Someone is going to make a bundle in this year's free-agency, and here's hoping it's someone like London Fletcher.
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| London Fletcher has been his team's leading tackler the last eight seasons. (Getty Images) |
First, it was St. Louis. Then, it was Buffalo. And now? Well, that's where things get interesting. Fletcher becomes an unrestricted free agent Friday, and he is supposed to be out in Buffalo -- though he said his agent continues to negotiate with the Bills -- and in at Washington? Or was that Detroit? Both are among his most rumored destinations.
"Where did that come from?" asked Fletcher, house-hunting in Charlotte when I caught up to him.
When I told him, Fletcher laughed. He insisted he doesn't know where his next stop will be, but wherever it is, he expects it to be his last. He also said he knows what he wants from his next contract, and it's what most players on the verge of leaping into free-agency want.
Some people call it financial stability. Me? I call it a reward.
Which means London Fletcher is in the right place at the right time to collect it. With the salary cap jumping to $109 million per team, there are clubs galore with the cap room and the money to spend on unrestricted free agents. All they need is someone worth paying the big bucks, and I think we just found him.
"You want to win," Fletcher said. "Everyone wants to win. But it's a situation where you never know who's going to win the next year. Take New Orleans, for instance. Or St. Louis when I was there. The year before we won the Super Bowl we were 4-12.
"You never know from one year to the next who's going to be in the Super Bowl, but you can be pretty sure it won't be the preseason favorite. Obviously, there are some organizations that have better chances than others, and that's something I'm going to consider. But I'm not going to take significantly less because of it."
Fletcher shouldn't take significantly less from anyone. The guy can play, and, yeah, I know he turns 32 in May and has a body that absorbed nine years of punishment. But look what he did last season. He had 157 tackles. He led all linebackers with four interceptions. He scored twice, one of only seven defensive players with that on his resume.
But here's what I like most: He never missed a game. I mention that because he never missed a game in nine NFL seasons, and when I ask him what means more to him -- leading his team in tackles eight consecutive years or never sitting down -- Fletcher shifts into neutral.
"That's difficult to answer," he said. "Always being there on Sundays says something. I feel blessed to be able to say I will always be there because my teammates can depend on me and know that I will always be there. At the same time, leading the team in tackles means you're producing. They're equal to me, but I guess if I had to choose one, it would be not missing any games."
If I had to choose, it would be including this guy in my defense. He plays hard. He plays well. He's a leader, controlling his defense as coolly and confidently as Peyton Manning controls his offense. His character is unassailable. And he seldom makes mistakes. Don't ask me why he never was named to a Pro Bowl team. It makes no sense. And don't ask Fletcher, either.
