Some of the NFL's top receivers will be hitting the free agent market come March 10. With Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas likely to get the franchise tag, is it possible Randall Cobb, Jeremy Maclin and Torrey Smith sign with new teams?
Below we've provided an analysis of the market for each receiver and where we think he'll end up in 2015.
3. Torrey Smith
Smith's situation couldn't have gotten any clearer after today. Ravens' owner Steve Bisciotti alluded to the fact that the team might not be able to afford the 26-year-old receiver, who had a career-high 11 touchdowns in 2014.
"There is always a team that has lots of money that wants to bring in playmakers and those guys are going to get those deals," he said via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. "We're just going to have to take it on the chin and move on."
Clifton Brown of CSN Baltimore believes the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks will have Smith on their radar because they all have a need at the receiver position. Whoever it is, they'll have to offer Smith more than $35 million (or $7 million per season) because the Ravens reportedly tried to coax him with a five-year, $35 million deal with $19 million guaranteed prior to the 2014 season.
The Ravens have $138 million committed to 2015 and will need to cut salaries to avoid going above the projected $143 million cap.
HNGN's top destination for Smith: Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have little room to work with, but they just created $4.8 million of cap room by releasing receivers Donnie Avery and A.J. Jenkins. Look for Dwayne Bowe to take a pay cut to possibly pave the way for Smith.
2. Jeremy Maclin
Maclin was coming off of ACL surgery heading into the 2014 season and had the best campaign of his career. He caught 85 passes for 1,318 and 10 touchdowns with a combination of Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez as his quarterback. After letting DeSean Jackson go last offseason, there is little reason to believe the Eagles allow this to happen again with Maclin, even though they hit an impasse in contract negotiations recently.
"Maclin has made it clear he wants to stay," writes Mark Eckel of NJ.com. "It's also become clear that Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs are going to make a run at him if he hits the open market. His other home-town team, St. Louis, may do so as well."
Philadelphia is going to do all they can to retain Maclin, and that could mean restructuring contracts or releasing players who will be a big cap hit in 2015.
HNGN's top destination for Maclin: Philadelphia Eagles
1. Randall Cobb
It was recently reported that Cobb was seeking a contract that would pay him $9 million per year and that the Oakland Raiders were expected to make a run at him if he hits the free agent market. This is a dangerous combination for the Packers because that's a lot of money to spend on a receiver and it's likely Oakland isn't scared to pony up the cash.
Green Bay has $23 million in cap space, but general manager Ted Thompson is not one to hand out such big contracts on a whim. However, he did say the team was working to retain Cobb, but we don't really know to what capacity. The franchise tag for receivers will be in the neighborhood of $12.6 million, so they always have that option if long-term talks aren't looking good by March 2 - but that's also a big number for Thompson.
With Davante Adams and Jeff Janis as other receiving options, it's possible the Packers move on from Cobb if the two sides can't come to an agreement. With other impending free agents such as Tramon Williams, B.J. Raji, Bryan Bulaga and others, it's likely the Packers don't waste all their attention on Cobb.
HNGN's top destination for Cobb: New York Jets
New offensive coordinator Chan Gailey is ready to install his Pistol Spread offense and it's likely Cobb is a top play-making candidate the Jets' front office has on their radar, especially with rumors of Percy Harvin's release and their plentiful cap room.
