Best & Worst Deals of NFL Free Agency Day 1: Chargers, Eagles Clean Up Nicely, Jags, Seahawks Up and Down
Let the madness begin! Or I guess I should say it has already begun, but there is still so much more to come. Today was the first day of the NFL FA tampering period which means teams can agree to deals with free agents outside of their own team and these deals will become official on Wednesday when the new league year officially begins! There was the classic flurry of moves and the league was shaken up in turn. So many top tier free agents remain on the board heading into day 2, but we are going to highlight and the best and worst moves of the day! In other news, the Saints and Panthers appear to be in deep talks with the Texans and Deshaun Watson about a potential trade, I wouldn't be surprised if he was shipped to one of those teams as early as tomorrow (remember, he gets to pick where goes because of his no trade clause).
Best Signings
5 yrs/$82.5 million
We will get into some of their other moves later, but how good have these last couple of days been for the Chargers? On Thursday they traded for former DPOY Khalil Mack to bolster their pass rush, and now they got our no. 2 overall free agent as well?! That is the luxury of having a QB on a rookie deal. This is the way you build a team nowadays. You get a stud young QB and build an amazing team around him with the luxury of having him on a rookie deal. This Chargers defense has gone from middle of the pack to one of the best. I honestly think this was a fair price for Jackson, who some said wanted more than $20 million annually. $16 million a year for one of the top 3 CBs in the NFL who also happens to be just 26 years old is a great deal for both sides. The Chargers secondary just got even scarier as they reel in the no. 2 overall FA on our board.
Alex Cappa, OG → Cincinnati Bengals - 4 yrs/$40 million
I don't even think the Bengals are done spending yet, but this was an awesome move. Somehow just about 20 seconds into the legal tampering period, this deal was struck...funny how that works. All jokes aside, this was a great deal for both sides. Cappa cashes in after his amazing last few seasons in Tampa while the Bengals secure a major upgrade on the interior of their OL to finally give Joe Burrow some time. Cappa was one of the anchors of Tom Brady's OL for the past few seasons and we all know how well that OL did, now bringing him into Cinncy is a huge move. $10 M per year is great for Cappa, and I think it's a bit of a steal for Cinncy as well.
With three first rounders and cap space to spend, the Eagles were set up for a big off-season. It started out with a bang today as they got one of my favorite players on the market in Haason Reddick. Selfishly as a Seahawks fan, I really wanted us to get Reddick, so I'm sad he wound up in Philly but it was a great move by them. That instantly solves one of their biggest needs by locking up an amazing rusher who has had 10+ sacks in back to back seasons and is just hitting his prime at age 27. Making about $15 M per year, that's a great deal for Reddick, and also a great deal for the Eagles in terms of what they are getting. With solving their biggest need, they can now focus their three firsts on other positions while knowing they got a stud in Haason Reddick as well. The future is very bright in Philly. Again, I can't stress how rare it is that an edge rusher in his prime with this level of production comes available on the open market. The Eagles struck on a major opportunity.
De'Vondre Campbell, LB - RE-SIGNS w/ Green Bay - 5 yrs/$50 million
I'm not sure how the Packers have figured out ways to retain all of their key free agents with the cap hell that they are in, but props to them. De'Vondre Campbell felt like he was surely to be gone after a breakout All-Pro season for the cheeseheads. Campbell is still relatively young and wanted a bag. I think he chose to make a little less per year to return to Green Bay based off the fact that it's a 5 year deal but only for $50 M. I think other teams probably offered him more per year, but on shorter term deals. Campbell has a big-time contract to stay where he has made a name for himself for the long haul. Green Bay caught a massive W being able to bring back one of their very best players on an affordable deal.
Quandre Diggs, S - RE-SIGNS w/ Seattle - 3 yrs/$40 million
Despite not really knowing their current direction, Seattle knew they had to get back their (arguably) best defensive player. Diggs has been one of the biggest locker room leaders and best players for the team over the past 3 seasons since coming over in a trade from Detroit. Last season he was a Pro Bowler and had probably the best year of his career in which he again, notched 5 INTs among other great stats. Seattle knew they needed him back no matter what and now have him locked up for the future. While there might not be a ton to be overly excited about right now in Seattle, they have their elite Safety duo in Diggs and Jamal Adams locked up for the long-haul.
Ryan Jensen, C - RE-SIGNS w/ Tampa Bay - 3 yrs/$39 million
With the sudden (and somewhat shocking) news that Tom Brady was coming out of his brief retirement, the Bucs quickly changed some minds of impending free agents. Mere hours after the Brady news, Jensen returned on a nice $39 million dollar contract paying him around $13 million per season. That APY number puts him near the very top of the center market while he gets to return and anchor Tom Brady's OL once again and contend for more Super Bowls. He and Brady appear to have quite a bond and this is a huge move to ensure Brady can continue playing well in his age 45 season with an offensive line that can hold up.
