2023 NFL Free Agency Open Thread (Pinned)

[ASHKUM BEAR]

44 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

I think Broderick Jones is the fit. Very athletic.34.75 length arms with huge hands, 10" 5/8. Strong base. They could move back and still get Jones.

He is in play if the Bears move down. Arms are a hair short for what Poles likes but he did play Borum at RT with 33" arms. Skoronski is at 33" too.   

FA - Kaleb McGary only has 33" arms for being 6-7.  🦖

[AZ54]

Per OTC we still have $50mil in cap space so we're not done yet.  

2023 Cap hits for the new guys:  

    Edwards $5M

    Davis  $7M

    Edmunds $14.7M. 

They do not have Demarcus Walker listed yet so figure worst case on a 2yr deal it's $7M.  leaves us with $43M to spend and if we choose we can still cut players like Whitehair $10M, Patrick $4M, and Vildor $2.7M to free up another $16.7M. 

Maybe we sign one DE or a RT for 10-15M then we're probably done with big deals.  However, I wouldn't be surprised if we're done with those and we start working the bargain bin in the $5-10M area like we did with Walker.  

[Stinger226]

He was in negotiating with McG and Dremont Jones but he had to set a limit for value got out bid. I'm glad he's not throwing around stupid money contracts. That's how Pace got us in trouble. I think he still brings in a DT and another edge but they will be Walker type signings. We may not get a RT, so that means he will be drafting him in one of the first 4 picks

Something lime this 

9. Jalen Carter ( if he drops) Tyree Wilson, ( if he drops) or Lucas Van Ness

54. Tuli Tuipulotu/ 3T

62. Jaelyn Duncan/OT

65. Keenanu Benton/ DT.

I used tankathon mock as reference.

If Poles can find Braxton Jones in the fifth, he surely can find a starter at pick 62.

 

[Stinger226]

7 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

He is in play if the Bears move down. Arms are a hair short for what Poles likes but he did play Borum at RT with 33" arms. Skoronski is at 33" too.   

FA - Kaleb McGary only has 33" arms for being 6-7.  🦖

Out of the top 10 OTs in the draft Broderick Jones is third in arm length only behind Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones. Not sure Poles thinks that's a problem for him as a prospect.

[Stinger226]

As far as addressing the Oline, Ryan Kelly/OC is said to be up for trade or release out of Indy. He's an above average OC that could still be brought in. If cut, his salary would only be 7.8 mil in 2023. He's 30 and doesn't have an injury history.

There are  still 7 2023 starting RTs still in free agency. Ill have to see how their rated.  Trey Pipkins is the youngest but not sure of his effectiveness. 

Also Riely played OK if they wanted to bring him back while they groom a rookie.

All is not lost yet. He's going to look for value but is bringing someone in. 

On the roster still is leatherwood, Kellen Diesch, Jenkins ( moved) and Borom ( no ).

[adam]

5 hours ago, AZ54 said:

Per OTC we still have $50mil in cap space so we're not done yet.  

2023 Cap hits for the new guys:  

    Edwards $5M

    Davis  $7M

    Edmunds $14.7M. 

They do not have Demarcus Walker listed yet so figure worst case on a 2yr deal it's $7M.  leaves us with $43M to spend and if we choose we can still cut players like Whitehair $10M, Patrick $4M, and Vildor $2.7M to free up another $16.7M. 

Maybe we sign one DE or a RT for 10-15M then we're probably done with big deals.  However, I wouldn't be surprised if we're done with those and we start working the bargain bin in the $5-10M area like we did with Walker.  

Subtract $5M for rookie pool, which puts it at about $45M. $7M for Walker, makes $38M. I know they like to have some left for late free agent window signings and in-season spending, so I would assume that is close to $10M, leaving $28M.

Then, like you said, they still have some room for other contracts. They can renegotiate Jackson's and shave off $3M. Cutting Whitehair saves $5.8M, but you create another hole. I assume they will renegotiate his to get it down a couple of million as well. Vildor would be a straight up cut saving $2.7M, so those 3 could save $8M, pushing the available cap to $35M again very easily. 

The best part is the Bears still have the highest available cap space after all those moves, $6M more than ATL and $17M more than the 3rd team (ARZ). So they are not done, I still think they get 2x more on the DL and another on the OL. They have double the cap space than 26 teams. 

[Stinger226]

I don't think there's any big contracts left. He will bring in some value with the rest of free w. Still think he signs Monty to a team friendly deal. It may e hub d up being cheaper than originally thought because of a lack of offers. One week should be long enough to bring him back.

[adam]

1 hour ago, Stinger226 said:

I don't think there's any big contracts left. He will bring in some value with the rest of free w. Still think he signs Monty to a team friendly deal. It may e hub d up being cheaper than originally thought because of a lack of offers. One week should be long enough to bring him back.

If the Bears are done, so is the rest of the league. If the Bears have the most cap space, and still need to get to the "floor" they still need to sign at least 2 more higher end guys.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

1 hour ago, adam said:

If the Bears are done, so is the rest of the league. If the Bears have the most cap space, and still need to get to the "floor" they still need to sign at least 2 more higher end guys.

No way the Bears are done.  50 mil is alot to drop yet.

Some names that might be called today: 

Orlando Brown OT

Donovan Smith OT - cowboys  signed

Kaleb McGary OT

Greg Gaines DT

Samson Ebukam DE

Yannick Ngakoue DE

Mike Gesicki TE

[Stinger226]

3 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

No way the Bears are done.  50 mil is alot to drop yet.

