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What franchising a player can mean


Bronco Billy
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Teams franchising one player can impact other players on that team or other teams. Sometimes it just takes a little out-of-the-box thinking to figure out what that impact can be. By franchising one player, a team can be letting another player(s) go up for grabs, and playes leaving can mean opportunity for others remaining with the team.

 

Franchised player so far:

 

Lance Briggs, LB, CHI

 

Franchising Briggs was a no-brainer for CHI. There's a lot of cap room out there, and LBs of Briggs' caliber don't just grow on trees. Someone would have made Briggs an offer he couldn't refuse.

 

Impact on other players: Not much impact rippling outward. The only other candidate for the franchise tag was OT Rueben Brown, who figures to be the 5th/6th most desirable FA OT. CHI figures to be capable of keeping Brown if they want to.

 

Asante Samuel, CB, NE

 

Just like Briggs was a no-brainer for CHI, Samuel was the same for NE. Someone would have made him an offer NE couldn't match.

 

Impact on other players: This is where it gets a bit more interesting. By franchising Samuel, that means TE Daniel Graham hits the FA market. Graham is a true combination of a ferocious blocker & a solid pass catcher - and TEs that are the total package are in high demand. Graham will be the most coveted FA TE on the market. Expect Graham to head elsewhere, which means he isn't on the NE flavor-of-the-week merry-go-round anymore. Graham could very well become a decent regular impact TE for a number of teams - DEN coming immediately to mind. That also means that NE is comfortable letting Graham test the market, which would indicate that they are happy with the play of Dave Thomas (when he isn't serving up square burgers... :D ). Expect Thomas to pick up some if not all of the slack left by Graham's departure if he goes, enhancing Thomas' value quite a bit.

 

Justin Smith, DE, CIN

 

A very solid & tough DE, who forced CIN to make a very tough decision.

 

Impact on other players: This gets really interesting. By franchising Smith, CIN figures to lose some key pieces. First & foremost will be starting OG Eric Steinbach, who is easily the top FA OG. If Steinbach goes elsewhere, and it figures that he will, CIN will be hard pressed to replace him. That may impact some numbers of players like Carson Palmer (and consequently Chad Johnson) and Rudi Johnson. When GB lost its two starting OGs to FA a couple of years ago, its O took a serious dip. While it shouldn't be that bad for CIN, it sure could affect some numbers a bit. Then add TE Reggie Kelly, who figures to be right in the thick of things with SF TE Eric Johnson & SEA TE Jerramy Stevens as the 2nd/3rd/4th best FA TEs & very talented guys who haven't quite hit their stride yet for one reason or another. That may be opening the door for remaining TE Tony Stewart to get more action in the offense (although Stewart is also a FA and could leave the cupboard completely bare at TE in CIN), who might play more of a role in FF, especially with Steinback leaving and Palmer figuring to have little less time to throw at times. On a third note, it also may mean the departure of S Kevin Kaevisharn, who figures to be coveted by a few teams after his solid play that makes him a good FA pickup. That wouldn't bode well for a D that already is weak and has been hurt in the middle of the field by the antics of Odell Thurman and David Pollack being so disappointing. The overall impact on losing those 3 (and maybe 4) guys, and then compounding that with the possible FA losses of role player RB Kenny Watson & backup QB Anthony Wright, and the shake up of that magnitue could really affect a CIN team that was decimated by off field problems in 2006.

 

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CHI doesn't figure to be making much of any kind of significant change. NE seems to be trading out pieces that FF owners might want to keep an eye on - especially where Graham lands. And lastly it wouldn't surprise me a bit to see CIN slide right back into the mediocrity that they looked to be on their way out of years ago.

 

Keep a close eye on those franchise tags - and how they can affect other players & teams. This Thursday is the last day to designate.

Edited by Bronco Billy
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I think the ripple that hits other teams is just as big as the impact that franchising a player has on his own team. Samuel and Briggs in particular were two of what were going to be the most sought-after players at positions that are rather thin in the free-agent market. I think this means teams may be a bit more aggressive to resign some of their own at these positions, while at the same time it makes those players more likely to refuse to sign and hit the open market instead. The thinner a position gets, the more a good player at that position can make. I expect a handful more players to be franchised leaving a lot of teams to throw tons of new money at only a few quality remaining players.

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Franchising Justin Smith was necessary for the Bengals.He is one of the few defensive lineman that actually produced,and his loss would be a big blow.

 

Steinbach won't be missed much,if at all.Andrew Whitworth will step right in,and with Ghiaciuc now having game experience at center I expect the OL to actually improve,even with Steinbach's departure.

 

The one FA I'd like the Bengals to go after would be Daniel Graham.

