Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys are expected to cut defensive back, and former Chief, Brandon Carr. The team had paid Carr a huge contract to come to Dallas, but he never played up to it.
- Chiefs’ Take: Carr may have had one of the most amicable partings a free agent has ever had with his former team. It seemed that many fans at the time simply accepted the fact that he had earned a big time contract and the Chiefs could not afford to pay it. Of course, now there may be some interest in bringing him back at a much more reasonable offer.
Denver Broncos: Peyton Manning is apparently strongly considering returning for one at least one more season, which has put the Broncos in a very difficult position. Manning is owed $19 million ($21.5 million cap hit) if on the roster March 9.
Why is that a big deal? Because the Broncos only have roughly $8 million in cap space, but just used the Franchise Tag on Von Miller at $14 million, which means on March 9th they will be over the cap and subject to discipline. Denver is now in a position where they may have to cut Manning.
However, even in doing that, the team will likely not be able to re-sign defensive tackle Malik Jackson. And while the team has stated they intend to re-sign quarterback Brock Osweiler, that will become increasingly difficult if he is allowed to talk to teams in Free Agency.
- Chiefs’ Take: There is no doubt that the team fielded in Denver for 2016 will be much different than the team that just won the Super Bowl. The division is certainly up for grabs.
- Author’s Take: This is the other side of building through Free Agency. While the Broncos did get the ultimate success for their quick hit strategy of bringing in mercenaries, they are now faced with the fact that they simply cannot afford to retain their talent. Even if Manning comes off the books (and he should), the money simply won’t be there to re-sign much of their free agent talent or to continue the strategy of building through Free Agency.
Detroit Lions: The Lions have re-signed defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker on a one-year deal.
Green Bay Packers: Star pass rusher Julius Peppers has made it clear that he intends to continue playing, and that he wants that to be in Green Bay. There had been some question as to whether or not he was done after a statement he made in January.
Another veteran Packer who will be returning is kicker Mason Crosby who was re-signed this week. Crosby is the all-time leading scorer for the Packers and told reporters he never had any intentions of testing Free Agency.
Houston Texans: Texans wide receiver Jaelen Strong was arrested this week for marijuana possession, after being pulled over by law enforcement. The Texans also had to make a big roster decision in releasing running back Arian Foster. Houston also released tight end Garrett Graham and veteran safety Rahim Moore.
- Chiefs’ Take: Both Graham and Moore are interesting names for Chiefs fans to keep an eye on. Both could be valuable role players and depth options in Kansas City.
Indianapolis Colts: The Colts will be moving on from 40 year old quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, though it is not clear if he intends to retire or not. However, the team will not be moving on from 43 year old kicker Adam Vinatieri as they are currently working on a new deal.
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