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With the third pick in the sixth round of the NFL draft -- the pick they got from Minnesota last summer in return for quarterback Donovan McNabb -- the Redskins selected running back Alfred Morris from Florida Atlantic.

Morris is a strong, compact power runner who's only about 5-foot-9, and I have no idea how he'll factor into the Redskins' 2012 season because he's a sixth-round pick. But he's a different kind of back than the two they drafted last year -- Roy Helu and Evan Royster -- and he gets added to the offseason and training camp mix with them. The Redskins still want to bring back free agent Tim Hightower or, if he leaves, another veteran back or two because they believe it's important to have depth and they're not sold on Helu or Royster as a full-time starter at this point.

I just found it interesting because it was the McNabb pick. Couple of other notes of mild interest:

— With the seventh pick in this round, Arizona took cornerback Justin Bethel from Presbyterian. That was the pick the Redskins traded to Arizona, along with Vonnie Holliday, last summer for Hightower.

— The Redskins also hold the 23rd pick in this round (No. 194 overall) as a result of the trade with Pittsburgh that moved them down 10 spots in the fourth round earlier today.

Michael Robinson's expected re-signing with the Seattle Seahawks would give the team a league-high four re-signings in the unrestricted free-agent market.

Red Bryant, Paul McQuistan and Heath Farwell previously re-signed.

Seattle and the other NFC West teams have added only two UFAs from other teams, however. I've put together UFA scorecards for each team in the division. Ages are in parenthesis. Here goes ...

Seattle Seahawks

UFA unsigned (age): defensive end Raheem Brock (33), defensive lineman Jimmy Wilkerson (31), safety Atari Bigby (30), quarterback Charlie Whitehurst (29), linebacker Leroy Hill (29), linebacker Matt McCoy (29), defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove (28), linebacker David Hawthorne (26), running back Justin Forsett (26), linebacker David Vobora (25)

UFA re-signed: Farwell (30), Robinson (29), McQuistan (28), Bryant (27)

UFA added: none

UFA lost: tight end John Carlson (27)

Franchise player: none

Comment: Forsett has provided value, but the Seahawks will want to add a power back as depth behind Marshawn Lynch, who re-signed before free agency. Mike Tolbert, a free agent from the San Diego Chargers, could be worth a look if the running back market remains soft. Tolbert weighs 243 pounds, has 21 total touchdowns over the past two seasons, and caught 54 passes in 2012. The price would have to be right after Seattle committed to Lynch.

San Francisco 49ers

UFA unsigned: fullback Moran Norris (33), tight end Justin Peelle (33), safety Madieu Williams (30), quarterback Alex Smith (27), receiver Ted Ginn Jr. (26), guard Chilo Rachal (26), safety Reggie Smith (25)

UFA re-signed: cornerback Carlos Rogers (30), linebacker Tavares Gooden (27)

UFA added: none

UFA lost: guard Adam Snyder (30), linebacker Blake Costanzo (27), receiver Josh Morgan (26)

Franchise player: safety Dashon Goldson (27)

Comment: Randy Moss and potential addition Rock Cartwright do not appear in the listings because they were not unrestricted free agents. Re-signing Alex Smith and finding additional receiver help appear to be the top priorities. The 49ers are showing little outward urgency on either front, however.

Arizona Cardinals

UFA unsigned: defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday (36), kicker Jay Feely (35), long-snapper Mike Leach (35), outside linebacker Clark Haggans (35), outside linebacker Joey Porter (34), offensive lineman Floyd Womack (33), punter Dave Zastudil (33), tackle D'Anthony Batiste (29), safety Sean Considine (29), guard Deuce Lutui (28), safety Hamza Abdullah (28), tackle Brandon Keith (27), receiver Early Doucet (26)

UFA re-signed: none.

UFA added: Snyder (30)

UFA lost: cornerback Richard Marshall (27)

Franchise player: defensive end Calais Campbell (25)

Comment: The Cardinals have been in a tough spot. They would have faced criticism had they declined to pursue Peyton Manning. They could now face criticism for sacrificing the first week of free agency while waiting for Manning. The reality is that Arizona probably wasn't going to be all that aggressive in the market this offseason, anyway. It did hurt losing Marshall to the Miami Dolphins after coordinator Ray Horton called him the Cardinals' defensive MVP.

