Free-agent defensive end Dwight Freeney continues his quest to be not a free agent. And there’s one very intriguing fact that supports his case unlike any other.
As Peter King of TheMMQB.com points out, Freeney had eight sacks in 317 snaps last season with the Cardinals. Olivier Vernon has 7.5 sacks in 977 snaps last season.
Vernon cashed in on the first day of free agency, getting a rim-rocking deal with the Giants. Freeney continues to be unsigned.
Of course, Freeney was unsigned a year ago, too. Until the middle of October. He eventually delivered in a big way for Arizona, sealing a December win over the Vikings with a late strip sack of Teddy Bridgewater. Then, Freeney punctuated his 14th NFL season (11 with the Colts, two with the Chargers, one with the Cardinals) with three sacks against the Packers.
“To get a three-sack game at any age is like hitting two homers in a game,” Freeney told King. “That day was a great feeling, knowing I can still can play this game at a very high level.”
Freeney, who explained that he feels fine despite being 36, wants to return to the Cardinals. Given the offseason addition of Chandler Jones, the Cardinals likely will want Freeney only if someone (like Jones) gets hurt. So who else may want Freeney?
How about the Patriots, the team that traded Jones away?
“Well, that’s hard to fathom,” Freeney told King. “But I’m not against [coach] Bill [Belichick]. I understand the dynamic involved, but at the end of the day, this is a business. My first allegiance right now is to Arizona, if they’re interested. But if it happened that I ended up in New England, I can tell you, both sides would win.”
If Freeney manages to play like he did last year (or most other years of his career), he’s right. Making his case even more compelling is that, unlike most veterans, he’s clamoring for work now -- at a time when he’d be participating in offseason workouts and all of training camp. Most guys his age would prefer to skip all of that and pull a Favre, joining a team as late in the preseason as possible.
So Freeney should get extra credit for being earnest. Beyond that, eight sacks in 317 snaps should be enough to get someone to put him on the 90-man roster in order to see what he can do.
