Best Remaining Free Agents and Potential Fits, QB, RB

The busy first week (not technically a week) is almost over, but there are still a lot of free agents available that can help out a team immediately. Let’s take a look at some of the best players available and where they might fit.

Quarterback:

Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn.
This is clearly the biggest story in football, and perhaps all of sports going on right now. Peyton Manning fits everywhere. It appears he’s going to decide between Tennessee and Denver. And maybe 49ers. Though I think he wants to stay in the A.F.C. I can make arguments either way. Though the Broncos won the division last year, the Titans actually won more games as an FYI. It’s easy to argue they are equal in talent across the board, though and I might be in the minority here I think the Titans have more surrounding talent. The Titans have a better offensive line, a more gifted running back, and I like their WR corps better. Thomas has loads of upside and Decker is solid. But right now today the Nate Washington and Kenny Britt are better to me. The Broncos have more to offer on defense because they have pass rushers and the Titans don’t. It’s a toss up. My vibe (knowing nothing) is that Peyton Manning prefers the Broncos. But if his wife prefers the Titans maybe he goes there.

Matt Flynn will be a Miami Dolphins if they offer him enough money. Right now they are low balling him so he hasn’t signed. If not he’s probably a Seattle Seahawk. The Browns don’t seem really interested in him.

Also still available:

Alex Smith-There are two places Smith will land. The first and most likely is the 49ers. The second is the Seattle Seahawks. If the 49ers sign Peyton Manning, I think Alex Smith will travel up to Seattle and sign with Pete Carroll there.

David Garrard-the only other player I like remaining as a potential starter. Garrard I thought would be perfect for the Jets but they signed Drew Staton. Perhaps Garrard will check out the Detroit Lions. Stafford has a history of injuries there. I also think he should consider Washington incase Griffin III isn’t ready to start the season as the starter he could showcase his abilities there.

Vince Young

Josh Johnson

Curtis Painter are all still available.

But who cares? Maybe Young is interesting to take on as a backup incase your starting Quarterback gets hurts he can come in and win a game or two, but who wants to rely on Young?

Running backs:

This is the position with the best players available and it’s still pretty deep.

Michael Bush right now is visiting the Chicago Bears and is scheduled to visit with the Bengals as well. I don’t think the Bears are a good fit for Bush because he deserves a chance at a starting spot with how well he’s played in his career. The Bengals makes some sense and he could thrive there in Cincinnati. He’ll have the complement of the best passing game he’s had probably since he entered the league which would only make it easier to run. I think he’d be an upgrade over Green in New York, but the Jets don’t seem too interested in him. If he wants to stay in the AFC West the Chargers who are losing Mike Tolbert have an opening, but why lose Tolbert to add another running back? The Broncos will also probably add a running back in Free agency as well, but are waiting for the dust to settle on the Peyton Manning situation.

Cedric Benson-

I really think Benson would be a terrific complement to Ahmad Bradshaw in New York, but the Giants have about 3 million dollars in cap space right now and that is probably all reserved for their draft picks. Maybe if he comes for the veteran minimum the Giants consider him. Benson has three straight 1,000 yard seasons so he might be asking for too much money. He’s great for a team looking to play 3 yards and a cloud of dust football. He’s a tough physical guy and I think would complement the Steelers developing passing game very well. He also makes some sense in Minnesota on a one year deal. You get a reliable running back while Peterson recovers for a year.

Mike Tolbert

Tolbert literally fits every single team in the N.F.L. A jack of all trade guy. Catches the ball, runs pretty well, plays special teams. Whatever you want. Pittsburgh seems interested in adding Tolbert and that’d be a solid move. Tolbert has been linked to about a dozen teams.

Kevin Smith

Smith is getting pushed out of Detroit because the Lions will have LeShoure and Best back from injuries. He showed off terrific agility last year though and Smith makes a lot of sense for a team looking for a change of pace guy who can also catch the football well. Smith would bring a different dimension to the Broncos offense and I think fit well there. I don’t know if they consider it though.

Ben Jarvis Green Ellis

Ellis again I’m going to pinpoint the Giants here as a terrific fit. The Giants are moving forward with Bradshaw, Ware, and Scott. Ware is okay, but Bradshaw and Scott are dynamic players who could have fumbling issues (Bradshaw has had them, and Scott hasn’t shown that he doesn’t), Ellis does not. The Giants have really struggled in short yardage situations and that’s where Ellis excels. Again though the money probably keeps them from making a move.

I think he’d be terrific with the Colts. Who are the Colts moving forward with at running back? Right now the Colts don’t have a ton of veteran leadership on offense outside of Reggie Wayne. It’d be nice for Luck to have some pieces in place he can rely on. He knows when he gives the ball to Green-Ellis it’s coming back to him.

Other players available at running back are:

Ladanian Tomlinson, Brandon Jacobs, Jackie Battle, Justin Forsett, Joseph Addai, Ronnie Brown, Ryan Grant, and long timers like Kevin Faulk, and Thomas Jones.

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