St. Louis Rams

UFA unsigned: cornerback Al Harris (37), quarterback A.J. Feeley (34), offensive lineman Tony Wragge (32), linebacker Brady Poppinga (32), punter Donnie Jones (31), offensive lineman Adam Goldberg (31), guard Jacob Bell (31), receiver Brandon Lloyd (30), cornerback Rod Hood (30), running back Cadillac Williams (29), defensive tackle Gary Gibson (29), receiver Mark Clayton (29), tackle Mark LeVoir (29), tight end Stephen Spach (29), safety James Butler (29), tight end Billy Bajema (29), quarterback Kellen Clemens (28), running back Jerious Norwood (28), linebacker Bryan Kehl (27), linebacker Chris Chamberlain (26), cornerback Justin King (24)

UFA re-signed: none

UFA added: cornerback Cortland Finnegan (28)

UFA lost: none

Franchise player: none

Comment: The Rams are not looking to re-sign many of their own free agents. They want to turn over the roster, and that is happening in a big way. The team's failure to secure playmaking help for quarterback Sam Bradford stands out as the biggest theme to this point. Finnegan was a welcome addition, but he isn't going to score many touchdowns.

The chart below shows a general overview.

We're still a month away from NFL free agency, but with the Super Bowl behind us, we'll start sizing up players without contracts for 2012.

Expanding upon Brian McIntyre's lists, I've plugged in offensive and defensive snap-count numbers for NFC West free agents, courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information.

The charts below cover the Arizona Cardinals' free agents. The final column shows what each player's previous contract averaged annually.

Re-signing defensive end Calais Campbell will be a top priority. I don't see the Cardinals letting him get away. They moved on from Antonio Smith a few years ago, but they did so with Campbell ready to take over. They would have a hard time replacing Campbell.

Cornerback Richard Marshall proved valuable on a one-year deal. Early Doucet was a primary threat on third down.

Overall, though, the Cardinals have a relatively modest group of unrestricted free agents.

Safety Sean Considine played extensively on special teams. I've listed him with the offensive and defensive UFAs, however.

The Cardinals' key specialists are without contracts. The team has turned over those positions in recent seasons.

The Cardinals can keep their restricted free agents, listed below, by making one-year qualifying offers to them, then matching any outside offers.

The Arizona Cardinals' efforts to develop young players and integrate new ones on defense continues to stagnate.

The reasons are simple to understand.
First-year coordinator Ray Horton is installing a complex new system that would be tough for young players to absorb even with a full offseason. And the team's highest-priced defensive addition in free agency, inside linebacker Stewart Bradley, came from a vastly different system, so he was going to face a transition period as well.

Finally, the Cardinals haven't done a great job drafting young personnel to fit their new system.

I found useful comments New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick made recently in explaining why his team has leaned less heavily on a pure 3-4 defense:

"We've played a mixture of odd fronts and even fronts, but I just felt like from a starting point -- given the lack of spring opportunities to practice and meet, and the shortened training camp in terms of actual number of practices -- that from a teaching standpoint, we felt like there would be more carryover teaching our base defense and nickel defense really as one front.

"We wanted a lot of carryover between our run responsibilities and run fits, and some of our pressure defenses and things like that. We'll transition and build into some of our odds fronts, but we felt like in trying to evaluate young players, asking them to learn one system in a 3-4 and then learn another system in nickel [was too much].

"As you know, we were in nickel defense just as much as we were 3-4 defense because of teams using multiple receivers on early downs and two-minute and all those kind of things. So, we felt like it would be a better opportunity to evaluate our players and not try to over-install and put in a ton of defense.

"There are so many intricacies to a 3-4 defense that I just didn't know if we'd be ready to handle them this year."

The Cardinals have scaled back. And, unlike the Patriots, they have not had Belichick teaching and overseeing their defense since 2000. Horton is finding his way as a coordinator and still getting a feel for the personnel he inherited. He also doesn't benefit from a Tom Brady-led offense putting points on the board and pulling out victories even when the defense falters.

What the Cardinals do have in their favor, at least this week, is great familiarity with the upcoming opponent, Pittsburgh. Horton coached the Steelers' secondary, so he should know how to scheme for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Arizona coaches Ken Whisehunt and Russ Grimm, among others, also have roots with the Steelers. And Arizona is coming off a bye week, which gave coaches needed time to reassess.

The first chart shows snap counts and percentages for the Cardinals' defensive players, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Younger players such as O'Brien Schofield and Sam Acho will presumably get more playing time as the season progresses. Bradley's snap counts are also much lower than I would have anticipated coming into the season.

.

A few thoughts on NFC West rosters after calculating age ranks for NFL teams based on the rosters I maintain:

• The chart ranks teams from oldest to youngest, excluding special-teams players who can sometimes play into their 40s. The first column shows overall rank, counting offensive and defensive players. The third and fourth columns show where teams rank on each side of the ball. These are for starters and backups. In some cases, teams might plan to release older backups on the reduction to 53 players.


