Guest contributor: Kyle Schmotzer
Ray Edwards, Minnesota
Edwards has five years in the league, all with the Vikings. He has almost 30 sacks in those five years and has played in at least 12 games in every season. Edwards has not shied away from the idea of playing for the highest bidder, giving 31 other teams a shot at landing perhaps the best FA Defensive End on the market this year. He is young, tough and has proven to be consistent. Standing in the shadow of Jared Allen, he would (could be) a star on a line in desperate need of one.
There is of course a chance that Minnesota will franchise tag Edwards, but that could be unlikely given the fact that $12.4M would be due to him, on top of the $9M they will owe Jared Allen. Most teams do not put that much money into one position.
With Raheem Brock entering Free Agency and potentially going elsewhere, the Hawks will need to do something to bolster their DE ranks. Edwards could be the best option out there, albeit an expensive one. I have spoken of the Hawks' sizable cap space before, and provided the Hawks don't bring in (m)any other high-priced Free Agents, DE could be one place they look.
Edwards 8.5 sacks in 2009 and 8 sacks in 2010 looks good on paper, but you have to keep in mind that he was playing on a line with Pro Bowlers Jared Allen, Kevin Williams and Pat Williams. Guys like that tend to draw a lot of attention, giving you a lot of one-on-one opportunities.
However, a guy with a nasty streak like Edwards could potentially bring a lot to the Hawks D-Line. He has stated that if this whole NFL CBA thing doesn't get worked out, he'll just become a professional boxer instead. Okay..?
I normally detest youtube clips that have pump up music piped in, but this clip is actually pretty hilarious.
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