Bell: Day 1 of free agency a gut check for all involved

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick must get going down been stunned to find out Tuesday that he had been cut by the Bills.(Photo: John Bazemore, AP)

Story Highlights

• Tuesday kicked eat up with a bizarre story involving a phone call between general managers
• During set-back five hours after the 4 p.m. ET start, more than four cardinal free agents had signed
• The Super Bowl champion Ravens woolly-headed more key players to free agency

What a wild rush.

Guess the three-day, pre-market windowpane of legalized tampering was vindicatory the ticket to ignite the market at the opening bell.

The flurry of moves on Day 1 was stunning. I don't recall the league's clean year ever getting off the ground with such velocity, with so many transactions.

TUESDAY MOVES: Find out who went where

During the get-go five hours after the 4 p.m. ET kickoff, more than four 12 free agents had new contracts … and counting.

But it wasn't just the mad money -- we'll get to that -- that marked the event. Adding to the craziness was a Deadspin.com report revealing a secretly-recorded conversation between two NFL general managers -- Buffalo's Buddy zipper and Tampa Bay's Mark Dominik -- that could result in charges for the pranksters.

During the chat, Nix bemoaned his starting quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Naturally, on Tuesday, Fitzpatrick was cut -- which was probably going to occur anyway, with a new cultivate and $3 meg roster bonus -- with the record providing an ominous backdrop.

Another notable cut that was seen coming: Nnamdi Asomugha.

BELL: Don't cry for broken-up Ravens

Two old age ago, he was the prince of free agency. Asomugha signed a five-year, $60 one million million million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, leading off the talent haul that shake Vince Young to dub them "The Dream Team."

Now Asomugha, who had a $15 million salary for 2013, is way too expensive for new coach Chip Kelly. So he's back on the just-opened market.

Asomugha's tumble shows just how fleeting the big money deals can be, and why NFL contracts practise with an asterisk.

It has been a tough week for high-priced cornerbacks. The Redskins cut DeAngelo dorm on Monday, and the Vikings gave Antoine Winfield the boot on Tuesday.

They have something else in common. dorm room and Winfield were among the three cornerbacks in the NFL during the 2012 season to tally at to the lowest degree cytosine tackles, with St. Louis' Cortland Finnegan rounding out the short list.

To get 100 tackles as a corner is rare, vouching for the type of run detain that Deion Sanders was never famous for. For years, I've considered Winfield, 5-9, 180, as the best pound-for-pound defender in football. But he's getting older. He's 35. And he carried a $7.25 million viewpoint salary for 2013. That made him expendable.

 

Materials taken from USA Today