The Colts chose to re-sign Dwayne Allen over fellow tight end Coby Fleener, and the latter went on to sign a five-year, $36MM deal with the Saints. And according to Fleener, it doesn’t sound Indianapolis put up too much of a fight to keep him. “The Colts’ lack of interest and the Saints’ interest made going to New Orleans an easy choice,” Fleener told Mike Wells of ESPN.com.
Here are a few more notes from the South divisions…
- Another former Colt, linebacker Jerrell Freeman, says the club never made him a free agent offer, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). That seems to conflict from a report earlier today that indicated Indianapolis offered Freeman the same contract he ultimately signed with the Bears, but the dispute could stem from the notion that Freeman wasn’t offered a deal during free agency — this afternoon’s report said the Colts gave Freeman their proposal prior to March 9.
- The Buccaneers are not among the contenders for free agent safety Eric Weddle, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Weddle is reportedly weighing offers from four teams, thought to be the Ravens, Steelers, Cowboys, and Raiders.
- Cornerback Prince Amukamara had other free agent trips planned, but he never got around to taking them after finding that he liked what the Jaguars were offering, Amukamara explained to reporters, including John Oehser of Jaguars.com. Amukamara agreed to a one-year deal with Jacksonville.
I’ve heard from several sources that the Raiders are Eric Weddle’s first choice (his recent remark that “Oakland would be a good landing spot” would certainly support that notion, particularly when this was his only such remark) with the Pittsburgh Steelers a fairly distant second. If there is any truth to the reports that Weddle and his wife have spent the weekend carefully considering peripheral factors (area schools being the most widely reported) then Oakland would in all likelihood emerge victorious. Furthermore, Eric Weddle has made it clear that he wants to continue living in Southrrn California so why would he accept an offer from a club on the other side of the country?
The only thing that could possibly tip the scales in the Seelers would be a considerably higher contract offer, but I really don’t see the Raiders getting outbid!