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The NFL Off-Season Thread
We're now 2 weeks into the 7 month NFL off-season and as today is the first day teams are allowed to apply the franchise tag it seems appropriate to start our usual off-season thread.
Here's a calender of all the off-season dates:
Feb. 20-26: National Scouting Combine
March 1: College Pro Days Begin
March 4: Deadline To Apply Franchise Tender
March 9-11: Teams Allowed To Begin Free Agent Contract Negotiations
March 12 (Prior to 4 p.m.): Teams Must Get Under Salary Cap, Exercise Restricted Free Agent Options
March 12 (After 4 p.m.): Free Agency Opens
March 17-20: Annual League Meetings – Phoenix, Arizona
March 23-24: Regional Combine
April 25-26: NFL Draft
Aug. 4: Preseason Begins
Sept 5: Regular Season Begins
Free agency is gonna be big this year, last year was all about Peyton's choice but there are a lot of big names hitting the open market this year. Assuming these guys don't get franchise tagged (and Flacco almost certainly will) take a look at this list:
Joe Flacco, Jason Campbell, Steven Jackson, Reggie Bush, Rashard Mendenhall, Ahmad Bradshaw, Wes Welker, Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, Mike Wallace, Danny Amendola, Dustin Keller, Heath Miller, Tony Gonazalez, Fred Davis, Jared Cook, Ed Reed, Jairus Byrd
Dashon Goldson, La'Ron Landry, Ryan Clady, Andre Smith, Brandon Albert, Jake Long, Sebastian Vollmer, Dominique Rodgers Cromartie, Aqib Talib, Quentin Jammer, Paul Kruger, Osi Umenyiora, Dwight Freeney, Richard Seymour. And this doesn't even include guys who are about to get cut like James Harrison :( and guys who will definitely be traded like Matt Flynn and Percy Harvin.
So what are you looking forward to this year? Who'd be your #1 pick if you were Kansas City? Who do you want your team to sign in FA? Does Flacco really need $20 million a year now he's got gummy bear money?
So lets have it.