$.01--The Kansas City Chiefs have been the most active team of the offseason so far. In addition to agreeing in principle to trading for quarterback Alex Smith, the Chiefs surprised many by using the franchise tag on LT Branden Albert. In order to free up the tag, they signed WR Dwayne Bowe to a five-year deal before he hit the open market. New GM John Dorsey also forked over piles of money to punter Dustin Colquitt, who was also set to hit free agency. Kansas City pounced on freshly cut CB Dunta Robinson, who was deemed expendable by the NFC finalist Falcons.

To free up extra cash, they surprisingly waived starting RT Eric Winston, who for the second year in a row was the victim of earning too much money for his solid play. Winston is an above-average right tackle, albeit one who has apparently entered the downside of his career. This move struck many, myself included, as somewhat ponderous. They chose to keep Albert for much more money than Winston was set to earn in 2013, and they are fairly equivalent talents at their positions. Winston is a very strong leader in the locker room, the kind of player that every coach wants in charge of practices and meeting rooms. He rubbed some fans the wrong way with his chiding of their perceived cheering of an injury to beleaguered QB Matt Cassel, but his words resonated around the league with teammates and opponents and earned him a tremendous amount of respect with his NFLPA brethren. On the flip side, Albert curtly refused to consider a position change and didn’t seem too enthused about pocketing just under $10M in cash with the prospect of another fat payday next March. 

The move to send Winston packing is also a very strong indication that the Chiefs will use the #1 overall draft pick on an offensive tackle. The front-runner is Luke Joeckel from Texas A&M, but it’s not a given. Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher is still in the mix, and he offers the added bonus of having played some right tackle early in his career, something Joeckel has never done. The smart money is on Joeckel.

$.02--The Miami Dolphins have also been busy. The Dolphins locked up leading receiver Brian Hartline with a five-year, $30.775M deal. Hartline is a solid #2 receiver miscast as a #1 in Miami, but the money is reasonable given his production and the fact he has good chemistry with Ryan Tannehill. The surprise was the re-signing of erstwhile starting QB Matt Moore to a 2-year deal to sit behind Tannehill.

Moore was one of the top names on the QB market, which is an indication of just how thin the QB market is right now. As a starter in 2011, Moore was actually the AFC’s 3rd-rated passer thanks to spoon feeding Brandon Marshall the ball down the field. Moore had a chance to hit the market and compete for starting jobs elsewhere, be it Cleveland or up I-95 in Jacksonville. Instead, the Dolphins smartly locked up strong insurance and a valuable mentor for young Tannehill. Terms are reportedly $8M for two years, which is not out of line for veteran backup QBs. 

These are good signs for Dolphins fans. It’s an indication that the organization believes they are close to the prize of a playoff berth. Keeping second-line players like Hartline and Moore with reasonable contracts while letting players like Jake Long and Reggie Bush, both of whom will command more exorbitant deals than their play merits. Miami is moving in the right direction. 

$.03--The Carolina Panthers made news for all the wrong reasons. It was revealed late this week that Panthers owner Jerry Richardson greatly exaggerated his own financial peril as one of the hardest of the hard-line owners during the unfortunate lockout. As Richardson was claiming that the NFL business model was untenable and broken and that the owners needed to “take back our league”, he pocketed $112M in profits over two years. Considering the Panthers had one of the worst records in the league over that time period, making over $110M in profits is pretty darn impressive. It’s certainly not a sign of impending doom and gloom that Richardson painted so vividly to his fellow owners. 

The Panthers are among the lowest ranking teams in terms of stadium and local revenue generation. So for this particular team to profit so heartily on such meager revenue speaks to just how pointless and asinine the lockout truly was. This proves the long-harbored suspicions of the NFLPA that the owners cannot be trusted to disclose their real financials or act in good faith. Richardson comes off as a flaming hypocrite and a completely deceitful businessman. This is exceptionally bad timing, because players and agents are going to carry that attitude to the bargaining table…if they even head to his table at all. The Panthers have cap issues that would require creative accounting to sign anyone. In fact, they had to release both Ron Edwards and Chris Gamble to get under the cap. Now the people sitting across the table are going to skeptically eye every contract offer. It’s not a conducive or attractive situation for Carolina. 

Richardson continues to don his hair shirt persona, begging the state of North Carolina to approve a beverage tax to provide upgrades to the Panthers’ stadium. He’s also asked the state for an additional $62M to help finance the cost. Perhaps he should look in his own checkbook…

$.04--Last week I wrote about the Joe Flacco contract, and now the Ravens are feeling the ramifications of making a fringe top-10 overall QB the highest paid player in NFL history. Veteran wideout Anquan Boldin refused to take a pay cut in order to remain with the team. Boldin was asked to take a pay cut in no small part because the money he is due was given to Flacco 

In an ironic, apparently guileless statement, Flacco supported his receiver’s refusal to take less money to remain with the Ravens. Never mind that Flacco demanded every last nickel and extorted the ransom of being the highest paid player in the NFL. Never mind that Flacco wouldn’t have earned anything close to that much money without Boldin’s services; Boldin was downright phenomenal in the playoff run, making Flacco look great and providing the toughness and vocal leadership presence on the offense that the detached Flacco seldom emotes. Strangely I agree with Flacco’s sentiment regarding Boldin. He’s right. Nobody that important to the success of the team, or his own personal success, should have to accept a pay cut as a reward for being an integral part of a magically unexpected Super Bowl run. 

