By Gayle Saunders

The New England Patriots have agreed to terms with free-agent tight end Alge Crumpler, who enters his 10th NFL Season, This gives the Patriots some veteran presence at the TE position.

Crumpler has spent the last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans and started 19 games. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection from 2003 to 2006 with the Atlanta Falcons, and although his pass-catching numbers have declined, he remains valuable as a run blocker. He has been one of the league’s more durable tight ends, missing only five regular-season games in his career. Crumpler helped lead the way for Titans running back Chris Johnson, who rushed for 2,006 yards last season.

Crumpler would be the only Patriots tight end with NFL game experience. The team lost Benjamin Watson (to the Cleveland Browns) and Chris Baker (to the Seattle Seahawks) in free agency.

By Gayle Saunders
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The Arizona Cardinals have signed former Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson and have agreed to a two-year contract worth $7.25 million on Wednesday.

The deal includes $3.25 million guaranteed, and with incentives would max out at $18.25 million.

Derek Anderson has been brought into compete with current Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart for the starting job.

Anderson was let go by Cleveland earlier this March. He played with the Browns for a five-year period. Anderson made the Pro Bowl in 2007 when he threw 29 touchdown passes and led the club to a 10-6 record.

By Gayle Saunders
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Today the Cleveland Browns signed Benjamin Watson, the trusty free agent tight end from New England Patriots who he spent his first six seasons with.

Watson has appeared in 71 regular games in his career, including 47 starts. He has caught 167 passes for 2,102 yards and 20 touchdowns. He’s played in nine playoff games and started seven, and has had 19 receptions for 195 yards and threes touchdowns. His most successful season was in 2006 when he had 49 catches for 643 yards and three touchdowns. He has accounted for a career high six touchdown catches the following year, when he totaled 36 receptions for 389 yards.

Benjamin Watson celebrates while going in for a touchdown against Cleveland Browns his "new team".

The deal is reportedly for three years and $12 million, $6.35 million guaranteed. The Cleveland Browns out bid the Seattle Seahawks for Watson’s services. General manager Tom Heckert spoke highly of Benjamin Watson.

“We viewed Ben as one of the top all-around tight ends in the free agent market,” said Heckert. “Because of his athleticism and intelligence, he has proven valuable as both a receiver and blocker during his career, and has performed well in both facets. He comes from a winning program in New England and possesses the traits that we like in a player. We feel as though he can help us in many different areas and we are excited about his addition to our team.”

Cleveland is a team that is in dire need of receiving options, Watson should instantly be featured in all pass-catching schemes.

The New England Patriots while letting Watson leave, in the meantime they have decided to keep Kevin Faulk for one more year. The team did not release the terms of the deal, however the deal is for one year and will be signed today. Its most likely Faulk will receive a $1 million signing bonus and can earn an additional $2 million in salary and incentives.

Faulk has been clutch for New England.

Faulk’s agent Raymond Brothers said that “four or five teams” were interested in talking with Faulk, but the player wasn’t ready to get on a plane.

“It probably would have pushed his deal with the Patriots more if he had taken the visits,” Brothers said. “But he told me ‘I don’t want to be bluffing. I want to be back with the Patriots. If we can’t work something out, then we’ll do it.’”

Given the Patriots’ focus on locker-room dynamics this offseason, bringing Faulk back was a no-brainer. If you look at the team’s running back group, it definitely has some older guys in the over-30 club with Faulk (33) joining Fred Taylor (34) and Sammy Morris (32) and two younger backs in Laurence Maroney (25) and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (24).

With a solid the group returning, the Patriots have options and wont be locked into selecting a back in the draft.

By Gayle Saunders
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It’s a done deal and Marlin Jackson is a Philadelphia Eagle. The Eagles were not to concerned about his recently surgically repaired knees. It seems that they are very aggresive in finding a replacement for Brian Dawkins this off season. The front office signed Jackson to a two-year contract Wednesday, but didn’t disclose financial terms.

In 2005 Jackson was a first-round draft pick by the Colts, He is coming off two season-ending knee injuries, which resulted in him missing the second half of 2008 with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, where he returned in 2009 and tore his ACL in his left knee during a November practice. Jackson has played cornerback throughout most of his careerr, although he will have an opportunity to win the starting free safety job in Philadelphia.

“Nothing is promised,” Jackson said. “I have to earn it. I played free safety my junior year at college and started eight games there my second year in the NFL. I’m very comfortable in it. I always played a physical corner. Physicality is nothing new to me. I’m very instinctive and aggressive. I can bring a lot of positives.”

The Eagles definitly had issues at free safety this year. Second-year proQuintin Demps, roookie Victor Harris and veteran Sean Jones were exposed throughout the season at that position in 2009.

