Board 8 > Board 8 National Football League League (B8NFLL) Season 17: The Offseason

(+) Yeah! (+)

Madden Draft Grades

The following is a list of all user teams ordered by the letter grade given to them and then alphabetically. Take little stock in how you are graded. These are not at all an indicator of the ratings to expect from your rookies nor future performance. They are essentially arbitrary. All AI teams are given A grades.

A-
Bears
Browns
Colts
Falcons
Lions
Patriots
Titans

B+
Bills
Eagles
49ers
Jets
Raiders

B
Buccaneers
Chiefs
Express
Panthers
Ravens

B-
Giants
Jaguars

C
Packers
Steelers

C-
Orcas

In addition, Madden also mentions when they deem a team's first pick was not their best pick. Again, this is an arbitrary distinction and not based on anything of importance. Still, useless information can be interesting!

Bills
First Pick: G Ezra Cleveland
Best Pick: QB Jamel Taylor

Broncos:
First Pick: OLB De'Vondre Campbell
Best Pick: DE Jonathan Allen

Browns
First Pick: FS Budda Baker
Best Pick: QB Ryan Finley

Chiefs
First Pick: FS Jamal Adams
Best Pick: DT David Onyemata

Cowboys
First Pick: G Chris Lindstrom
Best Pick: QB Drew Lock

Eagles
First Pick: CB Henry Carpenter
Best Pick: HB Corey Clement

Express
First Pick: CB Doug Harris
Best Pick: DE Bob Timmerman

Giants
First Pick: DE Rich Stevens
Best Pick: HB Scott Griffin

Panthers
First Pick: WR Chris Godwin
Best Pick: OLB Uchenna Nwosu

Now with draft stuff done, trade announcement

Jaguars receive:
QB Kirk Cousins (85 overall, 31 years old)
RT Riley Reiff (88, 29)
LE Brick Massey (83, 35)

Seahawks receive:
QB Tim Tebow (86, 32)
CB Stephon Gillmore (80, 30)
LE Mario Edwards Jr. (83, 25)

Jaguars incur a $3.23 mil cap penalty next season and turn $18.24 mil in cap hits into $15.46 mil in cap hits

Seahawks incur a $5.05 mil cap penalty to turn $19.46 mil in cap hits into $14.83 mil in cap hits

Tim Tebow was demanding a trade from the Jaguars, and the Seahawks had a veteran QB under contract for multiple seasons. They get a veteran QB back with quite the injury history, but he is in the Top 10 in career passer rating among active QBs with 500+ attempts. They also get an upgrade at RT in Reilly Reiff who has a solid career 8.5 blocks per sack allowed, which is higher than their current starting RT. Finally, they get a veteran pass-rushing specialist back with 89 career sacks. CB Gillmore, while a very useful player with many years left in his career, was working in the slot. The big loss is Edwards who looked to be a rising star with 7 sacks and 4 FFs in his debut starting season, but they had to give up something to receive something.

QB Kirk Cousins was a great QB for the Seahawks, but his injury history was definitely something of a concern. While he is heads and shoulders above Tebow, Tebow provides less of a future obstacle than Cousins for 1st round pick Gardner Minshew. Tebow and has just one year left on his deal and is older. There aren't many avenues outside of the draft to get quality starting CBs, so getting Gillmore here who could provide five seasons or so of useful starting/slot work is a good move. Arguably more important than providing less roadblocks for Minshew is receiving Edwards Jr who could team up with the young, 90+ DT duo of Kawann Short and Timmy Jernigan and the highly underrated and fringe Hall of Fame candidate DE Josh Julmiste to form the best DL this team has maybe ever seen. Losing Reiff leaves them so bare at OL but allows them to basically go scorched earth.

Jaguars understood the trade parameters, financial impact, histories of players involved, and what each team hoped to achieve. This trade is official.

Signing Draft Picks

Quite a few teams have done it already, but now's the time to get those draftees' signatures and have them suit up for your squad. It is essentially just like signing your own free agents, but you don't have to worry about holdouts/franchise tags, and you typically have far fewer players to sign.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind as you read your PM. One, you will not know the overall ratings until they are signed. That is an in-game mechanic and not something by my design. Two, the desired deals for each player, in terms of length, is based on where they were taken. It is as follows:

Top 5 - Six years
6-10 - Five years
11-32 - Four years
2nd-4th rounds - Three years
5th-7th rounds - One year

Once again, you do not have to offer them their exact deals and can change their length, but I advise you to sign them to the length that they ask for because if you change the length, they might ask for considerably more money.

The deadline to sign your rookies will be Monday, September 12th 6 PM ET. Should you idle, I will sign all your rookies to the deals that they are asking for (such a severe punishment I know). If you have roster space issues, then I will prioritize players who will fill roster holes and then in descending order of when they were selected until your roster is filled.

The following is a list of the longest-tenured players on each team ordered by which season they first arrived at their current club.

Inaugural Season
Broncos DT Tommie Harris
Eagles P Kyle Larson
49ers K Josh Scobee
Pioneers K Nate Kaeding
Washington K Mike Nugent

S2
Dolphins LG Max Jean-Gilles
Orcas P Kyle Basler
Packers P Andy Groom
Ravens P Ryan Plackemeier

S3
Express RT Justin Blalock
Giants DT Rob Armstrong
Lions RT Germayle Franklin
Wildcats P Alex Reyes

S4
Bears P Brett Kern
Chiefs P David Lonie
Cowboys RT Jason Boone

S5
Bengals RT Lyndon Murtha and K James Wilhoit
Colts WR Mario Manningham
Jets DT Charles Alexander
Rams P Andy Lee
Seahawks K Chris Nendick and WR DeSean Jackson
Vikings DT William Morrisey

S6
Jaguars C Kyle Young and DE Cordero Moore
Steelers LOLB Adam Tufts

S7
Browns LT Ryan Clady
Buccaneers WR Willie Sullivan, ROLB Nick Hollinsworth, and LG Carlos Manning
Falcons K LaRue Rucker
Panthers K Ben Jones, CB Bernard Stewart, and FS Eric Berry
Patriots RE Cliff Avril
Titans LG Terry Fuller

S8
Bills P Zoltan Mesko and K Justin Tucker
Raiders FS Reshad Jones and FB Luke Smith

To Do:
- Favorite draft picks in each round/regret in first two rounds + favorite team classes

KCF's Favorite Picks

I'm going to go through each round of the NFL Draft and highlight my three favorite picks and explain why. For the most part, I look in the early rounds for perfect team fits based on historical production, a visible succession plan to a successful starting job (or immediate starter), players who might be the missing piece to the puzzle, and selections that just make me think, "That guy's going to have a long, productive career somewhere." For the later rounds, I look for players who most likely have a chance of sticking around for a long-ish career for a myriad of reasons. While I do know some of the rookie ratings due to user signings, ratings were not a factor in my analysis nor were players dropping further than expected draft slot. I will try and keep things shorter so I don't spend like 5 hours on this like usual.

In addition, I will list an honorable mention or two and most importantly, a regret pick. What I mean by a regret pick is someone that I believe may have just made a mistake and went in the wrong direction. I will limit myself to just one per round and only for the first two rounds because honestly how much can you really regret in the sixth round? I will also try and limit picks that I made myself, but there might be a few. I will refrain from choosing any Orcas picks. At the end of all this, I will also mention my three favorite team draft classes.

First Round

Colts OT Jonah Williams (2nd overall) - As everyone knows, I love OL picks, and if there's one I wish to highlight in this opening round, it is the first one that was selected. The Colts have had a really rough go of it offensively ever since they let QB Charlie Whitehurst go and HB Steven Jackson retired. The OL was never really a strength of the team, but they had a couple of standout guys. Now the OL has fallen into complete disrepair, and they ultimately started people at G who would be #4s on a bunch of teams. They badly needed reinforcements anywhere along the OL, and high-end OL prospects have had a great history, and OL have better odds than essentially every other position to become immediate impact players. With a pair of 2nd-year players expected to start at HB and QB, the selection of Williams could really start to turn things around for them on that side of the ball.

Seahawks QB Gardner Minshew (6th overall) - It's not often that I fall in love with a 1st round QB selection, and well, maybe fall in love is a bit strong, but in the wake of their draft and trades, I'm really liking this selection. The offense was a complete disaster last season, mostly stemming from a poor running game and an interior OL that was the worst I have ever seen. They appear to be getting four new starters along the OL this offseason, and along with one of the better receiving trios in the league (WRs DeSean Jackson and Amari Cooper and TE Mike Gesicki), this could actually go from a nightmare to a dream scenario for a QB. Minshew might not win the job as a rookie, but he should at least have decent odds in his second season with a hopefully great supporting cast.

Vikings CB Denzel Ward (16th overall) - The Vikings unexpectedly failed to make the playoffs last season, and a depleted secondary was part of the reason why after seeing two retirements of Hall of Famers. Thrust into a starting spot, CB Aaron Colvin went from a slot ace to a seemingly mediocre starter. Ward should hopefully be good enough to be the favorite as the #2 and could potentially compete for the #1 spot over Xavien Howard. Just the shuffling of roles could be what the Vikings need defensively to reclaim the NFC South or at least back into the playoffs.

