[CBFF] NFL free agency no longer a quick fix - USATODAY.com - Sent Using Google Toolbar

Sat Mar 1 06:30:47 MST 2008

NFL free agency no longer a quick fix - USATODAY.com

NFL free agency no longer a quick fix
By Larry Weisman, USA TODAY
Free agency once was viewed as a quick fix for broken NFL franchises.

It is a less hopeful and more expensive gateway now.

Free agency's start at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday with about 310 players
on the market has most teams approaching this bazaar with a
bargain-hunter's mentality.

WHO'S MOVING? Few players might be changing teams
RANKINGS: Best free agents available
TO SPEND OR TO DRAFT? Free agency is attractive but dangerous

"People are looking and saying, 'We're not going to spend a lot of
money on other people's free agents,' " says Billy Devaney, executive
vice president of player personnel for the St. Louis Rams.

A talent pool that isn't so deep or broad won't make it easy for teams
with many holes to get cost-effective starters. Sentiment around the
league seems to be that the big money will find a handful of marquee
players — receiver Randy Moss and cornerback Asante Samuel of the New
England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers guard Alan Faneca, Chicago Bears
linebacker Lance Briggs— and then the chase will slow.

Last year, 126 of 308 unrestricted free agents changed teams.

"There will be multiple teams after just a few players," Devaney says.

Eleven teams used their franchise designation to keep a player away
from potential bidding wars. The team has to offer a one-year contract
at the average of the top five salaries at that player's position to
employ that restriction.

So the NFL's leader in sacks, Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Jared
Allen, is available to another team only if it is willing to part with
two No. 1 draft picks as well as meeting his contract demands.

"There are some guys we felt like might have been able to help us. But
when they get tagged, they get tagged," says Cleveland Browns coach
Romeo Crennel. "You go to the next guy on your list."

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 http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-02-28-free-agency-1c_N.htm

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