Once again, the winds of free agency change are blowing in the NFL, and players are jumping from one team to another, radically changing the landscape of the NFL. KnightNews.com looked into a couple of the biggest free agency moves so far.
In a shocking twist, longtime Dolphin defensive end Jason Taylor has left the team after returning for one season from the Redskins. And he ended up on the one team that Dolphin fans love to hate with a passion — their division rival, the New York Jets. The move is almost as shocking as the Eagles trading their Probowl starting quarterback Donovan McNabb to their division rival, the Redskins.
Things aren’t all negative for the Dolphins. Despite giving up Taylor, their defense stands to make great strides after signing former Cardinal’s linebacker Karlos Dansby. And on the offensive side of the ball, the Dolphins managed to secure former UCF great Brandon Marshall from Denver for a record price. Marshall was traded to the Miami Dolphins, who renegotiated his contract to a record-breaking four year, $47.5 million contract.
The same goes for the Eagles, who have secured outside linebacker Ernie Sims and defensive end Darryl Tapp, making their defense just a little bit scarier, which they hope is enough to hold off McNabb’s impending revenge.
And you can’t forget about the never ending Brett Farve soap opera — will he, won’t he, will his long lost brother who was separated at birth end up signing with the Bears? In a somewhat positive sign for Farve returning, he has been showing up to throw passes to high school receivers at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi — just like he did last year.
Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson’s stock seems to be falling, despite having one of the best seasons of his career last yea and being selected for his first Probowl. That’s because he ended up being suspended for the first three games of the season for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy, and is currently holding out on his contract. The Seahawks seem to lead the pack of teams interested in Jackson, but supposedly the Redskins’ interest is rising, as he has been working out with Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb in Arizona.
Speaking of suspended wide receivers, 2009 Superbowl MVP Santonio Holmes landed on the Jets at the beginning of the offseason, after the Steelers dealt him away for a 5th round draft pick once they found out about his four game suspension.
But that wasn’t the only wide receiver movement towards the beginning of the offseason. Cardinal’s wide receiver Anquan Boldin is now a Baltimore Raven, hopefully giving some help to starting quarterback Joe Flacco. On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals did sign former Jets safety Kerry Rhodes, who has the potential to be a turnover machine once again this season.
Some teams have been hard at work signing players from the free agency. Others, such as the Cowboys and Jaguars, have yet to make a splash this offseason.
But there is still about a month left before training camp begins, so who knows what could happen to the teams and NFL odds when all is said and done.