• Arizona Cardinals: Earlier in the preseason, Kevin Kolb referred to the Cardinals as a young team. They do have young players, some of whom played extensively last season and should be better for it. But the Cardinals have the sixth-oldest roster in the league overall. Vonnie Holliday (35), Clark Haggans (34), Joey Porter (34), Paris Lenon (33), Floyd Womack (32), Adrian Wilson (31), Todd Heap (31) and Nick Eason (31) are some of them. The team has also favored veteran offensive linemen, including veteran backups.


• St. Louis Rams: The Rams got older on purpose, adding seasoning to their defense through players added on one-year deals. Al Harris (36) is the oldest non-specialist on the team. James Hall (34) and Fred Robbins (34) remain valuable contributors. Both start. Rookie Robert Quinn will likely replace Hall at some point. Drafting a defensive tackle in the first round of the 2012 draft could make sense, too. Some of the Rams' additions could come at the expense of incumbent veterans such as Hank Fraley (34 next month) and Na'il Diggs (33).


• San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers have gotten younger this offseason, particularly on defense. They subtracted Takeo Spikes (34), Aubrayo Franklin (31 this week), Travis LaBoy (30), Brian Westbrook, Nate Clements (31), Brian Westbrook (32 next month), William James (32), Barry Sims (36) and Demetric Evans (32 next month).. Fulback Moran Norris (33) is their oldest non-specialist. The team has only six non-specialists in their 30s, half as many as the Cardinals have.


• Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks have been getting younger by design over the past two seasons. Like the 49ers, they have only six non-specialists in their 30s, with none older than 33 (Raheem Brock). They have subtracted Sean Locklear (30), Matt Hasselbeck (36 next month), Stacy Andrews (30), J.P. Losman (30), Brandon Stokley (35), Lawyer Milloy (37), Chester Pitts (32) and Craig Terrill (31). Most general managers want to make their teams younger when starting out. In Seattle, the head coach is also amendable to that approach. But a few players such as Brock (33), Junior Siavii (32), Colin Cole (31), Marcus Trufant (30) and Atari Bigby (30 next month) have kept the Seahawks defensive ranking from sinking further. Seattle is 16th oldest on that side of the ball.

I've sprouted a couple new gray hairs just typing in some of these names. Might be time to squeeze in an afternoon workout.

Yeah, there was some traffic. Next time I'll take the train so I can work on the way down. Lesson learned. Or I need to hitch a ride with Mortensen on that bus he's got.

Anyway, some stuff happened while I was on the road, and I'm going to start with the Redskins, who made a couple of moves.

They traded 35-year-old defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday and a conditional draft pick to the Arizona Cardinals for 25-year-old running back Tim Hightower. I put the players' ages in there for good reason, since it's the latest illustration of what the Redskins are up to -- namely, getting younger and rebuilding with their eyes more on the future than on 2011. They've been remaking their defensive line with the additions of Barry Cofield and Stephen Bowen and the subtraction of Jeremy Jarmon and now Holliday. More moves might be coming there, and if they do, expect them to fit in with most of the moves the Redskins have been making -- moves for younger, hungry players who are already good and somewhat established but have room to grow as the team moves on into the future. Hightower enters the running back mix with Ryan Torain, Roy Helu and Evan Royster. He's got the most experience of that bunch, and Mike Shanahan likes having depth at the position. Sensible move that gets them younger overall and brings in something of a veteran presence at a position where they lacked it.

They re-signed right tackle Jammal Brown, who started slow last year in his first season with the team but improved in the second half as he became healthier, to a five-year, $27.5 million contract. This move was expected, though there was some thought they'd look elsewhere. (Denver's Ryan Harris had come up in some speculation.) Continuity is good for an offensive line, and Brown will return for a second year in Shanahan's zone-blocking scheme. Left-to-right, the Redskins' starting offensive line right now is Trent Williams, Kory Lichtensteiger, Will Montgomery, Chris Chester and Brown. Everybody but Chester from that group was on the team last year.

They also brought back H.B. Blades, who'll be a special-teamer and a backup for them at the inside linebacker spots. Depth is good, and with Lorenzo Alexander possibly moving inside to make room for first-round draft pick Ryan Kerrigan on the outside, the Skins have it.

The Redskins have had a very busy -- and I think a very good -- first week of free agency. They're not making the kinds of moves that make you think they'll just right into 2011 contention, because they likely won't. But in the second year of a five-year contract, Shanahan is building a team, and trying to do it the right way. And don't look now, but it appears Dan Snyder has been staying out of it. Just like he promised.

Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams could be running behind Deuce Lutui for the Arizona Cardinals in 2011.

Not so for Tim Hightower.

Lutui's return, announced by the Cardinals on Sunday, came after the veteran guard failed a physical examination with the Cincinnati Bengals. Lutui had agreed to terms on a contract with the Bengals after becoming an unrestricted free agent with Arizona. He gives the Cardinals another guard with considerable starting experience. Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack also signed with the team recently. The team previously signed Daryn Colledge from Green Bay in free agency to replace the retiring Alan Faneca at left guard.

