Your Free Agent Wish List [Top 10]

1. DE Mario Williams [Texans]

One of the best in the league at age 27 in a position of exceptional importance.

2. OG Carl Nicks [Saints]

The best player in the league at his position and a player capable of physically dominating the Kong Suh's of the NFC North.

3. WR Vincent Jackson [Chargers]

If the Bears decide to spend big at the WR position they should sign Jackson, I would prefer to sign a lesser talent and look to the draft, but there is no denying he is very good.

4. DE Cliff Avril [Lions]

I think he will get tagged tomorrow, but if not a 26 year old that can rush the passer would be nice. He is not nearly as good as Williams against the run.

5. WR Marques Colston [Saints]

He might not be the most dynamic player at the position, but he is a big, reliable professional target.

6. CB Brandon Carr [Chiefs]

I am not big on spending huge money on Cover 2 CBs, but he has the size and physicality we could use against the precision passing game of the Packers.

7. OG Ben Grubbs [Ravens]

OG is not a massive need, but if the Bears want to push the ball downfield they need to secure the middle of the pocket with more talented players.

8. WR Stevie Johnson [Bills]

Head case, yes. Drops, yes, Talent, YES.

9. WR Robert Meachem [Saints]

I am intrigued by Meachem he might be the best bang for your buck in free agency as he has been held back by his situation and he has 6'2" height with incredible speed.

10. WR Peirre Garcon [Colts]

I really like Garcon as a #2 option he is fast, physical runs almost every route well and has produced without Peyton which shows me he is for real.

Tyvon Branch and Dashon Goldson got franchise tagged at safety, which changes my list drastically as they were basically 2a and 2b on my wish list.

1. VJax
2. Meachem
3. Decoud
4. Brandon Carr
5. Steve Johnson
6. Garcon
7. Richard Marshall
8. Mathis
9. Hawthorne
10. Abraham
HM=Landry-Achilles should put him on a short-term incentive deal.
HM=Eddie Royal

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lklrlolnlilklsox

Tyvon Branch and Dashon Goldson got franchise tagged at safety, which changes my list drastically as they were basically 2a and 2b on my wish list.

1. VJax
2. Meachem
3. Decoud
4. Brandon Carr
5. Steve Johnson
6. Garcon
7. Richard Marshall
8. Mathis
9. Hawthorne
10. Abraham
HM=Landry-Achilles should put him on a short-term incentive deal.
HM=Eddie Royal

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Colts working hard on Mathis to return. It may come down to a choice between him and Garcon if they decide to tag somebody.

Why no Mario Williams. I could see Mathis as a fall back signing but I think Abraham has shot his load. He's not the player he used to be. I guess my point with MWill as that we solve a problem now and it stays solved for a long time.

For me it looks like this;

Eddie Royal: Should be an easy and low cost move and he says yes or no pretty quickly.

Mario Williams: Maybe a tough and expensive signing but worth it in the long run. The Giants proved the value of a dominant pass rush. MWill helps to insure that.

Robert Mathis: A fall back if MWill can't be signed if he's not tagged.

Robert Meachem: Should be enough of an upgrade to make Cutler happy and improve the WR core. Far less costly than VJax and younger as well.

I haven't given it much thought beyond that since that's about the limit of what we have space to sign and still keep our own. This Forte franchise tag doesn't help this situation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soulman

Colts working hard on Mathis to return. It may come down to a choice between him and Garcon if they decide to tag somebody.

Why no Mario Williams. I could see Mathis as a fall back signing but I think Abraham has shot his load. He's not the player he used to be. I guess my point with MWill as that we solve a problem now and it stays solved for a long time.

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Because dedicating ~$30Mil to your DE position is not a prudent move and not at all a sustainable practice. I see our chances of signing him or Avril at somewhere between .0000000000001% and .0000000000002%, because of the fact that they will push us to that figure and I'm not deluding myself into believing otherwise.

Abraham had 9.5 sacks, is a season away from 13.5 and will cost a hell of a lot less than anyone else who stands to make even close to that kind of impact.

I did forget Wimbley, though, who I would love to add to our line at the right price.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lklrlolnlilklsox

Because dedicating ~$30Mil to your DE position is not a prudent move and not at all a sustainable practice. I see our chances of signing him or Avril at somewhere between .0000000000001% and .0000000000002%, because of the fact that they will push us to that figure and I'm not deluding myself into believing otherwise.

Abraham had 9.5 sacks, is a season away from 13.5 and will cost a hell of a lot less than anyone else who stands to make even close to that kind of impact.