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Franchising Justin Smith was necessary for the Bengals.He is one of the few defensive lineman that actually produced,and his loss would be a big blow.

 

Steinbach won't be missed much,if at all.Andrew Whitworth will step right in,and with Ghiaciuc now having game experience at center I expect the OL to actually improve,even with Steinbach's departure.

 

The one FA I'd like the Bengals to go after would be Daniel Graham.

 

you can't have Graham!! He's comin to the Hawks!! You guys can have Stevens, he'll fit right in in Cincy.

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you can't have Graham!! He's comin to the Hawks!! You guys can have Stevens, he'll fit right in in Cincy.

 

 

 

 

:D all wrong future Saint esp if he decides to do something stupid this off season

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Excellent analysis BB. The only thing I take issue with is whether Eric Steinbach is "better" or even more coveted than Kris Dielman.

 

 

As a Bengal fan,I agree.

 

He's good,not great.And we all know he doesn't always finish blocks...just ask Kimo.

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- The only other candidate for the franchise tag was OT Rueben Brown, who figures to be the 5th/6th most desirable FA OT. CHI figures to be capable of keeping Brown if they want to.

 

Last I looked Brown was an OG, not an OT - and he's clearly on the downside; shouldn't be too hard to keep him - if they even want to.

- TE Daniel Graham hits the FA market. Graham is a true combination of a ferocious blocker & a solid pass catcher - and TEs that are the total package are in high demand. Graham will be the most coveted FA TE on the market. Expect Graham to head elsewhere,

I haven't seen anything to think he'll be an ELITE TE, but he can be a damn good one. Worth watching.

 

By franchising Smith, CIN figures to lose starting OG Eric Steinbach, who is easily the top FA OG. If Steinbach goes elsewhere, and it figures that he will, CIN will be hard pressed to replace him. That may impact some numbers of players like Carson Palmer (and consequently Chad Johnson) and Rudi Johnson. When GB lost its two starting OGs to FA a couple of years ago, its O took a serious dip. While it shouldn't be that bad for CIN, it sure could affect some numbers a bit.

Nah. OG is probably the easiest position on the OL to replace; GB was affected because they lost possibly the best OG in the game in Wahle, and a solid-but-fading Rivera, plus C Mike Flanagan struggled as well. Steinbach is one cog, and not a particularly major one.

 

 

 

Anyway, comments aside, good stuff BB. :D

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There is another angle to applying the tag. A player could be tagged with the intention of trading him. No, these trades don't happen often and are difficult to work out, but it may be Plan A for some tagged players. Plan B is to keep the player and pay him the FT price.

 

Abraham was tagged soley for the express purpose of trading him, and getting some value instead of just letting him walk. Abraham wasn't in a grey area.... he was an ex-Jet.

 

Samuel could be trade bait for sure. Was he tagged purely to keep and buy time for a contract negotiation, or is he on the block? Why tag him if he is on the block? To get some value back on him, and to have control over where he might land. Down play it if you like, but the Pats DON'T want to see Samuel playing for the Jets. The Jets just took another of the Pats coaches, the WR coach away from the Pats just prior to Samuel getting the tag. Of course, the Pats might want to see if Samuel can remain playing at the level he did the last 10 weeks of the season before comitting to a long term deal as well.

 

Which is it? Probably a bit of each.... the Pats want to keep their D backfield intact given Harrison is literally on his last leg, and they don't want Samuel to sign within the AFC East, especially the Jets who need a CB pretty badly, not to mention the Mangini connection. Mangini picked up Poteat after the Pats cut him last year. Anyone think Mangini didn't want to sign Samuel? To simply say it was a no brainer is to over simplify this particular situation. The Pats have let guys like Law and Milloy walk before.... is Samuel that much better?

 

Is Grant really worth the outrageous price of a FT'd DE? I don't think so. Could the Saints be just looking to get something back for him? I don't propse to know, but it would not surprise me either. If they have no takers, fine, they over pay him for a year. Plan A, Plan B.

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Sorry boys. All signs point to Graham being a Viking. :D

 

 

Good, because I don't want him on the Jets. Graham IS a great run blocker, but he's also really over rated. He's Anthony Becht but still has hands attached to his arms. Very over rated as a reciever... in fact, Baker's numbers are better than his over the past two years, and that's not saying much. The Pats took Dave Thomas in the third round last year because they had no intention of keeping Graham. Let the Vikes, or anyone else have him, especially for the money it will cost.

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I'm just speculating of course. It seems the Vikings are looking to restock the position. Wiggins may be on his way out and Kleinsasser is making too much money for what he seems to be contributing. The team could go TE in the draft too. Lots of mocks seem to have them taking one in the 2nd round. We'll see I guess. They need somebody that can catch the ball, be it WR or TE.

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