Forget March Madness- the NFL has a March Madness of their own that's just as interesting. Free agency started today (March 5th) and it came with surprises, surprises.. and oh, surprises. Who says the NFL is from September to February? Not anymore. Let's take a look at the free agency headlines around the league:

Anquan Boldin to Ravens-

My Baltimore Ravens FINALLY got a proven WR on their roster. The Ravens traded a 2010 3rd and 4th round pick for Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin and a 5th round pick. Boldin also signed a new 4 year deal, worth $28 million. This is probably the best move of the day. Not because the Ravens are my squad, but because this fills a HUGE need on a team that was in dire need of a WR.



Peppers, Taylor, Manumaleuna headed to Chicago-

The Chicago Bears have been the busiest team out of any today, as they signed DE Julius Peppers, RB Chester Taylor and TE Brandon Manumaleuna to bolster their roster. Peppers comes in to help a Bears defense ranked 13th in sacks in 2009.

Chester Taylor will look to challenge Matt Forte for the starting job at RB and Manumaleuna will be used to help block for QB Jay Cutler. While these upgrades are great, the Bears struggled to address their 2 biggest needs- WR and personnel on the offensive line. Remember, the Bears also do not have a 1st round draft pick from the Cutler trade last year. My guess is they willl address these issues in the draft, but I'm shocked they didn't at least make an attempt in free agency.



Vanden Bosch reunites with Schwartz in Detroit-

Titans DT Kyle Vanden Bosch signed a 4-year, $26 million deal to reunite him with his former defensive coordinator in Jim Schwartz. The Lions have also been busy today, acquiring WR Nate Burleson and T Corey Williams to new deals. All 3 signings are great pickups for the Lions. Vanden Bosch played his best years in Schwartz's defense. The additions of Burleson and Williams brings depth to a rebuilding Lions team. I like what Schwartz is doing with this squad.



Robinson To Falcons To Bolster Defensive Backfield-

CB Dunta Robinson agreed in principle to a 6 year deal with the Atlanta Falcons. I was really hoping the Ravens would pursue Robinson, because he would be a great asset to just about any defense. But I realized, the Falcons defense is pretty bad. They could use him a lot more than we could.

Cribbs, Brackett, Wilfork Staying Put- The Browns finally gave return specialist Josh Cribbs a new deal. It is believed the 3 year deal has $7 million guaranteed. Cribbs is the brightest spot on the Browns. Had he left, it would've got ugly in Cleveland. Colts LB Gary Brackett and Patriots DT Vince Wilfork also signed new deals to stay with their respected organizations.

Brandon Marshall A Seahawk??

Looks like BMarsh is just as shocked as I am about the news. We don't know for sure but the disgruntled Broncos receiver is scheduled to meet with Seattle tomorrow. Denver is really looking to finally get rid of this headache in #15, and only added a 1st round tender on Marshall if a team does decide to add him to their roster. The bigger issue with Seattle is, who is going to throw to him? Matt Hasslebeck looks like his career is on a major decline, due to injury and Seneca Wallace doesn't seem to be the clear cut answer at QB either. Watching where Marshall goes will be interesting to see in the coming days or weeks.

Carolina Panthers Has Garage Sale- That's what it seems like,. The Panthers let Peppers go, and released Maake Kemoeatu, Damione Lewis, Na'il Diggs, Landon Johnson and the biggest shocker in QB Jake Delhomme. It's a shock to me, because Delhomme JUST received a new contract this time last year, with $20 million guaranteed. Although Delhomme sucked during the 2008 playoffs and the 2009 season, the fact they the Panthers still owe him $12.6 million after dumping him is a HUGE deal in the NFL.

From the looks of this press conference, Delhomme was just as shocked as I was.




Keep ya head up Jake!

The Biggest Surprise Of The Day Goes To..................................

The Washington Redskins for being QUIET during the first day of free agency! Who would ever think that Mike Shanahan could come in and bring normalcy to a dysfunctional franchise in just a short time. Congrats to you, Redskins, for not overpaying old players who are shells of their former selves.