I did forget Wimbley, though, who I would love to add to our line at the right price.

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Meachem and Garcon are climbing in my regards because they will allow us the flexibility to go after other free agents.

Mario, V Jax probably end the real heavy spending.

I for one don't want to get my hopes up. I like where we are headed but all this over-speculation and uber conjecture is just setting us up to be disappointed. We don't even have an inkling of where things are heading so to have hearts set on one specific guy might screw up another type of plan.

I would be just as happy if they spread out the wealth over several good FA whomever they may be. Then after FA would be a much clearer read of how the draft could possibly unfold.

The question I don't see asked is: is this a "all in" year? Are the Bears more likely to go guns getting FA to reach the SB or is it more of a long term plan? I believe knowing this is a key barometer of where things are going.

I would love for us to get the Mario's and Vjax's of the market but I don't want to rest too much hope in getting them and seemingly defeated if we don't.

Expect the worst and hope for the best.

How about the possibility of Levi Brown at LT? I know they like Webb but saw something about Brown hitting the market.*

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Originally Posted by WindyCity

Meachem and Garcon are climbing in my regards because they will allow us the flexibility to go after other free agents.

Mario, V Jax probably end the real heavy spending.

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And both remain big ifs right now. San Diego and Houston may not give up without a fight so they may try to resign them. That's why I think we have to be prepared to hit fast and hard with an offer that would tough to match.

I guess I see MWill as having a bigger impact than VJax but that's all a matter of opinion. Which openings we attempt to fill in FA are gonna be dictated by who we feel we can draft as well. If Emery feels we can get a good pass rusher in the draft then maybe his slant is toward a WR like VJax. I can't say that would be bad just that I prefer going the other way around. It's doubtful we'd get anyone as good as MWill in the draft.

No matter which way we go they are an expensive twosome but you don't win championships by sitting on your hands when there's top tier talent to be had. I don't understand where sox is coming up with that $30 mil number though. Maybe he can explain that. I don't see the problem of sinking big money into both MWill and Pep for the benefit we get. We're underspending on our DT's because of the youth and where they were drafted so overall expenses for the Dline won't be that out of whack.

If we structure it right Pep is getting ready to hang it up as MWill's deal starts maxing out so we won't be carrying that heavy expense for the entire term of the contract. Just my way of goin' about it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soulman

I don't understand where sox is coming up with that $30 mil number though. Maybe he can explain that.
If we structure it right Pep is getting ready to hang it up as MWill's deal starts maxing out so we won't be carrying that heavy expense for the entire term of the contract. Just my way of goin' about it.

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Pep is making 11.3 this year and 15-18 each of the remaining years. It's going to take damn near Pep money to sign Mario and we don't have the luxury of an uncapped year to pay him $35m in order keep the cap number manageable throughout. All signs point toward him making 10-15 a year. At the very best, I think with a front loaded deal, we are talking about $25M per on our DEs, and much more in 2012, that's 1/4 to 1/5 of your cap room on two players at the same position.

Give me an Abraham on a budget and expect an immediate upgrade in the pass rush off Izzy's side and you have the luxury of either drafting a developmental DE this year or wait til next for your stud.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by soulman

And both remain big ifs right now. San Diego and Houston may not give up without a fight so they may try to resign them. That's why I think we have to be prepared to hit fast and hard with an offer that would tough to match.

I guess I see MWill as having a bigger impact than VJax but that's all a matter of opinion. Which openings we attempt to fill in FA are gonna be dictated by who we feel we can draft as well. If Emery feels we can get a good pass rusher in the draft then maybe his slant is toward a WR like VJax. I can't say that would be bad just that I prefer going the other way around. It's doubtful we'd get anyone as good as MWill in the draft.

No matter which way we go they are an expensive twosome but you don't win championships by sitting on your hands when there's top tier talent to be had. I don't understand where sox is coming up with that $30 mil number though. Maybe he can explain that. I don't see the problem of sinking big money into both MWill and Pep for the benefit we get. We're underspending on our DT's because of the youth and where they were drafted so overall expenses for the Dline won't be that out of whack.

If we structure it right Pep is getting ready to hang it up as MWill's deal starts maxing out so we won't be carrying that heavy expense for the entire term of the contract. Just my way of goin' about it.

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We are underspending at OT so why can't I have Carl Nicks at OG?

The problem I think Sox has is that in the Mario Williams plan we are putting a ton of resources at the DE position and that will hurt our ability to spend in other areas. We would essentially have 2 100 million dollars DEs on the team. and that is incredibly rare that a team woould have 2 100 million dollar players at one position.