It’s still early yet and moves will be made, but just look at some of the names available or as yet unsigned otherwise:

Dwight Freeney, DE/OLB, IND

Charles Woodson, CB, GB

Jeff Saturday, C, GB

Greg Jennings, WR, GB

Bart Scott, LB, NYJ

Calvin Pace, LB, NYJ

Steve Breston, WR, KC

Branden Albert, OT, KC

Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC

Reggie Bush, RB, Mia

Jake Long, LT, Mia

Mike Wallace, WR, Pit

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Pit

I could go on and on here, but do you see a pattern here? Some teams are letting some older guys go while they don’t necessarily have a replacement for them who is apparent yet.

This is the time of year the entire puzzle gets the cloudiest. I’ve never seen so many teams giving up multiple guys like this in the same season. Not by a long shot. Usually one is kept but for every Joe Flacco that gets a big new contract with his old team there looks like there will be ten or twenty with new homes. On a few occasions, a lesser released player may get picked back up by his original team at a reduced rate. It’s NFL economics.

We Panthers fans are still in neutral over the whole deal since there just is no room for the team under the cap right now. With GM David Gettleman being a new honcho, it’s hard to figure what he’s up to but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar movement go through the Panthers’ roster and shake it up when all is said and done.

Try and fathom a roster without Jon Beason, DeAngelo Williams or Chris Gamble this fall and what it would do to Carolina’s team. A lot of pressure would go on 2nd year corner Josh Norman to be the number-one corner and leave them razor-thin at the position. They’d either have to sign a free agent corner or spend a 14th overall to land a sure-fire starter and there’s always uncertainty and a learning curve with rookies.

With every team in the NFC South needing defensive linemen, and three of those teams drafting in consecutive order with the Panthers in the middle could make things interesting indeed, but with so much veteran talent out there, teams don’t feel a need to be in a hurry to grab anyone yet.

First, there is the NFL combine coming up next week and all eyes turn to Indy as the process begins. Until then, the proverbial free agent gas tank is being filled. While Joe Flacco is going to get a huge deal with the Ravens, Reggie Bush’s destination is still up in the air.

In the end, you shouldn’t really read that much into it. It’s in part ripple effect of the rookie wage scale – teams are hoping to go younger and cheaper because of the “rent controls” of the scale.

Teams are trying to save themselves from themselves by getting as many bodies in that first contract age and free up more money for those free agents. It will be interesting to see if there’s another $100 million contract out there like Super Mario got.

Guys like Charles Woodson and Dwight Freeney are way too old to command a big long-term deal. The Packers cleaned house and might have eyes set on a guy like Reggie Bush – the apparent premier RB in UFA this year.

The Dolphins could wind up in the position of swapping one, Bush, for the other, Greg Jennings. Joe Philbin was his OC in Green Bay before landing the Miami gig, so if he lands a big contract there, he will probably be worth it given the unique situation. The ‘fins need multiple receivers and Jennings is one of the best and he’s still young. Mike Wallace isn’t a great fit for Philbin’s system, but should command similar money elsewhere.

Cha-CHING!!

Jake Long, OT, Dolphins – possible destinations: St. Louis, Philadelphia, San Diego, Chicago. All three teams are at least average overall, so Jake won’t have to worry about going to a cellar-dweller. Unknowns in Philadelphia and Chicago (new head coaches) could push him in St. Louis’ direction. The Rams also probably have a bigger need than the other two – Philly is getting Jason Peters back from injury and Chicago has J’Marcus Webb and Gabe Carimi. However, Gabe went down his rookie season so his durability isn’t proven so the Bears are probably the least likely of the 3 to sign him. I think the Rams could use him most, desperately swapping embattled tackles in mid-season with the Jets in 2012. Wayne Hunter is definitely NOT the answer any more than former top-10 pick Jason Smith was. With Sam Bradford’s injury history, protecting the blind side should be Jeff Fisher’s top priority. While Long has a recent history of tearing his labrum (chest muscle), he played through part of it and still was an above-average tackle. What it boils down to is the Rams might get him for less money than if his medical history wasn’t so checkered. Kansas City has their own free agent LT in Brandon Albert, otherwise they’d be a contender for Long. If they feel the need for a LT, they’ll probably just re-sign Albert. St. Louis needs to do some magic with their salary cap, but for a Jake Long, they’ll do it out of need.

Destination: St. Louis Rams

The Arizona Cardinals could use any offensive linemen but they have the some of the worst salary cap woes in the NFL, being about a million over the cap as of a month ago. Philadelphia is also only about $5.3 million under the cap.

October 14, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Daniel Te

Branden Albert, OT, Chiefs – possible destinations: Kansas City, Miami, San Diego, Philadelphia, Chicago. The Chargers have needed a LT since Marcus McNeil retired with a narrowing of the spine orthopedic condition, but with less than $9 million in cap space, they’d have to make room for either tackle somehow. Miami could possibly take him and use him as either a tackle or his natural guard position, depending on price. Last year’s second-round pick, Jonathan Martin, has struggled but he’s in the mold that Joe Philbin likes as opposed to the more powerful but less mobile Jake Long. The Chiefs need a LT so they can draft West Virginia QB Geno Smith.

