Best & Worst Free Agent Signings of 2022 Off-Season (ONE YEAR LATER)

 With free agency opening up soon and the franchise tag window officially open, before I release any kind of FA list or anything like that, I thought it would be fun to look back at last off-season's deals and see which ended up being the best signings AND the worst as well. I also am looking back on my top 101 FAs of the off-season and showing where these players ranked on that list at time (or if they weren't even ranked at all).

BEST

Geno Smith, Quarterback - 1 year/$3.5 million to the Seahawks
FA Rank (at the time): Not Ranked

The unquestioned best free agent signing of the 2022 off-season has to be QB Geno Smith. When Smith signed this near minimum deal to return to Seattle and compete for the starting job, no one gave it a second thought. This deal happened awhile after the opening day of FA, which just adds to what this deal was thought of at the time. Smith had not cracked by top 101 FA list either. What a bargain this turned out to be for Seattle. Smith won the starting job and had one of the craziest breakout seasons we've ever seen. The year 10 QB had over 4,000 yards and 30 TDs passing, along with leading Seattle to an unlikely playoff berth. Smith was also the NFL AP Comeback Player of the Year. He now is set to hit FA again, and this time around command about 10x what he got in 2022!

Haason Reddick, Edge Rusher - 3 years/$45 million to the Eagles
FA Rank (at the time): #14

This turned out to be a bargain as well, but in a different way. After back to back 10 sack seasons, Reddick hit FA with much less interest than he deserved to have. I mean that level of production off the edge is pretty rare in the NFL, and the guys that usually do it get top of the line deals. The Eagles swooped out of nowhere and gave him a pretty solid payday, a 3 year deal with an average salary of about $15 million. Looking back a year later, what a steal that was for Philly. Reddick absolutely broke out in his debut season for the Eagles. He became an All-Pro rusher, notching a whopping 16 sacks and SIX forced fumbles. The Eagles defense improved greatly and the team came up just short of a Super Bowl. Reddick's production over the last three years should have him making over $25 million a year, but Philly has him for 15. Amazing signing for the Eagles.

Uchenna Nwosu, Edge Rusher - 2 years/$19 million to the Seahawks
FA Rank (at the time): #62

Another Seattle great signing. The Seahawks are notorious for spending little on low risk/high reward players. While it hasn't paid off for them at a crazy rate over the years, this year was an outlier. Uchenna Nwosu was a promising young edge rushing prospect who hadn't really been used right in LA and Seattle saw his upside. Paying two years for just under $10 million a season, Seattle needed to get at least a semi-productive rusher out of the deal. Boy did they get that and then some. Nwosu became an every down edge rusher for them, and was elite. He had a career high 9.5 sacks and was one of the NFL leaders in pressures. Nwosu was an All-Pro level player this year and arguably the best defensive player on the team. This is an example of a player who was an afterthought in FA (#62 on my ranks) finding new life on a new squad. What a steal for Seattle who gets another year of a top 10 rusher for under $10 million in 2023.

Zay Jones, Wide Receiver - 3 years/$24 million to the Jaguars
FA Rank (at the time): #99

After a pretty average WR2/3 season in 2021 in Las Vegas, Zay Jones hit FA with little momentum. I had him barely even ranked in my top 101 FAs at #99 BUT the Jaguars were on a spending spree and decided they saw Jones' raw athletic upside and decided to pay him handsomely (for his previous career production) on a 3 year deal paying him $8 million per season. It felt inevitable that this was going to be considered a huge overpay pretty quickly. Instead, we are quickly looking back at the deal as a shocking steal for the Jags. Jones had his best season as a pro, quickly evolving into an elite WR2 option and having a great rapport with ascending QB Trevor Lawrence. Jones racked up 823 yards and 5 TDs on 82 grabs (plus another 150 and a TD in the post-season). This was a ballsy gamble for a rebuilding team at the time, but boy did it pay off, and it will prompt teams to take similar fliers I'm sure this off-season.

James Bradberry, Cornerback - 1 year/$7.25 million to the Eagles
FA Rank (at the time): Not Ranked

Both the Seahawks and Eagles are repeat squads in the BEST column. Great look for them. James Bradberry was a former All-Pro in New York, but due to cap constraints and Bradberry aging, he was cut mid-way through the off-season to the surprise of some. The Eagles knew they needed a solid CB2 to play opposite Darius Slay, and so with the funds to do it, they gave him a nice one year deal to come over and play for them. What a decision it wound up to be. Bradberry turned back the clock, breaking up a whopping 17 passes (3rd best in the league) along with picking off 3 more balls. Bradberry was a second team All-Pro member in this comeback season. He remained a critical piece of this elite Philly D all season long, and he almost got a ring for it, losing in the Super Bowl as we all know (and getting screwed with that holding call in the big game). Entering his age 30 season, Bradberry will now hit FA again and likely receive a nice payday for a great bargain 2022 campaign. What a move this turned out to be for Philly. 

