When will this domino fall?

By John Thornton- For most NFL players, this is a bad time to be a free agent.  The young and talented players were hit with the Restricted Free Agent tag, meaning that if another team signed them, the original team can match the deal or be owed compensation in the form of high draft picks.  That sucks for the player, great for the team.  The players that are Unrestricted Free Agents are older, and NFL teams hate paying older players large sums of money.  But despite all of that, there is a need to win from majority of NFL franchises.  Talented players will always find homes.  Guys that come to mind are WR Terrell Owens and WR Antonio Bryant.  These players are top players at their positions.  Both are No 1 WR types and both have a few issues.  But both are talented and there are plenty of teams that need WRs.  The problem is that NFL teams feel like they are in control of free agency for the first time in a long time.  There haven’t been many huge deals this year like there have been in the past.  And when that happens, players start to panic and accept the best deal on the table.  Some guys have to cave and take the deal, guys like Bryant and T.O. shouldn’t.  Both have made plenty of money and both men are smart enough to stay in shape while they are not signed with a team.  The best WR that is available right now is Broncos WR Brandon Marshall.  He should be the first domino to fall.  The problem with that is that Brandon could be dealt the week before the draft, a long time to wait.  Then the next best WR will start to get the attention.  In that case it will be T.O. or Bryant, whoever you like the best.  I know the Bengals will approach these guys with a take it or leave it kind of deal, but if the guys are smart, they would wait.  If a teams top WR gets injured in OTA’s, you don’t think they will panic and overpay for a T.O., especially in this uncapped year?  DT Sam Adams did this a few years ago.  He would wait for the right deal to come along.  He knew there was a need for his skills, and he got to skip off season workouts and some training camp.  He always got his money.  And remember guys like Chargers WR Vincent Jackson is a RFA as well.  But he has a 1st and a 3rd tag on him.  I believe the Chargers would deal him for less than that.  I worked out with him this morning and dude is huge! Didn’t know he was that big.  He should be getting some attention from WR needy teams as well.

I mentioned on twitter the other day that I thought WR Antonio Bryant would a good fit the Bengals.  Bryant has had a few issues early in his career, but he is a really good player.  He is similar to Chad Ochocinco with his route running but plays with a mean streak similar to WR Steve Smith of the Panthers.  When he played for the Browns, I remember him talking to one of our DBs during the game and after the game the DB told me Bryant is nuts.  I think if the Bengals were choosing between T.O and Bryant, Bryant would be a better fit.  Both are super talented, but Marvin Lewis hates self promotion.  I know he deals with some of Chads celebrations and things off the field, but he really just wants a guy to be a football player.  Marvin also likes his players to have a chip on their shoulder, and Bryant seems to have that.  The only concern the team may have is the knee that Bryant hurt last year, but that seems to be fine.  Here’s a good read on Antonio from two seasons ago…click here

When I heard that Steelers QB Big Ben was hit with another sexual assault charge, I thought to myself, “What the hell is he doing?”  Not because I think he is guilty this time, or the last time for that matter, but he has to be a little more careful when he is out on public.  Ben was “charged” with sexual assault last summer and that case has yet to be resolved.  Now another woman is saying that Ben assaulted her in a nightclub bathroom in Georgia.  Who knows what is true and what isn’t.  All I know is that if Ben is going to be this public guy, he needs to be smarter.  He has to realize that people are going to take advantage of him if he puts himself out there.  And it’s a shame that people do this.  You rarely see an athlete of Ben’s stature engage with the public.  He should be applauded for that.  I’ve seen him out in Pittsburgh and he acts like one of the guys, just like most of their players.  But along with the fame and money will come people looking to get paid.  In my opinion, he needs to hire a security guard to go out with him to make sure things like this don’t happen.  Now if Ben is guilty of sexual assault, he will be punished heavily.  Not only for this case, but for the previous case as well.  Because even if he didn’t commit the crime last summer, people will assume that this is what he does.  The only people who know what really happened are Ben and the young lady who filed the charges.

I’ve heard all the rumors of WR Terrell Owens coming to Cincinnati and even though it may be true, I’m not a big fan of it.  Is T.O. the type of WR that this offense needs to improve its passing game?  Yes.  He is tall, he can still run, although not as fast as he once was, and he will take coverage away WR Chad Ocho Cinco.  In my mind, T.O. is a player you get on a one year deal, just like the Buffalo Bills did last season.  So, if the Bengals did sign him, and the terms are in their favor, I can understand why they would do it from a “football” standpoint.  But if they sign T.O. or any other aging WR, they are essentially admitting that they missed on their two 2008 draft picks at the WR position, Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell.  Last years signing of WR Laveranues Coles was a mistake and it stunted the growth of the Bengals young WRs in 2009.  Caldwell made some big catches early on, but didn’t have the year that he should have had.  And Simpson was barely active during games.  Signing a guy like WR Brandon Marshall would have a whole different meaning.  Marshall is one of the top WR’s in football and would be the clear No 1, not a rented player.  The Bengals have some options, but not many in the unrestricted free agent market.  WR Antonio Bryant is an option in Cincinnati.  He is kinda like Chad in that he runs tough routes and can beat a DB one on one.  I think Antonio is more of a volatile player than Chad, so that may scare teams away.  But on the field, Antonio can still go get it.  All of these guys have issues, just depends on which guy the Bengals can handle the best.  I still say go for Marshall, he is the best of the group and would be more than a one year player.  The Broncos may be willing to deal him for less than a 1st round pick if the Seahawks don’t sign him.  So the Bengals need to be patient and not bid against themselves.  Teams that “needed” WRs already made moves in that area, Ravens, Lions, and Houston.  I personally know that the K.C. Chiefs were looking at one of the WRs that just signed, but will they make a move for T.O.?  Also keep in mind that the price for all of these guys will start to come down with each passing day.  Teams will see that agents are bluffing when they say that other teams are interested, and players will start to get nervous so they will ask agents to take the deal that’s on the table.

Here is the link to the interview I did with John Clayton of ESPN on his radio show in Seattle.  Pretty good stuff.  Talked about Marvin Lewis contract, Chris Henry, and DL in NFL Draft.  I start in at the 14:40 mark.  Click here

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