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http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2785649

Jaguars agree with RT Pashos, re-sign K Scobee
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

The first of the highly regarded offensive linemen expected to switch teams in free agency has made his move, as right tackle Tony Pashos, who played the first four seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens, on Friday reached an agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tony Pashos
Pashos

That Pashos would sign with the Jaguars was one of the NFL's worst-kept secrets over the past few days. Pashos was en route to Jacksonville on Friday and will sign his contract after a physical exam there.

Jacksonville also reached agreement with incumbent kicker Josh Scobee, a three-year veteran, on a five-year contract extension.

Financial details of the two contracts were not yet available. But it is believed that Pashos, who has just one season of experience as a full-time starter, will receive an eight-figure signing bonus.

Pashos, 26, will oust six-year veteran Maurice Williams from the right tackle spot in a somewhat surprising move. Williams, a starter for the Jaguars since his 2001 rookie campaign, will now be forced to compete with two-year veteran Khalif Barnes for the starting job at left tackle.

Depending on how the competition on the left side shakes out in camp, the Jags could trade one of the tackles vying for that job. At worst, Jacksonville would have one of the deepest tackle trios in the league.

Jacksonville's coaches, who covet toughness, wanted a more physical presence on the right side, and they are getting that with Pashos, a solid run-blocker. Still, Pashos has logged only 23 starts, with 16 of them coming last season. The former University of Illinois standout, a fifth-round choice in the 2003 draft, appeared in only six games in his first two NFL seasons.

Pashos moved into the Ravens' starting lineup midway through the 2005 season.

"He's a good, solid player, a stronger, bigger man, and he will give us a push in the run game and a firmer pocket," coach Jack Del Rio said in assessing Pashos.

Scobee, 24, has converted 73 of 93 field goal attempts and all but one of his 101 extra point tries for the Jaguars in the past three seasons. The former Louisiana Tech standout was a fifth-round choice in the 2004 draft. Scobee made 26 of 32 field goals in 2006 and tallied a career-best 119 points.

j/k
With Plummer now retired, it guess that takes Carr off the trading block.

[quote

I was a wreck during the COACH SEARCH....as I have only had 2 coaches in my life time...Noll, and Cowher...thats it....looking for a new coach scared me to death.

HACK

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The fact that you have only had 2 coaches in your lifetime should make you feel good about the new hire.

We do appreciate the good feelings it is just.....hard to be so cordial with a steelers fan

Quote:

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Chris Brown?? ... and you thought Lee Suggs was fragile.

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x2

Chris Brown is the poor man's Fred Taylor.

Don Banks of CNNSI



Lions to Draft Quinn?

Conventional wisdom as it currently exists regarding the top of this year's NFL Draft took its first hit Thursday when the Detroit Lions agreed to a trade that will send cornerback Dre' Bly to Denver in exchange for running back Tatum Bell, offensive tackle George Foster and a fifth-round pick.

Why? Because once the deal is executed Friday, the first day of both free agency and the league's new fiscal year, the Lions will suddenly have the freedom to go in a number of directions with their No. 2 overall pick. The acquisition of Foster, who has started 45 games in the past three seasons, means Detroit isn't locked in on taking Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas, who has been the overwhelming early consensus for the Lions' selection.

With Foster at right tackle and veteran Jeff Backus on the left side, Detroit's offensive line is no longer its crying need, freeing general manager Matt Millen and head coach Rod Marinelli to pass on Thomas if they wish and address another position in the first round.

Though it might stun some given Detroit's recent draft history at the position, the focus might now shift to receiver, where the draft's best overall prospect -- Georgia Tech's gifted Calvin Johnson -- tantalizingly awaits. While Millen drafted a first-round receiver three consecutive seasons (Charles Rogers in 2003, Roy Williams in 2004 and Mike Williams in 2005), some believe the Lions will only continue their trend of making mistakes at that position if they pass on Johnson and his scary-good package of size, speed and strength.

Another option that now looks more plausible at No. 2 for the Lions is Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, who could be groomed for a year behind Detroit starter Jon Kitna. Quinn's stock could be on the rise again after the Combine, where he reportedly impressed teams in his interview sessions and also ripped off an eye-opening 24 reps on the bench press.

This much is also clearer in light of the Detroit-Denver trade: Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson will not be the Lions' pick, given that Bell gives the Lions insurance at that position should starter Kevin Jones not return quickly enough in 2007 from the foot injury he suffered last year.



Joe Thomas = sexytime

Damn this thread filled up fast since this morning.

Nobody signed yet? C'mon Phil you're slacking.

Come on, I want to see some confirmations already!!!

Is KFFL frozen for anybody else?

seems so.

I'm suprised you didn't pick up on the sarcasm. I was laying it on pretty thick. Obviously I don't think he is slacking.

This is the slowest FA period I've been a part of.

here you go...

rotoworld.com

The Browns are now not expected to sign free agent OL Eric Steinbach before he visits the Bucs later on this weekend.

Tampa wants to make him a left tackle, whereas Cleveland wants him to play guard. But if the Browns really want Steinbach they could change their minds and ask Kevin Shaffer to kick to right tackle. The Bucs are also believed to be in talks with Luke Petitgout, so this could get complicated for them.

Is that source reliable?

With an uprecedented amount of cap money out there, I'm not surprised at the pace of signings. The top FA prospects would be foolish to just take the first offer they received this year. Settle in folks, this could take some time.

