Twitter: Cowboys to sign Cameron Fleming

The signings of M. Martin and Fleming induced the same reaction I had when Dallas signed Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings or Byron Bell, Paea, Mayowa and Nolan Carroll. I viewed them all as meh...didn't see any as good players or even good contributors.

I could end up being wrong and that would be great. I'm happy if I end up wrong on the quality of player and the impact they may have on the field in 2018/beyond.

slick325 said:

The signings of M. Martin and Fleming induced the same reaction I had when Dallas signed Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings or Byron Bell, Paea, Mayowa and Nolan Carroll. I viewed them all as meh...didn't see any as good players or even good contributors.

I could end up being wrong and that would be great. I'm happy if I end up wrong on the quality of player and the impact they may have on the field in 2018/beyond.

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I was just thinking about this comparison. However, I believe when we signed Nate Livings there were a lot of questions about his play. Fleming is a young player who seems to be on the rise, much like Jermey Parnell was when he left here for greener pastures. Martin is probably fairly comparable to those players, though.

Frankly, I would look to add a lineman in the third or fourth round. These players just keep it from being a first-round priority.

Cameron Fleming profile:

Cameron Fleming has had an interesting journey with the Patriots filled with some highs and lows. The 25-year-old tackle was taken in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Stanford to then only be cut and land on the team's practice squad a year later in 2015. Fleming was then brought back onto the active roster and fast forward to the 2017 season he was starting in Super Bowl LII.

That was in part due to injuries, but in all the 6-foot-6, 320 pounder was pretty stout in the second half of the season filling in for Marcus Cannon along with LaAdrian Waddle. Now, Fleming enters free agency and should be in fairly high demand given his strong second half in 2017 along with various teams in need of help along their offensive line.

Here's a more succinct breakdown of his free agent profile along with what we believe his fate with the Patriots will be:

Age: 25

Position: Offensvie Tackle

Years in the NFL: 4

Previous contract: 1-year, $1.79 million

Stats (via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald): Six sacks, QB hit and six pressure

Prediction: Doesn't re-sign with Patriots

Ultimately, if Cannon is healthy he is their starting right tackle and New England likely won't pay top dollar for a swing tackle when they also have to focus on re-signing starting left tackle Nate Solder. According to Pro Football Focus, Fleming is the top free agent tackle when looking at pass blocking efficiency and if other tackle starved NFL teams buy into that it wouldn't be all too surprising to see them throw a boatload of money at Fleming who'll be just 26 at the beginning of next season.

gimmesix said:

I was just thinking about this comparison. However, I believe when we signed Nate Livings there were a lot of questions about his play. Fleming is a young player who seems to be on the rise, much like Jermey Parnell was when he left here for greener pastures. Martin is probably fairly comparable to those players, though.

Frankly, I would look to add a lineman in the third or fourth round. These players just keep it from being a first-round priority.

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Admittedly, their ages could lead to potential development or growth. Like I said Gimme, if I'm wrong, I'm perfectly ok with that.

Guess I'll wait and see.

https://www.battleredblog.com/2018/...ton-texans-should-have-signed-cameron-fleming

Good read on Fleming from a writer upset the Texans didn't sign CF

One year, max value $3.5M per Rapoport.

Alexander said:

One year, max value $3.5M per Rapoport.

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That's a steal

phildadon86 said:

That's a steal

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That is upper level swing tackle type money.

waving monkey said:

or maybe Collins stays at RT and Fleming swings. I doubt it but there is hope.

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Ideally that would be my preference. I don't like to see guys get bounced around and have to learn new positions if it can be avoided.
A guy can be a beast at 1 position or average at 2.

slick325 said:

The signings of M. Martin and Fleming induced the same reaction I had when Dallas signed Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings or Byron Bell, Paea, Mayowa and Nolan Carroll. I viewed them all as meh...didn't see any as good players or even good contributors.

I could end up being wrong and that would be great. I'm happy if I end up wrong on the quality of player and the impact they may have on the field in 2018/beyond.

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Well said. I fully expect them to be borderline average players, but I hope they are above average .

Alexander said:

That is upper level swing tackle type money.

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From reading the scouting report that is posted above, I would think that he should have been signed for more money. If he really is good at pass protection, I would think that several teams would have tried to sign him. There are teams needing tackles that has much more cap money available. The Patriots let both starting tackles walk, so there must be some truth to the rumor that the owner and GM/coach are not seeing eye to eye on the team. It is almost like Bill is purposely putting the team in a bad position.

gimmesix said:

Cameron Fleming profile:

Cameron Fleming has had an interesting journey with the Patriots filled with some highs and lows. The 25-year-old tackle was taken in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Stanford to then only be cut and land on the team's practice squad a year later in 2015. Fleming was then brought back onto the active roster and fast forward to the 2017 season he was starting in Super Bowl LII.