Honorable Mention
Falcons DT D.J. Reader (20th overall)

Regret Pick - Jaguars selecting WR Tyler Boyd

There were more than usual 1st round selections that I did not like, but this one has to be my choice. We all know that WRs are overpaid in this game for their production. The Jags had just re-signed both of their starting WRs to four deal years worth over a combined $65 million. They also privately revealed to me their free agent plans. With limited cap space, they would have to make some shrewd decisions going forward, only for them to upend their plans almost immediately, causing a ripple effect of losing a rising star at DE in Mario Edwards Jr. Boyd might turn out to be a fine player, but at the cost of ruining their own plans and saying goodbye to one of the best players they developed in recent seasons, Boyd is going to have to be a star to justify this selection.

2nd Round

Broncos DE Jonathan Allen (39th overall) - Talk about a great landing spot! Now I should note that two members of the starting DL will probably retire after the season, but if Allen does succeed Chris Johnson at RE next season, then he will still be starting next to DT Robert Satele and LE Cameron Wake while playing in front of an excellent LB corps and secondary. The history of high-ranking DEs the past four or so seasons have been weird to say the least, but Allen is at least landing on a team that is historically great at DL production and development.

Jets MLB Tanner Vallejo (50th overall) - Some 4-3 teams just seem to have more of a focus on OLBs and some MLBs. I don't know why, but they just do. The Jets have been one of those MLB focused ones until Darryl Miller came along and he was adequate but underwhelming. Perhaps Vallejo will suffer the same fate or even fail to beat out Mike Greer for the starting job, but if Vallejo does earn the job right away, I have a feeling he will be more like Michael McDonald than Miller. That could be, along with DeShaun Watson getting his act together, what the Jets need to get over the hump and back into the playoffs.

49ers OT Reginald Thomas (53rd overall) - I can't think of another team that has seen better OL performance through this project's history than the 49ers. It doesn't matter who is throwing or running with the ball, they all seem to do their job at a very high level. The depth is also pretty thin now. With Tavita Thompson 36, and the aforemention depth, Thomas could see a lot of playing time along the line and eventually become the next great 49ers starting OL

Honorable Menton
Browns QB Ryan Finley (55th overall)

Regret Pick - Giants selecting DE Rich Stevens over a QB, WR, or OLB

I don't hate this pick, but William Gholston put up 7 sacks in half a season, and they spent the 42nd overall pick on a DE last season. While I am a fan of position competition, I would have much rather seen them grab better QB insurance, a WR to probably replace one of their underwhelming non-Maclins, or even a high-end backup OLB. Five of the next seven picks were WR Jakeem Grant, QBs Drew Lock and Kyle Allen, and OLBs Lorenzo Carter and Duke Riley. It will be interesting to see how all these expected backups impact their clubs during their first contract.

3rd Round

Dolphins WR Dede Westbrook (70th overall)
Seahawks WR Chris Moore (83rd overall) - Both of these teams have historically been among the best in terms of slot receiver production and development. The Dolphins may end of fielding a more questionable OL than they had in the past, but they still have QB Sam Keller throwing the ball at least. Both of the WRs in front of Westbrook, and he should likely be in that slot role given they got a 4th WR on Day 3, have each had seasons in their careers with a major injury with Green having a couple of hiccups in other ones. Westbrook could take advantage of any opportunities coming his way. The Seahawks on the other hand will likely be seeing the biggest single offseason overhaul on that side of their in their history. Perhaps their magic with slot receivers goes along with it, but I'm optimistic that it stays, and who knows, perhaps Moore has an outside shot of ascending to the #2 role once DeSean Jackson retires.

It is also interesting to note that their WR selections were both from picks they received from each other in their draft day trade.

Eagles CB Henry Carpenter (79th overall) - The Eagles have been a sneaky great defense of late, and all of their NFC East rivals have significant question marks on offense prior to free agency. Carpenter could thrive in the slot in divisional play alone and if they play well in other games too, he could be a keeper.

Honorable Mention
Cowboys MLB Lawrence Carter (75th overall)

4th Round

Bengals TE Ross Dwelley (108th overall) - Starting TE Charles Clay is 33. This might be the final season from him. While not a TE powerhouse, if one exists, all three starting TEs that I can recall from the Bengals' history became Pro Bowl players while with the club (L.J. Smith, Rob Gronkowski, and Clay). Depending on Dwelley's rating, he could be in prime position to start once Clay hangs it up. Pro Bowl precedence in the 4th is good enough for me to land on this list.

Titans FS Rick McClain (109th overall) - I ate massive crow last season when I said that the Titans would finish out of the Bottom 10 on defense only if there was a league-wide defensive collapse. The Titans finished 9th. While I realize that an ugly, ugly offensive outing from the AFC South probably played a massive role, I have to give credit where credit is due. The Titans need a new starting FS. They probably won't have the finances to grab a marginal free agent upgrade, so for the time being, I'm assuming it comes down to Lonnie Lofton or McClain. A decent amount of starting FSs in the league were Day 3 picks, including Toronto's Eric Reid and Philadelphia's James Riley. I don't know maybe there is something there.

Falcons G Jeff Blades (116th overall) - If the Falcons sign all of their rookies, all OL spots will have met their minimum requirements. If they don't go out and get anyone during free agency, that means the retired Aaron Merz' old spot will likely come down to a trio of Gs and the loser of the LT competition. Sure the odds aren't high, but if he does win it, he will start between Russell Bodine and Tony Ugoh while blocking for budding superstar David Johnson.

Honorable Mention
Jets WR Bam Peterson (114th overall)

5th Round

Jaguars FB Bobby Lindsay (133rd overall) - I'm probably the only person who always employs 2 FBs each season. FBs have rather high injury rate, and given that we are only required to roster one, I would think that it sucks to be forced to head to the free agent pile during the middle of the season. That's why I like to either draft my backup or head get the guy I want before people have to sign a bunch of them as injury replacements. Now the Madden-generated draft era of FBs suck, so maybe I shouldn't be as enthusiastic about backup FBs as I should be, but for now I still covet a backup FB.

Bengals P Michael Dickson (140th overall) - There's something about a team drafting their soon-to-be retired specialist's successor a season early. It's probably the rarity of such an occasion that makes me smile when it does. Dickson was also the top punting prospect and is playing behind a P that I keep forgetting exists as they never challenge for the leaderboard or the end-of-season award. Of course the last few times this has happened has been on accident, the player was not-resigned the following season, or they became Riley Dixon. Still, I like to see it happen.

49ers OLB Levi Chiang (149th overall) - The 49ers have a long history of just getting randomly great seasons from their backup OLBs, and whenever they plug-and-play one due to starter injuries, they don't miss a beat. Maybe he can become the next Ryan Shazier and just have a Defensive Player of the Year season out of nowhere. Anything can happen.

Honorable Mention
Titans C Curtis Williams (141st overall)

6th Round

Chiefs C Zach Wallace (164th overall) - I'm looking through the list not wanting to have to punters more than once and wondering who if anyone here will play meaningful snaps. That's often a good thing because it means that teams won't have to rely on roster fodder, but I guess a backup C works. More than likely the Chiefs would just have a better player substitute if Wallace were to somehow win the job or outright sign a different, better backup if injuries occur.

Seahawks MLB Gino Olson (166th overall) - The Seahawks have had awful injury luck at MLB, but they've also had great production when their backups have been thrust into a starting spot. I wish that I could remember his name without looking at my draft notebook, but they did have a Day 3 MLB back them up for his entire career, and he had a better career line than a lot of MLBs that went before his draft spot in that same and in future drafts. I also like the name Gino.

Patriots DE Joey Henry (184th overall) - Could the Pats possibly start a 6th rounder at DE in a stud DL? Almost certainly not because the clear option is Kris Brown, but I still like the possibility enough to mention it.

Honorable Mention
Any of the three punters taken in the round for obvious reasons and in one case, a similar reason to the Dickson writeup last round.

7th Round

Panthers TE James Thomas (195th overall) - Last season, I spent the 209th selection on a TE that was projected to go undrafted. I was so impressed by his rookie season that I decided to let my 92 TE walk away as a free agent and hand over the reins to Joel Albright. Could it happen again (yes I know Thomas was a projected 6th rounder)? Almost certainly not, but Julius Thomas will likely retire after the season, so who knows?

Cowboys DT Joe Waters (203rd overall) - The Cowboys once selected a DT, Dominic Lee in the 7th to play the rotational DT and first in line with injuries. He thrived there for a long time before getting starting jobs in other places. Waters would be in a slightly different situation because if he were to thrive and get awarded a second contract in Dallas, he could be a sneaky pick to succeed one of Jerrell Powe or Ryan Walker, who are now in their mid-30s.

Bengals OT Mike Aldridge (204th overall) - I mentioned in my draft doc that the Bengals had older starting OTs and weak depth. Aldridge doesn't make the depth any stronger, but it does give him a slightly better shot at sticking there, getting some starts, or even becoming a full-time starter, however unlikely those outcomes are.

