Cardinals' Free Agent Predictions Update

[Mitch]

Just posted this on the Cardinals' site:

UNRESTRICTED-TO-BE (YES---on 90 man roster heading to camp next year)

CB Justin Bethel—YES
LB Dwight Freeney—NO
TE Jermaine Gresham—NO
RB Chris Johnson—YES
S Rashad Johnson—YES
G Ted Larsen—NO
LS Mike Leach—YES
T Bobby Massie—NO
CB Jerraud Powers—NO
C Lyle Sendlein—NO
T Bradley Sowell—YES
QB Drew Stanton—NO
LB Sean Weatherspoon—NO
LB LaMarr Woodley—NO

RESTRICTED-TO-BE

WR Jaron Brown—YES
P Drew Butler—YES
LB Kenny Demens—YES
S Tony Jefferson—YES (he and SK will work something out)

* BA will not want to move on from Powers, but signing Bethel is the priority.

* Gresham might re-sign if he and the club can agree on a reasonable figure, likely with incentives.

* Sendlein and Freeney might be signed after free agency and the draft if their positions are still of need and they still want to play.

* If Steve Keim can add an edge rusher and an ILB in free agency, then it is quite possible that he could draft a QB in round 1 or 2. First 3 picks in draft a QB, a C and a CB.

 

[Shaggy]

Here is my prediction.

CB Justin Bethel—YES
LB Dwight Freeney—YES
TE Jermaine Gresham—YES
RB Chris Johnson—YES
S Rashad Johnson—YES
G Ted Larsen—NO
LS Mike Leach—YES
T Bobby Massie—NO
CB Jerraud Powers—YES
C Lyle Sendlein—NO
T Bradley Sowell—NO
QB Drew Stanton—YES - Unless they pick up another QB in the draft.
LB Sean Weatherspoon—NO
LB LaMarr Woodley—NO

 

[DVontel]

Just posted this on the Cardinals' site:

UNRESTRICTED-TO-BE (YES---on 90 man roster heading to camp next year)

CB Justin Bethel—YES
LB Dwight Freeney—NO
TE Jermaine Gresham—NO
RB Chris Johnson—YES
S Rashad Johnson—YES
G Ted Larsen—NO
LS Mike Leach—YES
T Bobby Massie—NO
CB Jerraud Powers—NO
C Lyle Sendlein—NO
T Bradley Sowell—YES
QB Drew Stanton—NO
LB Sean Weatherspoon—NO
LB LaMarr Woodley—NO

RESTRICTED-TO-BE

WR Jaron Brown—YES
P Drew Butler—YES
LB Kenny Demens—YES
S Tony Jefferson—YES (he and SK will work something out)

* BA will not want to move on from Powers, but signing Bethel is the priority.

* Gresham might re-sign if he and the club can agree on a reasonable figure, likely with incentives.

* Sendlein and Freeney might be signed after free agency and the draft if their positions are still of need and they still want to play.

* If Steve Keim can add an edge rusher and an ILB in free agency, then it is quite possible that he could draft a QB in round 1 or 2. First 3 picks in draft a QB, a C and a CB.

Would rather draft an ILB in stacked 2016 ILB draft class than signing on in FA.
Also, I really hope we don't draft an C early. There are more glaring needs with ILB(should be priority #1 by a large margin), OLB, & CB.

 

[DeAnna]

What's the status on #15? I heard them on the radio saying they don't expect him to be back next season 'cause someone will offer him big money.

 

[football karma]

What's the status on #15? I heard them on the radio saying they don't expect him to be back next season 'cause someone will offer him big money.

i thought they picked up his 2016 option

 

[Buckybird]

i thought they picked up his 2016 option

They did, but I believe it's still just what it says it is. How much is his salary will determine his status going forward.

 

[Buckybird]

Good stuff Mitch, always gotta be looking ahead.

 

[Buckybird]

BTW I heard today Alex Mack will opt out in Cleveland after the season. Lot$ of coin though.

 

[splitsecond]

I was looking at this the other day, and my conclusions - including some of those we may re-sign (particularly gresham) are very similar.

Powers and Bethel are both going to command a fair bit of cash, and I think Bethel ends up winning out.

 

[Redneck Voodoo]

Here is my prediction.

CB Justin Bethel—YES
LB Dwight Freeney—YES
TE Jermaine Gresham—YES
RB Chris Johnson—YES
S Rashad Johnson—YES
G Ted Larsen—NO
LS Mike Leach—YES
T Bobby Massie—NO
CB Jerraud Powers—YES
C Lyle Sendlein—NO
T Bradley Sowell—NO
QB Drew Stanton—YES - Unless they pick up another QB in the draft.
LB Sean Weatherspoon—NO
LB LaMarr Woodley—NO

I don't mind any of this one bit. Powers isn't a scrub but (unlike Mitch) I think he nor Bethel will command big bucks. Sowell isn't a keeper, IMO...easily replaced.

