The 2026 Free Agency Thread

Certainly wasn't expecting this move at C. And as others have said, the timing is weird. I really, really hated losing Chinn last off-season. That was a bad move, IMHO. I'll probably get over Biadasz with a quickness if Linderbaum is his replacement. Fingers crossed.
 
For those pining for Linderbaum, nothing the FO and coaches have done over these recent months but certainly even over the past 2+ years would tell me to expect that. Quite the opposite. My guess is they think Allegretti as the fallback, and see what we can do otherwise but we think there's a good chance we find a replacement we like more. That logic works for moving on from Biadasz and there may be a logical path if you focus on certain factors.
 
I really liked Bobby Wagner for a lot of reasons (leadership, tackling; he made some big tackles over the last two years), but his speed in coverage at least last year was really badly exposed.

Tremaine Edmunds now potentially about to enter the FA market would seem to be an amazing replacement in those regards.
 
For those pining for Linderbaum, nothing the FO and coaches have done over these recent months but certainly even over the past 2+ years would tell me to expect that. Quite the opposite. My guess is they think Allegretti as the fallback, and see what we can do otherwise but we think there's a good chance we find a replacement we like more. That logic works for moving on from Biadasz and there may be a logical path if you focus on certain factors.

Yes. If this outfit can spend less and find their swing at the answer already in-house, that’s what we’ve been doing up to this point this offseason. We all hope to see it change in FA, but that won’t be real until we see it happen.

I won’t believe we’ll get in a bidding war for the top FA at a position (never mind win it) until I see it. At any position.
 
If that's true, they'll probably move on from Chris Paul
Had this thought as well. Also made me reconsider Keim’s reporting about them not overspending on TE. Combined, makes me think they’ll be emphasizing Bates’ and Sinnott’s run blocking, and mitigating their weakness as pass catchers by utilizing them more in PA (which, IIRC is where most of their catches have come from). Not that I think they’ll completely avoid adding a FA TE, but I could see them looking for a more versatile guy vs a true pass catcher.
 
Had this thought as well. Also made me reconsider Keim’s reporting about them not overspending on TE. Combined, makes me think they’ll be emphasizing Bates’ and Sinnott’s run blocking, and mitigating their weakness as pass catchers by utilizing them more in PA (which, IIRC is where most of their catches have come from). Not that I think they’ll completely avoid adding a FA TE, but I could see them looking for a more versatile guy vs a true pass catcher.
I saw Cole Kmet is a possible cap casualty. He would fit nicely in that versatile TE role, I think
 
That's disappointing to read about their plans at TE. Biadedasz did not play well last year and with all the other problems nobody seemed to notice. I seriously have to question Allegretti at center, he shouldn't even be playing on a good OL. I'm going to assume they have a plan in place so wait and see for me. But yeah I'd like an upgrade.
 
I doubt it's Allegretti or Coleman at C. That would be a serious downgrade.
 
Yes. If this outfit can spend less and find their swing at the answer already in-house, that’s what we’ve been doing up to this point this offseason. We all hope to see it change in FA, but that won’t be real until we see it happen.

I won’t believe we’ll get in a bidding war for the top FA at a position (never mind win it) until I see it. At any position.
Yeah, aside from the fact they’ve basically telegraphed that they’ll be looking to land one of the top centers (which also leads me to think they may wanna upgrade the LG spot), I’m starting to get the impression FA will be more about versatility and increasing our floor*. I don’t think it’s a bad route to take, but I don’t love that our roster is still in a position for that plan to still make sense…

*to be fair, if they do upgrade C and LG, I could see us fielding a pretty dominant run game.
 
Yeah, aside from the fact they’ve basically telegraphed that they’ll be looking to land one of the top centers (which also leads me to think they may wanna upgrade the LG spot), I’m starting to get the impression FA will be more about versatility and increasing our floor*. I don’t think it’s a bad route to take, but I don’t love that our roster is still in a position for that plan to still make sense…

*to be fair, if they do upgrade C and LG, I could see us fielding a pretty dominant run game.
Teams that go for position versatility usually wind up lacking players who can play each position.

I value versatility, but that needs to be a bonus. Not a core characteristic.
 
Also, Pickens is getting tagged. So one less receiver option on the board.
 
Pickens is some dry brush in a severe drought. That tag the a match. There is a reason Pittsburgh dumped him--I can absolutely see him half-assing it after he gets paid.
 
Yeah, aside from the fact they’ve basically telegraphed that they’ll be looking to land one of the top centers (which also leads me to think they may wanna upgrade the LG spot), I’m starting to get the impression FA will be more about versatility and increasing our floor*. I don’t think it’s a bad route to take, but I don’t love that our roster is still in a position for that plan to still make sense…

*to be fair, if they do upgrade C and LG, I could see us fielding a pretty dominant run game.

Versatility and raising the floor are for teams that have a core of blue chip players and need to build around that.

If we don’t go hard and heavy in FA, this is going to feel like the old school wizards. Scratching and clawing to be mediocre, in some of the conversations.

Also, I saw something about Trent Williams being released, if they can’t come to an agreement to get his cap number down from $39 million. He’d make a pretty solid left guard. Not that he’d sign up for that.
 
Pickens is some dry brush in a severe drought. That tag the a match. There is a reason Pittsburgh dumped him--I can absolutely see him half-assing it after he gets paid.
I don’t care about Pickens. I didn’t want him. Point is there is one less top receiver for other teams to want.
 
Also, Pickens is getting tagged. So one less receiver option on the board.

This is why I roll my eyes when the salary cap debates rage on endlessly.

No the salary cap is not an illusion but its so easily manipulated that its almost not even worth debating.
If the cowboys can afford to pay Lamb and Dak what they're making with Daks obscene cap number and still manage to keep Pickens with a 30 million dollar cap hit then the cap is toothless at best.

On a side note, what does this do for Aubrey, does anyone know?

They cant franchise him now but they can still use one of the lower tags i believe.
 
I saw Cole Kmet is a possible cap casualty. He would fit nicely in that versatile TE role, I think
Yes and add him to the pile of potential TE FA's. It is a good year to need a FA TE upgrade and move from Ertz
 
I don’t care about Pickens. I didn’t want him. Point is there is one less top receiver for other teams to want.
Agree, one less target we aren't interested in, but that was more an assessment on the major gamble and probable headache with Pickens. At least I hope...
 
Agree, one less target we aren't interested in, but that was more an assessment on the major gamble and probable headache with Pickens. At least I hope...
Which means more teams are in on the other targets.

Hopefully we lure high end talent for Blough… he’s going to need it.
 
They have said they want to go with a more run heavy offense in their off season interviews. Part of the reason Kingsbury is gone. Biadasz struggled in the run game imo. I also wonder if they are planning on picking Love and want a better run blocking C to make that pick worthwhile?
 

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