With the lockout in the rearview mirror, NFL fans can now put away their “Lawyer Jargon for Dummies� textbooks and start hitting the rumor mill once again.

Since I’m a fun guy who likes to have some fun and enjoys a little fun, I’ve decided to have a little fun by trying to predict where some of the top free agents will land over the next two weeks. Remember, this is all for fun and is not to be taken too seriously. If you’re the asswipe who reads these things and immediately gets in a tizzy because you disagree, then be aware of my one and only rule when it comes to predictions: Don’t criticize me if you don’t have the stones to leave your own predictions in the comments section.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s have some good ol’ fashion family fun! (Have I overused that word yet? Did the joke land? It wasn’t funny in the first place? All right…) Here are 10 free agents and my predictions for where they might land. In the “Hedging my bet with” section, I list an alternative to where I think said free agent may wind up.

Nnamdi Asomugha, CB: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It has been reported that the 2011 NFL salary cap will (roughly) be around $120 million, which leaves the Bucs with (roughly) $60 million to spend in free agency. Of course, that doesn’t mean that cheapo Malcolm Glazer will open his wallet, but we do know that the new CBA comes with a salary cap floor. Thus, teams like the Bucs will have to spend something in free agency. The Bucs have built a solid, young core centered around quarterback Josh Freeman. With Aqib Talib’s legal situation up in the air, they have a definite need at corner and if teams like the Eagles, Cowboys and Jets feel as though Asomugha’s price tag is too steep, maybe the Bucs will step in and shell out big money to land the top free agent on the market. (And if you’re wondering about whether or not Asomugha is a fit for Raheem Morris’ defensive scheme, don’t worry about it because the man is a fit for every defense.)
Hedging my bet with: New York Jets

DeAngelo Williams, RB: Carolina Panthers
The emergence of Mike Goodson and Jonathan Stewart make Williams expendable but the Panthers are still the frontrunners to retain him in my eyes. He says he wants to stay in Carolina and while he’d be a fool to not at least test the market, I think he’ll eventually stay put. The Panthers realize they need a good stable of running backs no matter who starts at quarterback this season, so re-signing Williams is still a priority despite expanding rolls for Goodson and Stewart.
Hedging my bet with: New York Giants.

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At the start of the NFL free agency period, it appeared that free agent tight end L.J. Smith had two potential candidates to acquire his services: the Falcons and Lions.

In early March, Smith visited the Lions, but left Detroit without a contract. He then traveled to Atlanta and this past weekend, ESPN reported that Smith had chosen the Falcons and that a deal would be worked out soon.

But now the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that the Falcons have ended their talks with the free agent and won’t pursue Smith going forward.

Smith’s options were down to Detroit and Atlanta. It seemed like the Falcons would easily be the winner. But Smith dragged his feet and the Falcons had a change of heart. In the end, they are a running team and Smith doesn’t block. That’s what football teams call “a bad scheme fit.�

Ironically, on the same day the Falcons decided to end contract negotiations with Smith, the Lions signed tight end Will Heller, formally of the Seahawks.

Chances are, Smith was asking for too much and the Falcons balked. There’s no sense overspending on a soon-to-be 29-year old tight end who doesn’t block and who comes with major injury concerns. Atlanta would love to give quarterback Matt Ryan a nice receiving target at tight end, but the draft is deep at that position this year so expect the Falcons to target one at some point next month. (Many will buy into the notion that the Falcons will go with Brandon Pettigrew in the first round if he’s available, but don’t forget that they have more pressing needs on the defensive side of the ball.)

So where will Smith wind up? The Lions could still be an option, but they seemed to have moved on after Smith snubbed them for Atlanta. As of right now, there doesn’t seem to be much of a market for the free agent, even though he’s currently the best tight end on the market.

Update: Apparently the Ravens wanted L.J…

League sources (whatever that means these days – could be a well respected NFL front office figure or could be Roger Goodell’s janitor) have told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that wide receiver Torry Holt has asked the Rams to release him.

The Rams have been trying to trade Holt for the past couple weeks but so far they haven’t found any takers. As the Post-Dispatch notes, Holt is due a $1.25 million roster bonus on March 17 and therefore it’s unlikely that he’ll be a Ram past that point.

If he remains patient for the next week and a half, Holt is likely to get his wish. But I don’t blame him for wanting to end the charade and have the team just release now so both parties can move on. It’s clear that Rams are moving in another direction at receiver and I think the team owes Holt a debt of gratitude for all he’s done over the years. If they’re going to wind up releasing him anyway (and they will – no team is going to trade for him knowing that he’ll be cut if they wait long enough), they should do him a favor and cut him now.

The Ravens made two significant moves on Wednesday, agreeing to a deal with linebacker Ray Lewis and signing free agent center Matt Birk.

“We have agreed in principle on a multi-year contract that will allow Ray to finish his career as a Baltimore Raven,� general manager/executive vice president Ozzie Newsome announced.

(Note: Lewis’ contract will not be official until he signs, which will take place sometime in the next two weeks. At that time, the Ravens will hold a press conference with Lewis. Please understand that travel schedules for owner Steve Bisciotti, Newsome, head coach John Harbaugh and Lewis are causing this delay.)

Also agreeing to a contract this afternoon is six-time Pro Bowl C Matt Birk. Birk, who has played all 11 of his NFL seasons with Minnesota, will meet with the media Thursday morning (3/5) at the Ravens’ Owings Mills training facility at 11 a.m.

