Doug Free's second injury in one year

[Galian Beast]

A lot of people were saying that Doug Free should be brought back next year, and for a while I was starting to give a lot of credence to that.

Now I don't think so. Here are a few points that I think need to be considered.

- Offense needs to get cheaper overall with the need to improve this defense while signing players like Bryant, and potentially Murray. This suggests that we need to find a player in the draft that can replace Free.

- By resigning Free, we're taking time away from a replacement, that almost certainly will have to come at some point, and that will take time away from building that chemistry going forward.

- If we draft a rookie who is not ready to play next year, we could at least use Parnell as a one year stopgap.

- Free is obviously getting up there in age, and we're seeing that in his recovery time from injuries.

For a reasonable price I was onboard with him coming back for maybe 2 years on a 3 year deal, but I think the focus needs to be on drafting another right tackle. Ironically RT might be the only position we can really get our value for in the next draft given where we are going to be drafting.

 

[Eddie]

Martin will be moved over to RT. We can find a serviceable OG as well as draft a plug in player for cheap.

 

[Risen Star]

Agreed. Allocate those resources elsewhere and get younger. Martin gives you options to target a RG or RT.

 

[big dog cowboy]

- If we draft a rookie who is not ready to play next year, we could at least use Parnell as a one year stopgap.

I'm still not sold on Parnell being a full time starter yet. Overall I thought this was a good post.

 

[Galian Beast]

I really don't want to move Martin, and my head explodes every time I see it suggested. It would be one thing to move him in a pinch, but moving him just to move him... makes no sense to me.

Yeah, it's easier to find a guard, it's not easier to find a stud guard though. Romo's most worried about pressure up the middle and from the left. RT can be the weakest spot on the line, RG? No.

 

[burmafrd]

if bernie was more consistent it would be OK to move Martin to RT; but Bernie is not consistent enough

 

[JakeCamp12]

My thoughts are let Free walk and let Parnell and a rookie RT battle in training camp for the job. We need to keep the youth movement going on the roster. As much as no one wants to hear it, Escobar needs to start stepping up so that he can start and Witten can get some reduced snaps. Youth wins in the NFL.

 

[Galian Beast]

My thoughts are let Free walk and let Parnell and a rookie RT battle in training camp for the job. We need to keep the youth movement going on the roster. As much as no one wants to hear it, Escobar needs to start stepping up so that he can start and Witten can get some reduced snaps. Youth wins in the NFL.

If Escobar walks in free agency, I'll be furious with this front office.

 

[JakeCamp12]

If Escobar walks in free agency, I'll be furious with this front office.

I agree, I think the kid can play, and he seems to be the right guy to dominate the seam with his height and soft hands...

 

[waving monkey]

Martin will be moved over to RT. We can find a serviceable OG as well as draft a plug in player for cheap.

I think your wrong or I hope your wrong

 

[conner01]

moving a pro bowl caliber guard to tackle is not a smart move.i agree we need to get cheaper but we also need to stay as good as we are if not improve the oline.
i'm not so sure parnell is going to be as cheap as people think and you obviously are going to have a hard time signing him to any kind of stop gap contract since he is going to want a longer term deal.
i suspect what we do is see which we CAN sign and thats the guy we do sign. i don't think parnell is signing any short term deal and not sure why he would even consider it.i don't think parnell is going to be as cheap as people think nor will free be as expensive as people think
i would love to draft a guy but we can't use a pick fromthe top rounds unless we just have to. by that i mean if a RT is the best player on the board and it's not really close then you have to take him. but the real needs are on defense though i think finding impact dline guys at the lower end of the rounds is going to be tough

 

[Flinger]

The 'turn around' of this club has been the play of the O line. They are strategic to everything Garrett is doing. In no way should they change that. They are dominant when Free is in there. They are not dominant when he is not. He is not just a good RT, from reports, he is the O line leader. He's the 'old man' at 30. That is prime time for an O lineman. The chemistry of this unit is vital. It is finally there. Don't mess with it. Move on to other units that need much more help.

With Smith, Leary, Frederick, Martin and Free - they are imposing their will on opposing defenses. Leave them alone for 3 more years with Parnell as the swing guy. They will dominate for years to come.

The Oline is fixed. Don't break it because of 'speculation'....

