Finishing up our look at the old guys in free agency we come to the cornerbacks, easily the deepest and potentially most productive of these veteran free agents available. Some of these guys already have Super Bowl rings and those that don’t have plenty of playoff experience instead.
As we talked in the previous articles, when you’re looking at these kinds of free agents, you want a guy you can plug right into a starting position or one that’s ready to step in immediately if your starter goes down. Their age makes them a bargain and their experience makes them invaluable.
The Cornerbacks
Antonio Cromartie, 30, Arizona Cardinals
2014: 49 tackles, 10 passes defended, three interceptions
Antonio Cromartie hasn’t lost a step in his nine-year career by any noticeable measure. His production in 2014 was fantastic and, if you can believe it, par for a pretty terrific career. In fact, Cromartie has averaged close to those numbers every year of his career with the exception of an insane 2007 when he picked off 10 passes.
Where he should end up: New York Jets
Cromartie loved playing for the Jets and has made no secret that he’d like to return there under its new head coach Todd Bowles, who just so happened to be Cromartie’s defensive coordinator last season. The Cardinals have also let it be known they want to keep him and you can’t discount Cromartie’s other former coach, Rex Ryan, in Buffalo jumping into the mix.
Terence Newman, 36, Cincinnati Bengals
2014: 72 tackles, 14 passes defended, one interception
If it feels like Terence Newman has been playing forever it’s because he has. Since joining the league in 2003 with the Dallas Cowboys, Newman has missed a total of 18 games. That’s out of a possible 192. Last year the Bengals got him for 13 games and he still put up terrific numbers. He may end up retiring, but it’s hard to believe Newman will walk away when he obviously still has gas in the tank.
Where he should end up: Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are looking at a cornerback early in the draft regardless of whether Newman comes back to the team, but even if they end up drafting a guy like Trae Waynes out of Michigan State or Marcus Peters out of Washington, they may not be ready to start Week 1 and certainly a veteran presence like Newman will help a rookie cornerback develop that much faster.
Ike Taylor, 34, Pittsburgh Steelers
2014: 16 tackles, two passes defended
Taylor played in only five games last season, but before that had missed just seven in his 12-year career. Taylor is a solid, smart and capable corner that can plug into pretty much any defense, especially since so many of former Steelers’ defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’s disciples are running NFL defenses.
Where he should end up: Arizona Cardinals
If the Cardinals lose Cromartie they have to replace him and Taylor fits the bill. Bruce Arians has run the Cardinals like an AFC North retirement home and it’s paid off with two consecutive winning seasons. There’s no reason to stop what’s been working so well now and solidifying their corner situation in free agency opens up the option to draft some offensive help, especially on the line.
Tramon Williams, 31, Green Bay Packers
2014: 70 tackles, 13 passes defended, three interceptions
Williams has never played for another team than the Packers and been a starter since his second year in the league in 2008. In that time he’s delivered consistently as a ball-hawk and a pass defender, never recorded fewer than 11 passes defended and two interceptions.
Where he should end up: Green Bay Packers
Packers coach Mike McCarthy has said he’s looking to upgrade his inside linebacker situation in the draft, but hasn’t said anything about corner so that means he expects to get Williams back. The Packers are primed to make a real run in 2015 and subtracting their good players shouldn’t be an option. Williams still has three good years left at least and the Packers need to lock in all of them.
