2012 NFL Offseason thread
 

Ricky Williams announces his retirement. If he wouldn't have had those missing years, he easily would have had another 3,000 yards on top of the 10,000 he did get.

NFL.com news: Former first-round pick Williams retiring from football

The Fake ESPN @TheFakeESPN
Ricky Williams retirement announcement scheduled for 4:20

This offseason should be marketed as the 2012 Peyton Manning sweepstakes.

Steelers hire Todd Haley as OC


Ben's drama queen act wearing thin

He probably read MMQB and figured it was not happening. PK apparently got some bad info that Haley was difficult to get along with and the KC phone bugging thing meant he wasn't being hired. Then a few hours later... hired.

Based on nothing but my gut, I say Peyton Manning to Miami.

Personally, I think Peyton to the Niners makes the most sense. That's instant contender next year if he's okay to play.

AJ Green is going to have an interesting offseason.

I want him to go to the Redskins and some how get them to the Super Bowl.

What do you guys think about this? Wayne and Saturday are both FA, I believe. What if all 3 of them land in the same place for a last ditch title run?

Manning, Wayne and Marshall in Miami sounds like a winner to me.

Sounds better than Wade, LeBron and Bosh.

I think going after someone like Kyle Orton would be a much safer bet, he is much younger(29 years old compared to 35), would cost a lot less financially, and wouldn't require trading draft picks. Though I do want them to draft a QB as well. I know Kyle Orton is not Peyton Manning but it is questionable whether Peyton Manning will be the Manning of old. Last thing they need is another McNabb fiasco.

As much as I would want this to happen, I just don't see how they could resign their key FA's, add WR(s) and sign him under the cap. I'd rather resign Smith and throw money at one of the big name WR's.

I honestly don't want Peyton on the Niners and always been a big Peyton fan.

Heh. Orton's role in life: Replace Rexy no matter where he plays.

The Peyton thing is going to be very interesting.

This could be a blessing in disguise for him. I don't know what the offseason plans were before his injury, but with Saturday, Wayne, and Garcon all FAs and Peyton due big money, I have no idea what that team was going to do.

if shanahan wants to keep his job he'll trade for rg3. he won't survive another shitty season at qb with orton or whoever.

it'll make the fans happy. buys shanahan some time. makes too much sense not to happen.

But they'll have to give up a boatload to jump over the Browns and into the number two spot.

Manning to the Dolphins would be a dream come true for me.

Join the club. :D

It's weird that he came out and said (or, "sources" said), that he'd be willing to sign a contract with no guarantees, as if he's worried about the market. I'm sure he can get a job, but there doesn't seem to be the perfect fit out there. Any team 1-2 years away from winning already had a QB. I guess the 49ers and Jets are closest, but it's hard to see them giving up on Smith and Sanchez. I don't have a great vibe on the Dolphins, but can they contend right away with Manning?

Could the Dolphins O-line protect Manning and his neck?

I could just be a homer, but Manning makes any team a playoff contender as soon as he signs, assuming he's going to play. I think he is that much of a difference maker.

Unless he has a head coach or OC that tries to dictate what he's to do. He has to go to a system where he's given more freedom than any other QB in the league.

That's why I don't think the 49ers would work. I can't see Peyton and Harbaugh coexisting. Both of those guys want control.

that's valid. i assume everything this time of year is disinfo and i've read a couple places that the browns are "not sold on rg3" which means they probably are.

There's still the possibility of Peyton retiring. Otherwise, I'd think Arizona or Seattle would be willing to pick him up off the wire if it got to that.

Wouldn't they be on the hook for the $28.5M roster bonus then? I can't imagine ANY team doing that.

i could see Snyder try to win another offseason by signing Manning

As much as I want to see Manning in blue one more time, I'm resigning myself to the fact that in all likelihood that it isn't happening. Wherever he ends up instantly becomes my second favorite team next year. I've already warned my wife that I'll be buying a new Manning jersey sometime in April.

Places I would like to see him play? Miami, 49ers, Cardinals would all be interesting spots.

No way he ends up in Tennessee. Can't see him with the Jets sharing a city with Eli. Redskins aren't a strong enough contender IMO, but I wouldn't rule them out.

It'll be an interesting next couple of months.

I think the PR and advertising alone would make it worth the $28.5M pricetag. People are paying $3.5M for a 30-second Super Bowl add. They get this dude for an entire year. Plus, teams have to start spending most of their cap this year...I think.

I am not buying the Peyton to Miami talk. IMO it does not make any sense for either party. Besides the obvious health risk, why would Peyton go to a team that is rebuilding. The Dolphins are not a QB away from the Super Bowl and I would think that Peyton's goal is Super Bowl and not just playoffs. From the Dolphins side, are you really turning your entire franchise over to Peyton Manning? I am not saying that Peyton Manning is a bad guy, a cancer or anything like that. To me, if he signs with the Dolphins, the new staff becomes irrelevant. It would be about running an offense that Peyton is comfortable with, signing players that Peyton wants, Everything becomes about how to make Peyton successful as opposed to making the team successful.