Honorable Mention
Vikings C Donny Nash (208th overall)

To Do:
- Favorite team classes

Favorite Three Draft Classes

Denver Broncos
OLB De'Vondre Campbell (7th overall)
DE Jonathan Allen (39th)
OT Sammy Spriggs (71st)
DT Jonathan Forbes (103rd)
FS Rondell Holcombe (135th)
CB Jeremy Gross (167th)
MLB Dan Wilson (199th)

Prior to any free agency signings, most players here are in line for some important playing time as rookies. Campbell will likely take the ROLB spot next to one of the better MLBs in the league in Ben Heeney. Allen was one of my favorite picks in the draft as someone who could have easily gone in the early-to-mid 20s. He should be the clear backup to Chris Johnson who missed 12 games last season. With still a hole to fill at the position, Spriggs is unlikely to win the RT job, but he should carve out the top backup spot there, and you know how OL injuries go. Forbes is in a situation similar to Allen, not so much the starter coming off of injury but that they will be the top backup to some great players that are on the verge of retirement. Gross is the other one that I'd like to highlight as the competition for the slot job is wide open. They already made trades on offense, so the focus on the present and future of the defense made it a great draft to me.

Indianapolis Colts
OT Jonah Williams (2nd overall)
C Erik McCoy (29th)
CB Nate Hairston (34th)
HB Elijah Mitchell (66th)
G Dan Payton (98th)
WR Daunte Taylor (130th)
OLB Marvin Woodside (162nd)

The Colts needed a serious OL facelift, and they got two in the 1st in Williams and McCoy, and a potential backup in Payton in the 4th. CB was in play at #2, and they got one who could have gone in the 1st with their second rounder. He might even start right away. The Colts will still have a hole at HB and definitely enough money to grab a better backup if they want. As of now though, Mitchell will be backing up a relative unknown, so the potential of expanded opportunities is there at least. I thought about disqualifying them for selecting a 5th WR, but I will cut them some slack.

Toronto Wildcats
CB J.C. Jackson (10th overall)
WR Jakeem Grant (42nd)
G Pat Newberry (59th)
TE Will Dissly (74th)
OLB Derrick Stafford (106th)
MLB Darnay Stevens (138th)
OT Germane Franks (170th)

As I mentioned in my favorite picks, I love the potential impact Jackson could have on the defense. The Wildcats' passing attack has been among the league's best under QB Aaron Murray, so Grant could thrive in the slot and potentially work his way to a starting role as one or both the elder WRs in front of him could retire by his fourth season. Things get a little nebulous with the Day 2 picks, but I like the potential. Newberry will join a perennially injured and underperforming OL, so he should get his opportunities. Dissly is the only TE on the roster (once he signs), so there's a chance that Toronto gets someone who will relegate Dissly to the bench. If not, we've seen the career of hall-of-famer Dane Guthrie, so this does seem to be a TE-friendly offense. Backup LBs have done very well with this club, so there's decent odds that at least one of Stafford/Stevens sticks around as an impactful backup.

Honorable Mentions
Miami Dolphins
Seattle Seahawks

Call me crazy but I like what I did with the draft and this trade better then my original idea.

Crazy right

The answer to the poll was OTs with six. QBs, WRs, and CBs landed in 2nd with four each

Free Agency

See all those players in the free agent sheet? Now is the time to attempt to sign them to your team ahead of the preseason. I say attempt because you are in theory competing against the other 31 teams for the services of all available free agents.

Unlike the three offseason events involving signings, the base/desired deal that I will eventually list may not be enough to sign them, and more likely will not if it is one of the premier free agents available. If you do intend to seek out one or more of those players, you will probably want to send out a custom offer in excess of what they want, whether that means years, total money, signing bonus, or what's usually the case, a combination of the three.

You may not offer a contract to a player that goes beyond their age 34 season unless the base deal already extends beyond that. If a free agent is 31 right now and wants a two-year contract, you may go as far as four years because that would take him through his age-34 season (31, 32, 33, 34). If another free agent is also 31 and wants a five-year contract, you can offer him those five years but no more than that. Any player 28 and under is not affected by this rule as the max contract length, seven years, will take them through their age-34 season or younger.

Not every free agent is up on the sheet. I would estimate that somewhere around 20-30% of all free agents are there. The free agent sheet just lists the Top 8 and Bottom 2 at each position. If there's a certain kind of player that you are looking for that either isn't or don't know if they are on the sheet, feel free to ask me, and I will get back to you if such a player fits that description.

There will be three periods of free agency, each subsequent period spanning fewer real life days than the previous one. Here are the tentative real life days each period will last:
1st - 7 days
2nd - 4 days
3rd - 1 day

Here are some sample contract offers that I will accept, including to more simple approaches:
4 / $10.00 mil / $3.00 mil
3 years default + $2 mil total salary + $500k signing bonus
2 years default

When you give me an offer, you are offering my consent to offer the player the closest deal that he will consider, meaning that if you offer 4 / $10.00 mil / $3.00 mil and he will only consider it when it is 4 / $11.00 mil / $3.40 mil, I will offer him the latter. If that does not sit well with you, then you have the simpler options I previously laid out or you can explicitly say not to offer the contract unless he will consider those exact terms.

When you PM me the offers, I want you to include a header that says "[Your Team]'s Offers" so that I don't accidentally open them. In addition to being the commissioner, I am also in charge of the Orcas, so there could be some conflict of interest. Thus, the best way around that is for me to not open those PMs until the deadline for the current phase has passed. I have default PM settings, so you can tell if and when I open a PM of yours. Out of fairness, I will publicly reveal my offers once the deadline has passed and before I open up any PMs.

Under no circumstances may you ask me if so and so player will consider a certain deal or anything of that nature. You may ask me general questions regarding free agency but nothing that goes against the spirit of it or give you a competitive advantage. If you do have a question and use the PM system instead of the topic or Discord, make sure that you are clear that you are asking a question, or I might not open it out of fear the PM will contain contract offers. There is at least one user that violates that and sends me a PM that has no indication of containing offers but lo and behold, it does. Please make our 17th season the first where I don't run into that problem.

There are two types of contract offers that I will immediately discard:
1. Any mentioning of the word maximum pertaining to total salary and/or signing bonus
2. A massive one year contract (possibly two-year contracts depending on the situation)

The first one I have actually received in the past. I threw it out because it is both unfair in the laziest of ways and also impossible as you can go quite high in total salary, and I do not want to spend 30 minutes inputting a single offer.

The second one is also unfair to teams with lots of cap space to maintain artificial flexibility for future seasons by using up a lot of cap space this season and then sign that same player next season to an uncontested market or below-market contract in the following offseason in a process they can repeat as many times as they can/want.

Also due to fairness, any cuts you wish to make during free agency must be done well ahead of time to give other users enough of a chance to make a bid on their services:
- 96 hours prior to the end of Period 1
- 48 hours prior to the end of Period 2
- No cuts allowed in Period 3

Most users should have been told when they signed their rookies in the spreadsheet, Discord, or via PM of their cap space and roster holes entering free agency. If I did not, feel free to consult the roster sheet and compare with the roster requirements listed in the first column or ask me what your holes are. Should free agency end with there still being holes on your roster, the AI will fill those holes for you. You do not have to be under the salary cap at the end of free agency. I will give users several days after free agency ends to do so.

One big thing that I want to add is that many positions are very sensitive to starting status relative to their rating. QBs, HBs, FSs, CBs, and several other positions have expectations to start when they are around 82 or above. If you desire to sign someone at 82+ and are not expecting them to start for you, I highly urge you to offer them a contract no longer than 2 years in length. It is possible that they might demand a trade after just one season, but attempting to sign them to a 1 or 2 year deal will significantly reduce the financial penalty you would be dealt with if having to move on from them while they are still under contract.

