It'll be a buyer's market for free-agent receivers

[OrtonsPiercedTaint]

Posted by Mike Florio on February 12, 2014, 11:40 AM EST

As teams begin to plan their eventual 53-man rosters, there are currently 53 receivers scheduled to be available in free agency. That’s the number of unrestricted and restricted free agents at the position who’ll be available as of March 11, barring a new contract with their current teams.

It’s bad news for the individual players, since it creates a team-friendly market. With so many wideouts looking for new homes, owners and executives will be able to squeeze agents into taking less.

The full list appears below. The most intriguing 10 names to watch are Anquan Boldin, Riley Cooper, Eric Decker, Julian Edelman, Jacoby Jones, Jeremy Maclin, Dexter McCluster, Hakeem Nicks, Emmanuel Sanders, and Golden Tate.

Nicks surely entered the season thinking that he could get the same five-year, $60 million package handed last year by the Dolphins to Mike Wallace. Nicks won’t get that from the Giants. On the open market, he may encounter teams who are concerned that his contract-year slump may not have been a one-year thing.

The list could grow, as more receivers are cut from their current contracts. One big name to consider in that regard is Wes Welker. The Broncos’ slot receiver will see his cap number double from $4 million to $8 million in 2014. That could be enough to prompt the Broncos to try to squeeze Welker to take less. If he doesn’t, he could be gone.

Likewise, Seahawks receiver Sidney Rice is expected to be dumped from the latter years of a big-money contract.

When the dust settles, the big winners could be the Patriots, who surely will be looking to bulk up at the position without spending a lot of money. Last year, they signed Sanders to an offer sheet. This year, they’d be able to add him without giving the Steelers a chance to match or compensation if they choose not to.


Seyi Ajirotutu (Chargers)

Danario Alexander (Chargers)

Doug Baldwin (Seahawks; restricted)

Anquan Boldin (49ers)

Deion Branch (Colts)

Dezmon Briscoe (Redskins; restricted)

Kenny Britt (Titans)

Plaxico Burress (Steelers)

Andre Caldwell (Broncos)

Austin Collie (Patriots)

Kevin Cone (Falcons; restricted)

Riley Cooper (Eagles)

Jerricho Cotchery (Steelers)

Josh Cribbs (Jets)

Tandon Doss (Ravens; restricted)

Eric Decker (Broncos)

Julian Edelman (Patriots)

Jacoby Ford (Raiders)

Ted Ginn (Panthers)

Andrew Hawkins (Bengals; restricted)

Lavelle Hawkins (Chargers)

Devin Hester (Bears)

Darrius Heyward-Bey (Colts)

Domenik Hixon (Panthers)

Lestar Jean (Texans; restricted)

Jacoby Jones (Ravens)

James Jones (Packers)

Brandon LaFell (Panthers)

Jeremy Maclin (Eagles)

Mario Manningham (49ers)

Marc Mariani (Titans)

Dexter McCluster (Chiefs)

Robert Meachem (Saints)

Marlon Moore (Dolphins)

Joseph Morgan (Saints; restricted)

Josh Morgan (Redskins)

Santana Moss (Redskins)

Louis Murphy (Giants)

Hakeem Nicks (Giants)

Kevin Ogletree (Lions)

Kassim Osgood (49ers)

Taylor Price (Jaguars)

Andre Roberts (Cardinals)

Emmanuel Sanders (Steelers)

Dane Sanzenbacher (Bengals; restricted)

Jerome Simpson (Vikings)

Micheal Spurlock (Lions)

Brandon Stokley (Ravens)

Brandon Tate (Bengals)

Golden Tate (Seahawks)

Tiquan Underwood (Buccaneers)

Damian Williams (Titans)

Kyle Williams (Chiefs)

[TEX]

Originally Posted by RustShack

Bowe
Maclin
Avery
Rookie

Also sign Hester if the price is right... Guessing it won't be but wanting to be used like McCluster and back with his ST's coach wouldn't shock me.

I like the list but...WHY not just sign McCluster to "use like McCluster?" He could likely be had for less than Hester...If the Chiefs got 500+ yards receiving out of him in year 1 of Reid, makes sense they'll get more out of him as the offense evolves. Not to mention the fact that Dex can spell RB if necessary, and Hester cant. Dex is an ascending player, Hester isnt. You can do more with Dex. Id just hate to lose Dex when his best years are ahead. I dont mind overpaying a bit to keep him. Just my take...

[TEX]

Originally Posted by BossChief

There are also about 25 receivers in this class that have a third round or higher grade.

Now reason not to double dip and really bolster the position this offseason. Give Alex Smith the best weapons of his career and see what these guys can do to make a run at giving Peyton some unhappy endings.