Now after saying all this, if Peyton did sign I would not be too upset. Having Peyton Manning around would absolutely be a benefit. I am not sure that Peyton Manning alone makes this Dolphin team a contender. I guess an 0-7 start said more to me about that team than the 6-3 end.

http://rotoworld.com/player/nfl/1493/peyton-manning

Sounds like quite of bit of work is left before he is ready.


You have to kind of wonder if he will ever get it back. It takes years to train them muscles especially to be has accurate as he was. I just wonder if he can get it back in a few months. Going to be a big risk for a team taking a chance on him. I would think that would sort of limit the interested parties.

They may not be sold on him or they may be simply trying to downplay interest in him so someone like the Redskins don't leapfrog them.

Seems I completely missed the halftime tribute to Joe Theismann.

If he's waived/released soon, I think the team that picks him up would have the same three options that Indy has: pay him the bonus if you think he's ready (doubtful) or try to re-work the contract/bonus in a way that remains beneficial to both parties. If they can't get to an agreement, waive him on March 8th instead of paying the $28.5MM. You're basically getting a jump on the rest of the market who could be fighting over him in free agency.

If that's doable...

I'm confused. The NFL doesn't have any guaranteed contracts. So, I thought that if he is released, his contract becomes nullified and any team that he chooses to sign with will have to negotiate a completely new contract.

If you claim him from waivers, you pay for his contract. If (in this case WHEN) he clears waivers, then the old deal is dead and you negotiate a new one.

Depends if he has to pass through waivers or not...

Damn!



By Ryan Wilson

Peyton Manning's change in fortune has been swift. Prior to the 2011 season, the general perception of what he meant to Indianapolis went something like this: he had singlehandedly saved the Colts from themselves, led them to a Super Bowl title in 2006, and his accomplishments were the currency that helped fund Lucas Oil Stadium.

Now, days removed from Super Bowl XLVI -- hosted in Indianapolis by the way -- Manning has gone from patron saint of the city to public enemy No. 1. Maybe that's a slight exaggeration but not by much.

In the weeks prior to the Giants-Patriots matchup, Manning spoke with the Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz about his future with the Colts. The takeaway: Peyton had no intentions of retiring, even if his future wasn't with in Indy.

Owner Jim Irsay fired back, calling Manning "a politician," the two then issued a joint statement professing great love and admiration for one another. And that appeared to be that. Neither side spoke in specifics about their situations during Super Bowl Week … until Thursday evening, when Manning's camp leaked word that Manning had been medically cleared to play. This was news to everyone, including Irsay, who tweeted hours later that "Peyton has not passed our physical nor has he been cleared to play for The Indianapolis Colts."

And it was at that point that the public, which had firmly supported Peyton basically since the moment he was drafted in 1998, began to view the franchise quarterback differently.

During a Wednesday appearance on "The Tony Kornheiser Show," Kravitz talked about the he-said, he-said back-and-forth posturing by both camps and what it means for the future of Peyton and the Colts.

"I think people are starting to sway over to Jim Irsay's side on this," Kravitz told Kornheiser. "… It's such a no-brainer. It's been a no-brainer since they went to 0-13. He could give them money to play football. Andrew Luck has got to play, okay? It's not even about the $35 million anymore. I mean, the guy's arm is a noodle, he can't throw like an NFL quarterback, and by March 8, there's no way of knowing whether he's going to be ready or not."

Wow. "Arm is a noodle" is nowhere near "been medically cleared to play." But that doesn't mean Manning won't be healthy at some point. It's just that nobody knows when.

“I know some of the people that have seen him throw,” Kravitz continued. "They say he’s not throwing like an NFL quarterback yet. That doesn’t mean he never will. This thing is going to take time. Structurally, he’s sound. Structurally, he can take a hit.”

In response to a question from Kornheiser that "Manning hijacked the Super Bowl," Kravitz responded, "I'm quite sure [Peyton] did it deliberately.

"I lost a lot of -- I don't want to say respect for him -- but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and not say that his conversation with me was political and calculated, but there's no doubt in my mind that that story breaking Thursday night right around the time every single TV station is doing an exclusive on Andrew Luck (and, it turns out, blog).

"It comes out on Thursday night about six o'clock -- that doesn't come out unless the Peyton Manning camp wants it to come out. They're putting public pressure on Jim Irsay. It was calculated, it was deceptive, I didn't think it was a good time to do it. And, yes, he absolutely stole the Super Bowl. … I don't think there's any doubt that he stole some of the attention away from the Super Bowl.