QBs
Jimmy Garoppolo - 4 / $38.52 mil / $9.24 mil
A.J. McCarron - 4 / $28.16 mil / $6.12 mil
Jimmy Clausen - 3 / $19.56 mil / $4.11 mil
Matt Ryan - 3 / $19.56 mil / $4.11 mil
Jake Locker - 4 / $26.08 mil / $5.48 mil
Sam Bradford - 3 / $19.56 mil / $4.11 mil
E.J. Manuel - 3 / $18.0 mil / $3.63 mil
Derek Carr - 3 / $18.0 mil / $3.63 mil
Cody Kessler - 5 / $13.4 mil / $2.15 mil
Sean Mannion - 5 / $11.6 mil / $1.85 mil

HBs
DeMarco Murray - 3 / $29.43 mil / $6.51 mil
Tevin Coleman - 4 / $37.0 mil / $7.40 mil
Melvin Gordon - 4 / $37.0 mil / $7.40 mil
Giovanni Bernard - 4 / $34.56 mil / $6.88 mil
Matt Forte - 3 / $24.09 mil / $4.77 mil
Le'Veon Bell - 4 / $32.12 mil / $6.36 mil
Isaiah Crowell - 4 / $29.68 mil / $5.84 mil
Duke Johnson - 4 / $29.68 mil / $5.84 mil
Joe Brown - 4 / $4.96 mil / $640k
Mel Kiper - 1 / $1.03 mil / $10k

FBs
Dennis Sabbatini - 3 / $3.75 mil / $690k
Alec Ingold - 2 / $2.52 mil / $380k
Joey Isoefa - 2 / $2.40 mil / $340k
Leslie Evans - 2 / $2.40 mil / $340k
Craig Moss - 3 / $3.54 mil / $480k
Anthony Lewis - 3 / $3.51 mil / $450k
Danny Vitale - 3 / $3.30 mil / $420k
Clyde Johnson - 3 / $3.45 mil / $390k
Doug Linton - 3 / $2.79 mil / $270k
Emmitt Freeborg - 1 / $780k / $40k

WRs
Brandon Marshall - 3 / $26.13 mil / $4.44 mil
Martavis Bryant - 4 / $30.48 mil / $5.16 mil
Tavon Austin - 4 / $30.48 mil / $5.16 mil
Allen Hurns - 4 / $26.08 mil / $4.40 mil
Marques Colston - 3 / $19.56 mil / $3.30 mil
Davone Bess - 3 / $19.56 mil / $3.30 mil
Derrick McPhearson - 3 / $19.56 mil / $3.30 mil
Jordan Matthews - 4 / $23.88 mil / $4.00 mil
Ian Shelton - 5 / $12.50 mil / $1.80 mil
Elliott Newton - 2 / $4.42 mil / $620k

TEs
David Njoku - 3 / $17.82 mil / $4.05 mil
Travis Kelce - 3 / $17.22 mil / $3.69 mil
Jace Amaro - 3 / $10.65 mil / $1.77 mil
Tate Casey - 3 / $9.93 mil / $1.59 mil
Austin Sef-Jenkins - 3 / $9.93 mil / $1.59 mil
Ladarius Green - 3 / $8.61 mil / $1.29 mil
Larry Donnell - 3 / $8.07 mil / $1.20 mil
Jermaine Gresham - 3 / $7.56 mil / $1.11 mil
Antoine Keenan - 2 / $3.30 mil / $520k
Lance Brown - 4 / $4.96 mil / $560k

OTs
Morgan Moses - 3 / $50.49 mil / $14.5 mil
Ju'Wuan James - 4 / $63.84 mil / $18.4 mil
Jeff Zeigler - 3 / $45.78 mil / $13.1 mil
Kelvin Beachum - 3 / $39.66 mil / $11.2 mil
Marcus McNeill - 3 / $37.56 mil / $10.5 mil
Reggie Youngblood - 3 / $37.56 mil / $10.5 mil
Andre Smith - 3 / $37.56 mil / $10.5 mil
Thomas Herring - 3 / $35.52 mil / $9.96 mil
DeRon Doss - 4 / $10.28 mil / $1.44 mil
Dewayne Wagner - 4 / $6.36 mil / $720k

Gs
Branden Albert - 3 / $28.50 mil / $5.97 mil
Kelechi Osemele - 3 / $28.11 mil / $5.82 mil
Kevin Zeitler - 3 / $27.72 mil / $5.70 mil
Rodney Hudson - 3 / $27.72 mil / $5.70 mil
Jeff Allen - 3 / $27.30 mil / $5.55 mil
Phil Loadholt - 3 / $25.41 mil / $5.16 mil
Cedric Dockery - 3 / $25.41 mil / $5.16 mil
Wes Schweitzer - 3 / $25.41 mil / $5.16 mil
Isaiah Larsen - 4 / $4.64 mil / $560k
Bruce Harry - 3 / $3.18 mil / $420k

Cs
Ethan Pocic - 2 / $10.0 mil / $2.30 mil
David Andrews - 2 / $9.16 mil / $2.06 mil
Travis Frederick - 2 / $8.76 mil / $1.94 mil
Wes Williams - 3 / $13.14 mil / $2.91 mil
Cameron Erving - 2 / $8.34 mil / $1.82 mil
Graham Glasglow - 2 / $7.92 mil / $1.70 mil
Brandon Linder - 3 / $11.22 mil / $2.34 mil
Nick Martin - 3 / $9.99 mil / $1.98 mil
Cortez Powell - 3 / $3.24 mil / $390k
Ray Payton - 2 / $2.22 mil / $220k

DEs
Rich Hopkinson - 4 / $34.64 mil / $8.00 mil
Stephon Tuitt - 4 / $34.64 mil / $8.00 mil
Paul Freeney - 3 / $20.91 mil / $4.53 mil
Johnny Stegall - 3 / $19.23 mil / $4.05 mil
Kyle Johnson - 3 / $14.16 mil / $2.58 mil
Muhammad Wilkerson - 4 / $16.64 mil / $2.80 mil
Gaines Adams - 3 / $10.77 mil / $1.59 mil
Olivier Vernon - 5 / $15.15 mil / $1.85 mil
Lonnie Nash - 4 / $6.28 mil / $720k
Eugene Kelly - 4 / $5.72 mil / $600k

DTs
Amobi Okoye - 2 / $20.26 mil / $3.70 mil
Beau Allen - 4 / $22.92 mil / $4.44 mil
Mike Daniels - 4 / $22.92 mil / $4.44 mil
B.J. Raji - 3 / $17.19 mil / $3.33 mil
Terrance Knighton - 3 / $17.19 mil / $3.33 mil
Ego Ferguson - 4 / $20.68 mil / $4.04 mil
Arthur Jones - 3 / $13.86 mil / $2.76 mil
Matt Kroul - 3 / $13.05 mil / $2.55 mil
Rusty Nystrom - 4 / $7.08 mil / $880k
Dexter Richardson - 4 / $5.16 mil / $480k

OLBs
T.J. Watt - 3 / $23.58 mil / $4.71 mil
Pernell McPhee - 3 / $18.90 mil / $3.69 mil
J.J. Krause - 3 / $9.54 mil / $1.65 mil
Matt Milano - 3 / $9.54 mil / $1.65 mil
Anthony Chickillo - 3 / $9.54 mil / $1.65 mil
Kyle Williams - 3 / $7.98 mil / $1.32 mil
Edgar Jones - 4 / $10.64 mil / $1.76 mil
Elandon Roberts - 4 / $10.24 mil / $1.68 mil
Jaime Justice - 3 / $4.68 mil / $600k
Curtis Ambrose - 3 / $4.35 mil / $510k

MLBs
Clifton Thompson - 3 / $28.86 mil / $6.66 mil
Sam Crooks - 3 / $27.15 mil / $6.09 mil
Austin Zeppuhar - 3 / $21.96 mil / $4.38 mil
Darryl Miller - 3 / $18.51 mil / $3.24 mil
Kevin Minter - 3 / $18.51 mil / $3.24 mil
Joey Kaufman - 3 / $16.80 mil / $2.67 mil
Corey Nelson - 3 / $16.80 mil / $2.67 mil
Brock Hayden - 3 / $15.06 mil / $2.10 mil
Quincy Gamble - 3 / $6.90 mil / $840k
Barry Stradling - 3 / $6.12 mil / $780k

CBs
Larry Stanley - 3 / $21.24 mil / $4.02 mil
Monte Davis - 3 / $13.59 mil / $1.38 mil
John Nelson - 3 / $12.78 mil / $1.32 mil
Eric Rowe - 5 / $19.95 mil / $2.10 mil
Mike Hayes - 5 / $17.20 mil / $1.85 mil
T.J. Carrie - 5 / $17.20 mil / $1.85 mil
Casey Hayward - 5 / $17.20 mil / $1.85 mil
Tony Lippett - 5 / $17.20 mil / $1.85 mil
Marcus Eubanks - 5 / $7.45 mil / $900k
Chris Mills - 4 / $5.96 mil / $720k

FSs
J.J. Wilcox - 3 / $9.78 mil / $1.68 mil
Trent Ford - 3 / $9.78 mil / $1.68 mil
Rob Jackson - 3 / $9.33 mil / $1.56 mil
Barry Church - 3 / $9.33 mil / $1.56 mil
Lous Delmas - 3 / $9.33 mil / $1.56 mil
Alex Odom - 3 / $9.33 mil / $1.56 mil
Devin McCourty - 3 / $9.33 mil / $1.56 mil
Micah Hyde - 4 / $11.60 mil / $1.92 mil
Williams Sylvester - 3 / $3.09 mil / $390k
Brad Holland - 4 / $4.52 mil / $560k

SSs
Clayton Fejedelem - 2 / $9.06 mil / $900k
Landon Collins - 2 / $8.20 mil / $860k
Josh Jones - 2 / $7.76 mil / $840k
Kenny Vaccaro - 3 / $10.38 mil / $1.23 mil
Darwin Thompson - 3 / $9.72 mil / $1.20 mil
Baccari Rambo - 3 / $9.72 mil / $1.20 mil
David Suggs - 3 / $9.06 mil / $1.17 mil
D.J. Swearinger - 3 / $9.06 mil / $1.17 mil
Randall Manson - 2 / $2.94 mil / $380k
Rashaan Gilbert - 2 / $2.80 mil / $340k