Push those chips in and lets play ball.

I agree. Take advantage of the glut and go for it. Id also REALLY like to see them get a TE that can do more in the passing game, not to mention stay healthy. Fasano / Duck Dynasty are both #2 types (Fasano can block a bit better, but thats not saying much) and no way Id count on Kelce for anything.

[R8RFAN]

Should the Raiders take a QB? or should they take Sammy Watkins with a crop of F/A receivers like this?

[OldSchool]

The amount of FAs coupled with the depth of this year's WR draft class will force a lot of good vets to take less than what they should be making. Expect many 1-year prove it type deals from guys like Maclin, Nicks, Alexander, etc.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by OrtonsPiercedTaint

Brady isn't getting it done like he use to. Smoke & mirrors always has been part of Peyton's game(intelligence for most). With the arm strength being less reliable it's more so now

The Patriots were #3 in scoring despite losing Hernandez in the offseason, not having Gronk for most of the year, having Amendola shred his groin in the first game of the season, having to start 2 rookies at WR (including one UDFA rookie), and basically having a converted QB as his only healthy receiving option for a significant part of the season.

How is that not getting it done?

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

The Patriots were #3 in scoring despite losing Hernandez in the offseason, not having Gronk for most of the year, having Amendola shred his groin in the first game of the season, having to start 2 rookies at WR (including one UDFA rookie), and basically having a converted QB as his only healthy receiving option for a significant part of the season.

How is that not getting it done?

Their run game is what carried the team for most of the year. Did you watch the playoff loss to the Broncos? Brady was missing throws all over the field and they did nothing offesnively because Knighton was destroying the middle of their line in the run game.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by TEX

I like the list but...WHY not just sign McCluster to "use like McCluster?" He could likely be had for less than Hester...If the Chiefs got 500+ yards receiving out of him in year 1 of Reid, makes sense they'll get more out of him as the offense evolves. Not to mention the fact that Dex can spell RB if necessary, and Hester cant. Dex is an ascending player, Hester isnt. You can do more with Dex. Id just hate to lose Dex when his best years are ahead. I dont mind overpaying a bit to keep him. Just my take...

Dex is going to cost more than Hester. Hester's probably on 1 year deals for the rest of his career, he's 32.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Dex is going to cost more than Hester. Hester's probably on 1 year deals for the rest of his career, he's 32.

All the more reason not to sign Hester. How much do you think he signs a 1 year deal for somewhere? How much do you think Dex's cap hit will be per year in a new deal?

[Direckshun]

I'm not an expert, but if Hester gets more than $2m next year, I'll be shocked.

As for Dex... I think he gets something like 4 years, $12m.

[philfree]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Dex is going to cost more than Hester. Hester's probably on 1 year deals for the rest of his career, he's 32.

I have a hard time believing McCluster will get a big contract offer from another team with all the WRs available in free agency and the draft.

[Dunerdr]

Originally Posted by philfree

I have a hard time believing McCluster will get a big contract offer from another team with all the WRs available in free agency and the draft.

Maybe not a big offer but possibly more than we have. A solid contract for Rex would be a very raiders thing to do.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I'm not an expert, but if Hester gets more than $2m next year, I'll be shocked.

As for Dex... I think he gets something like 4 years, $12m.

Id be fine with Dex getting that. You might be right in that Dex might cost more than Hester, but not "that" much more if measured on an annual basis. All I'm saying is that keeping Dex might not be all that much more expensive than going in another direction. There's still upside there with many ways to use him.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by philfree

I have a hard time believing McCluster will get a big contract offer from another team with all the WRs available in free agency and the draft.

Almost none of them with McCluster's skillset, though.

If you're looking for a slot receiver, he's near the top of your list.

If you're looking for a slot receiver who can also contribute hardcore on special teams, he is the top of your list.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by TEX

Id be fine with Dex getting that. You might be right in that Dex might cost more than Hester, but not "that" much more if measured on an annual basis. All I'm saying is that keeping Dex might not be all that much more expensive than going in another direction. There's still upside there with many ways to use him.

I agree.

The ideal situation would be for the Chiefs to trade down and get more picks.

If they can't do that, then our ability to add talent in this year's draft is limited, and we're going to need Dex to return if we want to compete at the same level we did last year.

[saphojunkie]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I agree.

The ideal situation would be for the Chiefs to trade down and get more picks.

If they can't do that, then our ability to add talent in this year's draft is limited, and we're going to need Dex to return if we want to compete at the same level we did last year.

Best case scenario is that a QB falls to us that Cleveland wants, and they are scared Cincy will take him with the next pick.