Lutui and Womack in particular are massive men. Lutui's battles making weight have concerned the Cardinals over the years.

Hightower's departure to the Washington Redskins returned a conditional late-round pick and 35-year-old defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported. Holliday has played in 31 games, starting five, over the past two seasons.

Hightower's fumbling troubles -- he lost four in each of the last two seasons -- cost him playing time. His future with the team came into question when the Cardinals used a 2011 second-round choice for running back Ryan Williams.

Wells, Williams and LaRod Stephens-Howling give the Cardinals a diverse group of backs. Finding a roster spot for Hightower might have been difficult, although Wells' problems with injuries add some risk to the equation for Arizona. The Cardinals have at times favored running Wells from personnel groupings with two tight ends and no fullback. The team could have additional options along those lines after adding tight ends Rob Housler, Todd Heap and Jeff King this offseason.

The Cardinals have been busy over the last several days, adding quarterback Kevin Kolb, among others. The team also has interest in receiver Braylon Edwards, according to Mike Jurecki of XTRA 910 AM in Phoenix.

Such activity has surely caught Larry Fitzgerald's attention as the Cardinals work toward convincing him to stay with the organization beyond 2011, the final year of his contract.

Redskins defensive end and player representative Vonnie Holliday says that players will work through the weekend to get a deal done. Holliday also explains why he was unhappy with the owners' ratification of a CBA proposal.

The NFC West is heading into a potential lockout with Chester Pitts, Adam Goldberg, Takeo Spikes and Jay Feely as its player union reps.

A few notes on the 32 reps, as identified by the NFL Players Association:

• Offensive linemen stress solidarity and teamwork in their on-field jobs. These ethics might make them suited for union duty. Twelve of the 32 reps are offensive linemen. That is 37.5 percent representation, about double the percentage of offensive linemen on the typical 53-man roster.
• Vonnie Holliday (Washington) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (Detroit) are the only defensive linemen among reps.
• Feely leads a contingent of three kickers, joining John Kasay (Carolina) and Robbie Gould (Chicago). No punters are reps.
• Kasay is the oldest rep. He is 41. Oakland's Zach Miller is the youngest. He is 25. Average age: 31.6 years old. Teammates elect reps. Veterans command more respect. Their experience suits them for the role.
• Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers is the only quarterback on the rep list.
• The list is sometimes in flux. For example, the union still lists Erik Coleman as the Atlanta Falcons' rep, but the team released him. Coleman subsequently signed with Detroit.

The chart breaks down union reps by position across divisions, counting Coleman.

When the 11 o'clock news came on that night, Vonnie Holliday sat back with a smile on his face and relived the glorious moment.

He watched his teammates go bonkers in celebration. They jumped. They hugged. They raised their fists -- even a few index fingers -- in self salute.

The Miami Dolphins hadn't won just any game. They had won their first game. It was Week 15.

"I remember watching how crazy we were acting out there," said Holliday, the veteran defensive tackle. "I don't know if people could really appreciate it. If you weren't a part of that team or one of those guys who went out every day and worked as hard as we did to get it, you wouldn't understand it."

"That was just one win, but it was our Super Bowl."

The power of one victory is immense.

Members of that '07 Dolphins team know what the Buffalo Bills are going through this year -- and then some.

The Bills are the NFL's only winless team. They're 0-8 heading into Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions in Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The '07 Dolphins lost their first 13 games before they pulled out a dramatic victory, beating the Baltimore Ravens when undrafted quarterback Cleo Lemon connected with undrafted receiver Greg Camarillo for a 64-yard touchdown in sudden death. Camarillo hadn't scored a touchdown since high school.

That's how thin the Dolphins' margin for error was.

"That day, we made a play," said Lemon, now playing for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. "It was a great moment. But as a professional you never want to have a season like that."

The '07 Dolphins lost six games by a field goal that year. The Bills have lost each of their past three games by three points, two of them in overtime.

Bills tight end David Martin tells his teammates how much a single "W" can wash away the pressure, the doubt, the feelings of inadequacy and the ridicule that builds with each passing defeat.

Martin played on the '07 Dolphins, too.

"One win would make a big difference," Martin said by phone Thursday from One Bills Drive. "We have a young team, and I'm sure right now it feels like we're doing all this for nothing. But one win will lift everybody's spirits.

"Every game you lose is heartbreaking. That first win in 2007 felt like the Super Bowl. That's what one win will do."

In speaking this week with some players from the '07 Dolphins, I heard them unapologetically compare winning their first game to the feeling of winning a championship. They insisted they weren't being hyperbolic.