"Look, that story was going to be there whether he opened his mouth or not, but he had given us every indication that he was going to go underground and only do his Gatorade and DirecTV thing and then shut the hell up," Kravitz said. "And he didn't do that. I thought that that was kind of smarmy. …

"You got Andrew Luck, just start over, I wish they could make the decision today or tomorrow and move on with it. Instead we're just … holding onto something that doesn't really exist."

So, yeah, if it wasn't obvious before, we think it couldn't be clearer now: Peyton's played his last game for the Colts, and Eli was the last Manning to play in Lucas Oil Stadium during the 2011 season.

Now the only question is if the Redskins are still interested in Manning's services. (Obvious answer: of course they are!)

I like Kravitz most of the time, but a lot of times when he says something he only does it to stir shit up. This is the same guy who called Tony Dungy a bad father when his son committed suicide.

Ryan Wilson doesn't know WTF he's talking about either. This city is not going to turn against Manning. 90% of Colts fans still believe he'll be wearing a Colts uniform next year. That is evident by all of the calls into local radio shows, etc.

Ok, so maybe the Manning camp released information during Super Bowl week and it was a bad idea. All of the media and everyone but Giants/Patriots fans were more interested in what was happening with Manning more than the Super Bowl anyway.

Regarding Peyton to the Redskins, I wonder if he wants to go there and have to play against his brother twice year.

Aside from having an owner that usually gets what he wants - even when it's not a good idea - I don't know what Washington has that makes it an attractive move for Peyton, at all. They suck. And even if I thought, as Peyton, that I could make a huge difference on offense on that team, doesn't that neuter the head coach, and do I have enough faith in that team's management to believe they can go out and put together the rest of the team to make us playoff contenders? I don't know. Based on their track record, I'd pass.

manning's a tenured vet. he won't have to go through waivers.

oh, it's def a bluff. if you've ever had the third pick in a 2 qb draft in fof mp you know how painful it is to trade up.

it's all smoke right now but if i had to guess

colts- luck
rams- kalil
vikes to skins- rg3
cle- somebody moves up for blackmon

I don't understand why it takes this long to deal with the Manning issue. Everyone in the world knows the colts ain't paying the 30M bonus and taking monster cap hits if they trade/release him. So why don't the Colts just do the smart thing and cut him now so all the bad press can stop and they can focus on the future of Luck?

Other than the bad press, there's no reason for them to do it right now. They have until March 7th to cut him. I don't see any reason to hurry if I am them.

Considering that Irsay has painted himself into a corner by saying on a couple of occasions that Peyton will be back if healthy, I assume they will wait until early March, have their doctors give him a physical, maybe have him throw, and then release a statement in doctor/lawyer speak that says Peyton has a noodle arm and we're letting him go. They can't really do that until they examine him.

i'd still take a noodle armed peyton over half the qb's in the league.

coincidently, noodle armed peyton is the name of my upcoming bluegrass album.

So who wants Vincent Jackson? A top 5 receiver in the game. Looks like the genius that put together 6 non Super Bowl winning teams, is refusing to resign Jackson. So, here you go 49ers. You needed a big play wide receiver, snatch him up before some other team not called the Chargers, signs him.

Well shouldn't it be the Saints? It's where all ex-chargers go to really shine.

As a Niner fan and seemingly continuous VJax fantasy owner, while he seems like he makes all the sense in the world it also makes me nervous. He's so inconsistent, but it's hard to figure out if it's him or the general "WTF?" quality of San Diego.

If Smith is the guy at QB, I don't see it as a skillset match. Not that I'm in love with Desean Jackson, but in terms of both of them being called "big play WRs" I think he would fit better.

That is very true. Sad, but, very very true. Again, just proves that the Chargers are basically the NFLs farm system with AJ "Lord of No Rings" Smith in control of the roster moves.


If you're only looking at him in terms of fantasy numbers, yes, he's inconsistent. If you look at him in reality, he's very consistent. Don't forget, the Chargers also have Antonio Gates, so Jackson isn't always the primary target and may not always get as many passes thrown his way. Then there's also the Norv factor. See, even though he's the head coach, there's times where it's very apparent, that he doesn't remember what players he has on his active roster or on the field at any given time.

With a full off season work out schedule, I think Smith will be alright if they pick up VJ. Desean Jackson is too much of a head case and with Vernon Davis on the team, I could see that locker room becoming unbearable and I don't think Harbaugh would put up with a guy like D. Jackson and his on the field mentality. Never know though, Harbaugh could inspire D. Jackson and those issues may never rear its ugly head. I think for the money for D. Jackson and the potential headaches versus the money for VJ...I'd take VJ.

Doesn't Cleveland have the ammo though to trade up to the two spot if they really want RGIII?

The Rams want either Kalil or Blackmon and at least one would be available at four if they swapped with Cleveland.