Friday, April 3, 2009

2009 NFL Free Agency Review: The Best and Worst Moves of Free Agency 2009


As the NFL free agency period is moving into the final stages it’s time to take a look at some of the best and worst moves that took place during the 2009 NFL season. This year’s free agency period was an interesting one that saw some big name players change teams and while some of these moves were solid and very good there were some moves that weren’t good fits and kind of puzzling.

Top Team in Free Agency

New York Giants-The Giants needed to get some help on the defensive line and at linebacker and they did just that. Signing former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Chris Canty was a huge step in the right direction as was getting former Seattle Seahawk defensive tackle Rocky Bernard, former Arizona Cardinals linebacker Michael Boley as well as former Baltimore Ravens defensive end Lee Vickers. Now they have stability in those two groups and can move some players around to help make their defense that much better. While they may have lost running back Derrick Ward (signed with Tampa Bay) and cut running back Ruben Droughns they still had the best go around in free agency and will benefit from all of the signings that they made.

Worst Team in Free Agency

Green Bay Packers-The Green Bay Packers have had the worst free agency period of any team in the NFL and really needed to do something not only because of their poor season last year but also because they are switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense so they will definitely need some additional personnel for this. They even managed to lose someone who might have been key in this transition, defensive tackle Colin Cole (to the Seattle Seahawks). The Packers had 30 million in cap space to use in free agency and came out with nothing to show for it. Now they will probably be either no better or even worse than they were in 2008.

Best Signing in Free Agency

Matt Cassel-Kansas City Chiefs-The trade of Matt Cassel to the Kansas City Chiefs (from New England) will help get the franchise moving in the right direction. This should be a much better team in a year or two.
Honorable Mention: Nnamdi Asomugha-Oakland-This is a resigning but the Raiders made the right choice by not letting Asomugha go and keeping one of their best players.
Worst Signing in Free Agency

Albert Haynesworth/DeAngelo Hall
-Washington Redskins-Yes, despite the fact that they are getting a good player that can help the on the defensive line (with Haynesworth) they clearly overpaid for his services and may not get their money’s worth. Hall, a cornerback who has had his problems in the past, isn’t worth the kind of money that the Redskins paid. Once again, Washington overpaid for something that they may not get any return back for.

By Bryan Dietzler

No comments: