Every year as soon as the teams we follow are eliminated from playoff contention, (and for me as a Rams fan, that’s usually around Halloween) we do two things: We Google as many mock drafts as we can find and we peruse the list of available free agents, thinking that if our team will just do exactly as we say, then they’ll be right there artificially piping in crowd noise, secretly video recording other team’s walkthroughs and deflating footballs like an ‘effing champion.
But some of those free agents just aren’t going to be available. Whether it’s the franchise tag, retirement or a new contract with his current team, that guy that would fix everything wrong with your team just isn’t going to be there. Here are 10 of them that you can go ahead and mark off your list.
Kenny Britt, WR, St. Louis Rams
2014: 48 receptions, 748 yards, 3 touchdowns
Britt had his most productive season as a pro with the Rams last year, setting a career high in catches and his second highest career total in yards. Most importantly, Britt acted as a coach on the field to third-year wideout Brian Quick, who was on his way to a break-out season before suffering a torn rotator cuff in Week 7.
Britt helped turn a weakness on the team to a strength and if the Rams want to make a serious move towards respectability in 2015, Britt’s got to be re-signed long term. The good news is, he wants to stay.
Jacob Tamme, TE, Denver Broncos
2014: 14 receptions, 109 yards, 2 touchdowns
Tamme’s numbers make him a cheap keep for the Broncos and with Julius Thomas almost certainly hitting the open market, Tamme wins the lottery and gets to keep his job in Denver. Tamme was a little banged up in 2014, but is just two years removed from a 555-yard, two-touchdown season. Regardless of whether Peyton Manning returns or retires, the Broncos need some continuity at the tight end position and Tamme’s the cheaper option. Because, as you’ll see later on this list, the Broncos are going to have to spend some money.
Steven Gostkowski, K, New England Patriots
2014: 35-of-37, long of 53, 51-for-51 on PATs
Gostkowski is coming off his best season and has a new Super Bowl ring to help him remember it. The Pats got the No. 1 AFC seed thanks to a few Gostkowski kicks this season and the last thing New England needs is to open a title defense breaking in a new kicker.
Torrey Smith, WR, Baltimore Ravens
2014: 49 catches, 767 yards, 11 touchdowns
The Ravens were a foot to the left on a downfield pass away from playing for the Lombardi Trophy this season and the last thing you want to do is mess with your offensive chemistry. Smith is a good receiver, not a great one, but he fits what Joe Flacco does best, he can get deep and reel in those 50-plus yard passes or draw those pass interference penalties. If anything the Ravens need to add a receiver in free agency or the draft, not lose their best one.
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Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, New York Giants
2014: 77 tackles, 12.5 sacks, six passes defensed
The Giants have shed their good defensive linemen every year, it seems, since their last Super Bowl and have yet to find guys in the draft that can replace their production. Losing JPP would be a blow the Giants’ defense could not recover from. They let Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck leave the building already. With Steve Spagnuolo returning to coordinate the defense, it would be downright unfair to ask him to do it with the team’s best defensive player.
Stephen Paea, DT, Chicago Bears
2014: 33 tackles, six sacks, two passes defensed
Paea may be the best kept secret in football, but trust that John Fox and Vic Fangio know exactly who he is. Paea’s performance on the interior of the defensive line was lost in the disaster of Chicago’s 2014 season, but only a handful of defensive tackles outperformed him. Fox and Fangio have a defense to rebuild and the 26-year-old tackle is exactly the place to start.
Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers
2014: 91 catches, 1,287 yards, 12 touchdowns
You’d think that working out a long-term deal with Cobb would be a no-brainer, but the Packers have been very stingy with their wide receivers over the last few seasons, letting Greg Jennings and James Jones both hit the road in free agency with no attempt made to re-sign them. Jordy Nelson and Reggie Cobb were a big reason for that, with Green Bay knowing they had replacements already on the roster. That isn’t the case this time.
If the Packers lose Cobb, they can replace him in the line up with Davante Adams, which wouldn’t be a disaster, but in three-wide sets they’d have to count on Jarrett Boykin in the slot, a guy that caught just three passes last year and was only targeted 12 times.
Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos
2014: 111 catches, 1,619 yards, 11 touchdowns
And here is the reason Julius Thomas will be playing for the Kansas City Chiefs next season. Demaryius Thomas has spent the last three seasons with Peyton Manning becoming one of the most dangerous weapons in football. And that was after being the guy that gave Tim Tebow a playoff win in 2011 with his overtime touchdown catch and run. Thomas’ last three years in Denver equal 297 catches, 35 touchdowns for 4,483 yards, which is equal to more than 2.5 miles.
Manning won’t let the team lose Thomas and if Manning does decide to retire, then Brock Osweiler will need him to help in the transition.
Justin Houston, OLB, Kansas City Chiefs
2014: 69 tackles, 22 sacks, 5 passes defended
It’s unfair that no one knew who Justin Houston was outside of Kansas City until this season, because the guy has been nearly murdering quarterbacks since he entered the NFL in 2011. Houston has torn past opposing team’s tackles since being drafted out of Georgia and has 48.5 sacks in just four years. His 22 sacks in 2014 is just 0.5 off Michael Strahan’s NFL record and not one of Houston’s 22 sacks were faked by Brett Favre.
With safety Eric Berry out indefinitely with cancer, there’s no argument that Houston is Kansas City’s best player.
To put Houston’s 2014 into perspective, Reggie White never recorded 22 sacks in a season. Lawrence Taylor didn’t either. Derek Thomas had seven sacks in a game, but not 22 in a season. J.J. Watt’s hit 20.5 sacks twice, but no more. Only Jared Allen, Mark Gastineau and Strahan have hit that mark.
Whether it be with the franchise tag or a long-term contract, Houston will not have a problem with the Chiefs.
Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys
2014: 88 catches, 1,320 yards, 16 touchdowns
Bryant entered elite NFL wide receiver territory two seasons ago and has never looked back and may be on his way, barring injury, to becoming the Cowboys’ best wide receiver in history. Everyone knows this and that’s why Dallas owner Jerry Jones has made it clear that even though his team has two star players becoming free agents this offseason (Bryant and DeMarco Murray), only one of them is a priority to re-sign. A Bryant deal could be announced any day and it will likely be the biggest deal a wideout has signed in league history.