DJ Reed, Cornerback - 3 years/$33 million to the Jets
FA Rank (at the time): #32

This was an underrated signing at the time, and now a year later, it is getting recognized as one of the best deals of the 2022 off-season! DJ Reed was Seattle's CB1 for multiple seasons before hitting FA. He had done some really good things for them that had gone under the radar for no reason. Seattle reportedly attempted to re-sign him but lowballed him so badly that he was hellbent on leaving. The Jets offered him a nice deal at $11 million per season to come over and play for them. Reed's level of play ascended to its highest level yet of his young career during his first season playing for Gang Green. Reed broke up 12 passes, and had an INT and forced fumble along with 80 tackles. He formed arguably the best CB tandem in all of football with Sauce Gardner and helped the Jets defense turn into one of the league's best units. At just 26 years old, the Jets have a CB1 level player as their second corner for at least TWO more seasons on a very very team friendly deal. This was a rare misstep in a great off-season for Seattle.

WORST

JC Jackson, Cornerback - 5 years/$82 million to the Chargers
FA Rank (at the time): #3

As you can see by the ranking, JC Jackson was a guy I was huge on going into FA last off-season, and so was the rest of the world. To be fair, Jackson was coming off of an UNREAL season with the Patriots in which he had EIGHT picks and TWENTY THREE pass breakups at just the age of 26. When the Chargers went out and got him for around $16 million a season, everyone was freaking out about what of a steal of a deal they got. And if Jackson went on to have another similarly Hall of Fame level 2022 season, then this would have been a steal, but things went quite the opposite. Jackson missed 12 games this season with injury, and even when he was on the field, he was awful. He finished the year with 0 INTs and just two pass breakups, while allowing multiple TDs as well. At just 27 and with so much production in his past, there is still time for him to turn things around, but if he can't this deal will go from an awful one, to a franchise changing mistake. With health, the Chargers will hope he can return to form.

Chandler Jones, Edge Rusher - 3 years/$51 million to the Raiders
FA Rank (at the time): #5

It is always risky to sign an edge rusher over the age of 30 to a big deal, let alone one that is multi-years and over $50 million in value. The Raiders went all-in this past off-season, and pretty much all of their gambles clearly did not pay off. Jones has gone down as one of the worst FA signings in awhile. While he has been historically good over the past 10 years, aging and regression is a sad reality. Jones' 10.5 sack 2021 season was probably the last he really had in the tank. In his first year in Vegas, on his $17 million annually deal, Jones produced a measly 4.5 sacks. Jones is entering his age 32/33 season and I doubt his production will get any better. Buckle up Raiders, you still owe this guy $34+ million...

Allen Robinson, Wide Receiver - 3 years/$46.5 million to the Rams
FA Rank (at the time): #13

NFL fans were pretty excited to see what contending team could add Allen Robinson, who was guaranteed to be on his way out of Chicago after a major down year. Many thought that the reason for the bad year was a product of a terrible system around Arob, but now after 2022, it looks like Robinson may have been a huge part of the problem. Robinson somehow had an even WORSE 2022 season than 2021. He caught just 33 balls for a terrible 339 yards and 3 scores. He was supposed to be an unfair complement to Cooper Kupp in Sean McVay's genius offense, but instead he turned out to be a major disappointment. Entering his age 29 season, Robinson has well over $30 million left to be paid to him which is a scary truth for the Rams.

Cedrick Wilson, Wide Receiver - 3 years/$22 million                    &
Chase Edmonds, Running Back - 2 years/$12 million BOTH to the Dolphins
FA Ranks (at the time): Wilson - #65 | Edmonds - #86

A sad little two-for-one here for the Dolphins. While I think they had a good off-season in 2022 overall, this two moves were very very forgettable. Cedrick Wilson was coming off of a breakout 2021 season as the Cowboys' WR3 in which he had over 600 yards and 6 TDs. The Dolphins paid him nicely to become another speedy threat for Tua at about $7 million annually. For a pretty decently sized signing, Miami acted like he didn't even exist. Wilson caught just TWELVE passes the entire season for 136 yards. There is still about $14 million or so that Miami owes to Wilson over the next two seasons...
On the other hand, Chase Edmonds just turned out to be a major bust of a signing for actual bad play. Edmonds had a prominent role out of the gate for the Dolphins, as you would expect for an RB making as much as he was ($6 million a year is a lot at that position). However, Edmonds played awful for Miami and lost his touches. He finished his Miami tenure with just about 120 rushing yards before the team was somehow able to ship him off to Denver at the deadline. These two moves were amongst the worst deals made of the 2022 FA market.