Foye Oluokun, LB → Jacksonville Jaguars - 3 yrs/$45 million
While it is a somewhat expensive deal for the Jags (who were throwing out money left and right), it was a deal that is going to be very beneficial and huge for a team looking to find its way into contention. Oluokun is coming off of an unreal season in which he led the league in tackles with an otherworldly 192 as well as recording 3 picks and 2 sacks. The Jags need do it all guys like this on their defense and boy did they just get one. Foye is just 26 years old and the Jags have now just locked him up for his prime years. Great payday for him as well.
Worst Signings
Christian Kirk, WR → Jacksonville Jaguars
This deal was the shocker of all shockers today. Many expected the Jags to go out and sign a receiver, getting Kirk wasn't even that shocking, but the PRICE IS! EIGHTY FOUR MILLION! For CHRISTIAN KIRK??!! WHAT?! That is insane. Kirk is a talented young wideout with a lot of speed and potential, but the Jags just made him the THIRD HIGHEST PAID WR IN THE NFL!!! He's never hit over 1,000 yards or 10 TDs and he's considered a WR2 or 3 by many. Even if you have big plans for him or have a lot of money to spend, that is just INSANE. That is one of the biggest overpays in NFL history and there is no way the Jags won't regret this a year or two from now. I'm almost 100% sure a guy like Allen Robinson or Odell Beckham would have signed with the Jags if presented this deal, both would be game changers for the team unlike Kirk. Not only was this the biggest overpay ever, but there were so many better options. It hurts to see this. The only winners from this are Kirk and his agent, who must be partying hard right now. That was robbery.
Mitch Trubisky, QB → Pittsburgh Steelers - 2 yrs/$14 million
The money in this deal isn't bad. I was worried someone was going to way overpay for Trubisky. That was not this, which is good for the Steelers. The bad news for them is that Mitchell Trubisky is set to be their starting QB in 2022. If you are Mike Tomlin, with a Super Bowl contending roster that just needs a QB, why the hell would you settle for Trubisky? You could have got Deshaun Watson. You could have maybe drafted a guy. The big kicker for me is that they probably could have gotten Jameis Winston for that price, which would be miles better than this. The Steelers just committed to at least a year of bad QB play and overall below average/mediocre team play. I don't like this one for a team close to be a real contender like the Steelers.
3 yrs/$24 million
I don't get Seattle. Even if they are rebuilding, there are much better ways to spend your abundant cap space. In the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade, one of the main assets you got back for Wilson was rising star young TE Noah Fant who is going to play a majority of the snaps for you. What do they do? They go out and give backup TE Will Dissly TE1 money. Dissly has never hit more than 270 yards in a single season, and now he's making more in a season than guys like Darren Waller. What the hell! I get that he's a good blocking TE, but that's about it. You just gave $8 million a year for a non-OL guy to block for you on a couple plays a game? I really don't get this deal for Seattle as they have some clear needs and have filled few of them, and will have a harder time doing so with this deal on the books now.
Chase Edmonds, RB → Miami Dolphins - 2 yrs/$12.6 million
This isn't the worst deal of all time, but in my eyes, it certainly isn't the best either. Edmonds has been seemingly on the verge of a breakout for years now, and it's yet to happen for a variety of reasons. Health is a big one, but I just don't think he has what it takes to be an RB1 in the NFL. The Dolphins have a lot of money to spend, so this isn't the end of the world, but $6M per year for an RB is elite, top tier money right now, and Edmonds isn't that. Miami has one of the worst OLs in football, and they expect a small RB who should be a backup to succeed behind it? I don't get it. There were better RB options like Leonard Fournette or even Rashaad Penny in FA, and they overpaid for the most unproven of them all? I didn't like this one for Miami as they try and build a good offense around Tua Tagovailoa.
Top names still available heading into day 2: Terron Armstead (OT), Tyrann Mathieu (S), Bobby Wagner (LB), Von Miller (EDGE), Chandler Jones (EDGE), Odell Beckham Jr. (WR), Jameis Winston (QB), Marcus Mariota (QB), Allen Robinson (WR), Marcus Williams (S), Jarvis Landry (WR), Stephon Gilmore (CB), Randy Gregory (EDGE), Trent Brown (OT), Akiem Hicks (DT), DJ Chark (WR), DJ Reed (CB), Cordarrelle Patterson (RB/WR), Leonard Fournette (RB), Rasul Douglas (CB)
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