Drew Stanton is a weird one for me because I really like him but I know we need a QBOTF. If he's happy in his role and would sign for a reasonable amount, I would love to see him back. The problem is, there are more than a few teams that would love to have one of his caliber as their backup. Shoot, he could start for a few teams.

As far as Massie goes; I'm not sure why Watford isn't starting now. Of course, my NFL-coaching-pay-level is equal to my experience...so there's that.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

BTW I heard today Alex Mack will opt out in Cleveland after the season. Lot$ of coin though.

Worth it though.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

FUN!

CB Justin Bethel—YES
LB Dwight Freeney—NO
TE Jermaine Gresham—NO
RB Chris Johnson—MAYBE
S Rashad Johnson—NO
G Ted Larsen—NO
LS Mike Leach—YES
T Bobby Massie—NO
CB Jerraud Powers—MAYBE
C Lyle Sendlein—NO
T Bradley Sowell—NO
QB Drew Stanton—MAYBE
LB Sean Weatherspoon—NO
LB LaMarr Woodley—YES

RESTRICTED-TO-BE

WR Jaron Brown—YES
P Drew Butler—YES
LB Kenny Demens—YES
S Tony Jefferson—YES <--- Highest Tender, and then it is what it is.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

- I say "maybe" on Chris Johnson because it will matter on the price, ala Karlos Dansby.

- I am in the opinion that Rashad Johnson is going to get over paid, Byron Maxwell style, this offseason. Mathieu is going to take his place, IMO.

- Jerraud Powers is a maybe because I am not sure how much he is going to get in the free agency market at his age, as a cornerback. I would think the Cardinals are going to have some money this offseason to spend, and why not spend CB#2 type money on a CB#2 type player, where things may not come to a agreement is the length of the contract.

- Bradly Sowell, in an optimal setting, should not even be on the team now. DJ Humphries will have to be playing in some capacity next year, and Earl Watford will be the backup.

- Drew Stanton is a maybe. I cannot think of why any team would sign him.

- Lamarr Woodley is not going to get big money anywhere, and has a nice role here in Arizona. I think he will be back for about the same price next year.

- All the RFA's are no brainers, and when it comes to Tony Jefferson, I say tender him high and if someone wants to give the Cardinals draft picks for him, then so be it.

 

[cardpa]

UNRESTRICTED-TO-BE
CB Justin Bethel—PROBABLY YES
LB Dwight Freeney—MAYBE
TE Jermaine Gresham—PROBABLY
RB Chris Johnson—PROBABLY YES
S Rashad Johnson—YES
G Ted Larsen—MAYBE
LS Mike Leach—YES
T Bobby Massie—MAYBE
CB Jerraud Powers—50/50 CHANCE
C Lyle Sendlein—NO
T Bradley Sowell—NO
QB Drew Stanton—50/50
LB Sean Weatherspoon—NO
LB LaMarr Woodley—NO

RESTRICTED-TO-BE

WR Jaron Brown—YES
P Drew Butler—YES (competition in camp)
LB Kenny Demens—YES
S Tony Jefferson—YES

Freeney, Gresham, Powers, Stanton all depend on interest from other teams.

I think Chris Johnson and Bethel are others who fits into this scenario unless SK signs them to new/extended contracts before the end of the season. I can easily see a RB or CB desperate team offering these two more than their worth. Larson is another who may be back depending on what the market may offer him. He did not play bad during Iupati's absence.

Massie I am not sure quite where he fits in the equation.

I think the draft will see an edge rusher in the first round and I could see the Cardinals taking a flyer on Matt Johnson QB out of Bowling Green. He plays in a pro offense there and despite being a bit on the short side (think Drew Brees) his numbers are outstanding.

Games-9
Passes Completed-268
Passes Attempted-380
Comp. PCT-70.5
Yards-3686
Yds/A-9.7
TDs-33
INT-3

Another common criticism of players from so-called smaller colleges is the level of competition they face. But, you can hardly argue with the schedule Johnson and the Falcons have faced so far this year. Against Tennessee in the season opener he threw for 424 yards and two scores. In a win at Maryland he went for 491 yards and six touchdowns. Against Memphis, we threw for 443 and four touchdowns while running for another. In a second win over the Big Ten at Purdue, he threw for 402 yards and a touchdown. So that "system" we were talking about seemed to work pretty good against an SEC team, two Big Ten teams and the current #16 ranked team in the country.

