The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[skinsfan4128]

AP swung and missed on several of the census top 10 free agents. It not a crime to think our GM isn’t quite the finished article yet. Nor are we as a premier destination.

We cleared the decks to sign multiple high end FA and most rejected us. That’s a fairly stark reality, in my opinion.

Eh, I disagree with this assessment. To say we're not a premier destination is short sighted when discussing being rejected by high end FAs.

According to most reports out there, we were in on Linderbaum (sp?) and Pierce, who was considered premier. With that said, Linderbaum signed a grossly insane overpay by the dysfunctional Raiders. Pierce, it had been repeated often, wanted to remain in Indy with his pal Danny Dimes (though he would've signed with us had he made it to FA, as reported).

And keep in mind should AP had signed Linderbaum to the deal the Raiders gave him, we'd be raising hell that AP is an idiot for overpaying a C.

Nonetheless, to say we were rejected by high end FAs here needs some context. Linderbaum was outrageous and a massive overpay. Pierce wanted to stay in Indy as his first choice. I dont see that as us being rejected.

And sure, AP is still growing into this role. He's going to miss here and there. Happens to every GM in the league. So, I agree he's an unfinished product. But overall, I think he's done a good job this off-season with perhaps WR being unclear yet. Otherwise, he's done a well rounded job with the draft and possibly the 2nd wave of FA to come (and plenty of cap to make moves for improvement).

HTTR!

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I just find that so confusing. He had to know that contract was going to get insane, and by cutting our guy first he also lost all leverage. Could have easily released him once it became clear we were indeed upgrading during the tampering period, if it had played out that way. No way he should’ve been shocked that Linderbaum got overpaid by an even worse team, even if it was by a higher percentage than people were projecting

The risk-reward calculation in that scenario was way out of wack and I still don’t quite get it. Meanwhile we paid Reaves half of what Biasdasz was getting anyways

I think there were two separate transactions:

1. For whatever reason they didn’t think Biadasz was the best option for the team. Remember, Quinn knew him from Dallas, so there is a long relationship. It came to an end. They clearly preferred Allegretti. The releases Biadacz and extended Allegretti.

2. Then they went after Lindy. They were willing to go after him and pay him top of the market money but not 1/3 more then the next highest center.

I kidof get the feeling if they had chosen Biadasz over Allegretti they might still have pursued Lindy because he’s just better by a lot. I don’t think keeping Biadasz precluded them from going after Lindy. They could have used Biadasz as the backup center for a year. They aren’t really saving a ton in cap space by releasing him.

They could have also kept him, gone after Lindy, and cut him after they landed him, if they landed him. They didn’t need to do it when they did for cap reasons.

They cut him because they didn’t think he was an option at center for whatever reason which some folks have speculated about but nobody has definitively reported.

 

[Commander Wraith]

Logically speaking, I think the plan was
A. Linderbaum
B. FA center upgrade
C. Draft a center, hopefully one that’s an upgrade, and if not, hopefully one that provides good competition for Allegretti
D. Pick up a center - a current FA or one that might be cut later, particularly from a team that drafts a center or already has a young guy ready to take the reins - to at worst compete with Allegretti
E. Roll with Allegretti and bring in a backup (ala Dieter, but not him pls, lol)

A-C aren’t guaranteed. You can almost certainly find a guy that can compete with Allegretti (and there are always backups available), but that’s the most you can bank on.

Feel like that’s ^ some super obvious stuff, so I have trouble believing Peters doesn’t see it that way. So I think they’re fairly comfortable with rolling out Allegretti, but will looking at the remaining avenues.

I do think it’s very fair to be concerned with the position. I also think it’s fair to question Peters - he’s had missteps (Lattimore, our receiver position last year, some questionable draft picks, etc). I wonder if he was a little surprised by the 2 centers that retired too.

 

[RWJ]

Logically speaking, I think the plan was
A. Linderbaum
B. FA center upgrade
C. Draft a center, hopefully one that’s an upgrade, and if not, hopefully one that provides good competition for Allegretti
D. Pick up a center - a current FA or one that might be cut later, particularly from a team that drafts a center or already has a young guy ready to take the reins - to at worst compete with Allegretti
E. Roll with Allegretti and bring in a backup (ala Dieter, but not him pls, lol)

A-C aren’t guaranteed. You can almost certainly find a guy that can compete with Allegretti (and there are always backups available), but that’s the most you can bank on.