Jackson had 284 tackles and four interceptions in 56 career games with the Colts. He had a visit with Baltimore Ravens before coming to Philadelphia and was scheduled to meet with the New York Jets.

“The most appealing thing is this is a winning franchise,” Jackson said. “That’s important to me. I came from a winning franchise. The opportunity to play free safety is very appealing. This defense is very aggressive.”
Jackson joins an Eagles secondary that includes Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, Pro Bowl strong safety Quintin Mikell and longtime starting cornerback Sheldon Brown.

By Gayle Saunders
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The Kansas City Chiefs just strengthened their running game with the signing of Thomas Jones. The Chiefs signed the free agent running back, who was a big reason the New York Jets reached the AFC Championship.

People tend to forget that Jones was the NFL’s third-leading rusher last season. Jones had career highs of 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, a year after being selected for the Pro Bowl following a season in which he ran for 1,312 yards and 13 touchdowns. Even though Jones rushed for 1,000 or more yards for five straight seasons, the Jets cut ties with him when free agency started last Friday. The biggest concern for the Jets was paying his $3.3 million roster bonus on top of a $2.8 million base salary this season. The Jets failed to reach a compromise with Jones on restructuring his contract. The team wanted him to take a pay cut, and Jones was not interested. Last off season, Jones sat out voluntary activities while trying to renegotiate his deal, which was front-loaded over the first two seasons. He made only $900,000 in base salary last season, but didn’t let that affect his play.

The 31-year-old Jones is expected to team up with third-year running back Jamaal Charles in the backfield, who had his best season in Kansas City with 1,120 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.
Thomas Jones was a major reason the New York Jets ranked first in the league with 172.2 yards rushing per game, However he seemed to tire down the stretch as rookie Shonn Greene came alive, which allowed Greene to take more of the carries down the stretch, but Jones is confident that he can play another four or five seasons because of the unbeleivable shape he keeps himself in.

He was drafted seventh overall in 2000 by the Arizona Cardinals and then was traded to Tampa Bay in 2003, went to Chicago the following year as a free agent and was traded to the Jets in 2007. Jones also ranks second only toLaDainian Tomlinson, who is also a free agent, in yards rushing since 2005. Jones ranks 28th on the career list with 9,217 yards, 190 behind Earl Campbell.

In 2006 the league and the players asscoiation reached a new collective bargaining agreement which had a clause called for eliminating the salary cap in 2010. Both sides thought that an uncapped season would be so hated upon that a new contract would be done way before the cap disappeared. When the owners opted out of the CBA in 2008, little thought was given to an actual removal of the salary cap that generally has been beneficial for both owners and players.

Well folks that day March 5, 2010 is here. Friday marks the day when pro football salary cap dies. Free agency starts under a different set of rules, the most shocking thing is no one is really clear where this will lead the NFL. The biggest concern for me and fans around the league is that everything comes to a halt in 2011. No its not a joke folks…The most beloved sport in America is entering uncharted waters…think of the Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon.

“The situation we’re walking into is certainly unknown for everyone,” Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik says. “So no one can really look at the crystal ball and say here’s what people are going to spend and here’s what people aren’t going to spend. It’s all pure speculation.”

Marc Ganis, who is president of Chicago-based consulting company Sports Corp. Ltd., believes teams will not overspend.

“That’s one of the possibilities in the uncapped season, will some teams be spending far below the current floor, especially teams that perform poorly on the field?” says Ganis. “Teams will have the option of spending the amount on their team that they think it is worth. A 4-12 team does not have the caliber players a consistently 12-4 team has.

“I expect the small and midsize market clubs are going to start to pay in this uncapped year based on what they can afford.”

Joe Flacco’s agent Joe Linta, is optimistic the dollars will be available. Linta’s thoughts are the same of many others around the league His thoughts echo those by many of his colleagues:

“The owners are all wealthy,” Linta says, “and as much as they need and want to make money, the need to win is greater than the need to make money — they already have plenty. Their insatiable desire to win will override their greed to save and make money. So, yeah, they’ll spend.”

When it comes to teams, some can spend more than others. However, the class of unrestricted free agents (UFA) contains few Big time playmakers and is far less inferior to the class of restricted free agents.(RFA)

Under the current CBA which expires in March, the top conference semifinalists from January’s playoffs have extra restrictions in signing free agents. The final four, for example, (Saints, Colts, Jets and the Vikings) must depart with an unrestricted free agent (UFA) before they can sign one. That definitely makes it tougher for those teams.

“I think it is a penalty for sure,” Jets coach Rex Ryan says. “Maybe you need a tight end or whatever it is and you don’t have that ability to go out and get some of the top guys that might be available.”