The quote is from an article about Johnson on SBnation. the entire article can be read here. He has played against some pretty good competition.

http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-football/2015/10/28/9624808/matt-johnson-heisman-trophy-candidate

 

[BullheadCardFan]

P Drew Butler—YES

?

This guy needs to go

 

[82CardsGrad]

FUN!

CB Justin Bethel—YES
LB Dwight Freeney—NO
TE Jermaine Gresham—NO
RB Chris Johnson—MAYBE
S Rashad Johnson—NO
G Ted Larsen—NO
LS Mike Leach—YES
T Bobby Massie—NO
CB Jerraud Powers—MAYBE
C Lyle Sendlein—NO
T Bradley Sowell—NO
QB Drew Stanton—MAYBE
LB Sean Weatherspoon—NO
LB LaMarr Woodley—YES

RESTRICTED-TO-BE

WR Jaron Brown—YES
P Drew Butler—YES
LB Kenny Demens—YES
S Tony Jefferson—YES <--- Highest Tender, and then it is what it is.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

- I say "maybe" on Chris Johnson because it will matter on the price, ala Karlos Dansby.

- I am in the opinion that Rashad Johnson is going to get over paid, Byron Maxwell style, this offseason. Mathieu is going to take his place, IMO.

- Jerraud Powers is a maybe because I am not sure how much he is going to get in the free agency market at his age, as a cornerback. I would think the Cardinals are going to have some money this offseason to spend, and why not spend CB#2 type money on a CB#2 type player, where things may not come to a agreement is the length of the contract.

- Bradly Sowell, in an optimal setting, should not even be on the team now. DJ Humphries will have to be playing in some capacity next year, and Earl Watford will be the backup.

- Drew Stanton is a maybe. I cannot think of why any team would sign him.

- Lamarr Woodley is not going to get big money anywhere, and has a nice role here in Arizona. I think he will be back for about the same price next year.

- All the RFA's are no brainers, and when it comes to Tony Jefferson, I say tender him high and if someone wants to give the Cardinals draft picks for him, then so be it.

What's the worry about CJ's price? No matter what he does this season, he'll still be a 31 year old RB next year. Teams aren't gonna go all Dansby-like on a 31 year old RB...

 

[Russ Smith]

CJ would be the #1, with a bullet, RB in the FA marekt.

 

[NJCardFan]

CJ better not forget which team gave him a chance when no other would. If his numbers hold up would put him at over 1,300 yards and about 5 or so TD's(if they ever give him the ball inside the 5). We gave him this shot and if he leaves because some team offers more money, I'd lose a ton of respect for him.

 

[Russ Smith]

CJ better not forget which team gave him a chance when no other would. If his numbers hold up would put him at over 1,300 yards and about 5 or so TD's(if they ever give him the ball inside the 5). We gave him this shot and if he leaves because some team offers more money, I'd lose a ton of respect for him.

That was his rep before which is why I was skeptical of signing him.

That said, if he can get more money somewhere else, at his age I wouldn't fault him.

The Cards had a great RB situation this year but ideally at some point they're going to want to go forward with D Johnson and Ellington as CJ gets older so you can make the argument if he gets offered starter money somewhere else he should probably take it.

Selfishly I hope we can keep him, he's been terrific.

 

[Proximo]

CB Justin Bethel—Maybe - depends on other teams interests - he should be our number 1 priority to me
LB Dwight Freeney—NO
TE Jermaine Gresham—YES
RB Chris Johnson—MAYBE - I hope not - I want David Johnson to be our starter, money would be better spent elsewhere
S Rashad Johnson—NO
G Ted Larsen—NO
LS Mike Leach—NO - He is getting very long in the tooth - they just tried out a long snapper for a reason
T Bobby Massie—NO
CB Jerraud Powers—MAYBE - Would rather have Bethel - but BA probably wants him more
C Lyle Sendlein—NO
T Bradley Sowell—NO
QB Drew Stanton—NO - The trade for Barkley means they are looking to move on
LB Sean Weatherspoon—NO
LB LaMarr Woodley—NO - he is terrible, and needs to retire

Jefferson / Buchanon will take over for Rashad just fine - and I think provide an upgrade as they are more athletic

Need to draft 1. A pass rusher, 2. Cornerback, 3. Inside linebacker with the first 3 picks

 

[Cheesebeef]

That was his rep before which is why I was skeptical of signing him.

That said, if he can get more money somewhere else, at his age I wouldn't fault him.

i'm with ya 100%. the idea that the guy shouldn't go out and make the most money he can on what's likely his last contract is ridiculous to me and nothing that anyone would bash a normal person for doing.