Re-signing Lewis was pivotal after the Ravens lost Bart Scott to free agency. Lewis wore down towards the end of last season but proved he can still play at a high level. Now Baltimore can turn its attention to addressing the hole left by Scott.

According to the National Football Post, free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Seahawks. The deal also includes $15 million in guarantees.

Barring any last-second problems, free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh will sign a multi-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks, according to sources close to the situation.

According to the source, the Seahawks have offered close to $2 million more than the closest competitor in the race for Houshmandzadeh’s services.

An eight-year veteran out of Oregon State, Houshmandzadeh caught 92 passes for 904 yards and 4 touchdowns in 15 starts for the Bengals last season.

In addition to the Seahawks, the Vikings and Bengals were pursing Houshmandzadeh.

Well…slap…me…hard. I thought Housh would wind up in Minnesota after the Vikes made a decent push this weekend and if not there, surely back in Cincinnati where the Bengals seemed to be offering the most money. Out of the top three choices, I would have ranked Seattle third as Housh’s likely destination. Yikes.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Jets’ deal with free agent linebacker Bart Scott is not official as initially reported, and now the Ravens are apparently offering him a five-year contract worth $42 million.

Ravens inside linebacker Bart Scott is in New York, but continues to still negotiate with both the Ravens and Jets.

There is speculation that the Ravens have offered Scott a five-year contract worth $42 million, and Scott also wants assurances that he will become the center piece of the defense in Baltimore, much like Ray Lewis was during the last decade.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan, the Ravens’ former defensive coordinator, keeps increasing the ante as the Ravens go up.

Several sources reported that the Jets’ deal for Scott was already completed, but apparently it was just an offer. It’s easy to see why Scott would sign with the Jets considering Rex Ryan is now New York’s new head coach, but apparently the Ravens are still very much in play.

Ray Lewis might walk, so losing Scott would be a huge blow to the Ravens’ linebacker corps. It’ll be interesting to see how this thing plays out.

According to a report by the National Football Post, the Falcons have set their eyes on free agent L.J. Smith (Eagles), who became the best tight end on the market after the Titans placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Bo Scaife.

The Falcons brought in several run-blocking tight ends last offseason, but need to give quarterback Matt Ryan a better pass-catching target at the position. Smith has been unable to stay healthy the past two years, but he certainly has the size, speed and hands to upgrade the tight end spot and as long as the Falcons don’t overpay, he could be a quality signing.

One notion surrounding Atlanta’s interest in Smith is that Oklahoma State’s Brandon Pettigrew, who is arguably the best tight end prospect in the draft and a player many mocks have the Falcons taking at No. 24, hurt his stock when he only ran a 4.8-forty at the scouting combine. But the more realistic idea is that the Falcons want to shore up their need for a pass-catching tight end before the draft, so then in April they can turn their sole attention to the multiple holes they have on defense.

In an effort to create cap space after signing free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a seven-year, $100 million contract and cornerback DeAngelo Hall to a six-year, $55 million deal, the Redskins are set to release Shawn Springs.

Washington was reportedly shopping Springs, but obviously found no takers for the 34-year old corner. The Skins save $6 million in cap space with this move, which is vital because they were $1 mil under the cap when free agency began. When healthy, Springs was a quality corner for the Skins. But he couldn’t stay healthy and the cap charge was just too much.

More cuts have to be on the horizon for Washington, but it’s hard to speculate who will get the axe at this point. Players like Jason Taylor could restructure their contracts, too, although nothing of that ilk has been reported yet.

Surprisingly, the Baltimore Sun reports that the Redskins are currently the front-runners to sign free agent center Jason Brown. He would no doubt be an upgrade on Washington’s offensive line, but where would they get the cap space in order to make another big signing like Brown? Either Vinny Cerrato and Dan Snyder are geniuses and have some master plan that hasn’t unfolded yet or are completely screwing the Redskins for years to come.

According to FOXSports.com, free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh will make a visit to Seattle on Friday.

Houshmandzadeh has averaged 89 catches for 1,012 yards and seven touchdowns in five seasons as a Bengals starter. But he also will be 32 in September, which may scare some teams from offering the lucrative long-term contract Houshmandzadeh is seeking.

The Seahawks failed to have a wide receiver crack the 500-yard mark in 2008 — the first time that had happened in a non-strike season since the franchise’s inception in 1976.

Two of Seattle’s top four receivers — Bobby Engram and Koren Robinson — are now free agents.

Hopefully Housh enjoys blocking because if he signs with Seattle, he’ll be doing a lot of it in Greg Knapp’s West Coast Offense. Not that he wouldn’t be a fit for the Seahawks because they do need dependable wide receivers (some mock drafts have the Hawks taking Texas Tech wideout Michael Crabtree in the first round), but Knapp has been known to frustrate receivers before (Terrell Owens and Peerless Price are just two examples) and Housh isn’t the type to bite his tongue if he’s unhappy about his role.

Housh also told ESPN 950 that if the Eagles want him that he’d, “be an Eagle tomorrow.� But does Philly want him?

One of the small notions when it comes to the NFL offseason is never to sign a free agent defender from the Baltimore Ravens. Because usually once they get out of the Ravens’ 3-4 defensive scheme, they never live up to their high free agent billing. (See Ed Hartwell for just one example.)

But considering the man that ran the Ravens’ defense for the better part of a decade is now the head coach for the New York Jets, it was probably safe to take the chance on Baltimore free agent linebacker Bart Scott.