Free Agent Safeties for Consideration

[viper]

From Sporting News here is a list of both free safeties and strong safety free agents for consideration. Anything you can add about particular players would be appreciated.

You're DeSpags, do you target any of these players, plan on drafting your safety(s) or promote one of our current players?

It should be noted that some of these players may not be available do to the current status of unresolved CBA. Players that would normally be free agents after four years after they were drafted by their original team may be locked up for two additional years or until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place.

1. Eric Weddle, 26, Chargers. The team wants the Pro Bowler back badly, and for many reasons. He always has been a good tackler at 5-11, 200, and in the past two years he's developed into a big playmaker (two interception returns for touchdowns). At his age, we haven't seen his best yet.

2. Donte Whitner, 25, Bills. Buffalo is catching a break because without a new CBA, Whitner is restricted, and he was just offered a tender for the 2011 season. Although Whitner doesn't offer much against the pass, he's like an extra run-stopping linebacker (140 tackles in 2010).

3. Dawan Landry, 28, Ravens. Ed Reed gets the flash for the interceptions, but playing next to him Landry has been a steady strong safety, complementing what Reed. Durable at 6-0, 210, he'll remain a fine starter elsewhere.

4. Danieal Manning, 28, Bears. Manning thrived in his first year as a starter at free safety and doubled as an effective kickoff returner. He just rejected a three-year, $6 million deal to stay, and Chicago must hope the CBA again makes him a restricted free agent.

5. Michael Huff, 27, Raiders. It took a while for the seventh-overall pick of the 2006 draft to find his grove, but he enjoyed a bit of breakout with 94 tackles, four sacks and a second consecutive three-interception year. It will be tough for Oakland to bring him back because he'll draw plenty of interest.

Old guy for a young team

• Quintin Mikell, 30, Eagles. In eight seasons, he quietly has been an all-around producer, playing the run and pass equally well. More impressive is how he has become a leader on one of the league's most consistent defenses.

Rebound potential

• Gerald Sensabaugh, 28, Cowboys. Last season was a disappointment because of coverage lapses that led to some big pass plays. Still, his production -- 71 tackles, 10 passes defended, five interceptions, two sacks -- can't be ignored.

One-trick safety

• Bernard Pollard, 28, Texans. He's a name everyone knows after Tom Brady's knee injury in 2008, and in Houston the past two years he remained a relentless hitter. Although he has improved in coverage, he should be looked at more as a pure run-support player.

End of the line

• Bob Sanders, 30, Colts. Sanders had one spectacular season in 2007, but has played in only nine games since. At just 5-8 and 206 pounds, it's admirable the way he throws around his body to make plays. Even at a discounted price, you can't count on him to be healthy for even one game.

