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Nnamdi Asomugha is taking his sweet free agent time. Not that that is unusual among his peers. Plenty of free agents haven't signed, but few carry the ramifications that Nnam does. Leaving room to sign Nnamdi means teams have to essentially freeze their entire free agency process. Today very well could be the day he signs though.
We'll be here to update this post as any news or rumors circulate about the Oakland Raiders' Nnamdi Asomugha.
*Update: Nnamdi is an Eagle
*Update: I think Nnamdi and the New York Jets is as good as done.
*Update The Cowboys may have just jumped out of the Nnamdi sweepstakes. Per Adam Scefter:
"Less money for Nnamdi: Cowboys reached agreement with Marcus Spears on a 5-year, $19.2 million deal."
*Update: It is going to take some contract magic for the Cowboys to land Nnamdi, and some question if it would be worth it. Count Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas as one of those. MacMahon:
"Not if the Cowboys want a manageable cap situation. They can get creative enough to make room for Asomugha, but not if they want to address this season’s needs and prevent serious cap woes in the future.
"Don’t compare this to the Deion Sanders signing in the mid-‘90s, which was arguably worth the salary cap misery that followed. This team doesn’t have the core intact from a two-time Super Bowl championship squad. The Cowboys aren’t just one star cornerback away from being the NFL’s best team again."
*Update: Right now the New York Jets are the runaway favorites.
Adam Schefter said in a radio interview the the Jets had an 80 percent chance to land Nnam.
Rich Cimini who works for ESPNNewYork.com tweeted:
Got a feeling that Rex Ryan and Mike Tannenbaum are going to be high-fiving each other real soon. #Nnamdi #Jets
And finally NFL.com's Michael Lombardi reports that the 49ers have pulled out, but the Cowboys are in the fold.
"Just updated the Nnamdi situation -- 49ers telling people they are out... Right now, Dallas and Jets, Ryan brothers are battling. Stay tuned."
Lombardi also added a little insight on the Cowboys secret weapon in recruiting:
"Both Jets and Cowboys can recruit, as someone once told me about Jerry Jones as a recruiter--"he could talk a cat off a fish truck" true"
Jump over for more....
The big news on the Nnamdi front on Thursday was that, after reportedly offering Nnamdi somewhere in the $12-14 million range, the Texans left the bidding war.
Filed to ESPN: Texans reach agreement with former Bengals CB Johnathan Joseph on a five-year deal. Nnamdi to Jets looking more likely.
Rich Cimini of ESPN believes the Texans dropping out left the Jets in excellent postion:
That leaves the Bucs and 49ers as his other primary suitors. The Bucs have the most cap room, but they just gave OL Davin Joseph a seven-year, $53 million deal and many wonder if the frugal Bucs will cough up big bucks for Asomugha. The Niners' advantage is location; Asomugha has spent his adult life in the Bay Area (Cal, Raiders).
The Jets have made no secret of their intentions to sign Nnam. Now it appears they are getting anxious:
Twitter / @TheJetsStream: One #Jets source tells me ...
One #Jets source tells me this about Nnamdi Asomugha talks: "We're trying to get an answer out of him, one way or another."
As for the Bucs interest, it makes sense, but apparently they are not interested.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk
A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the Bucs aren’t, and haven’t been, in the hunt for Asomugha.
Florio goes onto mention the usual suspects that are the Jets and the 49ers, but then tosses in two other teams.
The primary suitors for Asomugha are the Jets and 49ers. The Cowboys could be getting involved as well. As we continue to have a feeling that the Raiders aren’t rolling over.
The Cowboys have been making statements that made it seem like they wouldn't be interested
Cowboys not in Asomugha sweepstakes - Dallas Cowboys Blog - ESPN Dallas
When asked if Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins were safe at cornerback for 2011, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones simply said yes.
However, I don't think anyone would be shocked to see Jerry Jones throw his 10-gallon hat into the ring. As for the Raiders, we all know they don't roll over for anything.
Adding fuel to the fire that the Raiders were going after Nnam was the errant rumor that Chris Johnson had been cut. It proved to be false, but something had to start that. Maybe the Raiders were about to cut them, and then had to wait as they did not yet finalize a deal for a corner.
Consider the following statement.
Jerry McDonald on mercurynews.com
"He's a tremendous Raider. If it doesn't work out, it's next man up," Jackson said during a news conference. "Let me remind you we have some tremendous football players on this team. That's why Stanford Routt is here. That's why (Chris) Johnson is here."