Ks
Dan Carpenter - 3 / $4.92 mil / $750k
Aldrick Rosas - 3 / $5.46 mil / $750k
Cedric Grier - 3 / $4.89 mil / $720k
Jason Myers - 3 / $5.25 mil / $720k
Ryan Succop - 3 / $4.80 mil / $630k
Sam Ficken - 3 / $4.56 mil / $630k
Chris Boswell - 3 / $3.60 mil / $540k
Zane Gonzalez - 2 / $2.58 mil / $360k
Byron Kelly - 1 / $700k / $40k
Willie Wright - 1 / $660k / $30k

Ps
Brandon Fields - 3 / $5.13 mil / $960k
Matt Haack - 2 / $2.64 mil / $540k
Bradley Pinion - 3 / $3.66 mil / $600k
Ryan Quigley - 3 / $4.14 mil / $540k
Justin Vogel - 3 / $3.60 mil / $540k
Jacob Richardson - 3 / $4.71 mil / $540k
Cameron Johnston - 2 / $2.26 mil / $360k
JK Scott - 2 / $2.22 mil / $340k
Tiki Dickey - 3 / $2.88 mil / $330k
Richard Griffith - 3 / $2.64 mil / $270k

The deadline to submit offers for the first period of free agency will be 11:59 PM ET on Tuesday, September 20th

Last day for round 1

Submitting offers for R1 of free agency is closed

I will publicly reveal my (aka Orcas) offers before opening up PMs

OT Andrew Whitworth default deal (off-board, 3 years)
G Spencer Drango 5 / $33 mil / $7.50 mil (off-board)
G Bryan Coleman default deal (off-board, 2 years)
G Jeff Nickerson default deal (off-board, 2 years)
DE Kelvin Doleman 2 year default (off-board)
FB Dave Palmer default deal (off-board, 3 years)
TE Jermaine Gresham default deal (off-board, 3 years)

Round 1 of Free Agency Results
Bengals sign QB Matt Stafford to a 3 year deal
Bengals sign RG Cedric Dockery to a 3 year deal
Bengals sign MLB Dont'a Hightower to a 3 year deal
Bengals sign LG Rodney Hudson to a 3 year deal
Bills sign ROLB T.J. Watt to a 7 year deal
Broncos sign QB Mark Sanchez to a 3 year deal
Broncos sign ROLB Kyle Williams to a 3 year deal
Broncos sign RT Reggie Youngblood to a 3 year deal
Browns sign RE Gaines Adams to a 3 year deak
Browns sign ROLB Steve Smith to a 4 year deal
Browns sign RE Greg Hardy to a 3 year deal
Browns sign TE Jordan Thomas to a 2 year deal
Chiefs sign QB A.J. McCarron to a 4 year deal
Chiefs sign TE Lance Brown to a 5 year deal
Chiefs sign RT DeRon Doss to a 4 year deal
Chiefs sign ROLB Benji Fitzgerald to a 3 year deal
Chiefs sign CB Larry Stanley to a 3 year deal
Colts sign LG Jeff Allen to a 3 year deal
Colts sign MLB Kevin Minter to a 3 year deal
Cowboys sign TE Travis Kelce to a 3 year deal
Cowboys sign SS Clayton Fejedelem to a 2 year deal
Cowboys sign LG Austin Brandt to a 2 year deal
49ers sign TE Jace Amaro to a 3 year deal
Giants sign MLB Darryl Miller to a 3 year deal
Orcas sign RG Spencer Drango to a 5 year deal
Orcas sign RT Andrew Whitworth to a 3 year deal
Orcas sign LG Jeff Nickerson to a 2 year deal
Orcas sign FB Dave Palmer to a 3 year deal
Orcas sign LG Bryan Coleman to a 2 year deal
Orcas sign TE Jermaine Gresham to a 3 year deal
Orcas sign LE Kelvin Doleman to a 2 year deal
Panthers sign RE Stephon Tuitt to a 5 year deal
Panthers sign HB Tevin Coleman to a 4 year deal
Panthers sign RG Kevin Zeitler to a 3 year deal
Pioneers sign HB DeMarco Murray to a 4 year deal
Pioneers sign RG Justin Schifano to a 3 year deal
Pioneers sign HB Rashad Jennings to a 3 year deal
Raiders sign QB Sean Mannion to a 5 year deal
Raiders sign FS William Sylvester to a 3 year deal
Raiders sign LT Thomas Herring to a 3 year deal
Rams sign HB Matt Forte to a 3 year deal
Rams sign LE LaMarr Houston to a 3 year deal
Seahawks sign RT Brett Black to a 3 year deal
Seahawks sign LT Marcus McNeill to a 3 year deal
Seahawks sign C Ethan Pocic to a 2 year deal
Seahawks sign RT Morgan Moses to a 3 year deal
Seahawks sign WR Marco Fox to a 3 year deal
Seahawks sign SS Morgan Burnett to a 3 year deal
Steelers sign C Nick Martin to a 3 year deal
Steelers sign RT Keenan Evans to a 3 year deal
Vikings sign SS Andre Cobb to a 3 year deal
Vikings sign WR Brandon Marshall to a 3 year deal
Vikings sign RT Bubba Grant to a 3 year deal
Vikings sign QB Jimmy Garoppolo to a 4 year deal
VIkings sign FB Dennis Sabbatini to a 3 year deal
Washington signs FS Barry Church to a 3 year deal
Washington signs P Brandon Fields to a 3 year deal
Wildcats sign DT Amobi Okoye to a 2 year deal
Wildcats sign TE Tate Casey to a 3 year deal

QBs
Tim Tebow - 3 / $22.65 mil / $5.04 mil
Jimmy Clausen - 3 / $19.56 mil / $4.11 mil
Matt Ryan - 3 / $19.56 mil / $4.11 mil
Jake Locker - 4 / $26.08 mil / $5.48 mil
Dak Prescott - 4 / $26.08 mil / $5.48 mil
Sam Bradford - 3 / $19.56 mil / $4.11 mil
E.J. Manuel - 3 / $18.0 mil / $3.63 mil
Derek Carr - 3 / $18.0 mil / $3.63 mil
Cody Kessler - 5 / $13.4 mil / $2.15 mil
Kyle Lauletta - 3 / $8.04 mil / $1.29 mil

HBs
Melvin Gordon - 4 / $37.0 mil / $7.40 mil
Giovanni Bernard - 4 / $34.56 mil / $6.88 mil
Le'Veon Bell - 4 / $32.12 mil / $6.36 mil
Isaiah Crowell - 4 / $29.68 mil / $5.84 mil
Duke Johnson - 4 / $29.68 mil / $5.84 mil
Jahvid Best - 3 / $16.74 mil / $3.21 mil
Chris Ivory - 3 / $14.91 mil / $2.82 mil
Ben Slater - 3 / $14.91 mil / $2.82 mil
Joe Brown - 4 / $4.96 mil / $640k
Mel Kiper - 1 / $1.03 mil / $10k

FBs
Alec Ingold - 2 / $2.52 mil / $380k
Joey Isoefa - 2 / $2.40 mil / $340k
Leslie Evans - 2 / $2.40 mil / $340k
Craig Moss - 3 / $3.54 mil / $480k
Anthony Lewis - 3 / $3.51 mil / $450k
Danny Vitale - 3 / $3.30 mil / $420k
Clyde Johnson - 3 / $3.45 mil / $390k
Jaret Lewis - 3 / $2.88 mil / $390k
Doug Linton - 3 / $2.79 mil / $270k
Emmitt Freeborg - 1 / $780k / $40k

WRs
Martavis Bryant - 4 / $30.48 mil / $5.16 mil
Tavon Austin - 4 / $30.48 mil / $5.16 mil
Allen Hurns - 4 / $26.08 mil / $4.40 mil
Marques Colston - 3 / $19.56 mil / $3.30 mil
Davone Bess - 3 / $19.56 mil / $3.30 mil
Derrick McPhearson - 3 / $19.56 mil / $3.30 mil
Jordan Matthews - 4 / $23.88 mil / $4.00 mil
Percy Harvin - 3 / $17.91 mil / $3.00 mil
Ian Shelton - 5 / $12.50 mil / $1.80 mil
Elliott Newton - 2 / $4.42 mil / $620k

TEs
David Njoku - 3 / $17.82 mil / $4.05 mil
Austin Sef-Jenkins - 3 / $9.93 mil / $1.59 mil
Ladarius Green - 3 / $8.61 mil / $1.29 mil
Larry Donnell - 3 / $8.07 mil / $1.20 mil
MarQueis Gray - 4 / $9.36 mil / $1.36 mil
Clive Walford - 4 / $9.36 mil / $1.36 mil
Jeff Heuerman - 4 / $9.36 mil / $1.36 mil
Crockett Gilmore - 4 / $9.36 mil / $1.36 mil
Antoine Keenan - 2 / $3.30 mil / $520k
Ernie McPherson - 4 / $7.24 mil / $1.04 mil

