Potential free agents for the Phins to look at

We all know the Phins aren't in great salary cap shape, though they can make room with some cuts and restructures. With that in mind, they will probably be focusing on lower-tier free agents this offseason.

I haven't gone through every position yet, but here are a few free agent TEs interest me and shouldn't cost too much:
Hayden Hurst (Bengals)
Irv Smith (Vikes)
Foster Moreau (Raiders)
Jordan Akins (Texans)


Any other players/positions you guys are looking at?

I doubt many of these make it to free agency as they get re-signed, but...

LB TREMAINE EDMUNDS, BUFFALO BILLS - I think he would instantly help the Rush and the pass D. And it would hurt the Phins AFC East Rival.

OG BEN POWERS, BALTIMORE RAVENS - Dude is big and might not fit the McD scheme, but he is a rock in pass blocking and if he can start in run heavy Baltimore, I think he would work for the Phins.

OG ISAAC SEUMALO, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES - He has an injury history, but he managed to start all the games for the Eagles I believe and did a great job.

OT JAWAAN TAYLOR, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS - Solid RT. Needs to work on his run blocking, but...

DI SHELDON RANKINS, NEW YORK JETS - Plug this guy in beside Wilkins and watch the fireworks. Plus, it hurts the Jets. I think he has more wiggle than Seiler.

C ETHAN POCIC, CLEVELAND BROWNS - On one hand, I thinking leave Williams at C, but if they can sign Pocic and slide Williams back to Guard, the Phins would be on to something IMO. This is target number one for the Phins IMO.

OG DALTON RISNER, DENVER BRONCOS - He was the rock of the Broncos until an elbow injury in the finale... If the Broncos let him go, I think the Phins should make him the number two target behind Pocic. Or maybe even 1a.

TE EVAN ENGRAM, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS - I am sorta torn on this one. Engram bombed in NY Giants offense under some Peter-principle HCs, but who didn't ? If McD would use him correctly, Engram could be another nightmare matchup for Defenses that have to face Hill and Waddle also. And I suspect after the season Engram had for the Jags with Pederson as HC, he is gonna want big, BIG-time money. I can remember him at Ole Miss and he was fairly close to Kyle Pitts-like!!! 6'4" and runs a 4.42 or so 40!! Again, it would all depend on how Mcd would use him. Still, I think someone is gonna pony up big bucks for him.

Can you tell, I think they should focus on the Oline??

It will sorta depend on the moves the Phins make PRIOR to free agency too, I am thinking. They let CB Jones go, they might looks to pick up a moderately priced CB?? Hopefully, they do not go after one of the big money CBs? But who knows?

Tony Pollard is a name I've seen mentioned by other fans a lot.

It would be so...Grier to let Gesicki walk, only to pay Engram MORE than what he would've given Gesicki to stay I'm now totally predicting this.

DolFan 316 wrote:It would be so...Grier to let Gesicki walk, only to pay Engram MORE than what he would've given Gesicki to stay I'm now totally predicting this.

Perfect DF316-ism!

If we KNEW the Phins would get this year's Engram by signing him, I'd be all for it. But if he gets big money and plays like he did for the Giants when they drafted him.... not so much.

I suspect they roll with what they got and sign a low priced free agent and maybe draft a TE or bring in another undrafted free agent like Conner.

No thanks on Engram. I've seen him first-hand with the Giants.

Sure, the stats look good. He will drop huge, clutch first down passes. Even when perfectly thrown.

Nice list, FF.

Engram can't block - he's essentially Gesicki, but not as good. Giants fans despised him because of all the drops, and I don't like him at all.

Tremaine Edmunds is great, but may be too expensive for the Phins. I'd also need to see what D the Phins are running before he really gets on my radar. I don't think he's a need for the Boyer defense, where LBs aren't really featured.

Sheldon Rankins intrigues me as a rotational player, but he is on the small side depending on what type of front we run.