Some names that might be called today: 

Orlando Brown OT

Donovan Smith OT - cowboys  signed

Kaleb McGary OT

Greg Gaines DT

Samson Ebukam DE

Yannick Ngakoue DE

Mike Gesicki TE

Big contracts like Edmunds contract. I never said they were done.

[adam]

Brendel and Bradbury are signed for the Center market.

Waller traded to the Giants for a 3rd rounder (so essentially they traded Toney for Waller). Waller was really good in 2020, but had 28-388yds in 2022 in 9 games. He goes from Carr to Jones. So for QB play, about equal, maybe slightly worse from a passing perspective.  

[Pixote]

According to the guy running Swift Sports Network, Poles outbid Seattle for Dre'Mont Jones but he chose to go to Seattle instead for less money. Who knows why? Doesn't matter, but it shows Poles is still willing to sign another big deal if the situation is right.

Here is what he accepted from Seattle. I wonder how much more we offered?

Quote

DL Dre'Mont Jones: Signing a three-year, $51.53 million contract that will pay him $35.02 million over two years, including $23.5 million in Year 1. (James Palmer and Ian Rapoport)

 

[adam]

Ogunjobi goes back to PIT, 3/28.75M

Gilmore traded from IND to DAL. Feels like Indy is going into full tank mode. They signed a kicker to a huge deal though. How is Ballard not fired yet?

[Mongo3451]

On 3/13/2023 at 1:48 PM, AZ54 said:

That's being all-in on Russell Wilson.  We need to get people on base before we swing for the fences.  

Yup

[adam]

Panthers have their QB1 

 

[adam]

McGary signs back with ATL:

 

[AZ54]

16 minutes ago, adam said:

McGary signs back with ATL:

 

With that deal it’s cLear we didn’t want him.  

[adam]

So the top FAs left:

1. Orlando Brown, OT
2. Isaac Seumalo, OG
3. Dalton Schultz, TE
4. Rock Ya-Sin, CB
5. Byron Murphy, CB
6. Arden Key, DE/Edge
7. Yannick Ngakoue, DE
8. Will Hernandez, OG
9. Miles Sanders, RB
10. David Montgomery, RB
11. Dalton Risner, OG
12. Chris Wormley, DL
13. Charles Murphy-Bunting, CB
14. Charles Omenihu, DE
15. Mike Gesicki, TE
16. Matthew Ioannididis, DL
17. Greg Gaines, DT
18. Poona Ford, DL
19. Hayden Hurst, TE
20. Sheldon Rankins, DT

Honorable Mentions: Jamaal Williams, RB; A'Shawn Robinson, DT, Samson Ebukam, DE

[ASHKUM BEAR]

45 minutes ago, adam said:

So the top FAs left:

1. Orlando Brown, OT
2. Isaac Seumalo, OG
3. Dalton Schultz, TE
4. Rock Ya-Sin, CB
5. Byron Murphy, CB
6. Arden Key, DE/Edge
7. Yannick Ngakoue, DE
8. Will Hernandez, OG
9. Miles Sanders, RB
10. David Montgomery, RB
11. Dalton Risner, OG
12. Chris Wormley, DL
13. Charles Murphy-Bunting, CB
14. Charles Omenihu, DE
15. Mike Gesicki, TE
16. Matthew Ioannididis, DL
17. Greg Gaines, DT
18. Poona Ford, DL
19. Hayden Hurst, TE
20. Sheldon Rankins, DT

Honorable Mentions: Jamaal Williams, RB; A'Shawn Robinson, DT, Samson Ebukam, DE

My guess is the Bears have Orlando Brown waiting to see if he can find a better offer.  That is why it has been a quite day.  He would not like being told he would start off as RT. 

[jason]

On 3/13/2023 at 4:48 PM, adam said:

Looks like 7 more "holes" left to fill. I am assuming 4 will be filled in the draft in the top 65. So 2-3 more mid/high FAs left to sign:

OL x2 - Davis, 
RB x1 -
TE x1 -

DT x2 -
DE x1
LB x2 - Edmunds, Edwards
CB x1 -

Why is TE listed? Kmet is under contract. 

[killakrzydav]

Sites including PFF has TE as a need. I have no idea other than that though

[Stinger226]

5 hours ago, Pixote said:

According to the guy running Swift Sports Network, Poles outbid Seattle for Dre'Mont Jones but he chose to go to Seattle instead for less money. Who knows why? Doesn't matter, but it shows Poles is still willing to sign another big deal if the situation is right.

Here is what he accepted from Seattle. I wonder how much more we offered?

 

Giving Jones 23.5 in his first year might have been more attractive than an extra 4-5 over 3 years over all. 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Montgomery gone

3 years at 6 million a year really not much.  Poles must have a different thought.

 

[AZ54]

24 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

Giving Jones 23.5 in his first year might have been more attractive than an extra 4-5 over 3 years over all. 

Maybe more money overall but less guaranteed, we likely will never know.  While he's a good player who definitely would have helped us he's not a show stopper.  Payne was a guy I'd break the bank for.  Fact is you can find good DTs later in round 1, Rd 2, or even the 3rd Rd as Jones was.   

We have enough money to sign guys who can at least shore up the run defense.  Those are cheaper than the DTs who can do both ala Jones.  Last year we couldn't stop the run nor rush the passer.  So fix at least one aspect via FA and use the draft for the pass rush where there is good depth.  

[Alaskan Grizzly]

6 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Montgomery gone

 

So that probably means Jamaal Williams isn't returning to Detroit?  Before this occurred it was reported he and the Lions were 'far apart' in their talks of a new contract.  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/jamaal-williams-lions-far-apart-in-contract-negotiations