NFL Gone Wild

A little follow-up to Wolfie’s NFL post below:

Wow what day in the NFL and it’s only 3:30 EST. The first day of free agency has brought some huge contracts, big signings and three key trades.

First, the New England angle:
-Pats signed Fred Taylor. You know where you heard it first.
-Long-time long snapper Lonnie Paxton said it would take a substantial deal to get him to leave New England. Well how about the richest deal given to long snapper in the NFL?
-Pats traded Mike Vrabel to Kansas City. What the…did they owe Scott Pioli something? This was a bit of a head scratcher at first, but looking into his numbers he wasn’t nearly as productive in 2008 as in years past (4 sacks, 1 FF, 1 INT in ’08 compared to 12.5, 5, 0 in ’07). Still, he was a team leader and only 33. I read today that if the Pats keep Matt Cassell, they’ll have something like $2.3 million left under the cap. This move clears $3.35 million in cap room, so it may be more financial than anything. Does this mean they’re keeping Cassell? Or is it paving the way for someone like Julius Peppers? Who knows? It is a draft heavy with outside linebackers.

And around the rest of the league:
-The Redskins and Daniel Synder are going nuts again. After Wolfeman bro the news of Dangelo Hall signing for big money ($22.5 million guaranteed), the Skins went out and signed Albert Haynesworth to a FAT deal. Like $100 million with $41 mill guaranteed fat.
-Meanwhile, the Jets offer Ravens’ LB Bart Scott $40 million to come play for Gang Green. Look at this money! I’m convinced baseball owners are guilty of collusion. After all the whining about the economy and the crawling pace of free agency, it looks a little silly now that we see what the NFL is up to.

The other two trades after Vrabel:
-Sage Rosenfels to the Vikings. I dunno, he was a dece stopgap in fantasy.
-Speaking of fantasy, team killer Kellen Winslow was shipped to the Bucs for draft picks.

Wow what a day. And think, there’s still Kurt Warner, Hoosh, Ray Lewis, Laverenous Coles, and dozens of other big names out there. Just when I think I’m in baseball mode, the NFL lures me back in.

End with this sweet video. WARNING: Don't watch if you don't want to be amazed: