
compete with Josh McCown for the starting job. More than a few of their own
free agents are likely to follow Plummer out of town, and a big one could be
WR David Boston, who surprisingly was not franchised by the team. Meanwhile,
FS Kwamie Lassiter, WR MarTay Jenkins and DT Russell Davis all have what the
Cardinals consider to be very inflated views of their market value, and
unless they come down in price, they probably won't be back. The two players
most likely to re-sign are FB Joel Makovicka and OG-OT Raleigh Roundtree.
Makovicka is an adequate fullback at best, but he's a relatively inexpensive
need-filler who is well-liked by head coach Dave McGinnis. Roundtree, a
free-agent acquisition last season, was a solid backup as both a guard and
tackle in 2002. With a burning desire to play for a bona-fide contender in
the twilight of his career, WR Frank Sanders is more likely to leave than
stay. Another veteran free agent, OLB Rob Fredrickson, could return --
provided he's willing to play for the veteran's minimum in his 10th season.
St. Louis Rams
 Analysis: In retrospect, one of the biggest reasons behind the Rams'
significant decline last season was their inability to effectively replace
the players who left via free agency last offseason (MLB London Fletcher,
ORT Ryan Tucker, WR Az-Zahir Hakim). With numerous key contributors hitting
the open market this offseason, the Rams can't afford a similar situation
this time around. Pro Bowl OLT Orlando Pace is assured of staying put by
virtue of the franchise tag, but the Rams would be much better-served if
they could cut a long-term deal with Pace that would give them more money
with which to work. They have a dire need for a hard-charging, play-making
linebacker, and that position is arguably the strongest in this year's
free-agent market. The Rams probably would consider a contract in the range
of $2.5 million to $3 million to keep CB Dre' Bly. But Bly, considered the
top corner available aside from the Ravens' Chris McAlister, might get a
better deal elsewhere. A key area affected by free agency is the offensive
line; starting ORG Adam Timmerman is the only player under contract for 2003
among the team's top blockers. The Rams probably won't be able to keep both
starting C Andy McCollum and starting OLG Tom Nütten, but one of them should
stick, with McCollum likely getting the nod. The Rams also will probably
find a way to re-sign TE Ernie Conwell and DT Jeff Zgonina, both of whom
like the organization. It remains to be seen whether veteran WR Ricky Proehl
would be willing to accept what he'd likely get from the Rams -- another
one-year deal at or a little above the veteran's minimum.
San Francisco 49ers
 Analysis: Roughly $5 million to $6 million over the cap at presstime, the
Niners are expected to depend a lot more on the draft than free agency to
fill their needs for the coming season. They are expected to make an effort
to re-sign both starting DLE Chike Okeafor and WR Tai Streets, who did a
decent job starting opposite Terrell Owens but is envisioned more as a solid
No. 3 receiver. It's likely they will have a better shot at keeping Streets
than Okeafor, who is said to be looking to break the bank - at least for
now. For the Niners to be able to make any kind of real moves via free
agency, they probably will need to release some overpriced veterans (WR J.J.
Stokes, DTs Dana Stubblefield and Jim Flanigan, DE Sean Moran and possibly
OT Derrick Deese) and ask a few other notable players (QB Jeff Garcia, DT
Bryant Young, OT Scott Gragg and Owens, who is eligible for free agency next
season) to restructure their contracts.
Seattle Seahawks
 Analysis: The pressure is on new Seahawks general manager Bob Ferguson to
roll up his sleeves and make sure the roughly $15 million that Seattle has
at its disposal is put to good use. The Seahawks are expected to be one of
the busiest shoppers in the free-agent market this offseason, but unlike a
few years ago, when they made a haul with the likes of DT John Randle, LB
Levon Kirkland, DT Chad Eaton and FS Marcus Robertson with an emphasis on
adding experienced players, they're more concerned now with finding some
big, quick defenders to instantly upgrade one of the league's most porous
defenses, particularly against the run. It remains to be seen whether Pro
Bowl OLT Walter Jones, who has received the franchise tag for the second
straight season, will stage a holdout similar to last year, when he missed
the first two regular-season games. At presstime, negotiations with Jones'
agent, Roosevelt Barnes, continued to be at an impasse for the same reasons
they've always been - about a $4 million to $6 million difference of opinion
on what the top-grade tackle's signing bonus should be. The one free agent
the team would most like to keep is OLB Anthony Simmons, who is considered
one of the league's best sideline-to-sideline playmakers when healthy. But
Simmons could be too hot a commodity for the Hawks to handle, even though
they have some money to spend. It's quite possible the Hawks will use a nice
chunk of that money to cut a new deal in the near future with restricted
free agent WR Darrell Jackson, who is considered a key core player. Other
likely free-agent keepers are WR Bobby Engram, an extremely productive
third-down receiver with terrific character who also did a decent job
returning punts last season, and solid veteran FB Mack Strong.
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Material from Pro Football Weekly.