This is the point where most people would realize that all the king’s gold is worthless if there is nothing to spend it on or anyone to share it with. You know, the tragic scenes of self-realization in the movies, where the hero suddenly catches on that his own glory isn’t worth as much as he expected and he begs to give it back. Except Flacco can’t give it back, nor did he show any inclination of wanting to settle for less. He is not that naïve, nor is his agent. They made their 1000-thread count sheeted bed with gold-lined pillow cases and diamond encrusted frame. Now they must sleep in it, and their partners are not going to be as attractive as a direct result of their opulence. 

$.05--Winston, Boldin, and Gamble are far from the only significant cap casualties. Two perennial Pro Bowl defensive forces, safety Adrian Wilson and linebacker James Harrison, were released by the Cardinals and Steelers, respectively.

This is the sad side of free agency, the part where the venerable veteran is no longer able to produce at the level that earned them their prior rich deal. To their credit, both players understood the business side of the game and graciously accepted their fates. Harrison, who has been one of the more polarizing and controversial players of the last few years, put out a heartfelt statement of gratitude to the Steelers fans and to the team itself. Of course, while the ashes of his old contract are still smoldering away in Pittsburgh, Harrison’s agent is openly pimping his newly freed client to everyone…including the archrival Ravens. You know what would be poetic? Harrison taking the money that Baltimore can’t pay Boldin from the Ravens, and Boldin taking the money the Steelers saved by cutting Harrison to replace free agent Mike Wallace, who stands to score a contract worth more than both Harrison and Boldin will earn even though he’s not close to the impact player either is even now. Welcome to life in the modern NFL.

$.06--In draft news, Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones has now been cleared by an independent doctor for his spinal stenosis condition. Many have openly questioned his ability to pass the strenuous medical evaluations, but Jones progressed through the Combine and now has another doctor willing to risk his reputation on that neck.

I remain skeptical that Jones will be a high first round pick. Teams all have their own medical evaluations, and they will put Jones’ neck through the proverbial wringer. I’m not claiming to be any sort of expert on spinal stenosis, but I know that NFL teams are positively scared to death of having one of their players meet a tragic fate on their payroll. I’ve spoken to former Lions teammate of Mike Utley, who was paralyzed in a game, and they still struggle to talk about what happened to their friend, their teammate. That was over 20 years ago. Even though Jones can find eminently reputable experts to give him full and confident clearance, those guys don’t have to pay the insurance premiums. They don’t have to give him a contract for tens of millions of dollars and depend on him to make a big impact on their team.

And that bleeds into a larger issue. If Jones were really that awesome of a prospect, teams would be more willing to take the risk. But Jarvis Jones is not as great a prospect as many make him out to be. I will not deny that Jones is often a dynamic pass rusher and playmaker in the backfield. But the overall picture isn’t so bright. Jones is not exceptional with his speed, and he’s stiff in turning the corner and changing direction. His run defense is not an asset, to be diplomatic. Jones shows a propensity to freelance, often leaving his teammate exposed and scuttling the defensive scheme and plan. That is not one lone wolf opining here, either; I’ve talked with NFL personnel people and they’ve seen the same things in their evaluations. There is definitely talent, but it comes with more downside than what similar talents have in this draft class. Factor in that Jones is over aged at 24 and has a neck issue, and there are valid reasons to pass. I still think Jones can wind up in the first round; it only takes one team to fall in love or find the potential reward worth the risk. But I will be quite surprised if Jones hears his name called in the first half of the round.

$.07--This is Pro Day season for draftees, which means the biggest news in the draft community is when players look awfully impressive in carefully choreographed workouts that they’ve specifically trained for exclusively for weeks. 

Forgive me for not having my needle moved by these workouts. More and more I’ve come to the conclusion that for the more prominent players, Pro Days are a complete waste of time. If the player is workout out at all, it’s probably because they didn’t do as well as expected at the Combine. It’s downright amazing how many players who have a questionable physical attribute that wind up tweaking a prior injury or pulling a hamstring on the opening workout activity to duck out of these sessions.

NFL teams know this, but they continue to play the game. A big reason why is because the lesser-known players often get the attention they deserve. Many major schools invite players from smaller area schools, or small-school talents with local roots, to participate in their pro days. NFL teams encourage this and love the practice. It saves them a trip to see just one player and gives them a chance to knock out an interview and get an apples-to-apples viewing of these players. Sometimes schools allow players that graduated a year or two earlier back to work out and see if they can catch on. Texas A&M did that with QB Jerrod Johnson last week, much as they did for Jovorskie Lane a couple years ago. Lane latched on with the Miami Dolphins thanks to that workout, and I suspect Johnson will get a long look in a camp based off this as well.

So if you’re armchair analyzing pro days, here’s a rule of thumb: Ignore any results by any player that is expected to go in the first two rounds, and any quarterback that might possibly be drafted. But pay attention to the lesser known players, the Uzoma Nwachukwus and Josh Johnsons of the worlds, who impress during these workouts.