Clements looking like a 49er to be and Steinbach wants left tackle money. We better get Steinbach or else this free agency period is gonna be a failur methinks

I just read from John Clayton on ESPN that the 49ers are almost there with Clements

Niners close to signing Clements
<Mar. 2> The 49ers have made significant progress in their pursuit of Clements, and could get a deal done today, reports ESPN.com's John Clayton. Clements, the top cornerback on the market, is also a target of the Titans and Browns. However, neither team has as much money as San Francisco, which has good chance of getting the deal done.

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I'll believe it when I see it. I don't trust anything Clayton says.

I'll probably jump off a cliff if we don't get at least one of our top two targets.

If San Fran gets Clements, we'd better steal Adalius Thomas from them.

Clayton still thinks we have Holcomb on the team.

If I were the Browns...I would focus on Steinbach.

With Fraley and Steinbach .....I would already call FA a big success...

HACK

Also saw on ESPN insider that the Browns are looking at Porter....

Can't say it's true, but can't say it isn't.

I sure hope not. He's always been a system player in my book and he's a punk.

I agree. I think if we focused more on the front 7 on D and got to the QB, our DBs would look alot better. Hack, you arent too bad...for a Stillers fan

Yeah, well in an article on the browns site they have Romeo talking about Joey Porter too. He said something like, "a guy like Joey Porter everyone should be interested in, especially 3-4 teams." Blah blah blah.

This is just getting me nervous!

It seems as if things are gonig south in a hurry. Last night it was "close to being a done deal" with Clements and Steinbach for us, now it looks like we might miss out on both.

Well, I kinda figured it would be a dogfight trying to get more than 1-2 of the guys we coveted. There's just WAY too much money out there and too few top FA prospects.

Personally, I think top corners are harder to find than guards, so, if we have to choose between the two guys, I hope we go hard after Clements. I'm no longer looking for that "hometown discount" given all we're hearing. However, I would hope the Clements camp would give the Browns the final word in negotiations.

It's looking like we'll be doing well to land one of the guys we really want.

Wow,you guys sure have the fever today.Even some well respected posters going a little overboard.
Lets look at our history in FA signings.Outside of the punter and Russell,none of them have lived up to thier billings.What we have done is overpaid for a bunch of underproducers.Therefore I don't see missing out on the big names,Clements,Stienbach,Dielman as such a bad thing.Maybe it will force the front office into drafting linemen,instead of WR's.

I don't think that's what we have to worry about is the FO drafting recievers. To be honest, I think you're missing the point of FA. We can use these guys to solidify some spots on the field. If we snag Clements, we don't have to worry about DB in the draft. If we grab Steinbach or Dielman, that's a place on the O-Line that we can feel somewhat comfortable about.

I think the FO knows what it has to do and I believe given the option, we'll take the positions of need I.E. O-Line and D-Line.

FA is very important and it helps us out immensly. Just because we've had some bad luck with Bentley or Schaffer didn't fill the role as much as we'd like, those FA's are either good players or played very hard for us. I think we have a lot of options if we grab ourselves an OG in FA and pick up Joe Thomas in the draft. That will make this team a lot better. That's why FA is important.

Right. And I do mean you are right in what you say.

But if we can't get the TOP rated players in the position there are other options in FA. Clements may be the most coveted FA out there at his position but there's possibly a couple of others that can do a better job then what we currently have. I don't know what the status of Harper or Fisher is. There are a couple of other OG's out there, they maybe a step below Steinbach but a substantial upgrade for us. Let's just upgarde where we can, where and if it makes sense.

I think you are experiencing selecting memory lapse.Every year a new "savoir" has been touted,signed,and then dissapointed in way or another.
Signing Clements will mean teams will be forced to run more,which we can't stop anyhow,so games will be closer,yeah.
Signing Stienbach will mean we will have 1 good guard on an otherwise mediocre o-line.And ever inching closer and closer to cap hell.If,by some usual twist of fate,we manage to have a good team in 3 or 4 years,it will have to dismantled because of the cap.
History tells me,free agency has been very hard on the Browns,and should be avoided.

But if we can't get the TOP rated players in the position there are other options in FA

But if we can't get the TOP rated players in the position there are other options in FA
This is something I mentioned about a week ago..if we don't get a top tier FA..Phil needs to spend it wisely and target guys that fill in holes that we have..I said I hope we don't get in bidding wars..

J/C.

I didn't think this deserved it's own thread so I just posted it here.

Another Ratbird defects....

Atlanta signs Ovie Mughelli . Kind of looks like they overpaid if you ask me.

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Updated: March 2, 2007, 4:39 PM ET
Falcons reach six-year, $18M deal with Ravens FBBy John Clayton
ESPN.com


The Falcons had a good fullback in Justin Griffith, but they decided to go bigger and more expensive.



Mughelli

On Friday, the Falcons reached a six-year, $18 million deal with Ravens fullback Ovie Mughelli that included a $5 million signing bonus. The blockbuster deal is the biggest contract given to a pure fullback.


Mughelli is the second Ravens player to leave in the first day of free agency. Right tackle Tony Pashos signed a five-year, $24 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.


The reason for the Mughelli big deal is competition. The Dolphins were interesed in putting Mughelli with featured running back Ronnie Brown. Cam Cameron, the Dolphins new head coach, wanted to copy the one-two backfield put he had in San Diego with LaDainian Tomlinson and fullback Lorenzo Neal by matching Mughelli with Brown.


As the free agency opened early Friday morning, Mughelli had offers of $2.75 million a year, which was roughly $800,000 over Neal, who negotiated the league's highest fullback extension on Thursday.


John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.