By John Sarianides
Free agency unofficially opens today and there are several teams that are flushed with cap space. Some teams will use it, other won’t. Here are the five teams that I think are going to be big spenders come Thursday.
1. San Francisco 49ers: New GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have to re-tool one of the worst rosters in the league. The draft is one way to do it but free agency might be the quickest way to get competitive again by the bay. With $93 million dollars in cap space, look for the Niners to be active this week.
Free agent quarterback Mike Glennon will be a primary target. The Niners don’t have a starting caliber quarterback on the roster and Glennon would be a great fit in Shanahan’s offense. Inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower has championship pedigree from his time at Alabama and with the Patriots. He could be a good building block on what will be a young defense. Bills free agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore will also be a target. He fits the mold of the big corner new defensive coordinator Richard Saleh wants to play with. Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery will also pique the 49ers interest. Jeffery is a big receiver and an ideal fit in the west coast offense. He would give the 49ers a legit number one receiver.
After releasing veteran wide receiver and free agent flop Torrey Smith, the 49ers have $93,480,264 dollars worth of cap space. I think they will use a fair amount of it this week.
2. Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars have $76,336,043 dollars in cap space. That is plenty of cash for Football Ops czar Tom Coughlin and GM David Caldwell to throw around this week. Jags owner Shad Khan has not been afraid to spend money since buying the team in 2011, so look for Jacksonville to be active.
The Jaguars have been linked to veteran defensive end Calais Campbell. Campbell would be a great fit in the Jags 4-3 scheme as a nine technique defensive end. Jacksonville is also in the market for a right tackle so Ravens free agent tackle Rick Wagner makes sense. The Jaguars also need a starting cornerback after cutting free agent bust Davon House on Monday. Texans free agent A.J Bouye has the man to man coverage skills to be an effective number one corner. Jacksonville wants to be more aggressive defensively next season. Bouye can help them do that.
Coughlin knows free agent defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins well from their time in New York together. Don’t be surprised if the Jaguars target the big nose tackle to play opposite Malik Jackson. Look for Jacksonville to be just as active as last off-season. Coughlin wants to win now.
3. Chicago Bears: The pressure is on GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox to win now and turn things around in the Windy City. Chicago has $51,223,002 dollars in cap space heading into free agency. The Bears could have another $12 million to spend if they decide to part ways with quarterback Jay Cutler.
Chicago needs a quarterback so Mike Glennon will be their number one target. Glennon’s arm strength and pocket mobility fit the Bears offense well. Chicago is rumored to be the preferred destination of the Bucs back-up. The Bears will need to pony up about $15 million per season if they want to sign Glennon.
The Bears have expressed in an interest in bringing back Alshon Jeffery. Jeffery wants to come back but the Bears may not be willing to get into a bidding war with the Eagles, 49ers, Titans and Rams for his services. All four teams are expected to pursue the big receiver.
Bills free agent corner Stephon Gilmore, Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson, Packers corner Micah Hyde and Bills inside linebacker Zach Brown are all potential targets for the Bears in free agency.
4. Cleveland Browns: The Browns have a whopping $102,441,922 dollars in cap space. In theory, they should use as much of it as they can. In reality, they won’t because of a penny pinching front office that wants to build through the draft and second tier free agency.
The Browns will make every effort to retain wide receiver Terrelle Pryor but he will have a market so it won’t be easy. Cleveland might have to overpay to keep him despite the fact that Pryor has openly said he likes playing for Hue Jackson.
I expect the Browns to make a run at Bengals free agent offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler and Andrew Whitworth. Jackson knows both of them from his time in Cincinnati. Zeitler is the one guy the Browns might be willing to pay outside of Pryor. From there, Cleveland will shop in the clearance section. They will target affordable free agents such as Titans free agent wide receiver Kendall Wright, Packers defensive end Datone Jones, Colts outside linebacker Erik Walden and Chargers safety Jahleel Addae.
Sorry Browns fans but your beloved Brownies will not spend half of the cap space they have. Instead, they will continue to try to build their roster through the draft.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs are on the brink of contention so you would have to think they will spend as much of the $66,177,718 dollars in cap space that they have. Tampa Bay already started spending some of that cap space when they re-signed defensive end William Gholston to a five year, $27.5 million dollar contract. Re-signing Gholston was crucial. He has become a key contributor on the Bucs defense.
GM Jason Licht now has to figure what areas he is going to upgrade. Tampa needs a number two receiver and Redskins free agent wide receiver DeSean Jackson is rumored to be interested in signing with the Bucs. The interest is mutual so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Jackson ended up in Tampa.
Tampa Bay also needs to upgrade the offensive line and sign a tight end. Veteran Nick Mangold could be a possibility as well as Ravens right tackle Rick Wagner and Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett. All three players would will fill major roles for the Bucs upfront on offense.
I expect Tampa to be active this week. The Bucs were one game away from being a playoff team last season. They want to close that gap this season and make the playoffs.
6. New England Patriots: The Patriots have several key unrestricted free agents as free agency opens. Dont’a Hightower is the headliner but Martellus Bennett, Logan Ryan, LeGarrette Blount and Alan Branch are expected to hit the open market.
With $61,917,426 available to spend, you would think the Patriots would be in prime position to re-sign their own key free agents and maybe pick up another one. That is not the way it works in Foxboro.
Bill Belichick is not going to break the bank for any of his free agents. Hightower might be the only one he considers matching. Beyond that, the Patriots are not going to overpay Bennett, Blount or Ryan. I think all three are gone. They will get bigger deals elsewhere.
Assuming the Patriots lose the majority of their free agents, look for them to be active in the second tier free agent market. I don’t see them making a splash in free agency. Then again, its Bill Belichick. You never know what he will do.