I thought the best way to quantify achieving victory late in the season would be to ask somebody with a Stanford engineering degree. I put the question to Camarillo in algebraic terms.

If the value of any victory is "x," then what is the exponential value of a victory when a team is 0-8 or, in the '07 Dolphins' case, 0-13?

I'm not sure if Camarillo pulled out a pad of paper and a slide rule, but he paused for a few moments to weigh the equation.

"If you get it in your first five weeks, it's not that big," Camarillo said after Minnesota Vikings practice Wednesday afternoon. "When you're 0-8, it starts getting really bad. When you're 0-5, you still have time to get things rolling.

"That one win in our 14th game was the equivalent of winning 10 games. That win for us was as good as winning a playoff game."

At 0-8, Camarillo thought a victory might be worth five to the Bills.

Camarillo bemoaned that losing so many close games is mentally grueling. He sounded exhausted just talking about 2007.

Without inside knowledge of the Bills, Camarillo surmised how they're feeling right now. He said they're working hard each week, sacrificing and stressing over that first victory. To repeatedly come close and then have the game slip away on the final play -- or in the waning moments -- becomes torture.

"You go into each week actually thinking 'OK, this is going to be the week. We're going to get our victory this week,' " Camarillo said. "As the season wears on, you're still a professional. You might turn from thinking you're going to win to hoping you're going to win. But you're ready to compete.

"Then as soon as something goes wrong -- you're 0-8 and throw a pick six or fumble the ball -- you drop your head and say 'Oh, no. Here we go again.' It's that mentality that causes you to lose more games."

The '07 Dolphins dealt with greater pressure than this year's Bills are encountering. Imagine what it must've felt like to get so close to becoming the first team in NFL history to go 0-16 -- the Lions didn't pull their oh-fer until a season later -- when your franchise's claim to fame is being the only team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots were making their run at surpassing the '72 Dolphins' perfect season.

Miami was plagued by significant injuries in 2007. They lost their starting quarterback (Trent Green), best two running backs (Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams), star linebacker (Zach Thomas) and several other starters to major injuries. They traded top receiver Chris Chambers. First-year head coach Cam Cameron seemed overmatched.

"Week in and week out ,you're the butt of the joke," said Holliday, a 13-year pro who's now in his first season with the Washington Redskins. "It gets frustrating.

"These guys are tremendous competitors, and everybody's watching. Every conversation you're having with your friends, your family, the media, the fans is about you losing. That gets very tiring."

Jay Leno already is using the Bills as a punch line in his monologues.

One victory would put an end to that. One win and the Bills go from being an obvious laughingstock to one of many, including the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers and others.

"If you're 1-9, they will stop talking about you and that 0-16 talk," Camarillo said. "As soon as you've won you're just a bad team. You're not the worst team."

In Western New York, however, there's an undercurrent of support for the Bills to avoid winning. Talk-radio shows, message boards and my e-mail inbox are inundated with aspirations of 0-16 to ensure the top pick in next April's draft.

For those who feel that way, know the players don't agree with you.

"If you're thinking about going 0-16, there's going to be some major changes on that team," Camarillo said. "Players aren't planning for next year because half the people won't be back."

Another recurring concept in my conversations for this story was the idea of momentum. The Dolphins didn't win again after stunning the Ravens in December 2007. They had only two more chances, though, and Cameron became a dead man coaching when Bill Parcells was hired to oversee football operations right about then.

"We have more pieces to the puzzle here," said Martin, comparing the teams. "I think when we get that first one we can string a few in a row and get that winning feeling around here."

Lemon is close friends with Bills cornerback Drayton Florence and gets the impression when speaking to his former San Diego Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars teammate the Bills have their heads in the right place.

"These guys are fighting hard," Lemon said. "They just haven't been able to finish games and just seem to find a way to lose. Unlike us in 2007, they're healthy. They're making plays. If they can get just one win, they can easily turn it around and have a respectable season."

Even if the Bills can't win half of their remaining games and cobble together a 4-12 record, they still have something to look forward to every Sunday for the next two months.

One win at this stage won't earn the Bills any kind of trophy. But they probably will run around the field in jubilation like they'd just won the Super Bowl.

"I did feel like it, though," Holliday said with a laugh. "It felt really, really good."

RENTON, Wash. -- The Arizona Cardinals didn't have a pressing need at outside linebacker after signing Joey Porter to bolster a group featuring youngsters Cody Brown and Will Davis.

The position was still an area without proven depth throughout the roster, however, and that is why the team's selection of Wisconsin defensive end O'Brien Schofield could make sense for the long term. Schofield projects as an outside rush linebacker. He stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 242 pounds.