 

[DandyDon1722]

The 'turn around' of this club has been the play of the O line. They are strategic to everything Garrett is doing. In no way should they change that. They are dominant when Free is in there. They are not dominant when he is not. He is not just a good RT, from reports, he is the O line leader. He's the 'old man' at 30. That is prime time for an O lineman. The chemistry of this unit is vital. It is finally there. Don't mess with it. Move on to other units that need much more help.

With Smith, Leary, Frederick, Martin and Free - they are imposing their will on opposing defenses. Leave them alone for 3 more years with Parnell as the swing guy. They will dominate for years to come.

The Oline is fixed. Don't break it because of 'speculation'....

I agree. Bring back Free at a "better" price and keep the line together. The Romo window is 2-3 years so develop a draft pick but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. It's hard to develop line continuity and we finally have it.

 

[jterrell]

1. It is stupid to consider how we "need" to let a guy walk when he's proven to be a huge contributor.
2. Parnell was not in the same universe last week as Free has been all year in run blocking.
3. We have no idea how much money it would take to re-sign Free.
4. We have holes to fill everywhere but OL and drafting more OL early is almost silly.

 

[Staubacher]

Keep Free. Keep the Oline as is. The younger guys see his as their mentor and his play is solid.

Makes no sense to worry about the Oline.

Allocate ALL resources into fixing the defense.

 

[CowboyChris]

Every year the top rated guard or center falls into the mid 20's of the draft, if there isnt a good DL on the board... i wouldnt mind taking another OL in the first. some of you guys are wondering why i included Center, remember when Frederick was drafted he did get some snaps at RG......we could take a C move Frederick over to RG and Martin out to RT. just a thought

 

[Eskimo]

The big problem with extending Free is that you are assuming you are going to get the 2013 and 2014 version of the player. He will be 31 next year which is where players often hit the wall and can even fall off of a cliff in their level of play. Parnell gives us good pass blocking and power running although he seems to struggle on stretch plays run his way. I think more experience will help but probably never going to be a strength of his.

If we let Free walk maybe we can get a comp pick for him instead of having to eat a bunch of dead money as we often do with these 3rd contracts. I do not want to get back into that habit as it has almost always bit us in the butt. If we can get him for $3M per season on a short deal without much guaranteed than I would do it but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Let Parnell start as a bridge to an OL that we draft and spend the resources elsewhere. An average RT plus the rest of the guys improvement from maturation will still give us one of the best OLs in the league next year.

 

[jterrell]

Every year the top rated guard or center falls into the mid 20's of the draft, if there isnt a good DL on the board... i wouldnt mind taking another OL in the first. some of you guys are wondering why i included Center, remember when Frederick was drafted he did get some snaps at RG......we could take a C move Frederick over to RG and Martin out to RT. just a thought

that would be an insanely bad use of resoruces on virtually every level.

the team has gaping holes just about everywhere else and they won't be able to resign a bunch of 1st round OL anyways in 3/4 years.
they need defensive help at every level and could use offensive help everywhere but ol and te.

i can see then grabbing an OL in round 3 but 1st round is not even a consideration.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

Immediatley replacing Free with someone as competent AND cheaper is a tall order when we've got serious defensive needs that will require our top draft slots. Most likely scenario would be keeping him at his friendly cap rate while trying to develop a lower round pick to replace him. Or maybe we're giving up on Parnell to early? I had high hopes for the guy, he certainly looks the part, but in the backup role he hasn't impressed.

 

[jterrell]

The big problem with extending Free is that you are assuming you are going to get the 2013 and 2014 version of the player. He will be 31 next year which is where players often hit the wall and can even fall off of a cliff in their level of play. Parnell gives us good pass blocking and power running although he seems to struggle on stretch plays run his way. I think more experience will help but probably never going to be a strength of his.

If we let Free walk maybe we can get a comp pick for him instead of having to eat a bunch of dead money as we often do with these 3rd contracts. I do not want to get back into that habit as it has almost always bit us in the butt. If we can get him for $3M per season on a short deal without much guaranteed than I would do it but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Let Parnell start as a bridge to an OL that we draft and spend the resources elsewhere. An average RT plus the rest of the guys improvement from maturation will still give us one of the best OLs in the league next year.

free is not a free agent at all.
we would get nothing for him.
in fact we'd eat 4m for cutting him.

he is due 8m in base which was renegotiated once and likely will be again.

the most viable option is to hand him 7m as a SB and 1m as base in exchange for him also lowering his 2016 base to a reasonable number.