Many of those top free agents you see out there aren’t available at all. With no salary cap in place, it now will take six years with a team to actually become an unrestricted free agent, while in past years it was four. NFL Players with four and five seasons under their belt are now restricted, which means the team that loses them earns compensation or would have the right to match offers from other clubs.

All pro defensive end Elvis Dumervil of Denver, who led the league in sacks in 2009; San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman and receiver Vincent Jackson; Miami running back Ronnie Brown; Dallas receiver Miles Austin; and Houston linebacker DeMeco Ryans are among the 212 players who now are not totally free because of the uncapped season. While Dumervil, Austin and Ryans might be worth the big dollars they would cost, how many other teams out there are likely to part with high draft picks and all the dollars it takes to sign a difference maker?

“For us it’s not changing,” San Francisco 49ers GM Scot McCloughan. “We’re going to go forward as if there is a cap. … We’re not going to be considered a big free agency team anyway. But we’ll do what we need to do in free agency if we think it’s a smart move.”

Not that there won’t be lots of bucks flying into players’ bank accounts. Teams always want to procure as much talent as they can. If someone perceives defensive end Julius Peppers as the answer to their line issues, the money figures to be there — although certainly not on the scale of the $20 million-plus Carolina would have needed to spend to make him a franchise player for the second straight year.

“When we talk about possible free agents, certainly Julius is one of the guys we talk about,” Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren says when asked if Peppers could have the kind of impact free-agent Reggie White had in Green Bay when Holmgren was the coach. “Then I have to put on my other hat because there are some financial ramifications there.

“As great a player as Julius is, I’d be reluctant to compare anybody to Reggie White. We did it, at the time we bonused him for I think $8 million. Everybody thought we were nuts. It was numbers off the chart. Now think of that today.”

Put it this way….as of today: NFL organnizations have to consider the consequences of high spending in an uncapped 2010 if in fact the salary cap returns to form like in years previous. The money spent on such a player like Peppers or another Unresticted Free Agent this year might be unlimited, but contract provisions beyond that could get in the way of making sure you’re under the salary cap in the future.

Jim Schwartz The Detroit Lions’s coach believes more experienced, but most likely more worn-down players will be up for grabs in free agency this year. This too could could cut short the spending.

“Most of the … unrestricted players are going to be players that are 29, 30, 31 years old. I think the biggest thing about that is, it places a lot more emphasis on getting the player right,” says Schwartz, whose team needs all the quality talent it can get. “You can get mileage out of a 29-year-old or a 30-year-old as long as you have a very specific role in mind for him and he fits your scheme and you feel good about that, because you’re not going to have a whole lot of startup time with him.”

Lots of executives around the league believe there will be more significance on this years NFL draft because of thechange in free agency

“I sense that we are a lot more focused seemingly this year on draft preparation,” Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said. “Usually we take this in cycles or segments. There was definitely a free agent segment leading up to beginning of free agency. Now we tend to be focusing on the draft that much earlier. I will be interested to see how much interest there is going into free agency with the fewer numbers.”

So as the clock strikes 12:00 and March 5th is upon us (which is the official time that Free Agency begins) myself and the rest of the NFL nation can only sit and wonder what happens next.

By Gayle Saunders
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Darren Sharper wants to return to the Super Bowl champion Saints. The only thing is the Saints just allowed Sharper to test free agency he was notified Monday that the front office wouldn’t slap the franchise tag on him. Which basically says to him that the Saints are prepared to move on without him.

“They said they want me back, but if you want someone back, why are you going to let them test the market?,” Sharper said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “I don’t know how much they want me back if they’re allowing other teams to bid for my services. Being in this situation before, if a team is willing to let you test the market, they’re willing to let you go.”

Sharper who is 34, earned a ticket to the Pro Bowl this past season after tying for a league-high nine interceptions, as well as helping the Saints win their first Super Bowl Championship.

Sharper only signed a one-year Free agent deal worth, $1.7 million last year after being released by the Minnesota Vikings. Free agency begins March 5.

Sharper has made it known that he won’t come as cheap as he did last seasonr, if its with the Saints or another suitor. He specified his price range but he’s confident that he has a “couple good years left.” There weren’t many options for him last season, which is why Sharper signed with the Saints at such a bargain basement price.

“I’m going to want to be compensated market value,” Sharper said. “Hopefully things work out (with the Saints). I know the system, and the team was more successful once I got there. They know the value. It’s simple economics. You pay someone what they deserve. I was a bargain deal last year.

“It’s tough because the fan base is great, and we had something special and we have a chance to repeat. It would be bad if I wasn’t able to return. We’ll see if they make me an offer that is competitive.”

If the Saints chose to use the franchise tag on Sharper, they would’ve had to pay him $6.455 million next season. By declining that price tag, the team seemingly could offer Sharper a deal that could pay him that salary or more over multiple years but not that much in 2010 if they opt to try to retain him.