Schofield, like recently drafted Seahawks cornerback Walter Thurmond, is coming off a significant knee injury. He starred at the East-West Shrine game, earning a late invite to the Senior Bowl, only to suffer a torn ACL during one of the practices in Mobile, Ala.

The Cardinals will presumably let Schofield work under strength and conditioning coach John Lott for the upcoming season, with an eye toward 2011. That is my feel, anyway, based on discussions with draft analyst Rob Rang, who is sitting nearby in the media room at Seahawks headquarters.

Schofield has very strong NFL connections. His cousins include former Seahawks receiver Bobby Engram and longtime defensive end Vonnie Holliday, according to my Pro Football Weekly draft guide.

Denver

Potential unrestricted free agents: P Mitch Berger, S Vernon Fox, T Brandon Gorin, Nick Greisen, G Ben Hamilton, G Russ Hochstein, DE Vonnie Holliday, CB Ty Law, WR Brandon Lloyd

Potential restricted free agents: LB Elvis Dumervil, OL Chris Kuper, WR Brandon Marshall, QB Kyle Orton, TE Tony Scheffler, DT Le Kevin Smith

Franchise player: None.

What to expect: The Broncos’ restricted class is talented. That will be the focus. It has been reported that Marshall, Orton, Dumervil, Scheffler and Kuper will all get one-year tenders. Marshall very well could be traded. It wouldn’t be a shock if Dumervil gets some action on the restricted market. Miami could be interested.

Kansas City

Potential unrestricted free agents: OL Andy Alleman, S Mike Brown, WR Chris Chambers, WR Terrance Copper, TE Sean Ryan, C Wade Smith, LB Mike Vrabel, WR Bobby Wade

Potential restricted free agents: RB Jackie Battle, QB Brodie Croyle, LB Derrick Johnson, LB Corey Mays, OL Ikechuku Ndukwe, OL Rudy Niswanger, OL Ryan O'Callaghan, S Jarrad Page

Franchise player: None.

What to expect: The Chiefs are interested in keeping some of their unrestricted free agents. General manager Scott Pioli said at the combine the team has been in contact with several of their free agents. Chambers is the focus. The team is trying to keep him. Brown and Vrabel could also return with new deals.

Oakland

Potential unrestricted free agents: S Hiram Eugene, G Cornell Green, T Langston Walker, LB Sam Williams

Potential restricted free agents: LB Jon Alston, OL Khalif Barnes, LB Ricky Brown, LB Jon Condo, QB Charlie Frye, QB Bruce Gradkowski, LB Thomas Howard, RB Luke Lawton, OL Chris Morris, LB Kirk Morrison, CB Stanford Routt, RB Gary Russell

Franchise player: DE Richard Seymour.

What to expect: The Raiders franchised Seymour and signed kicker Sebastian Janikowski to a record deal, so they’ve already been busy. It will be interesting to see how they tender Howard and Morrison. The Raiders could use some new life at linebacker and this could be the start of it.

San Diego

Potential unrestricted free agents: DT Alfonso Boone, TE Brandon Manumaleuna, C Dennis Norman, WR Kassim Osgood. T Jon Runyan, DT Ian Scott, TE Kris Wilson

Potential restricted free agents: OL Jeromey Clary, LB Tim Dobbins, WR Malcom Floyd, DT Antonio Garay, OL Eric Ghiaciuc, LB Marques Harris, WR Vincent Jackson, DT Travis Johnson, OL Marcus McNeill, LB Shawne Merriman, RB Darren Sproles, QB Charlie Whitehurst

Franchise player: None

What to expect: The Chargers have their hands full. It’s been reported they will give high tenders to Jackson, Merriman, McNeill and Floyd. Jackson and McNeill could still attract some interest on the restricted market. Sproles is not expected to be tendered, making him a free agent. The Chargers want him back. But if Sproles hits the open market, the multifaceted weapon could be scooped up quickly.

» AFC Free Agency: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

An early look at the free-agent situation in the AFC West.

Note: These projected lists reflect notable unrestricted free agents for each team. The NFL will not issue an official list of free agents until the signing period begins March 5.

Denver Broncos

Unrestricted free agents: P Mitch Berger, S Vernon Fox, T Brandon Gorin, Nick Greisen, G Ben Hamilton, G Russ Hochstein, DE Vonnie Holliday, CB Ty Law, WR Brandon Lloyd.

Key figures: There isn’t much here. The team could bring back Hochstein, Holliday and Law, but they are all complementary pieces. It’s all about the restricted free-agent class in Denver. The Broncos have to figure out what they are going to do with receiver Brandon Marshall, defensive end Elvis Dumervil, quarterback Kyle Orton and tight end Tony Scheffler.

