Feb. 14, 2008

(L to R) Randy Moss, Lance Briggs and Alan Faneca

With the free-agent signing period set to begin Feb. 29, PFW editors were asked to consider the following question: Who is the most intriguing free agent in 2008? Their answers follow.

Mike Holbrook, managing editor

Don’t cry for the 10-year NFL veteran as he enters free agency at the ripe old age of 31.

Although he’s at an age and a position that normally might result in lower pay, the seven-time Pro Bowler couldn’t be hitting the market at a more opportune time for a player with such a distinguished résumé.

On the heels of record-breaking free-agent salaries paid to OGs Steve Hutchinson (Vikings), Eric Steinbach (Browns), Leonard Davis (Cowboys) and Derrick Dockery (Bills) the past two years, and with a number of teams likely to vie for Faneca’s services, it won’t be a surprise to see Faneca break the bank this offseason.

With a desperate need to keep their top offensive lineman, the Steelers likely will do all they can to retain Faneca, despite failing to agree to an extension prior to the 2007 season. But the Steelers will also have lots of competition.

Foremost among the suitors likely will be the Cardinals, featuring ex-Steelers coaches Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, with whom Faneca has an excellent relationship.

Or, he could choose to go to Seattle and help the Seahawks finally replace Hutchinson two years after he left via free agency.

It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Dolphins or Bears, with big O-line needs, make a play for him.

Trent Modglin, senior editor

To me, not only is Moss’ turnaround in New England one of the more interesting story lines of the entire NFL season, but his pending free agency could be just as intriguing.

My guess is the Patriots, while ecstatic with his NFL-record 23 TD catches, good behavior and ability to fit in with a team-first locker room, won’t be eager to shell out big bucks to keep him. Possible, but it’s not their way.

They want him back, and he surely is none too eager to start over somewhere else with someone other than Tom Brady throwing him passes, so it will be interesting to see if he’s willing to play for well below market value, as he did in 2007, when he took a significant pay cut to help broker the trade from Oakland.

If he’s not, and he wants to break the bank after reviving his career, I’m curious how eager another team will be to offer him an abundance of guaranteed money, considering his spotty character history and age (31 in February).

Let’s face it, the Moss experiment has worked as well as anyone could have imagined in New England. He has made everyone around him better and even has been labeled as a leader by teammates.

But will the Patriots want to roll the dice on a long-term deal? If they low-ball him, will Moss take it as a slap in the face and move the circus tent elsewhere? Lots of questions, few answers.

There are other star free agents who will receive the franchise tag, but not Briggs, as the Bears will allow him to test unrestricted free agency after designating him their franchise player in 2007.

And Briggs, 27, won’t be lacking for interested suitors.

The question is: What type of contract will Briggs get in a cash-flush market? It’s a perfect set of circumstances for him. Teams are better than ever at managing the salary cap, which will be about $116 million in ’08. And while the demand for top free agents is, generally, what it has been since the league expanded to 32 clubs, the supply of those free agents has been reduced by the franchise tag and the ability and willingness of teams to extend the contracts of their top players before they hit unrestricted free agency.

Briggs never got the credit he deserved in Chicago. Some of it has to do with the presence of Brian Urlacher, but he didn’t help himself by trying to complain his way into a long-term deal with the Bears last offseason. There was little sympathy for Briggs in Chicago; after all, he was thumbing his nose at a one-year, $7.2 million contract that became guaranteed the instant he signed it.

Worry not for Briggs, though: He’ll get his money, and a lot of it, with a whole bunch up front.

For all of Samuel’s pouting when the Patriots slapped him with the franchise tag last offseason, it worked out quite well for his savings account. Not only did he pocket $7.79 million, which is significantly more than his ’07 salary would’ve been under a long-term deal, but his Pro Bowl season has considerably raised his realistic asking price. After his 10-interception ’06 campaign, he was believed to be a standout in part because of a Patriots system that played to his strengths. The book on him now is that he’s among the league’s elite CB talents, and the organization that signs him will have to break the bank to do so.

My hunch is that New England opts not to cough up the cash. Even though the Pats’ secondary will be in a world of hurt without him, Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli will be hesitant to shell out top dollar to a guy who proved during his ’07 training-camp holdout that he doesn’t subscribe to the Patriots’ team-first mantra. Instead, I expect them to lock down Randy Moss to a lucrative — but below-market value — deal, and spread the remaining wealth on a smattering of less pricey additions. New England will grab a cornerback or two in its offseason haul, just not Samuel.

So where does the dreadlocked dynamo land in ’08? Here’s guessing that Sean Payton can convince him he’d be living large in the Big Easy.

Despite playing behind LaDainian Tomlinson, whose on-field talent and flashbulb-pop-inducing smile have led him to about as many endorsement deals as Peyton Manning, Chargers RB Michael Turner has found a way to infringe on the star’s spotlight.

After four seasons in which he made only one start, the question is: What will Turner do once an all-time great is out of his way? His career is shrouded in intrigue because, collectively, it has only been a sneak peek. Turner has 228 career carries — almost 100 fewer than Tomlinson had this season alone — but averages 5.5 yards per carry and has fumbled just twice.

The Northern Illinois product is nicknamed “Burner” and has an enticing combination of speed and size (5-foot-10, 237 pounds), but Chargers general manager A.J. Smith has told PFW that he won’t stand in the way of Turner finding greener pastures.

Turner will look for a destination where he can finally be a full-time starter and the piece that puts a teetering team over the edge and into the playoffs. However, a GM with a good chunk of salary-cap space and a solid starter at running back might be persuaded to employ the popular 1-2 punch strategy, offering Turner a generous raise to continue his backup role while not ruling out an opportunity to win the No. 1 spot on the depth chart.

Related Articles:

2008 free-agent list, by position
Feb. 14, 2008