Free-agent safeties

Hamza Abdullah, 27, Arizona
Husain Abdullah, 25, Minnesota*
Gerald Alexander, 26, Carolina
Jordan Babineaux, 28, Seattle
Josh Barrett, 26, New England*
Atari Bigby, 29, Green Bay
C.C. Brown, 28, Detroit
Courtney Brown, 27, N.Y. Giants
Josh Bullocks, 28, Chicago
Tyrone Carter, 34, San Diego
Sean Considine, 28, Jacksonville
Reed Doughty, 28, Washington
Abram Elam, 29, Cleveland
Hiram Eugene, 30, Oakland
Eric Frampton, 27, Minnesota
Aaron Francisco, 27, Indianapolis
Matt Giordano, 28, New Orleans
Dashon Goldson, 26, San Francisco*
Deon Grant, 31, N.Y. Giants
Ken Hamlin, 30, Indianapolis
Roman Harper, 28, New Orleans
Michael Huff, 27, Oakland
Michael Johnson, 26, N.Y. Giants
Dawan Landry, 28, Baltimore
Michael Lewis, 30, St. Louis
Bret Lockett, 24, New England*
Corey Lynch, 25, Tampa Bay*
Danieal Manning, 28, Chicago
Brandon McGowan, 27, New England
Jon McGraw, 31, Kansas City
Quintin Mikell, 30, Philadelphia
Lawyer Milloy, 37, Seattle
Ryan Mundy, 26, Pittsburgh*
Chinedum Ndukwe, 25, Cincinnati
Donnie Nickey, 30, Tennessee
Paul Oliver, 26, San Diego
Jarrad Page, 26, New England
Charlie Peprah, 28, Green Bay
Sabby Piscitelli, 27, Cleveland
Bernard Pollard, 26, Houston
Brodney Pool, 26, N.Y. Jets
Pierson Prioleau, 33, New Orleans
Chris Reis, 27, New Orleans
Bob Sanders, 30, Indianapolis
Gerald Sensabaugh, 27, Dallas
Darren Sharper, 35, New Orleans
Eric Smith, 27, N.Y. Jets
Matt Ware, 28, Arizona
Pat Watkins, 28, San Diego
Eric Weddle, 26, San Diego
John Wendling, 27, Detroit
Donte Whitner, 25, Buffalo
Roy Williams, 30, Cincinnati
Eugene Wilson, 30, Houston
George Wilson, 29, Buffalo
Gibril Wilson, 29, Cincinnati
Usama Young, 25, New Orleans

* - restricted free agent

[THOLTFAN81]

weddle would make atogwe a distant memory.

[TylerBishop]

Weddle is the only real replacement, and I would still prefer atogwe

everything else is a downgrade

I think Robert Sands may be our second round pick though. Devaney said he was drouling over someone at safety in the draft and Sans was the only one we interviewed. BTW, Sands is my favorite prospect too.

[sjacksonrules]

Lawyer malloy all the way that guys still got ten years left.

[LARAM]

I'm all about Sands as well. It would be like a Safety with the size of Randy Moss running around in our backfield. Someone who who could jump as high as any WR in the league, picking off QB's all day long. He's also a solid tackler

[r8rh8rmike]

No need to worry about Sanders, he signed a one year deal with the Chargers.

[39thebeast]

In spags system i could see all but Manning and Whitner playing at the same level or higher. Safeties are enforcers in this system and must be versatile. Landry and Huff are young versatile and most importantly for this system physical. They also can play both strong and free safety which is verry important to Spags so they would top my list.

[TekeRam]

Well, I hope that we ALL see that now Safety is a CRITICAL need, above everything else in my mind, as we just lost one of the best defenders on the team rather than even just a starter. As long as we re-sign Clayton, WR doesn't even compare to our need at safety now. We need to be in the market now for two safeties, and cannot deal with less than one. Pretty much, we need to snap one of those top five, with my preference towards Landry and Weddle.

Other safeties that I would target would be Atari Bigby, Brodney Pool, Jarrad Page and Aaron Franscico, with the last two as assuming that Indy and NE draft well and they can be very effective starters.

Another option, in my opinion, would be if one of the top corners drop in the first round(Peterson or more likely Amukamara, which is better, as I see him a huge lockdown corner), would be to possibly convert Bartell to free safety(as he was a corner/FS hybrid coming into the NFL). My only problem would be that Bartell is currently our best cover guy, and moving him to safety would mean he gets less man coverage assignments.

[jmax12]

Weddle is the only real replacement, and I would still prefer atogwe

everything else is a downgrade

I think Robert Sands may be our second round pick though. Devaney said he was drouling over someone at safety in the draft and Sans was the only one we interviewed. BTW, Sands is my favorite prospect too.

i agree completely with this, and i am also a really big fan of sands and i hope we get the opportunity to draft him.

[GROUND DOG 39]

This is one area of the team where I have total faith in DeSpags to find a replacement for Otogwe. Spags is especially adept at finding good players through the draft since he has been in St.Louis or plugging an existing player on the roster into the breach. I have faith in them with the Otogwe release and believe we wont miss a beat. HOPEFULLY,FINGERS CROSSED.
WR is another matter entirely ????
GO RAMS