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With the 2014 NFL season heating up, the offseason and free agency seem farther away than ever. But many of the decisions made next spring will be based on what's happening on the football field now. Below you'll find a list of five players with a chance to reach free agency in 2015 who should definitely be retained by their teams -- along with four players who should be allowed to hit the market if they won't sign for the right price.Note: The players who should be kept are listed according to their relative importance; the players who can be let go are listed according to how readily they should be allowed to walk.BRING THEM BACKThe 25-year-old Houston brings a toughne s and a skill set to that's hard to replace. He's recorded 38.5 sacks since entering the league in 2011, including an NFL-best 12 this season -- and that's despite playing on the left side, where it's usually tougher to get to the quarterback. The thing that's so good about him is that he can rush the pa ser and make plays in space. He's probably playing as well as he's ever played, collecting 41 tackles while helping to carry the load for a unit that's been since early September. You just don't find guys like him every day.Suh is putting together the most complete season of his career. The fifth-year pro still makes the splash plays he's always made, but no longer does he take snaps off in between; now he's playing with consistent effort. When you combine his penchant for the stupendous with a more mature approach, you have an honest-to-goodne s big-time player. Suh has contributed 4.5 sacks -- a pretty good total for a tackle -- and 28 tackles to . his eventual departure, but the should do whatever they can to keep him; he's just that important.The 26-year-old Thomas, who can catch pa ses and block, is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses, someone to whom regularly turns in tight situations -- after all, he already has 12 touchdown catches this season. And he still has room to get better, given that he didn't play much football at Portland State, where he was also a basketball star, or during his first two seasons in the NFL. I've slotted him ahead of the receivers on my list because I think it's harder to find a tight end like Thomas than it is to find a top-flight wideout. The should do what they can to re-sign both Julius and , but if they have to choose one, I'd give the edge to Julius. Just compare the team's depth at receiver () to that at the tight end position (, ).Bryant looks like a man among boys when he's squaring off with defensive backs. He has good body structure, great strength and huge hands, and he's hustling more than he ever has before; this is probably his most consistent campaign as a pro. He wins the 50-50 ball about 75 percent of the time. It might be tempting to let Bryant walk and replace him with younger, le s costly talent, especially given the succe s rate of . But I'd caution that this group of newbies could be an anomaly, potentially a once-in-a-lifetime type of cla s, as first-year receivers typically do not come in and knock you Ken Daneyko Jersey out right away. There are years when the best rookie receiver doesn't catch more than 55 pa ses. This guy is really interesting. Maclin mi sed all of 2013 with a torn ACL, and I always worry about receivers coming off ACL injuries. But he had enough confidence in his own ability to with the , and it's paying off: The sixth-year pro is on pace for 1,474 yards and 14 touchdown catches, which would easily be career highs. As much as I like rookie receiver , and as much as some folks seem to feel coach can just plug any player into his system in Philly and thrive, I think the need Maclin. He's always a threat to make the big play and blow a game open.Also considered:, WR, ; , WR, ; , CB, .LET THEM WALKI'm gue sing Crabtree will be looking for No. 1 receiver money -- but he is nota No. 1 receiver. He's averaging 11.8 yards per catch and just doesn't look fast enough. He's not making plays -- through Week 9, his longest play had been for 32 yards -- and he's dropping a lot of pa ses. He'd be a good No. 3, but he's not going to go for that type of price.I think the feeling around Cleveland is one of surprise at how well the have done this season. The question is, would they be in the same spot with rookie starting instead of Hoyer? I'd say yes; among other factors, Cleveland's succe s can likely largely be attributed to a plus-8 turnover differential. Hoyer is 9-4 in 13 career starts with the , but he's also thrown just 16 touchdown pa ses against eight interceptions, which is not mind-bogglingly great. So why give Hoyer a big raise to keep him around -- as the cream of the free-agent quarterback crop, there's a good chance he'll attract some healthy offers -- when the would be no worse off starting Manziel?I don't know if it's in 2013 or what, but Pierre-Paul just hasn't returned to the heights he reached in 2011, when he had 16.5 sacks. Since then, he's accumulated 12 total sacks, including just 3.5 this season, despite playing on the blind side of most opposing quarterbacks. In fact, for some reason, he's become a better player against the run than he is against the pa s. That said, defensive linemen are hard to find -- as the , who don't have much behind Pierre-Paul, can attest -- and he isstill young (25). Depending on New York's cap situation, I'm gue sing the will try to bring him back. But there's a good chance they'll have to overpay to do so, given that everyone's desperate for a pa s rusher, and I doubt whether they'd end up getting their money's worth. Sometimes, a team is better off starting over with a rookie and getting 4.5 sacks for $600,000 a year.Murray is having the season of a lifetime, rushing for a league-high 1,233 yards at a pace that will put him within spitting distance of 2,000. It's worth noting that after giving him an average of 27 carries per game over the first seven weeks this season, Dallas has lightened the load a bit, handing him the rock just 19 times in each of the past three games. The should definitely try to bring him back in 2015 -- so what is he doing on this part of the list? That shouldonly happen if they can get him for no more than three years. Murray is still just 26, but you always worry about the big picture with running backs, who get banged up and tend to lose their quickne s over time. I would not sign Murray to a long-term deal, though I'm gue sing he'll demand one -- which is why he falls here.Follow Gil Brandt on Twitter __. Kurtis Macdermid Jersey |
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发表于 2026-10-7 10:08:57