OTs
Ju'Wuan James - 4 / $63.84 mil / $18.4 mil
Jeff Zeigler - 3 / $45.78 mil / $13.1 mil
Kelvin Beachum - 3 / $39.66 mil / $11.2 mil
Andre Smith - 3 / $37.56 mil / $10.5 mil
Ereck Flowers - 4 / $41.84 mil / $11.5 mil
Jake Long - 3 / $27.39 mil / $7.41 mil
Anthony Collins - 3 / $27.39 mil / $7.41 mil
Joe Thomas - 3 / $27.39 mil / $7.41 mil
Martin Langham - 2 / $5.10 mil / $760k
Dewayne Wagner - 4 / $6.36 mil / $720k

Gs
Branden Albert - 3 / $28.50 mil / $5.97 mil
Kelechi Osemele - 3 / $28.11 mil / $5.82 mil
Phil Loadholt - 3 / $25.41 mil / $5.16 mil
Wes Schweitzer - 3 / $25.41 mil / $5.16 mil
Garrett Collins - 3 / $23.55 mil / $4.77 mil
Cody Wichmann - 3 / $21.66 mil / $4.38 mil
Max Garcia - 3 / $19.80 mil / $3.99 mil
Austin Blythe - 3 / $19.80 mil / $3.99 mil
Isaiah Larsen - 4 / $4.64 mil / $560k
Bruce Harry - 3 / $3.18 mil / $420k

Cs
David Andrews - 2 / $9.16 mil / $2.06 mil
Travis Frederick - 2 / $8.76 mil / $1.94 mil
Wes Williams - 3 / $13.14 mil / $2.91 mil
Cameron Erving - 2 / $8.34 mil / $1.82 mil
Graham Glasglow - 2 / $7.92 mil / $1.70 mil
Brandon Linder - 3 / $11.22 mil / $2.34 mil
Mike Adams - 3 / $9.99 mil / $1.98 mil
Pat Elflein - 3 / $9.99 mil / $1.98 mil
Cortez Powell - 3 / $3.24 mil / $390k
Ray Payton - 2 / $2.22 mil / $220k

DEs
Rich Hopkinson - 4 / $34.64 mil / $8.00 mil
Paul Freeney - 3 / $20.91 mil / $4.53 mil
Johnny Stegall - 3 / $19.23 mil / $4.05 mil
Kyle Johnson - 3 / $14.16 mil / $2.58 mil
Muhammad Wilkerson - 4 / $16.64 mil / $2.80 mil
Olivier Vernon - 5 / $15.15 mil / $1.85 mil
Vince Hall - 3 / $9.09 mil / $1.11 mil
Roderick Baker - 5 / $14.60 mil / $1.80 mil
Lonnie Nash - 4 / $6.28 mil / $720k
Eugene Kelly - 4 / $5.72 mil / $600k

DTs
Beau Allen - 4 / $22.92 mil / $4.44 mil
Mike Daniels - 4 / $22.92 mil / $4.44 mil
B.J. Raji - 3 / $17.19 mil / $3.33 mil
Terrance Knighton - 3 / $17.19 mil / $3.33 mil
Ego Ferguson - 4 / $20.68 mil / $4.04 mil
Arthur Jones - 3 / $13.86 mil / $2.76 mil
Matt Kroul - 3 / $13.05 mil / $2.55 mil
Jordan White - 3 / $13.05 mil / $2.55 mil
Rusty Nystrom - 4 / $7.08 mil / $880k
Dexter Richardson - 4 / $5.16 mil / $480k

OLBs
Pernell McPhee - 3 / $18.90 mil / $3.69 mil
J.J. Krause - 3 / $9.54 mil / $1.65 mil
Matt Milano - 3 / $9.54 mil / $1.65 mil
Anthony Chickillo - 3 / $9.54 mil / $1.65 mil
Edgar Jones - 4 / $10.64 mil / $1.76 mil
Elandon Roberts - 4 / $10.24 mil / $1.68 mil
Matt Douglas - 4 / $10.24 mil / $1.68 mil
Manuel Carter - 3 / $7.32 mil / $1.17 mil
Jaime Justice - 3 / $4.68 mil / $600k
Curtis Ambrose - 3 / $4.35 mil / $510k

MLBs
Clifton Thompson - 3 / $28.86 mil / $6.66 mil
Sam Crooks - 3 / $27.15 mil / $6.09 mil
Austin Zeppuhar - 3 / $21.96 mil / $4.38 mil
Joey Kaufman - 3 / $16.80 mil / $2.67 mil
Corey Nelson - 3 / $16.80 mil / $2.67 mil
Brock Hayden - 3 / $15.06 mil / $2.10 mil
Chad Carpenter - 3 / $15.06 mil / $2.10 mil
Rey Maualuga - 3 / $13.35 mil / $1.53 mil
Quincy Gamble - 3 / $6.90 mil / $840k
Barry Stradling - 3 / $6.12 mil / $780k

CBs
Monte Davis - 3 / $13.59 mil / $1.38 mil
John Nelson - 3 / $12.78 mil / $1.32 mil
Eric Rowe - 5 / $19.95 mil / $2.10 mil
Mike Hayes - 5 / $17.20 mil / $1.85 mil
T.J. Carrie - 5 / $17.20 mil / $1.85 mil
Casey Hayward - 5 / $17.20 mil / $1.85 mil
Tony Lippett - 5 / $17.20 mil / $1.85 mil
Josh Shaw - 5 / $17.20 mil / $1.85 mil
Marcus Eubanks - 5 / $7.45 mil / $900k
Chris Mills - 4 / $5.96 mil / $720k

FSs
J.J. Wilcox - 3 / $9.78 mil / $1.68 mil
Trent Ford - 3 / $9.78 mil / $1.68 mil
Rob Jackson - 3 / $9.33 mil / $1.56 mil
Lous Delmas - 3 / $9.33 mil / $1.56 mil
Alex Odom - 3 / $9.33 mil / $1.56 mil
Devin McCourty - 3 / $9.33 mil / $1.56 mil
Micah Hyde - 4 / $11.60 mil / $1.92 mil
Matt Culver - 3 / $8.70 mil / $1.44 mil
R.B. Shields - 4 / $4.56 mil / $560k
Brad Holland - 4 / $4.52 mil / $560k

SSs
Landon Collins - 2 / $8.20 mil / $860k
Josh Jones - 2 / $7.76 mil / $840k
Kenny Vaccaro - 3 / $10.38 mil / $1.23 mil
Darwin Thompson - 3 / $9.72 mil / $1.20 mil
Baccari Rambo - 3 / $9.72 mil / $1.20 mil
David Suggs - 3 / $9.06 mil / $1.17 mil
D.J. Swearinger - 3 / $9.06 mil / $1.17 mil
George Iloka - 3 / $8.43 mil / $1.14 mil
Randall Manson - 2 / $2.94 mil / $380k
Rashaan Gilbert - 2 / $2.80 mil / $340k

Ks
Dan Carpenter - 3 / $4.92 mil / $750k
Aldrick Rosas - 3 / $5.46 mil / $750k
Cedric Grier - 3 / $4.89 mil / $720k
Jason Myers - 3 / $5.25 mil / $720k
Ryan Succop - 3 / $4.80 mil / $630k
Sam Ficken - 3 / $4.56 mil / $630k
Chris Boswell - 3 / $3.60 mil / $540k
Zane Gonzalez - 2 / $2.58 mil / $360k
Byron Kelly - 1 / $700k / $40k
Willie Wright - 1 / $660k / $30k

Ps
Matt Haack - 2 / $2.64 mil / $540k
Bradley Pinion - 3 / $3.66 mil / $600k
Ryan Quigley - 3 / $4.14 mil / $540k
Justin Vogel - 3 / $3.60 mil / $540k
Jacob Richardson - 3 / $4.71 mil / $540k
Cameron Johnston - 2 / $2.26 mil / $360k
JK Scott - 2 / $2.22 mil / $340k
Jack Fox - 2 / $2.22 mil / $340k
Tiki Dickey - 3 / $2.88 mil / $330k
Richard Griffith - 3 / $2.64 mil / $270k

The deadline to submit offers for the second period of free agency will be Noon ET on Sunday September 25th

The following spreadsheet-qualifying players have been released with their desired contracts:

HB LeSean McCoy - 3 / $24.09 mil / $4.77 mil
DE Bobby Garlitz - 3 / $14.84 mil / $3.06 mil
TE Nick O'Leary - 2 / $5.04 mil / $740k

1 hour left

MysteriousStan posted...

1 hour left

That's not a lot of time!

Home internet is down, so I am making this quick. Luckily not many players signed.

Round 2 Free Agency Signings
Broncos sign QB Kirby Freeman
Pioneers sign QB Colt McCoy
Pioneers sign C Chad Rose
Raiders sign G Branden Albert
Bills sign QB William maybe Rogers
Bills sign CB Eric Rowe
Bills sign WR Derrick McPhearson
Chiefs sign HB LeSean McCoy
Chiefs sign DE Scott I think Roberts
Panthers sign TE David Njoku
Washington signs CB John Nelson
Wildcats sign QB Kyle Hogan

Final round of free agency ends Noon ET on Monday, September 26th. Please use this periods signings and previous contract posts as your reference.

