Free Agent Left Tackles

[kungfoodude]

Joe Marino's article got me thinking about the potential options in the left tackle market for the upcoming offseason. Here are a few names that stood out as potential targets.

Andre Whitworth(74.9 PFF Rating, 12 Penalties, 1 Sack Allowed)

Whitworth continues to play at a high level, although at 39 years of age he is no longer a perennial All Pro caliber left tackle. Still, he has stated he plans to play in 2020. I am guessing the cost would be relatively steep, although he is also probably open to a short term contract. Seems unlikely he would sign with another team outside the Rams.

Anthony Castonzo(83.2 PFF Rating, 2 Penalties, 3 Sacks Allowed)

Castonzo is part of one of the best pass protecting offensive line units in the NFL. As a player he has had multiple issues with hamstring and knee injuries, however he credits a new offseason workout regimen for rejuvenating him and has played 100% of the snaps this season. At 32 years old, he may command a very large contract to steal him away from the Colts(currently sitting at $98.6 mil in 2020 cap space). 

Kelvin Beachum(66.2 PFF Rating, 9 Penalties, 4 Sacks Allowed)

Beachum is playing on the league's #30 ranked pass protection unit(two spots below the Carolina Panthers) but has been arguably the steadiest offensive lineman on the NY Jets this season. Beachum could be a relatively affordable upgrade at the position although given the dearth of quality left tackles, his price could get inflated quickly.

Greg Robinson(67.6 PFF Rating, 8 Penalties, 3 Sacks Allowed)

Robinson has been on three teams in just six seasons of his career after being selected as the #2 overall draft pick of the 2014 Draft. He has had an injury plagued career and has been benched multiple times for consistency and maturity issues. Still, the talent level is obvious and at 28 years of age he could be a high risk, high reward signing on a short term deal. After signing a "prove it" deal in the offseason, he is not expected to be retained by the Browns.

Jason Peters(83.8 PFF Rating, 8 Penalties, 2 Sacks Allowed)

Peters has been one of the NFL's best LT's since being drafted in 2004 and even at 37 years of age, the 9 time Pro Bowler has not yet seen a huge drop off in play. That said, the Eagles drafted Andre Dillard with the #22 overall pick in the 2019 Draft with the intention of him being the future at LT. Although Peters has only played a full 16 games twice in the past five seasons, contending teams with left tackles issues may be willing to throw a large short term contract at Peters in the pursuit of a Super Bowl. As happened during the 2017 offseason, the Panther fans may look back in future years at Peters as another "one that got away."

DJ Humphries(62.4 PFF Rating, 13 Penalties, 2 Sacks Allowed)

Humphries has been plagued by injuries in his five year career, making just 46 of 63 potential starts over the past four seasons. This after being inactive his entire rookie season as a #24 overall draft pick during which Bruce Arians nicknamed "...him 'knee-deep', explaining that you need to keep 'A knee in his ass everyday' to keep him motivated." However, in his final season of his rookie deal he has played 100% of snaps with some modest success. The Cardinals are not expected to resign him so perhaps the Charlotte, NC native can return and realize the potential that had him drafted in the first round of the 2015 draft.

Donald Penn(63.7 PFF Rating, 9 Penalties, 6 Sacks Allowed)

At 37 years of age, unlike Jason Peters, Penn's best days appear to be behind him. That said the former three time Pro Bowler has been remarkably durable since 2012 missing only 11 possible regular season starts(8 of which came in 2018 when he was placed on injury reserve). Given the Panthers issues with injuries along the offensive line perhaps some temporary continuity could allow the existing younger players to develop and learn from a long time veteran, a role Penn played for the Raiders.

 

 

Any thoughts on these guys? Personally, I would LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE to see us go after Peters for a 2-3 year deal. Constanzo would be ideal but I suspect every LT needy team in the league is going to be throwing boatloads of cash at him. Bringing in a great veteran like Whitworth or Peters even for a couple of years would be fantastic though.

 

[SOJA]

LT is the most interesting position heading into the offseason for me besides QB obviously. Why? Because we have no idea what Greg Little offers. My guess is if Hurn dog stays on board we sign a middling tackle as a backup to Little/Daley. 

However it is going to be really tough to pass up LT #1 if he's sitting there on draft day

[hepcat]

Peters with Daley and Little learning behind him is an idea scenario. I doubt Peters can play a full season but having someone with that level of skill and experience for the young guys to learn from, and maybe get half a season of starts, would be worth the money.

