NFL Free Agency: Damontre Moore Landing Spots

Oct 11, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants defensive end Damontre Moore (98) tackles San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) at MetLife Stadium. The Giants won 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

One of the more surprising names to hit NFL free agency this 2015 season is Damontre Moore.  At one point in time the Texas A&M defensive end was viewed as one of the best pass rushers in the country and a surefire 1st round pick in the 2013 draft.  As time went on though, teams cooled on him and he ended up going two rounds later to the New York Giants.

After posting just 8.5 sacks in three seasons, his frustrating tenure in the Big Apple came to an abrupt and embarrassing end.

"“According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Moore got into a fight with Cullen Jenkins over not getting a pair of Beats by Dre headphones like the rest of the team. “We made the move today in the interest of both parties,” Giants general manager Jerry Reese said, according to Michael Eisen of the team’s official website.”"

This is apparently not the first issue the team had with him, which is almost certain to affect his stock on the free agent market.  Still, 23-year old players of his talent level don’t become available often.  It’s almost certain some teams are going to take a calculated risk on him in hopes of helping him past these issues.

Here are three to keep an eye on.

Atlanta Falcons

Dan Quinn has done everything he can to help the Atlanta Falcons defense improve, and the progress as been good, but the one area that continues to haunt them is the pass rush.  As a team they have just 13 sacks on the season.  That more than anything might explain why they’ve been unable to close out games down the stretch.  Quinn is no stranger to strong personalities from his days in Seattle.  Moore would present an intriguing challenge.

Buffalo Bills

Since when does Rex Ryan fear taking players with talent who left their teams following locker room incidents?  Ask IK Enemkpali, who punched out his own quarterback.  Moore has tons of untapped potential with the athleticism for outside linebacker.  Buffalo is 29th in the NFL in sacks with 18.  They could really use help on that front.  Ryan has shown he can handle questionable personalities.

Chicago Bears

Transitioning to a 3-4 has been hard enough for the Chicago Bears defense.  They’ve had to rely mostly on converted defensive ends to play as outside linebackers in order to generate any pass rush.  It hasn’t helped that prized free agent addition Pernell McPhee has been battling a knee injury.  This team is starved for athletic edge rushers.  John Fox and Vic Fangio are no strangers to dealing with players who have character concerns.  Perhaps they can get Moore playing like he should.