Feel like that’s ^ some super obvious stuff, so I have trouble believing Peters doesn’t see it that way. So I think they’re fairly comfortable with rolling out Allegretti, but will looking at the remaining avenues.

I do think it’s very fair to be concerned with the position. I also think it’s fair to question Peters - he’s had missteps (Lattimore, our receiver position last year, some questionable draft picks, etc). I wonder if he was a little surprised by the 2 centers that retired too.

After Linderbaum was signed McGovern might have been an option but both A and B, I think are sunk. Now onto C. There are a few Centers in the draft worth a 3rd/4th (Lew, Hecht, Slaughter and Jones).

 

[method man]

I thought i heard biadasz called blocking schemes that left him less likely to give up a sack but not necessarily the best ones to maximize opportunities for the offense. If one always call schemes to cover their own weaknesses, it may be at the expense of one's linemates left 1 on 1 more often, or allowing the defenses to more easily diagnose plays or clog running lanes.

Ding ding ding. I am very very confident it is this. Interesting this is public now given how careful they are about now wanting to smear players on the way out

For why they kept starting him, perhaps that is a big reason Bobby Johnson is gone

 

[Conn]

I could believe that they weren’t happy with how he called protections. And that it’s a less-understood part of the position that fans and media have a tough time parsing for obvious reasons, leading to a mismatch in reputation vs. valuation.

But I would be very surprised if it was that he was purposely, “maliciously” making suboptimal calls to make his own life easier at the expense of the offense.

Regular old lack of competence, poor coaching, or mistake-riddled performances make way more sense.

 

[Dlts20]

Looks a lot better than the last video already. Great coaching. Even if we don't get Love, I think that Bill will go for 1200 plus this season

 

[ES1974]

Logically speaking, I think the plan was
A. Linderbaum

Logic tells me that as well. Then LV blindsided us.

 

[ES1974]

Peters: "Nonsense. I have my rabbits foot in my desk, a four leaf clover in my shoe, and his contract offer on my hope chest at home. I'm sure we'll get him. That how front offices work."

This is where you lost me.

I can’t imagine AP using the word ‘nonsense’ at all.

 

[ES1974]

Eh, I disagree with this assessment. To say we're not a premier destination is short sighted when discussing being rejected by high end FAs.

According to most reports out there, we were in on Linderbaum (sp?) and Pierce, who was considered premier. With that said, Linderbaum signed a grossly insane overpay by the dysfunctional Raiders. Pierce, it had been repeated often, wanted to remain in Indy with his pal Danny Dimes (though he would've signed with us had he made it to FA, as reported).

And keep in mind should AP had signed Linderbaum to the deal the Raiders gave him, we'd be raising hell that AP is an idiot for overpaying a C.

Nonetheless, to say we were rejected by high end FAs here needs some context. Linderbaum was outrageous and a massive overpay. Pierce wanted to stay in Indy as his first choice. I dont see that as us being rejected.

Phillips, Hendrickson, Walker, Doubs to add to the above.

I agree there are many factors in this, but we aren’t an attractive destination, yet, and I think AP has a way to go in terms of establishing that real ‘pull’ as a GM.

That’s doesn’t have to be viewed as a massive criticism or negative. Just an observation he’s got some way to go in terms of maturing into that role, IMO.

 

[KDawg]

I could believe that they weren’t happy with how he called protections. And that it’s a less-understood part of the position that fans and media have a tough time parsing for obvious reasons, leading to a mismatch in reputation vs. valuation.

But I would be very surprised if it was that he was purposely, “maliciously” making suboptimal calls to make his own life easier at the expense of the offense.

Regular old lack of competence, poor coaching, or mistake-riddled performances make way more sense.

There is next to no shot he was calling protections for him. Nada.

If there were mistakes being made… that’s one thing. But a guy in the NFL can’t just call protections to make his life easier.

This is also where I wish I knew what they were being told.

Typically, we watch the film and figure out why a protection was called. If it’s wrong, it’s coached. If it’s still wrong, we make changes. Not releasing a guy after a season… but immediate and final changes not long after we identified the issue.

You don’t get 16 starts. You get replaced. That is on the OL staff, Kingsbury AND Quinn. If he can’t call protections, he can’t play. Period.

Most schemes want the center on the shade/2i tech DT so the guard can pop protect B-gap on the slide side. So, to the normal eye, it often looks like the center is calling a protection to help himself because the initial pass drop is a “double”.

There are exceptions to the rule, especially in varying protections and gameplan wise.

