In an interview with Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Bay Buccaneers OG Davin Joseph discussed the idea of re-signing with the team but noted that he would like to see them address a few things before fully committing to the idea.
“If [the Bucs] were to say they were committed to signing back guys that we played with last year, it would definitely [encourage] me to stay,” said Joseph. “Guys like [Jeremy] Trueblood, guys like James Lee, guys on defense like Barrett Ruud. If you’re bringing guys like that back, then I know you’re about winning. It’s a step in the right direction instead of trying to reconstruct the whole roster. That’s not going to work to our benefit.”
It’s a nice sentiment from Joseph to support some of his veteran teammates but the fact of the matter is that some of the other players are replaceable while he happens to the one of the best available offensive lineman in this years free agent class (currently #10 in our Top 50 Free Agents List ). The Buc’s have been built through the draft, not by allocating a ton money to aging veterans. Ideally the Buc’s would like to keep some of the players that Joseph mentioned but they may not be possible considering that his own asking price may dictate their options.
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Davin is clearly one of the best available free agent Guards this year. Even with the drafting of Gabe Carimi, Chicago still has work to do to fix their woeful offensive line. Joseph would be a great fit on Chicago’s line. What are your thoughts on the likely hood of the Bears making a play for Joseph and who are some other folks you think Chicago would be smart to make a move on?
Agreed. Chicago’s offensive line wasn’t just bad last season, it was terrible. Carimi was a great pick for the Bears and should be able to solidify the RT position in the coming years but adding additional talent to their interior line is imperative. Joseph would be a great addition and the Bears will have a good amount of cap space ($22.5 million) available for this years offseason so there’s a chance that he could end up in Chicago.
Chris Williams has another 2 years remaining on his contract and there have been some suggestions that Olin Kreutz is considering leaving so their interior line is likely to be the focus.
Two players to watch at the guard position would be Harvey Dahl and Justin Blalock who both play for the Atlanta Falcons. Dahl (30) has proven to be the Falcons best offensive lineman in recent years and Blalock (27) is a solid player that will be a more cost efficient option for teams that aren’t looking to spend big.
As for center, I’d still be surprised to see Kreutz go but he was exactly great last season. At 34, Kreutz will have a hard time matching up against B.J. Raji, Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley so their going to have find some fresh legs at the center position. Not many great options in this years free agent class, then again there almost never is at center, but a guy worth considering is Lyle Sendlein of the Arizona Cardinals. He’s 27 and decent enough player to buy them some time to find a longterm option.