Free agency and green grass explained

By Dave Brown

In less than five weeks, training camps will open around the league. Well, that's a ways off yet, and coaches are looking at their 90 man rosters and working towards what they want their final roster to look like.

Teams are going to have more of this or more of that on their rosters right now, it's the nature of the NFL. If you say a team can look at 120 players, you had better bet that in most cases, that team is going to look at 120 different players. Well, 90 players on a roster does seem to be a big enough number for now, and this is that time of year after most of the big name free agents are gone that the fans start to notice the little things, like that receiver the team just picked up, or that defensive end.

In some cases, for instance the Detroit Lions, fans seem disappointed that the Lions didn't make any big moves in free agency, and have 13 receivers on the roster. Those Lions fans might be surprised to hear that the Atlanta Falcons have signed no free agents that were on another team in 2011 at the time of this writing.

Now we are going to look at the number of players every team signed from another team in free agency. Surprisingly, the 19 players signed by the New England Patriots that were previously with another team in 2011 is the most of any team so far.

The thing about free agency, it can be confusing. Most of the time, a team that is building will depend on free agency to fill in some short term holes, and they will bring in a few players. Sometimes, a team like the Green Bay Packers will lose a key player and replace him for the short term in free agency. The Packers brought in 4 players that were on different teams in 2011, the Lions 3 players, the Chicago Bears 9 players, and the Minnesota Vikings 11 players. This shapes out exactly as the teams finished in the NFC North in 2011, with the Packers at the top, followed by the Lions, Bears, and in last place, the Vikings. The Packers don't make too many big moves in free agency.

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 24: Running back LeGarrette Blount #27 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

When a team has built a solid base of talent, they will win a few games. Unfortunately, when this happens, it also means that the team in question will have some key players entering free agency. That is the nature of the NFL. Teams that have a winning record will try to retain their young talent, the key pieces to their future, unless those pieces cost too much.

The salary cap is also a huge factor in what players a team decides to sign. Many times, that big name player that would command a big salary just doesn't fit in the cap situation. Just because your team doesn't sign someone with a big name, it doesn't mean they don't want that player.

The team and scheme also have to be considered. Some players just don't fit on a team, even if some of the fans want him to.

Coaching and front office changes are also factors that have to be considered. When a team decides to go with changes at the top, changes are coming. That means players are leaving, and that means players that were on different rosters the year before are coming. Sometimes, the players that the team lets walk away in free agency are fan favorites, and were key pieces to the system that was in place.

The Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Jacksonville Jaguars all fit the above condition. Of those teams, the Jaguars and Raiders have brought in the fewest free agents from outside so far, with 7. The Dolphins have signed 8 players that were on different rosters in 2011, the Chiefs 8 players, the Buccaneers 10 players, the Colts 11 players, and the Rams have brought in 12 players.

The last thing I feel the need to point out is something I call the grass syndrome. Sometimes fans see players from a different team in a different light, and for some reason, these players are better than what they feel is on the roster. I would just like to point out that the grass isn't greener on the other side most of the time.

Below is a list of all teams and the number of players they have signed in free agency that were on different rosters in 2011. This does not mean they were big moves, or even that the player is still on that teams roster. The New York Jets, for example, signed Drew Stanton in free agency, previously with the Detroit Lions. The Jets then traded him away.

AFC EAST
Buffalo Bills - 3 players
Miami Dolphins - 8 players
New England Patriots - 19 players
New York Jets - 7 players

AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens - 7 players
Cincinnati Bengals - 7 players
Cleveland Browns - 2 players
Pittsburgh Steelers - 3 players

AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans - 6 players
Indianapolis Colts - 11 players
Jacksonville Jaguars - 7 players
Tennessee Titans - 6 players

AFC WEST
Denver Broncos - 10 players
Kansas City Chiefs - 8 players
Oakland Raiders - 7 players
San Diego Chargers - 15 players

NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys - 8 players
New York Giants - 7 players
Philadelphia Eagles - 4 players
Washington Redskins - 12 players

NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears - 9 players
Detroit Lions - 3 players
Green Bay Packers - 4 players
Minnesota Vikings - 11 players

NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons - 0 players
Carolina Panthers - 7 players
New Orleans Saints - 9 players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 10 players

NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals - 6 players
St. Louis Rams - 12 players
San Francisco 49ers - 4 players
Seattle Seahawks - 8 players

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