Let the NFL Free Agent Madness Begin: Part II
Turn on the television or open a newspaper and everybody agrees the big NFL free agent winners are the Jets and the Jaguars. Um…why?
Let’s start with the Jaguars, who decided it was a good idea to give Drayton Florence $36 millio
n. So what if last year he was arguably the 2nd or 3rd best cornerback on one of the worst pass defenses in the league. That’s no reason not to give him a $13 million signing bonus. (The Chargers defense did rank 14th in passing yards per game, but considering their unstoppable pass rush, the secondary was atrocious).
Unfortunately, that wasn’t all the Jags did. The team decided the solution to its receiving woes was to give Jerry Porter $30 million (with $10 mil guaranteed). It didn’t seem to occur to them that they’re paying a guy who caught 45 passes over the last two years like a guy who caught 45 passes over the last 8 games. It also didn’t occur to the Jags that Porter is already 29 years old—the same age at which Randy Moss was supposedly washed up last year (and so what if Moss ended up having a career year—Jerry Porter is no Randy Moss). But don’t worry Jags fans, to create the cap space for these moves all the team had to do was give away Marcus Stroud to the Bills. Joseph Addai will be sure to express his gratitude when he’s running running through your defense next year.
Next up, the Jets. I won’t even mention them giving $65 million to two lineman over the age of 30. At least the O-
line is a crucial position at which adequate replacements can be hard to find. What interests me is a Mr. Calvin Pace.
Pace is a former 1st round pick who wasn’t able to secure a regular spot in the Cardinals vaunted defense until last year, his 5th in the league. Once in the lineup every Sunday, Pace had an average year—80 tackles, 6.5 sacks. The Jets obviously thought his year was above average, and by “above average” I mean “one of the best ever.” The team gave him a $42 million contract that will make him one of the richest linebackers in history. Lance Briggs is not going to be happy about this.
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