[Khyber53]

There's a lot of old dudes in that list with a lot of injuries and miles piled up on them. And none of them will come cheap.

I think we ride with Daley/Little (and that's the order I see them in skillwise). Both had tough first seasons but had their moments playing one of the toughest positions in the game. Daley, particularly, performed better when paired with GVR as LG, but both were overmatched when they had Williams lined up beside them. Williams and Paradis both greatly harmed the left side of the line's capabilities. LTs do get better with time and I think both have an opportunity and both could also benefit from getting some TE help.

Right now, the glaring issue on the line is Paradis. I just don't think he is working out and he appears to have gotten worse through the year. In addition, we desperately need to find a replacement for Trai Turner who seems to often be standing around, untouched and unfazed as his QB struggles to get up from under a massive DT or DE. Trai doesn't just miss blocks but seems to be playing matador at times. 

Moton is better than he has been playing and I do believe he is losing ground because of Trai's lackluster energy and performance.

A new, energized O-line coach who wants to prove his worth could bring Daley, Little, van Roten and Moton into line and up their game. All have solid bases and room to grow. Literally jettisoning Williams, Paradis and Turner off the coast of Nag's Head would be a positive start akin to getting rid of Kalil the Lesser even with the cap hit.

[CBDellinger]

I doubt they sign someone to play in front of Little and Daley.  While WE (fans) don’t know what they have in Little, the front office does.  Signing a guy to play ahead of them would just stunt their growth.  
 

They need to go get a center and a guard to replace GVR and Paradis.  

[TheRumGone]

I’m all in at throwing a ton of resources at the offensive line. 

[CarolinaCat89]

37 & 39 yr olds? LIKE WTF NO THANKS

[Ivan The Awesome]

So many good tackles. I'd love DJ Humphries. Constanzo. 

[kungfoodude]

I am not sure why anyone really would want to head into next season with Little/Daley as our primary option at LT. They have not performed well over the course of the season. I think there is enough there to perhaps groom into the role, shift positions on the OL or even be quality depth but I would be very, very, VERY reluctant to move forward next season with either of them as the starter. 

Quite simply, we need to do better. Bringing in a proven veteran for even 1-2 years would be a marked improvement and buy us not only time to rebuild the interior of that offensive line but allow our quarterback(whoever that may be) to actually have some time for once. 

I am actually pretty stunned that any Panthers fan would turn down an opportunity to improve the franchises single biggest weakness the past five seasons.

[Hoenheim]

Dudes are way too old 

[45catfan]

25 minutes ago, SOJA said:

LT is the most interesting position heading into the offseason for me besides QB obviously. Why? Because we have no idea what Greg Little offers. My guess is if Hurn dog stays on board we sign a middling tackle as a backup to Little/Daley. 

However it is going to be really tough to pass up LT #1 if he's sitting there on draft day

I hope hurndog is shown the door as GM.  That way a new, objective GM won't be emotionally invested into Hurney's draft picks.  If Hurney is still around, he's going to stick with the two young tackles to justify his decisions. 

[LinvilleGorge]

Based on their play this season, there probably shouldn't be a single OL position considered "safe" going into next season. If the opportunity to upgrade presents itself, jump on it.

[45catfan]

3 minutes ago, Hoenheim said:

Dudes are way too old 

The Rams didn't think so a few years ago and Goff has stayed mostly upright while Cam has been injured riddled the past 3 season.  Age is only a thing when production falls off.  Tom Brady says hello, by the way.   Besides, these guys would be short-term rentals as retool the OL.  

[kungfoodude]

4 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

The Rams didn't think so a few years ago and Goff has stayed mostly upright while Cam has been injured riddled the past 3 season.  Age is only a thing when production falls off.  Tom Brady says hello, by the way.   Besides, these guys would be short-term rentals as retool the OL.  

The butthurt over the ages of some of these guys is comical. Apparently we have a group of fans who have literally not seen this team play. If they had, as LG alluded to, they shouldn't really consider any of the line spots as "safe." We have a bottom five unit in the NFL. 

I suppose some here clearly have no idea how unbelievably difficult it has been to find quality starting left tackles in the NFL over the past 5+ years. It's pretty close to franchise QB level difficult. 

If we have the chance to get better(and there is no telling whether the best players on that list are even interested in coming here) that is an opportunity we should SPRINT towards.