Kansas City Chiefs

Unrestricted free agents: S Mike Brown, WR Chris Chambers, WR Terrance Copper, TE Sean Ryan, C Wade Smith, LB Mike Vrabel, WR Bobby Wade,

Key figures: Chambers will be Kansas City's priority. He gave the Chiefs’ offense a big spark after he was claimed off waivers in November. The team’s brass really likes what Brown and Vrabel bring to the team and both could be back in Kansas City at the right price. Wade also could be brought back.

Oakland Raiders

Unrestricted free agents: Hiram Eugene, G Cornell Green, K Sebastian Janikowski, DE Richard Seymour, T Langston Walker, LB Sam Williams

Key figures: It’s all about Seymour and Janikowski. The Raiders are trying to get long-term deals with both players done. If new deals aren’t struck, watch for Oakland to put the franchise and transition tags on them. Oakland will do anything it can not to lose either player.

San Diego Chargers

Unrestricted free agents: DT Alfonso Boone, TE Brandon Manumaleuna, C Dennis Norman, WR Kassim Osgood. T Jon Runyan, DT Ian Scott, TE Kris Wilson

Key figures: The team would like to bring back Osgood, one of the best special-teams players in the NFL. But Osgood wants a chance to be a receiver and the opportunity might not be in San Diego. The Chargers will spend most of their energy on their restricted class. The priorities are receiver Vincent Jackson, tackle Marcus McNeill, linebacker Shawne Merriman, running back Darren Sproles and receiver Malcom Floyd.

DENVER – The Denver Broncos handled one thing right after their Week 7 bye and it came in the moments after their tumultuous season ended Sunday.

They were crushed. And they should be.

There is no doubt Denver – which played Sunday without benched Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall and tight end Tony Scheffler -- is feeling the sting of its colossal collapse. Many players had tears in their eyes. Many said the nosedive cannot be tolerated.

After getting help in the AFC playoff hunt in the early games Sunday, Denver could keep its playoff hopes alive with a win over the 3-12 Kansas City Chiefs, who hadn’t won in over a month. But the Chiefs were the team that played with urgency. Kansas City put together its best game of the season and punched the host Broncos in the mouth, 44-24. Spectacular second-year running back Jamaal Charles ran for a franchise high 259 yards on 25 carries and linebacker Derrick Johnson tied an NFL record with two interceptions returned for touchdowns.

“It was embarrassing,” Denver defensive end Vonnie Holliday said. “Embarrassing.”

It was a fitting end into a terrible 10-week stretch for Denver.

Denver started the season 6-0. But it lost eight of its final 10 games to finish 8-8. It is the third team since the merger to not make the playoffs after starting 6-0. Denver had a 3.5 game lead over San Diego after Week 6. It is the first team in NFL history to not make the playoffs after having a 3.5-game lead. Had Denver beaten Oakland and Kansas City (they combined for nine wins this season) in its final two home games, it would have gone to the playoffs for first time in four seasons. Instead, the Broncos will have to spend the winter fretting over the lost opportunity.

That isn’t the only issue in Denver, though. The season ended with serious upheaval.

On New Year’s Day, Denver rookie coach Josh McDaniels dropped a major bombshell by indicating that Marshall and Scheffler would be benched against the Chiefs for accountability reasons. ESPN’s Ed Werder reported Sunday that Marshall was benched for being late to a therapy session Thursday to treat a hamstring injury the team thought he was exaggerating. Marshall had 101 catches in 15 games and was named to his second Pro Bowl team last week. Werder reported Scheffler was benched for openly saying he couldn’t wait for the team’s season to end. Neither Marshall nor Scheffler was seen with the team Sunday.

After the game, McDaniels didn’t address the issue.

Some players did, though. Safety Renaldo Hill said “we have to back the coach” on the decision. Team leader Brian Dawkins said Marshall and Scheffler’s absence in the biggest game of the season had no factor on the outcome of the game. Holliday did say this: “We still are an immature team.”

The season ends in Denver with the same discord in which the McDaniels’ era began. Denver dominated NFL headlines when McDaniels feuded with, and then traded, Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler after McDaniels flirted with the idea trading Cutler for Matt Cassel, who starred for McDaniels in New England last season. Ironically, Cassel contributed in knocking Denver out of the playoffs Sunday.

Perhaps this offseason will not be as dramatic as last year in Denver, but expect McDaniels to continue to try to mold the roster to his liking. There is likely little chance Marshall or Scheffler returns. It would be very difficult for either player to be brought back under these circumstances. Both players likely will be restricted free agents.

This is the third time in the past four seasons that Denver lost on the final day of the season with their playoff hopes still alive. Last year, Mike Shanahan was fired after 14 seasons when Denver lost a three-game lead in the final three weeks of the season.

McDaniels made a very pointed comment Sunday. He said he has to find the “common denominator” in the recent collapses.

