Lack of re-signings could make for a wild 2012 free agency
It seems as though the NFL as a whole has had very few re-signings of soon-to-be free agents, with the exception of those who were given some type of tag (franchise tag, RFA tender) this year. So what are the causes for this? Perhaps it is due to a relatively low salary cap this year; players may think their worth is higher than teams do, basing it off previous year's salary - while team's are adjusting contracts downward. Of course there is also the fact that the NFL has yet to finalize the actual 2012 salary cap numbers, which is quite strange considering it will commence in less than 72 hours. Teams may be looking ahead to upgrade with players from other teams - the grass is always greener on the other side phenomenon. That's due to the fact that last year there were heavy restrictions to free agency based on the rules of the uncapped year; players like Logan Mankins and Vincent Jackson that would have normally been unrestricted free agents were instead restricted free agents, essentially taking them out of the market.
To get an idea of how low the number is of soon-to-be free agents that teams have re-signed, consider the following. The number of free agents that have been re-signed is miniscule in comparison to the number of players that appear to be headed to free agency.
QB (36 free agents) - Drew Brees franchised; no other free agents re-signed
RB (36 free agents) - Ray Rice franchised, Matt Forte franchised, RFA Arian Foster extended, Marshawn Lynch extended, LaRod Stephens-Howling tendered (2nd), Jason Snelling extended
FB (15 free agents) - Chris Pressley extended
WR (62 free agents) - Mike Wallace tendered (1st), Dwayne Bowe franchised, Wes Welker franchised, DeSean Jackson franchised, Steve Johnson extended, Danny Amendola tendered (2nd), Lavelle Hawkins extended, Domenik Hixon extended, Ruvell Martin extended
TE (29 free agents) - Fred Davis franchised, Jermichael Finley extended, Scott Chandler extended, RFA Jake O'Connell re-signed
T (28 free agents) - Breno Giacomini extended, Guy Whimper extended, Mike Otto extended
G (35 free agents) - Jeremy Zuttah extended, Kory Lichtensteiger tendered
C (16 free agents) - Will Montgomery extended
DE (37 free agents) - Cliff Avril franchised, Anthony Spencer franchised, Michael Bennett tendered (1st), Robert Mathis extended, Kroy Biermann extended, Turk McBride extended
DT (53 free agents) - Calais Campbell franchised, Chris Hoke retired
OLB (36 free agents) - Ahmad Brooks extended, RFA Jason Phillips re-signed
ILB (40 free agents) - D'Qwell Jackson extended, Larry Grant tendered, Demorrio Williams extended, Kirk Morrison extended
CB (59 free agents) - Brent Grimes franchised, Stanford Routt signed by Chiefs, Rashean Mathis extended, Greg Toler tendered
S (52 free agents) - Tyvon Branch franchised, Michael Griffin franchised, Dashon Goldson franchised, Thomas DeCoud extended, Rashad Johnson tendered, C.J. Spillman extended
K (14 free agents) - Josh Scobee franchised, Matt Prater franchised, Connor Barth franchised, Phil Dawson franchised, Mike Nugent franchised, Rian Lindell extended, Graham Gano tendered
P (4 free agents) - Steve Weatherford franchised
Top Free Agents By Position, as of March 10
QB: Peyton Manning, Matt Flynn, Alex Smith, RFA Brian Hoyer, Kyle Orton
RB: Michael Bush, Mike Tolbert, Peyton Hillis, Cedric Benson, Kevin Smith, Brandon Jacobs, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Tim Hightower, Kahlil Bell, Ryan Grant
FB: RFA Marcel Reece, RFA Tony Fiammetta, RFA David Johnson, Earnest Graham, Le'Ron McClain
WR: Vincent Jackson, Brandon Lloyd, Marques Colston, Laurent Robinson, Robert Meachem, Braylon Edwards, Reggie Wayne, Mario Manningham, Pierre Garcon, Josh Morgan, Deion Branch, Eddie Royal, Plaxico Burress, Harry Douglas, Early Doucet
TE: John Carlson, Dallas Clark, Visanthe Shiancoe, Martellus Bennett, Joel Dreessen
T: Jared Gaither, Demetrius Bell, RFA Geoff Schwartz, Anthony Collins, Max Starks, Kareem McKenzie, Jeff Backus, Barry Richardson, Brandon Keith, Khalif Barnes
G: Carl Nicks, Ben Grubbs, Evan Mathis, RFA Kraig Urbik, Mike Brisiel, Vernon Carey, Jake Scott, RFA Chad Rinehart, Geoff Hangartner, Bobbie Williams
C: Scott Wells, Nick Hardwick, Chris Myers, Dan Connolly, Dan Koppen, Samson Satele, Mike Pollak, Matt Birk, Jeff Saturday, Todd McClure
DE: Mario Williams, Mark Anderson, Andre Carter, Jeremy Mincey, Matt Roth, Israel Idonije, John Abraham, Jonathan Fanene, Jarvis Moss, William Hayes
DT: Paul Soliai, Red Bryant, Cory Redding, Sione Pouha, Kendall Langford, RFA Sammie Lee Hill, Jason Jones, Brodrick Bunkley, Antonio Garay, Luis Castillo
OLB: Jarret Johnson, Erin Henderson, Leroy Hill, Manny Lawson, Phillip Wheeler, Wesley Woodyard, RFA Russell Allen, Chris Chamberlain
ILB: Stephen Tulloch, Curtis Lofton, David Hawthorne, Dan Connor, RFA Jovan Belcher, Chase Blackburn, London Fletcher, RFA DeAndre Levy, Jameel McClain, Lofa Tatupu
CB: RFA Lardarius Webb, Brandon Carr, Carlos Rogers, Cortland Finnegan, Richard Marshall, Terrell Thomas, Tracy Porter, Jason Allen, William Middleton, Tim Jennings
S: LaRon Landry, Mike Adams, Reggie Nelson, Dwight Lowery, Jim Leonhard, Deon Grant, Melvin Bullitt, Tom Zbikowski, Craig Steltz, Melvin Bullitt
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