Free agency has gotten under way in 2009 without much of a bang so far. It's 3 hours and 50 minutes in as I write this, and we've yet to hear anything significant regarding Haynesworth, Canty, or Ray Lewis.
Haynesworth is worth keeping an eye on not only because one of the more prominent prospects for him is none other than our NFC East rivals, the Washington Redskins, but also because him leaving the Titans leaves an opening. But if he does end up in Washington, it'll means the Cowboys will face him twice in 2009, and that could be problematic if the Dallas offensive line play doesn't step up.
While the Titans have the personnel to continue on without adding any players to replace Haynesworth, they have already made contact with Canty's agent and are scheduling an interview with him likely either Friday or Saturday. Chris Canty also has an interview lined up already in Washington on Friday.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh went on ESPN's NFL Live just minutes after the free agency period opened tonight stating that he had been in contact with his agent via text messaging, but that he had not called him to avoid tying up his agent's phone line. He did mention that he is interested in the Vikings, Eagles, Seahawks, and New York. He didn't specify Jets or Giants, but it's likely he meant the Giants.
Meanwhile, the Redskins retained corner back DeAngelo Hall with a six year, $54 million deal, with $30 million of that due in the first three years.
So overall, the Cowboys division opponents appear to be gearing up for the year to come, and that will certainly play a factor in how well the Cowboys do in 2009. The NFC East was again one of the toughest divisions in the league in 2008, and that doesn't appear to be changing.
No other news so far on any of the Cowboys' other free agents, so we'll check back tomorrow and hope that something breaks in favor of Dallas. Would not be good for the Eagles, Giants, and Redskins to beef up if the Cowboys don't do the same.