Free agency has ended.

I absent-mindedly simmed past the offseason, so I don't have access to the signings anymore, but I will get everything up on the spreadsheet soon.

The following are preseason Madden tiers based on the team rating. The tiers are ordered from best-to-worst and the teams within each are alphabetically ordered.

Super Bowl Rematch
Express
Rams

Recent Super Bowl Winners Plus Some Team From Puerto Rico
Dolphins
Orcas
Pioneers
Vikings

Bounceback Teams And Maybe A New AFC North Champion?
Broncos
Steelers
Wildcats

Some More Potential Bounceback Teams
Cowboys
Raiders
Seahawks

Obligatory One-Third of the League
Bears
Bengals
Colts
49ers
Eagles
Jaguars
Jets
Packers
Ravens
Washington

Obligatory One-Third of the League, Part Deux
Bills
Browns
Buccaneers
Chiefs
Falcons
Giants
Lions
Panthers
Patriots
Titans

I'm planning on simming the preseason on Wednesday, October 5th, so user teams must be salary cap compliant by then or I will fix it for you.

Oof hurts being in that bottom tier

I knew I'd free-fall because of cap issues forcing me to tell QB Kirby Freeman to take an early retirement. But DAMN.

Poor Kirby cant catch a break

Eddv posted...

Poor Kirby cant catch a break

"what ever kirby es dum ne ways"

dum pink footballl

I have no idea what purge rate is on B8 anymore but close to a week since last post

I apologize for forgetting to do this until now, but I am going to send out strategy PMs soon. As they usually go out before the preseason is simmed, I have decided to postpone simming that for at least a day, potentially two, so that users have some time to make any changes that they wish based on the offseason. I do want to remind people that you are free to make changes all throughout the regular and postseason, so please keep the PM handy and personally make note of any changes you make.

Coaching Strategies

Each user has an opportunity to alter some portions of how their team operates on the field. Here are the following categories you can change and what they mean.

Base Defense
You have a choice of 4-3 or 3-4. Under a 4-3, you start 2 DTs and 1 MLB. Under a 3-4, you start 2 MLBs and 1 DT.

Run-Pass Offense
The ratio of plays that will be run or pass plays on offense. This is on a sliding 100 point scale.

Conservative-Aggressive Offense
The ratio of plays that will be risk-averse or risky on offense. This is on a sliding 100 point scale.

Running Back Splits
How carries will be split among the top two RBs on your depth chart. This is on a sliding 100 point scale. That being said, I feel like coaches ignore whatever you put under this category and do whatever they please. That or RB2 actually refers to all HBs/FBs/QBs/WRs/TEs who may run with the ball and are not RB1.

Run-Pass Defense
The ratio of plays that will be geared more toward run-stopping or pass-rushing plays on defense. This is on a sliding 100 point scale.

Conservative-Aggressive Defense
The ratio of plays that will be risk-averse or risky on defense. This is on a sliding 100 point scale.

Please do look at the PMs though because there were several head coaching changes this offseason and with those come completely different coaching strategies than what you ran with last season. The big one to look out for is defensive alignment.

The preseason has been simmed. I have updated the schedule and injury sheets.

To do:
- Update depth charts
- Look to see if AI signed anyone
- Division/conference/RotY predictions
- Decide on sim days and starting date
- Create new topic

The Depth Chart sheet should now be updated for preseason events. Please, please, please look over it 10 or however many times it takes for you to fully comprehend what you are seeing. Every season without fail, at least one person is unaware of their depth chart and makes a comment at some point asking why so-and-so player is starting or why another player isn't. The depth charts are updated every season after the postseason as the game automatically re-orders because the AI optimizes it based on preseason performance and position battles. I have nothing to do it with it, so don't ask me why. Just ask me to update it if it bothers you.

Because the other type of prediction takes so much longer, I'm going to do rookies first. Rookie of the Year predictions based on the current injury and depth chart landscape. Remember that OL are not naturally considered for the award, so they will not be included.

Offense:
1. Raiders HB Chris Carson
2. Seahawks QB Gardner Minshew
3. 49ers QB Kyler Murray
4. Dolphins WR Dede Westbrook
5. Wildcats TE Will Dissly

Defense:
1. Broncos ROLB DeVondre Campbell
2. Falcons DT D.J. Reader
3. Patriots MLB Neville Hewitt
4. Ravens SS Antonio Hanks
5. Vikings LOLB Duke Riley

AFC West Prediction

1. Portland Express
2. Denver Broncos
3. Oakland Raiders
4. Kansas City Chiefs

The Express had a busy offseason, but the reigning AFC Champions are still the favorite in not only the AFC West but probably the entire AFC and maybe even NFL. They are elite on both sides of the ball, and they escaped with minor injuries. They do have a first place schedule, but they play the NFC East out-of-conference, who had no teams with winning records last season, and the AFC North in-conference, which isn't a particularly daunting division based on recent seasons. The big question is if choosing Lamar Miller, who had a career year with the club, over the recently oft-injured but still a premier runner in DeMarco Murray at HB will drastically change the dynamics of this offense which has predicated itself on a balanced, mistake-free game that has done wonders for them. They should still be playoff locks, but if Miller is more like his Rams version, then suddenly the division may not be so simple.

The Broncos had a bizarre first-half last season before exhibiting what we thought they would en route to be maybe the best second-half team in the NFL last season. They see quite a few changes entering this one. They replace 2/5 of their OL, see a new #1 WR, and drafted this season's highest-rated rookie. They were in the conference title game just two seasons ago and have rarely finished with a losing record. They leave the preseason with a minor injury to a backup. They seem like one of the better bets to go from a Top 10 pick to into the playoffs. With a third place schedule that has them facing the Bills and Jaguars who could finish with high picks, they could unseat the Express in the division or at least be a favorite for a Wild Card.

The Raiders finally invested in the OL, but they unfortunately have one of the worst offensive skill groups in the league. Still, at least their OL shouldn't be the pushovers they have been after years of managemental neglect there. The team is defined by their defense, and they should still be great there even with the long-term injury to former Defensive Player of the Year MLB Vontaze Burfict. While not as defensively adept as them, you are probably looking at a recent Colts situation here where the defense will win them games, but the offense will be bad enough to prevent them from being a realistic playoff threat until next season if QB DeShaun Gaines improves and HB Chris Carson isn't too terrible with efficiency.

After six seasons of being an above-average QB, in terms of passer rating, while being more of a gun slinger, former #1 overall pick Jimmy Garoppolo is replaced with the more efficient game manager in A.J. McCarron. While he won't help recent first round picks be award threats, McCarron should be far less prone of the single-game stinkers Jimmy G would throw up at inopportune times. They took a gamble by not releasing HB LeGarrette Blount and hoped nobody would attempt sign HBs DeMarco Murray or Matt Forte as their current HB situation would have put them at a disadvantage. Their gamble went bust, but they did get a great consolation prize when LeSean McCoy and his 4.3 career YPC was released. Their OL situation is not great in terms of talent and production, capping both the offensive ceiling and floor of this team. The defense has been the better side of this team the past few seasons, and that should remain even with the unit having more underachievers than you would like. I don't see this as a bad team, but given how even the league was last season, they could still very well pick in the Top 10 at the end. I'm a little intrigued by this team, not as a playoff threat but simply seeing how the new pieces perform. This could be a fun little team.

AFC East

1. Miami Dolphins
2. New York Jets
3. Buffalo Bills
4. New England Patriots

The Dolphins have the best skill position group on offense, but that OL is in the worst state it has ever been in, and they will be without one starter for roughly half the season. They lost star-in-the-making C Frank Ragnow in RFA, and they let both of their former Top 10 picks OTs walk, including two-time Co-OL of the Year in Morgan Moses. They still have arguably the best interior OL in the league in RG Laurent Duvernay-T as well as a long-time great in LG Max Jean-Gilles, but will the likes of QB Sam Keller and HB Jacquizz Rodgers help lift up the lesser OL or will they suffer because of the much lower skill level? The defense should still be elite. They lost two starters from last season, but I wouldn't rank either among their Top 7 most important defenders, so while it will be a loss, it shouldn't have a big negative impact. The rest of the division had a chance to take advantage of the offseason the Dolphins had, but they mostly took a one step forward, one step back approach. Overall, they probably have the most stars in the league, so they are still a Super Bowl threat, but they have only been to one Super Bowl since I left, and they certainly aren't the favorites on paper from the AFC to begin the year.

I feel like I say this every season, but I can see 2-4 going in any order. If not for Deshaun Watson having one of the worst seasons by a QB in our history (55.8 passer rating, 51.9 completion %), the Jets are in the playoffs. They had a breakout season by HB Joe Mixon, the OL played great, and while the defense as a whole was around average, statistically they experienced poor luck in terms of overall ranking and they have plenty of elite or great players starting for them. Current management has improved the team's record each season at the helm, so it feels like they are on the cusp of making it back into the playoffs after being one of the more consistent AFC playoff teams in the Fenny era. They have no injuries to begin the year, and given their schedule, they could start as well as 4-1. The back-half of the schedule has so many away games, but most of them are winnable. If they would have been more aggressive in acquiring talent in the offseason like they were last season, I would feel better as slotting them as a wild card team, but they should be a playoff threat all season.