OL:
--At RT, I'd steal Mike McGlinchey away for the 49ers if we could afford him. I think he'd be my top FA target if he doesn't return to San Fran.
--I like Ben Powers a lot. He's huge, but has shown some athleticism when I've watched him. --Risner would also be a great get at Guard. He's a really solid player.
--Chiefs backup Guard Nick Allegretti could be a cheap bench upgrade, and could maybe even win a starting job depending on the competition.
--I think we're set at Center with Williams - I'd prefer to keep him there and add a backup if Deiter walks.

Tony Pollard isn't leaving Dallas, but he'd be a great fit for the Miami offense, IMO. I wouldn't want to spend that much FA money on a RB either.

I left McGlinchey off the list as there is no way the 49ers let him go IMO. But I agree, he would be target #1 if available. Same with Pollard.

I can see the thoughts about leaving Williams at C, but I think Williams MIGHT be even better at OG. If the Phins can get a comparable or better C, then sliding Williams into the OG spot solidifies the Oline even more IMO.

A starting OG or a Starting C? I will not fuss either way.



I did hear from a friend that says he has heard that Grier is SERIOUS when he says he thinks the Oline players the Phins have are good and will get better and he doesn't see it as a priority!!!

I hope this is all smokescreen, but... Seems sorta early to start with that smokescreen stuff, especially when he is smoke screening a unit that was at the root cause of the majority of ills with the 2022 season IMO?

We shall see. I think the Phins definitely will go after at least one free agent Olineman. But who knows?

I think if you have a good center, you leave him there and don't mess with what's working. Tua and the OL need continuity. Williams was the glue that get kept the line together all year, and he was rated very highly by all the analysts. No need to make a move there...just put better players around him.

The OL as a whole was much better than it's been in a long time IMO, especially in pass pro. Injuries definitely played a big role in turning it to crap, but regardless there's no doubt that LG is a gaping hole. The OL bench in general (especially tackle) needs help as well.

I think we are set at LT, C and RG, so I'd look to add a LG and find an upgrade at RT if possible. I think we could re-sign Shell on the cheap and keep him at RT - he proved capable if not spectacular - but I'd love to do better. And of course, improve the depth! A healthy Austin Jackson could very well be the swing tackle, and Robert Jones is fine as a reserve guard. We may actually have something in backups Kendall Lamm and Lester Cotton, who both looked serviceable in limited action this season. So yeah, I don't think the line is a disaster in need of a total overhaul, but it definitely needs help. (But Eichenberg needs to go...)

This article on McGlinchey makes me think that the 49ers may not re-sign him, and also makes me question whether the Phins should even go after him. As an "outsider", he looks good to me, but this article paints a different picture.

https://www.si.com/nfl/49ers/news/the-49ers-offensive-line-coach-gives-an-honest-assessment-of-mike-mcglinchey

It's the season of giving and the 49ers are riding an eight-game win streak, so people want to find nice things to say about all of their starters, including their worst one, right tackle Mike McGlinchey.

The 49ers drafted McGlinchey with the ninth pick in 2018 and he has been a massive disappointment -- that's why they haven't extended his contract and he'll be a free agent this offseason. This season, he already has committed a career-high 10 penalties, and yet some people say he's having the best season of his career.

A reporter recently asked 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster about how much Mike McGlinchey has improved, probably expecting Foerster to shower McGlinchey with sugary praise. 

Instead, Foerster kept it real. Here's what he said:

FOERSTER: “Mike’s continued to work really hard at getting better. We’ve talked about it before, Mike can be Mike’s worst enemy. And that’s where I’d say the most improvements occurred. There have been some bad plays and usually one doesn’t stack upon another. Sometimes they do, but for the most part, Mike’s been able to reach a level of consistency that even though there are some plays he’s not happy with, I’m not happy with, he has improved greatly from his first year until now. He works really hard at getting better. 

"Is it perfect? It’s not perfect by any stretch, but he’s made gradual improvement every year and my thing I’m most happy with is he’s able to come off the field, I think last week was probably the exception, he was pretty upset with himself after the false start penalty and then having another one after that was not good, so that was probably the only time this season that it was probably a little bit more like it’d been in past seasons, but for the most part, Mike’s done a really good job of working through that and that’s allowed him to play more consistently."

 

There's more in the article, but overall it's not exactly a ringing endorsement.