That clearly means more members of the old regime could be on their way out. Thus, it wouldn’t be a surprise if some of remaining staff members from Shanahan’s regime or some of holdover players from Shanahan’s days are not brought back.

“I’m not going to be dramatic about it,” McDaniels said. “I wish we were playing next week, but we didn’t play well enough to deserve that opportunity. There’s no question about that. The last four weeks we didn’t earn the right to continue to play in this league into the playoffs. We’ve got a lot of work to do and there’s definitely going to have to be some things that change. We can’t just go back and do the same thing.”

After the 10-week collapse and the player-coach discord, Denver can’t go into this offseason believing major progress has been made. This is not a good time for the organization.

Yes, there are many positive attributes about McDaniels, 33. He has the makings of building a good program, but the way this season ended cannot be overlooked.

In the end, there isn’t much different from the way this season concluded than last, other than the fact that the head coach is coming back. There is still plenty of work to be done in Denver.

DENVER -- Brandon Marshall and Knowshon Moreno had it all planned out.

Had they been on the field together when one of them scored, they were going to celebrate -- by pushing each other in the end zone. The two were going to remake "Rocky II."

The two skill-position players provided the nadir of Denver’s four-game free fall when they engaged in a sideline shoving match after Moreno had a key fumble against San Diego on Sunday in a game that left Denver out of first place in the AFC West.

Moreno did score Thursday night in a 26-6 win over the New York Giants that may have saved the Broncos’ season.

However, Marshall wasn’t on the field. Still, Marshall is hopeful that the two former combatants can still display their celebration when Denver next plays, Dec. 6 at Kansas City.

“Maybe we’ll kiss,” said Marshall, hamming it up in a suddenly joyous Denver locker room on a late holiday evening.

Does one night cure all of Denver’s ills? No, but it’s all the team has and it welcomed the dose of good football and good cheer.

Against the Giants, the Broncos looked like the impressive, balanced bunch that started the season 6-0 and shocked the NFL world. The team played terrific in every phase of the game, and made big, timely plays when it needed to.

The result was Denver’s first victory in 38 days.

After looking like they were incapable of ever winning again during a four-game losing streak in which they were outscored 117-37, the Broncos came alive Thursday. They really had no choice.

The Broncos would have been cooked had they lost to the Giants. Now, though, the team is 7-4 heading into the stretch run of December and January. The Broncos have two games remaining against the 3-7 Chiefs and a home game against the 3-8 Raiders. Denver’s other two games are on the road against Indianapolis and Philadelphia. Still, the Broncos, who trail the 7-3 San Diego Chargers by a half game in the AFC West, are still very much alive in the playoff chase.

The complete win ends a trying period for the Broncos, who struggled badly on both sides of the ball and dealt with off-field issues.

Tuesday, veteran safety Brian Dawkins called a players-only meeting to help stop the bleeding and to squash any tension that lingered after the Marshall-Moreno incident.

The meeting clearly played a role in re-energizing the Broncos.

“We have a lot of good leaders on this team,” said veteran receiver Brandon Stokley, who had a 17-yard touchdown catch with 10:15 to go in the game to give Denver a commanding 23-6 lead. “We got back together. Most importantly, we played good football again.”

For the first time since Denver beat San Diego on Oct. 19, it enjoyed a dominant performance.

The key was the play of quarterback Kyle Orton. Orton showed no signs of a badly sprained ankle that kept him out of about three quarters the past two games. Orton, who struggled in Denver’s first two losses of the season, far outplayed Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Orton completed 18 of 28 passes for 245 yards. He had one touchdown. The Broncos moved the ball at ease all game. They also broke out of their two-plus-game red zone funk by scoring two touchdowns from inside New York’s 20-yard line.

Orton had plenty of help from an inspired Denver offense that entered the game with just three points in its previous six quarters. Marshall had a fabulous game with six catches for 86 yards.

Moreno also has a big bounce-back game. He had 88 yards on 19 carries and he often carved up the Giants’ defense.

“It was just a good overall game by the offense,” Marshall said. “We have to continue to play this way.”

Defensively, Denver also stepped up. The Broncos’ defense carried the team in the first six games. Thursday, it looked like that unit.

Denver went back to the blitz after straying from it in recent games. Manning was uncomfortable all game. Linebacker Elvis Dumervil had two of Denver’s three sacks and he now leads the NFL with 14. He is in striking distance of Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record of 22.5.

Perhaps most encouraging was that Denver played strong run defense. The Giants had 57 yards on 16 carries. Denver was ravaged against the run in the past three games. San Diego had 203 yards on the ground Sunday.

“We made the plays that we needed to make,” Denver defensive end Vonnie Holliday said. “That’s what we did in the early season. It was good to see.”

All is well in Denver again. If only for a night.