I think the Bills took a decent step backwards offensively. They let A.J. McCarron walk after he's been the best QB for them since Brady Quinn. In his place will be recent 1st round pick Josh Allen who was a disaster last season. They also let Branden Albert walk, who wasn't performing as well as his price tag, but the natural OT has been at worst an above-average G and one of the better blocks along the interior. On defense, they continued their efforts to be the premier satellite team for the Dolphins by grabbing DT Jordan Phillips and OLB T.J. Watt. They have lots of question marks still on defense, especially in the secondary, but the middle of the DL and LBs should be the main strength of the team. As they have been for the past several seasons, injury luck is on their side as they were one of a handful of teams to escape the preseason unscathed. They do not have a difficult schedule, so they should be a fringe wild card contender like they have been for the past few years. Given the construction of their team, the margin for error is pretty slim, and several players will have to take significant leaps forward.

If there's one team to look at to see just how much an elite OL and starting HB can do for a team, look no further than the Patriots who were so close to finishing with the #1 seed in the AFC last season with QB Sam Bradford at QB and a defense that took a decent step back. With an OL that had 348 blocks against 25 sacks allowed and a HB with more than 2000 total yards for the second time in the past three seasons and with a 4.4 YPC, they defeated a lot of great teams last season. The crushing playoff defeat notwithstanding, they had a base recipe for success, but the rest of the team let them down. Now the rest of the team is worse on paper, well the defense at least. Two of their DL from last season are either gone or injured for the year, there's a new and far less talented MLB with a second-year OLB next to him, and the secondary is hanging by a thread outside of CB Shaquill Griffin. The defense could be a sneaky candidate to finish in the Bottom 10, which would normally crush any chances to be in the playoffs, but the Bears and Lions last season showed you need great luck, especially regarding turnovers. They will likely though need to make strides in the passing game remain a playoff threat, but given how poor they have been the past several seasons, I will need to see it to believe it.

AFC North

1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Cincinnati Bengals
3. Baltimore Ravens
4. Mexico City Browns

Decent but not elite at any of the three phases of the game, the Steelers effectively bring back the same team sans a modest improvement at CB. That might just be good enough in this division. They will be without QB Mike Glennon for a good chunk of the season, and given how rookie QBs (backup is a rookie) tend to fare, that will put the onus on the average Christian McCaffrey to be better than that. They do have a first-half schedule featuring some great or much improved defenses that could feast on this offense. As a whole though, their schedule is likely to be one of the easiest in the leagues, so they can make a run in the second half. There's not a lot to be excited about this team outside of a couple individual players, but boring can be good in terms of football success, and that's just maybe what's in store for the Steelers this season.

The Bengals, as I have mentioned numerous times in Discord, had the league's top offense last season. QB Andy Dalton has a revelation for them, and former #1 overall pick HB Derrick Henry led the league in rushing YPC. There's a good receiving corps, and the OL was beefed up in terms of starters. While it would be a lot to ask for them to repeat as #1, they should remain great on that side. The defense is the only question mark. They spent some resources on the secondary, and the front seven youth has shown some improvement. The Bengals haven't made the playoffs since S9, but this season looks like an opportunity to end their drought. They easily have the highest ceiling out of any team in the division, but because the defense has been iffy the past few seasons, I want to temper my expectations and take a need-to-see-it-to-believe-it approach.

The Ravens, like the Patriots, have a an elite OL and running game with question marks elsewhere. Maybe that's being a bit unfair to the Ravens who have won the division for five straight seasons and are coming off of another great defensive season and have a pair of quality pass-catchers in WR Michael Crabtree and TE Eric Ebron. Still, I am a little down on them coming into the regular season. While QB Kirby Freeman was not a good fit for the team, a rookie starting QB gives me greater concern especially with the high bust rate at the position. Sam Darnold could turn out fine, but the odds are very high he will not have a good rookie season. The defense also loses three starters. Maybe DE Stephon Tuitt won't be missed, but MLB Sam Crooks and CB Zachary Bowman certainly will. The Ravens tend to be a team that stymies opposing offenses without much of the playmaking stats (sacks, INTs, FFs/FRs). Losing SS Damontae Kazee for roughly a third of the season isn't a huge blow, but it doesn't help when they have lost quite a bit of defensive talent.This could be the season the defense takes a considerable step backwards. I hope it doesn't since we have a newer user in charge of them, but it's just a feeling.

The Browns did more to set up for future seasons and try to remain competitive in the interim than construct a playoff caliber team this season. They are one of the few teams I feel confident will not be in the playoffs, but I am excited to see what kind of impact former MVP and two-time SB champion QB Josh Portis will have on this offense. They definitely needed a jolt and for their OL to improve. Dual-threat QBs have a long history of doing just that, with Bobby Reid in Tampa Bay being a recent example. The defense has pretty much hit rock-bottom in their short era of playing in a 3-4 defense. Unless they see a considerable improvement, I would strongly consider this being the final season in that base defense.

AFC South

1. Columbus Pioneers
2. Indianapolis Colts
3. Jacksonville Jaguars
4. Tennessee Titans

The Pioneers endured a really rough injury season on the defensive side, but they toughed it out for a great defensive year. They already begin this year with a long-term injury to an OLB, but I have faith in them. The offense was the main issues for their 7-9 record, which was good enough for the division, but they put considerable resources there. They have a new backup QB, starting HB, starting Gs, and rookie sensation MIke McGlinchey has won the job at LT. I think the Pioneers have a case to having both of the best acquisitions of the offseason in trading for SS Keanu Neal and signing HB DeMarco Murray. Murray might be the best HB the franchise has ever had, and rebalances this offseason after two years of a poor running game. They unfortunately play the NFC West out of conference, who could be the league's most improved division, but I only see three games they are clear underdogs in (away games against Rams, Dolphins, and Express). With their talent and level of play, I could see them go from a losing record to in the Super Bowl.

There are few teams that I am more curious and excited to see than the Colts. They have probably been the best defensive team outside of the Rams, Express, and Dolphins the past few seasons, but their dreadful offense has prevented them from reaching the heights of those three. While clearly still not on their level, the Colts might be legit playoff contenders now. QB Baker Mayfield had the most promising rookie season out of all the QBs last season, and there was a lot to like about rookie HB Jamaal Williams (dual-threat, very low fumble rate). By spending two 1sts and some free agent dough on new starting OL, the offense has a chance of exiting the Bottom 10. The defense brings everyone back except #2 CB John Nelson is replaced with Mackenzie Alexander who has risen to the top spot. By virtue of wacky shenanigans, the Colts are blessed with a last place schedule and get the Chiefs and Browns. They also have no injuries to begin the year. I don't want to give mccheyne too high of hopes, but things are looking much better this season.

The Jaguars should have been in the playoffs if not for the stubborness of letting rookie third-string HB Kenneth Dixon start the final four games, all losses with Dixon providing a 3.1 YPC. I'm also not a fan of what they did in the first round of the draft, nor losing rising star DE Mario Edwards Jr., but they given they acquired QB Kirk Cousins (great but frequently injured) and RT Riley Reiff, I'm feeling much better about the offense this season. Still, HB Eddie Lacy has not been a good HB with the Jags (rushing YPC of 3.8 and 3.6 in his two seasons) and Terrelle Pryor, who will miss at least three games, is the only pass-catcher worth a damn. I may feel much better, but that doesn't mean I'm expecting the offense to do better than average at best. The defense is where the Jags can see a lot of improvement. I feel like the defense was actually good last season, but the offense was so poor in the second half that they had to be on the field so often and in bad situations that it led to their 20-something ranking. They have a good DL and secondary, and the highly drafted LB corps (two Top-10 picks and an early 2nd rounder) has started to show signs of life. If the both sides make some strides, the Jags are a division and wild card contender. If not, it could be a long season in Jacksonville.

There was a lot I got right and wrong about the Titans last season. To start with the positive from the Titans perspective, they did not finish in the Bottom 10 on defense, they finished 9th. Granted a major part of that was the poor offensive showings by every team in their division, which is a huge chunk of their schedule, and I will need to see it again to not call it a fluke, but despite the talent issues, maybe I shouldn't be so hard on them on that side of the ball. I did say that I did not like their two first round selections because of their offensive situation and that QB Ben Olson was a poor fit for the club. I did not expect Olson to be a complete disaster, but I guess the Titans are rolling with him again. There is very little to believe in this offense. I would say that they are most likely to finish in the 30s and at best the 20s. They have no viable starting HB to speak of as of this moment, and they have no legit second receiving threat. The OL is doing all it can, but Hall of Fame finalist Mike Jones retired, and OT Germain Ifedi will be out for at least six weeks, which includes both games against the Pioneers, the Dolphins, and improved Wildcats club. It would not be a shock if they begin the season 1-4 or 0-5. The second-half schedule is better but not many games they should be the favorites in. I just don't see this team competing for a playoff spot.