NFL free agency is open, for all intents and purposes. The legal tampering period began at noon ET on Monday, and while players can’t put their names on paper until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, we’re already seeing a flurry of moves.
News is getting out fast about who is heading where, as teams desperately try to retain their own talent, while the league’s best teams are trying to find their missing pieces. It’s important to note that until contracts are finalized everything is unofficial and subject to change. It’s not likely we’ll see any of these players have an 11th hour change of heart, but wilder things have happened.
That’s mostly a disclaimer to say “don’t shoot the messenger” if these things swing wildly before Wednesday.
I am stunned. Congrats on getting the bag, Christian.
So here’s the deal: When you’re the worst team in the NFL you need to pay big to attract top free agents. Consider this a dumpster fire tax. Christian Kirk is a really good wide receiver who could become great, but my goodness a lot of teams are going to be angry at Jacksonville for destroying the WR market.
Just imagine how mad Green Bay must be now when they have to convince Davante Adams to ink a long-term deal now Christian Kirk is getting $17M a year?
Kirk is a top-tier receiver that fits a very specific offensive mold. I don’t have any doubt he can become an impact player and finally give Trevor Lawrence a weapon.
The devil will be in the details on this one. We’ll need to see how much is guaranteed, and how performance escalators look — but this is a HUGE signing.
Grade: B
Reddick has had a great two seasons prior, but this is a whole lot of money. It’s unclear if Reddick can fill the role of a top-tier solo pass rusher, but he’s being paid that kind of money.
On the one hand I like the talent, on the other, it feels bizarre to see the Eagles spend big money on a pass rusher when they have three first round picks in a draft with astounding depth at the position. Feels like a misallocation of resources unless there’s something more to this.
Grade: B-
Tomlinson was one of the top offensive linemen in this class, and his loss will be big to the 49ers. It was unlikely San Francisco could keep Tomlinson based on the cost, and this feels like a fair deal from top to bottom.
Tomlinson will bring protection and much-needed leadership to the Jets offensive line, and hopefully Zach Wilson can show something with more time in the pocket. Overall I really like this move.
Grade: B+
It’s incredible that Seattle made its best and worst move at safety back-to-back. As disappointing as Jamal Adams has been for the investment, Diggs has been equally impressive.
This is a huge vote of confidence in his rehab, after Diggs’ season was ended due to an ankle dislocation. Should that go as planned for the Seahawks, they’re retaining a two-time Pro Bowl player at a great price.
The slightly-lower grade here is only because a big money signing for a player coming off injury is a risk.
Grade: B
It’s early, buy NOBODY is having a better free agency than the Bengals. Two signings in and they’ve secured two really great offensive linemen who can start immediately, and they’re on good deals.
Karras is a top-15 ranked guard from PFF, and a player Bill Belichick lauded for his reliability. The Bengals tried to trade for him mid-season because of how much they liked Karras, and now they get him on a great deal for nothing in return.
We’ll talk about Alex Cappa a little later, but I love what Cincinnati is doing. This is exactly what the team needed to do.
Grade: A+
Someone was going to roll the dice, and it’s Pittsburgh. This is the biggest “boom or bust” free agent QB signing available, but it’s clear the Steelers put a cap on this potential madness.
The signing doesn’t preclude the Steelers from still taking a rookie QB in the draft and using Trubisky as a bridge, though I think there were better bridge QBs available in Jameis Winston and Teddy Bridgewater. The hope with Mitch is that the Bears really were to fault for his lack of production, and he can have a turnaround like Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee.
We’ll see if that pans out. Right now it’s difficult to grade this until we see the money. Anything too far north of $10M a year will be silly.
Grade: TBA
This is a lot of money, but Ogbah is worth it. The 28-year-old defensive end has had back-to-back 9.0 sack seasons for the Dolphins, and a solid 77.0 rating from PFF this past season.
There’s no question that Ogbah has become a defensive cornerstone for the Dolphins, and keeping him was critical to the first-year success of Mike McDaniel as head coach. If Miami let this drag out I have no doubt the price would have escalated, so top-to-bottom I think this is a really good deal.
Grade: A
This move I like significantly less. The issue isn’t the player here, it’s signing a running back to a free agent contract that out-strips his production. Edmonds has been a decent all-purpose running back, but nothing special.
I didn’t have the former Cardinals RB as one of the five best rushers on the market, and I think his production could have easily been picked up in the draft. I would have much rather seen the Dolphins spend more on a player with elite potential like Rashaad Penny, than give Edmonds over $6M a year.
Grade: C
I really, really like this move because of what it signifies for the rest of Cincinnati’s free agency. My fear was the team would use its massive amount of cap space to sign one or two big name players, and not take a wholistic approach to the market.
Cappa, the former Buccaneers’ guard, is solid value at $10M a season for his level of production. He’s a huge upgrade on the offensive line that has to be re-worked to help Joe Burrow, and I love that he’s not eating so much cap space that he ties the Bengals’ hands.
If these type of moves continue and the Bengals are able to make smart signings at positions of need without blowing out their whole budget, this team is going to be even scarier in 2022.
Grade: A
My goodness, I really don’t know about this one. It feels like a move made out of desperation, rather than logic.
Don’t get me wrong: Michael Gallup is a really solid player. He’s also (by all accounts) a great locker room guy, and a beloved person in the organization. That said, from a pure football standpoint this feels like a huge waste of the limited cap space Dallas already has.
Gallup has been struggling to regain the production from his 1,100 yard 2019, taking steps back in each of the last two years. A large part of that was an injury-shorted 2021 that saw him end the season on IR, but cutting Amari Cooper for cap reasons, then turning around and signing Gallup for almost the same money feels like hope, not a plan.
Grade: C
Los Angeles are future-proofing their offensive line by giving a huge vote on confidence in Joe Notebloom, who was their left tackle behind Andrew Whitworth. It seems to be a sign that Whitworth is hanging it up, barring a surprising last-second return a la Tom Brady.
Notebloom is young, and played well when his number was called to step in. There’s very little reason to dislike this move unless it becomes clear he can’t shoulder the load as an every-down starter.
Grade: B+
Conner became a critical part of the Cardinals offense this season as he made his second Pro Bowl, rushing for 15 touchdowns on the year. He was also one of the best backs on the market who would have attracted a lot of attention, and I like the value Arizona got here a lot.
If you compare to Chase Edmonds, who went for $6.4M a year to the Dolphins, Conner’s $7M is an absolute steal, even with performance escalators that could push the contract a little higher. This is a great signing that will hopefully help make Kyler Murray happy. Love it all around.
Grade: A+
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March 14, 2022 at 11:52PM
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NFL Free Agency 2022: Complete signing tracker and instant grades - SB Nation
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