I can buy mistakes. But not malicious and constant ones. If so, again why does Quinn have a job? Almost no shot he did this as constantly as it’s being worded.

But again, I do see a possibility he was calling protections incorrectly at times and that is what led to us cutting him.

 

[philibusters]

Kevin Sheehan has speculated that it was the Vikings game where the rift between Quinn and Kliff really started to grow roots. We also ended up hiring a member of their defensive staff as our coach. I wonder if that is the game where the dissastisfaction with with Tyler Biadasz perhasp reall started to grow. I think there is widespread agreement we didn't do a good job with protections that game. But that one game may have really ramped up the engine for change in mutliple areas. That doesn't mean that there was not difference of opinion between Quinn and Kliff beforehand or that Tyler Biadasz was having as good of a seaosn as he had in 2024, but it does feel like that game kind of accelerated things---and we ended up hiring our DC from that staff.

 

[DWinzit]

Also sticking with Biadasz, was there ever any negative talk about him?

I recall none. Always positive talk about him other than a occasional mentions of struggling a little against the biggest NTs like when playing the Eagles. I recall the name when Allegretti was at C and of course Dieter as well (but he was pushed around by everyone)

 

[Anselmheifer]

Looks a lot better than the last video already. Great coaching. Even if we don't get Love, I think that Bill will go for 1200 plus this season

I saw this too. I kind of love this coach. “That shit sucked too!” 😂

 

[SkinsGuy99]

This is where you lost me.

I can’t imagine AP using the word ‘nonsense’ at all.

How about "Poppycock"?

 

[Ashburn Dave]

There has to be more to the story. All of us outside will most likely never get the details or the reasoning. And I’m ok with that.

 

[Boone]

Phillips, Hendrickson, Walker, Doubs to add to the above.

I agree there are many factors in this, but we aren’t an attractive destination, yet, and I think AP has a way to go in terms of establishing that real ‘pull’ as a GM.

That’s doesn’t have to be viewed as a massive criticism or negative. Just an observation he’s got some way to go in terms of maturing into that role, IMO.

I have talked about this topic a lot over the years so gonna chime in. And none of this is to say that 'we aren't an attractive destination' was a major factor in this year's swings and misses. But destination 'attractiveness' is a huge factor generally for where players land - especially because we forget it is not always JUST up to a player if he has a girlfriend, wife, kids, family, etc... I'm guessing skinsfan4128 is pushing back based on the attractiveness of the team/franchise - but it goes a lot deeper than that. Even with the team/franchise, there is the sniff of 'hot seat' for Quinn and with 2 new *unproven* coordinators, that might give players and/or their agents a little pause. But setting that aside, the DMV itself is not a 'premier' location.

It's incredibly expensive in terms of cost of living.
Some of the highest taxes in the US.
Traffic is awful.
There is a lot to do in the DMV but it's not Tampa, San Fran, etc...
Although we have a rich history, our recent history is as an NFL cellar dweller
We are rebuilding

There's just a lot more that goes into a decision than just the salary offer. I'm not minimizing the importance of the $$ because it's true being a top bidder can make up for a lot of other things. But it's not the only thing.

 

[Dlts20]

Kevin Sheehan has speculated that it was the Vikings game where the rift between Quinn and Kliff really started to grow roots. We also ended up hiring a member of their defensive staff as our coach. I wonder if that is the game where the dissastisfaction with with Tyler Biadasz perhasp reall started to grow. I think there is widespread agreement we didn't do a good job with protections that game. But that one game may have really ramped up the engine for change in mutliple areas. That doesn't mean that there was not difference of opinion between Quinn and Kliff beforehand or that Tyler Biadasz was having as good of a seaosn as he had in 2024, but it does feel like that game kind of accelerated things---and we ended up hiring our DC from that staff.

That's the game where the rift heightened with a lot of fans also. We took that open drive right down their throats, some great runs mixed in, 2nd and goal from the one yard line, and Kliff called 3 straight pass plays... Smh

 

[Dlts20]

 

[ES1974]

Completely agree with the above. With all those difficult factors, or potentially detrimental factors compared to other competitors, that tends to drive my narrative that we are forced to either go over the top once or twice more often, if not we’ll continue to tamely miss out time and again.

Need to be way more aggressive than we are, but not reckless by any means.

Don’t mind in principle that AP appears to have fairly rigid boundaries. Maybe he needs to slacken up somewhat until we have gotten further up the ladder.