Destination: Kansas City Chiefs

Reggie Bush, RB, Dolphins – possible destinations: New York Jets, Seattle, Denver, Green Bay. The Broncos have Willis McGahee, a bruising but aging RB. Same with Seattle and Marshawn Lynch, the Beast. Reggie Bush would fit in very nicely with any of the teams he’s listed under. He’d instantly help embattled Mark Sanchez in NY, giving him a dynamic dump-off/hot receiver. He’d make the Seattle offense that much more difficult to defend with the mobile Russell Wilson taking the snaps and Manning would love to have him to use all over the field in that offense. It’s just scary to think about a guy like Reggie Bush in Green Bay’s offense and may be who they want to replace the explosiveness they lost with Greg Jennings. RB Cedric Benson has a lot of miles on him, is also a UFA, but never was known for explosiveness.

Destination: Green Bay Packers

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Steelers – possible destinations: Cincinnati, San Diego, St. Louis. Mendenhall’s destinations are limited due to off-field issues and injuries, but the Chargers are about to give up on the underachieving Ryan Matthews and could use a punishing back. Cincy is a possibility and if the price is right, they could add him to their backfield with the Law Firm. The Bengals really need to improve their rushing attack, but part of the fault for that lies with their offensive line. St. Louis could sign him as a younger version of UFA Steven Jackson, whose best days are behind him but have cap issues. Mendenhall should come relatively cheap but has a high upside with the right team, and Cincy has a ton of cap room.

Destination: Cincinnati Bengals

Dec 30, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw (44) runs the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half at MetLife Stadium. New York Giants defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 42-7. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, Giants – possible destinations: Cincinnati, San Diego, Denver, Seattle. Bradshaw’s talents are somewhere between those of the other two, but he’s a slasher who will play hurt. I bet he’ll wind up as a complementary back to one of these teams – again, with Cincy being the dark horse.

Destination: Seattle Seahawks

Greg Jennings, WR, Packers – possible destinations: Miami, San Francisco, Minnesota, Cleveland, Seattle. The smart money says he goes to the Dolphins because they are in dire need of a #1 receiver and Jennings is already quite familiar with their offensive system. Dolphins’ Head Coach Joe Philbin was Jennings’ Offensive Coordinator until 2012 when he took the head coaching duties in south Florida. Miami is $35 million under the cap, so they can (and probably will) pay the man and make getting rid of talented but distracting Brandon Marshall finally look like a great move. The Vikings need a receiver almost as badly, since Percy Harvin is making noise about his contract. San Francisco likely would have won the Super Bowl if they had a guy like Jennings opposite Michael Crabtree, but they’d have to make some other move to get more cap-friendly as they’re at a mere $4 million below it. Cleveland is one of the most cap-friendly teams, with nearly $50 million to spend and is the only team whose issues at WR rival that of the Dolphins. Look for a possible bidding war between Miami and Cleveland, but Jennings naturally will favor Miami because of his history with the coach there.

Destination: Miami Dolphins

Dwayne Bowe, WR, Chiefs – possible destinations: Cleveland, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle, Minnesota. Bowe will be coveted by the same teams wanting Jennings and for similar reasons. Bowe will be a consolation prize to whomever wants Jennings but misses out.

Destination: Cleveland Browns

That’s how things realistically look right now but can change at any moment. The situation can and will change as UFAs and RFAs are signed and the NFL Combine helps solidify teams’ draft boards.

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Charles Woodson, CB/S, Green Bay Packers; Greg Jennings, WR, Green Bay Packers; Ed Reed, FS, Baltimore Ravens; Jake Long, LT, Miami Dolphins; Dwight Freeney, DE/OLB, Indianapolis Colts; even the Philadelphia Eagles, who have Nick Foles under contract, have said they’d consider a first or second round pick for him in a trade, and the New York Jets apparently want to be rid of Darrelle Revis and his salary.

Just imagine the team you could have with all these guys. Yeah, you couldn’t afford them all, but every last one, save Nick Foles, is either headed for Canton or should be there if they maintain their level of play (Revis, Long). Foles is too young and inexperienced to pass judgement yet there, but the others are locks for the Hall. Woodson, Reed, and Freeney are for sure. Long probably is if he can stay healthy. Same for Revis.

These guys weren’t all let go due to sinking performance. Jake Long, for instance, has battled a torn chest muscle but played through a fair amount of it and was even in the top-12 left tackles WITH the injury. Not-so-new Head Coach, Joe Philbin in Miami, prefers his linemen a bit lighter and much more athletic – like their 2nd-round pick last year, RT Jonathan Martin. Martin struggled some, so the team doesn’t have quite as much leverage in contract talks with Long as they thought they might. His price tag may put him in the free agent pool.

The so-called “smart money” would be that most of these players will go to contenders or teams on the rise who have salary cap room. That would leave out the Carolina Panthers with their cap woes, but boy, wouldn’t it be nice to have an Ed Reed at FS for a year or two? Or Charles Woodson replacing Chris Gamble, who may be a cap casualty himself? Or Dwight Freeney opposite Charles Johnson?

Panthers’ fans can keep dreaming, however, as they’ll be too pricey. But it may be a blessing in disguise since the Panthers have an overall young team and are developing talent the right way – through the draft – and with the rookie wage scale, they get the added bonus of paying a “fair price” for raw college kids that may or may not make it in the NFL.

Follow these names through free agency and make note of where they land. Free agency doesn’t officially begin until March, so we’ve got a couple of weeks to listen and consider the arguments. Remember though that signing a high-priced and talented free agent is no guarantee.

Ask the Buffalo Bills how much Super Mario helped them last year…with a $100 million long-term contract.

Stay tuned as I try to determine where some of these stars may wind up. As I see it, it’s a function of need, cap space, age of the player and familiarity with the system or the people at the new organization – NOT “just” money.