Wink, wink: Handshake deals in free agency
Teams face additional pressures to land targeted free agents this offseason. The lockout has wiped out minicamps and left teams less prepared. Teams with new coaching staffs and quarterback issues are worse off. The free-agent signing pool figures to be bigger than usual this year if, as expected, the new labor deal requires free agents to have only four accrued seasons to become unrestricted, down from six seasons a year ago. You are fully responsible for the content you post. Content that includes profanity, personal attacks or antisocial behavior (such as "spamming" or "trolling"), or other inappropriate content or material will be removed. We reserve the right to block any user who violates our terms of use , including removing all content posted by that user.Nfl Free Agents 2008 - News
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- NFL Free Agency 10 Best Free Agent Signings Ever
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is not just built by drafted players. There is a plethora of gridiron legends representing the building that found their way onto teams in various ways.
The free agent is surely represented in Canton. The number of free agents inducted figures to greatly increase thanks to shorter contracts with clauses, as teams basically just rent players for short periods of time.
Yet signing the right free agent can lead a franchise to championship glory and sports immortality. While some signings are sound moves, others can be gambles and no one knows how they will pay off until all is said and done.
Here are the very best free agent signings in professional football history since the draft was created in 1936.
Unitas was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ninth round of the 1955 draft. He was cut in camp, as the Steelers decided to go with Jim Finks, Ted Marchibroda and Vic Eaton at quarterback.
Finks would later go on to be a legendary general manager who built the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints into winners. Marchibroda became an offensive guru who coached several teams. Eaton, drafted two rounds after Unitas, was out of football after 1955.
Unitas hitch-hiked back home to save money, then worked construction. He kept in shape by playing semipro football for $6 a game.
Weeb Ewbank, the Hall of Fame head coach, asked Unitas' semipro teammate Jim Deglau to try out for the Baltimore Colts. Hearing the Cleveland Browns were interested in Unitas, he asked Deglau to bring the quarterback with him.
Despite the objections of family members, Unitas went to Baltimore. He made the team, backing up George Shaw and Gary Kerkorian. He soon passed Kerkorian, now in his third year of backing up Shaw, on the depth chart.
During camp, Unitas would stay after practice was over and throw balls all night to a wide receiver, Raymond Berry, who had caught just 13 catches the year before after making the team as a 20th-round draft pick. This bond between Unitas and Berry would soon have a tremendous impact on the NFL.
Shaw, who was the Colts first-round draft pick in 1952, broke his leg in the fourth game of the year. Unitas was plugged in and showed some promise.
His next 10 years saw him go to the Pro Bowl and win the NFL MVP Award three times. Baltimore also won the championship twice with maybe the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.
Nfl Free Agents 2008 - Bookshelf
Pro Football Prospectus 2008, The Essential Guide to the 2008 Pro Football Season
Tampa Bay was now far less about scouting long-term prospects and far more about finding quick free agent fixes. In the NFL, free agency is rarely a panacea ...Stumbling on Wins, Two Economists Expose the Pitfalls on the Road to Victory in Professional Sports
258), and Quinn (2008). Bert Bell was not only the founder of the NFL draft; ... Models were estimated linking the salaries paid to free agents to past ...The Business of Sports: Perspectives on the sports industry
For this subset of 165 players wages were on average 34 percent of free agent marginal revenue product. Similarly, NFL free agent marginal revenue products ...2008 NFL Record & Fact Book
Unrestricted free agent, subject to developments. ... 2008 FIRST-YEAR ROSTER The term NFL Rookie is defined as a player who is in his first season of ...Strong arm tactics, a history and statistical analysis of the professional quarterback
Undrafted Free Agents The opposite of a refusenik is an undrafted free agent. These quarterbacks were first rejected by the NFL, and face a much more ...Perfect Information Directory
2011 NFL Free Agents
Complete coverage of 2011 NFL Free Agents ... Hasselbeck may be the best back-up option on the free agent market on a team with talent, like Jon Kitna in Dallas. ...
Freeagency - NFL.com
News on freeagency around the league.
2011 NFL Free Agents, Free Agency and Free Agent Tracker
2011 NFL free agents on a position-by-position or team-by-team format.
2008 NFL Free Agent DB
Complete coverage of 2008 NFL Free Agents defensive backs ... Predicted 2008 Team: Eagles - The move won't be a big one, and Samuel will be a major difference maker. ...
WalterFootball.com: 2008 NFL Free Agents - Quarterbacks
2008 NFL Free Agents. Quarterbacks. 2008 NFL Free Agent Positions: QB ... 2008 Free Agency Page Notes: Star rating is out of five. Age listing is as of Sept. 11, ...