That was in part due to injuries, but in all the 6-foot-6, 320 pounder was pretty stout in the second half of the season filling in for Marcus Cannon along with LaAdrian Waddle. Now, Fleming enters free agency and should be in fairly high demand given his strong second half in 2017 along with various teams in need of help along their offensive line.

Here's a more succinct breakdown of his free agent profile along with what we believe his fate with the Patriots will be:

Age: 25

Position: Offensvie Tackle

Years in the NFL: 4

Previous contract: 1-year, $1.79 million

Stats (via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald): Six sacks, QB hit and six pressure

Prediction: Doesn't re-sign with Patriots

Ultimately, if Cannon is healthy he is their starting right tackle and New England likely won't pay top dollar for a swing tackle when they also have to focus on re-signing starting left tackle Nate Solder. According to Pro Football Focus, Fleming is the top free agent tackle when looking at pass blocking efficiency and if other tackle starved NFL teams buy into that it wouldn't be all too surprising to see them throw a boatload of money at Fleming who'll be just 26 at the beginning of next season.

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Good stuff here, thanks for sharing.

I give credit to the front office that they were able to get a guy predicted to get "a boatload of money" for a contract that maxes out at $3.5 million.

I don’t expect much from anyone other than Cam. The rest are role players and or depth/ST guys. If new guy Martin plays this year as a starter, I think that means something bad has happened.

John813 said:

https://www.battleredblog.com/2018/...ton-texans-should-have-signed-cameron-fleming

Good read on Fleming from a writer upset the Texans didn't sign CF

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That's a nice endorsement from an opponent there. Begrudgingly, but an endorsement just the same.

canters said:

I don’t expect much from anyone other than Cam. The rest are role players and or depth/ST guys. If new guy Martin plays this year as a starter, I think that means something bad has happened.

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Or will happen. From the posts I'm reading, the loss of Cooper at left guard is being minimized and players like Martin are being talked up as better than they truly are to help folks to feel better, when it's not the case.

stasheroo said:

Good stuff here, thanks for sharing.

I give credit to the front office that they were able to get a guy predicted to get "a boatload of money" for a contract that maxes out at $3.5 million.

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I will say that I do have concerns about him. He's a technique guy so he gets in trouble when his technique gets sloppy because he's not a natural mover. At worst, I think he probably will be on the level of Free. If we're not prepared to live with that, then getting a starter still needs to be a priority. However, I think Dallas believes he's a starter. I'd still like to see us get an offensive lineman in the third or fourth to try to groom as competition or as a replacement next year. And I wouldn't be mad if we drafted someone like Hernandez in the first, although it would keep us from strengthening our defense with that pick.

gimmesix said:

I will say that I do have concerns about him. He's a technique guy so he gets in trouble when his technique gets sloppy because he's not a natural mover.

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I agree. While I like the signing, I actually liked Waddle better, and obviously the Patriots did too. But I choose to give the Cowboys credit for realizing that they had to address the tackle position. Swing tackle at a minimum.

At worst, I think he probably will be on the level of Free. If we're not prepared to live with that, then getting a starter still needs to be a priority. However, I think Dallas believes he's a starter. I'd still like to see us get an offensive lineman in the third or fourth to try to groom as competition or as a replacement next year.

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I think "at worst", he's better than Byron Bell or Chaz Green, so if either Smith or Collins miss time, the team doesn't go off the rails like last year.

For the record, I'd be fine with drafting a young offensive tackle, as long as it's not Kolton Miller. I think I saw that they had a visit with him lined up and the more I see of him, the worse he looks. And he sounds dumb as a box of rocks too.

stasheroo said:

I think "at worst", he's better than Byron Bell or Chaz Green, so if either Smith or Collins miss time, the team doesn't go off the rails like last year.

For the record, I'd be fine with drafting a young offensive tackle, as long as it's not Kolton Miller. I think I saw that they had a visit with him lined up and the more I see of him, the worse he looks. And he sounds dumb as a box of rocks too.

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Yeah, I probably gave him too much credit with the comparison to Free at worst, but I guess I was thinking of Free when he was at his worst.

stasheroo said:

Or will happen. From the posts I'm reading, the loss of Cooper at left guard is being minimized and players like Martin are being talked up as better than they truly are to help folks to feel better, when it's not the case.

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Agreed. I still would not mind an OT or OG in the top three. We really need a front 7 guy on D but an OT or or would be nice as well.

Our 1st three picks should be a pocket-collapsing DT , LB and Safety........................Then this front office can drool about being contenders.