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Free agency upgrades available at LT

alienalias

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Any of these guys would be an upgrade over McIntosh in my opinion, who is also a free agent after this year... we would have to give something up for Starks, but not the others...

Max Starks RFA Pittsburgh Steelers
Starks is a starting tackle for a Super Bowl champion. That’s enough in itself to get some teams a little excited about the prospects of acquiring him. The fact that Starks is young, talented, and massive in stature—listed at 6’8”, 337 lbs.—just adds to the excitement pile. Another lineman that shouldn’t be going anywhere as the Steelers will not let Starks go without a fight. The best bet is that Starks will decide he wants to stay in Pittsburgh and sign an extension. If he hits the market, there will be a team or two willing to pay a big amount to entice the tackle to relocate.

Leonard Davis UFA Arizona Cardinals
Davis is a massive tackle that the Cardinals can’t afford to lose to free agency, but it seems likely that they will. The Arizona offensive line is already suspect, and losing Davis would be a huge step in the wrong direction, but the team may have to let him go and find a replacement. Davis has shown the ability to simply be a wall of protection for his quarterback and while teams might not line up for the chance to sign him, anyone looking for a tackle will have him high on the list.

Mike Gandy, UFA, Buffalo Bills
A relatively young starting left tackle, Gandy had been blocking for Willis McGahee over the past two seasons, and this season could go a long way in making Gandy an appealing free agent. He has talent, but isn’t considered among the league’s best linemen. However, a decent starting left tackle doesn’t just drop from the sky, so expect him to garner interest from a handful of teams, if Buffalo doesn’t re-sign him before the market opens.

Other Free Agent Offensive Linemen
Eric Steinbach, UFA, Bengals
Jordan Black, UFA, Kansas City Chiefs
Dwayne Carswell, UFA, Denver Broncos
Derrick Dockery, UFA, Washington Redskins
Nat Dorsey, RFA, Cleveland Browns
Chris Gray, UFA, Seattle Seahawks
Norm Katnik, RFA, New York Jets
Ryan Lilja, RFA, Indianapolis Colts
Sean Locklear, RFA, Seattle Seahawks
Roman Oben, UFA, San Diego Chargers
Brian Rimpf, RFA, Baltimore Ravens
Eric Steinbach, UFA, Cincinnati Bengals
Todd Steussie, UFA, St. Louis Rams
Floyd Womack, UFA, Seattle Seahawks
Kris Dielman, UFA, San Diego
Damion McIntosh, UFA, Miami Dolphins
 
Look for the Bills to try to keep Gandy. His natural position is guard. He's a good NFL guard, but a mediocre NFL tackle at best.
 
I would like to see Miami sign the left guard Eric Steinbach and give Leonard Davis a look because the man is a monster.
 
The Davis situation is interesting because Arizona is expected to take Joe Thomas in round 1 anyway. That implies that Zona can't have both. So, if Davis is available he's a guy to look at for the Dolphins. Otherwise, if the Cards keep him they will almost certainly have to pass up Joe Thomas and he may slip 3 or so spots to us in Round 1. Honestly, the only guy on that list at tackle that really looks realistic for the Dolphins is Davis. Dielman would be a solid guard upgrade as well.

There will be at least a few re-signings from that list however between now and then.
 
Starks is a RT. I'd like to see us go after Steinbach and Dielman, but we gotta get a LT in the draft.
 
Left Tackle is best addressed in the draft, not free agency. If Joe Thomas is available, I say we draft him, slot him at Left Tackle, and forget about the position for five or six years.
 
Left Tackle is best addressed in the draft, not free agency. If Joe Thomas is available, I say we draft him, slot him at Left Tackle, and forget about the position for five or six years.

1st of all, there is no way Thomas drops to us. I agree it is best addressed in the draft with a top 10 pick IF a guy is worthy as a top 10. But this year after the juniors declare, there's probably only Thomas. So instead target an UNRESTRICTED FA in Davis! He is the #1 LT available, and 1 MILLION times better than McIntosh!
What would u say if Walter Jones, the all-pro, perrenial pro-bowler became available? "Noooo, he's a FA! NOT a draft pick!" There's only 1 top 10 LT in this years draft and Thomas is not dropping that far... so go after Davis or another LT in FA!
 
1st of all, there is no way Thomas drops to us. I agree it is best addressed in the draft with a top 10 pick IF a guy is worthy as a top 10. But this year after the juniors declare, there's probably only Thomas. So instead target an UNRESTRICTED FA in Davis! He is the #1 LT available, and 1 MILLION times better than McIntosh!
What would u say if Walter Jones, the all-pro, perrenial pro-bowler became available? "Noooo, he's a FA! NOT a draft pick!" There's only 1 top 10 LT in this years draft and Thomas is not dropping that far... so go after Davis or another LT in FA!


I thought that too. But after looking at the situation I will say that it is not impossible that Thomas could slip a little past Arizona just not probable. The only reason Arizona would lose a veteran left tackle with a quality reputation (like Davis) in place of a rookie is because of the salary cap. Thomas is good but even he will have some kind of learning curve in the NFL. Meanwhile, Davis has all the experience he needs to protect Lienhart. So, in the event that Davis should stay put (unlikely but not impossible), Thomas may slip down a bit closer to Miami. But in the end you are right. FA precedes the draft and LT is such an important need. An attempt to trully address the position (long term) needs to be made during FA.
 
Miami should go after Eric Steinbach and Leonard Davis both positions need an upgrade on the o-line.
 
I thought that too. But after looking at the situation I will say that it is not impossible that Thomas could slip a little past Arizona just not probable. The only reason Arizona would lose a veteran left tackle with a quality reputation (like Davis) in place of a rookie is because of the salary cap. Thomas is good but even he will have some kind of learning curve in the NFL. Meanwhile, Davis has all the experience he needs to protect Lienhart. So, in the event that Davis should stay put (unlikely but not impossible), Thomas may slip down a bit closer to Miami. But in the end you are right. FA precedes the draft and LT is such an important need. An attempt to trully address the position (long term) needs to be made during FA.

The thing you overlook w/Davis is that although he's a LT, Leinart is a lefty i.e. not protecting his blindside, which is why they can afford to let him go. Thomas probably could play that RT for Arizona as he's also a dominating run-blocker, while still being good enough to be LT in teams with a righty at QB like us. If indeed we do end up at #6, I don't think it's completely out of the question he may fall given his combine results and such as well as other players. Arizona's still got a lot left to be desired as far as needs go on their roster.
 
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