Fantasy Football Draft Guide

Fantasy football: Players entering a contract year

August 25, 2009 @ 11:30:58

Every fantasy football season owners are looking for an edge, and one common place to find a motivating factor for a player is his contract status.

Money is a motivator, and below you will find a listing of notable fantasy contributors entering a contract year.

Due to the situation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, any player listed with as RFA* is going to be a restricted free agent in 2010 ONLY if the current CBA is extended. By way of the extension, unrestricted free agency occurs after six seasons of NFL service instead of the current four years.

Pos	Player	Current Team	Years pro	2010 FA Status	Notes
QB	Chad Pennington	Miami Dolphins	10	UFA	Unlikely to return in 2010
QB	Kellen Clemens	New York Jets	4	RFA*	Probably will test the waters if allowed to
QB	Kyle Orton	Denver Broncos	5	RFA*	2009 will probably determine his future in Denver
QB	Jason Campbell	Washington Redskins	5	RFA*	2009 will probably determine his future in Washington
RB	Willie Parker	Pittsburgh Steelers	6	UFA	Appears to be a make-or-break season in 2009
RB	Chester Taylor	Minnesota Vikings	8	UFA	Unlikely to return in 2010
RB	Kevin Faulk	New England Patriots	11	UFA	May have a spot on the Pats if healthy and productive
RB	Ricky Williams	Miami Dolphins	9	UFA	Return depends on health and production in '09
RB	Pierre Thomas	New Orleans Saints	3	RFA	Expected to return in 2010 unless he falters in 2009
FB	Le'Ron McClain	Baltimore Ravens	3	RFA	Likely to return to team in '10
RB	Ronnie Brown	Miami Dolphins	5	RFA*	2009 and CBA will determine his return to the Dolphins
RB	LenDale White	Tennessee Titans	4	RFA*	2009 and CBA will determine his return to the Titans
RB	Darren Sproles	San Diego Chargers	5	RFA*	Franchise tag recipient; expected to test FA market if allowed to
RB	Leon Washington	New York Jets	4	RFA*	2009 and CBA will determine his return to the Jets
RB	Jerious Norwood	Atlanta Falcons	4	RFA*	2009 and CBA will determine his return to the Falcons
RB	Jerome Harrison	Cleveland Browns	4	RFA*	2009 and CBA will determine his return to the Browns
WR	Isaac Bruce	San Francisco 49ers	16	UFA	Expected to retire after the season
WR	Joey Galloway	New England Patriots	15	UFA	Could retire after the season
WR	Antonio Bryant	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	7	UFA	Franchise tag recipient - looking for big money and is hungry
WR	Muhsin Muhammad	Carolina Panthers	14	UFA	Could retire after the season
WR	Kevin Walter	Houston Texans	7	UFA	2009 will probably determine his future in Houston
WR	Terrell Owens	Buffalo Bills	14	UFA	Anybody's guess beyond this year; production and attitude may determine future
WR	Chris Chambers	San Diego Chargers	9	UFA	2009 will probably determine his future in San Diego
WR	Derrick Mason	Baltimore Ravens	13	UFA	He turns 36 years old after the season and may consider retirement again
WR	Steve Breaston	Arizona Cardinals	3	RFA	Unlikely to leave the team
WR	Domenik Hixon	New York Giants	4	RFA*	2009 productivity probably decides his future with the team
WR	Mark Bradley	Kansas City Chiefs	5	RFA*	CBA, health and production are all factors in his return
WR	Braylon Edwards	Cleveland Browns	5	RFA*	2009 productivity probably decides his future with the Browns
WR	Vincent Jackson	San Diego Chargers	5	RFA*	Working on long-term contract; production in '09 is a big factor in his return
WR	Lance Moore	New Orleans Saints	4	RFA*	2009 will probably determine his future in New Orleans
WR	Brandon Marshall	Denver Broncos	4	RFA*	Flip a coin; may not be in Denver in 2009, so it's a toss-up right now
WR	Mark Clayton	Baltimore Ravens	5	RFA*	Productivity and CBA the biggest factors for his contract; a do-or-die season
WR	Miles Austin	Dallas Cowboys	4	RFA*	Needs to stay healthy and break out
TE	Randy McMichael	St. Louis Rams	8	UFA	Production and health are the biggest factors in determining his return
TE	Benjamin Watson	New England Patriots	6	UFA	Health is the key to determining his fate with the Pats
TE	Alge Crumpler	Tennessee Titans	9	UFA	Needs to produce consistently to have a shot at returning
TE	L.J. Smith	Baltimore Ravens	7	UFA	Production and health are the biggest factors in determining his return
TE	Owen Daniels	Houston Texans	4	RFA*	Expected to work on long-term deal to remain with Houston
TE	Anthony Fasano	Miami Dolphins	4	RFA*	Production in 2009 and CBA top concerns
TE	Tony Scheffler	Denver Broncos	4	RFA*	If healthy, can be productive - new offense that doesn't use the position a lot
TE	Bo Scaife	Tennessee Titans	5	RFA*	Franchise tag recipient - looking for big money but may be an overachiever
TE	Alex Smith	New England Patriots	5	RFA*	Injuries and attitude his biggest drawbacks; needs a strong showing in first year with Pats