This will be an unusual NFL season, given the lowering of the salary cap and fewer opportunities to explore potential benefits. The full ramifications of these changes are not yet known, but here are our first assumptions with the legal manipulation window now open: this will be the free agency of dream equipment. Whether it’s a team aspiring to become Buccaneers, the Buccaneers try stay the Buccaneers or a dormant superpower rising from a long sleep to regain their role as a pillar of the championship.
Not all of this will be achieved through a free agency. Unlike other major professional sports leagues, you can’t form a team this way, but you can score your excitement around the list with free agent acquisitions. And we’ve already seen quite a bit.
This is what we have seen so far, as well as our ratings on each signing.
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Joe Thuney in the heads
According to reports, the Chiefs are also involved in the Trent Williams mix, which would be a great low season if they managed to secure two top-ranked offensive line men to bolster their front. Everyone watched the Super Bowl and understands the limitations that Patrick Muhammad will have if he is not allowed time to be Superman. Thuney costs a lot of money, but when you find yourself in a window similar to the one now in the Chiefs, it’s worth the premium price. An encouraging sign: Thuney allowed just two sacks last season, despite blocking a recovering Cam Newton and a non-existent wide receiver body that sometimes forced him to lengthen plays unnecessarily.
DEGREE: B +
Matt Judon to the Patriots
This seemed like a series of victories for Bill Belichick. Not only does he pay well below market value for a great runner who helped an amoeba defense similar to Baltimore, but he also pulls out a key piece to a conference rival, who might love Judon back at that price ( or around that price). Belichick was able to buy at the top level at a medium-high price level, which could quickly help rebuild his defense.
DEGREE: A
Rob Gronkowski signs back with the Buccaneers
It’s funny to say that Jonnu Smith is worth every penny at $ 12 million per season, but Rob Gronkowski is a luxury at $ 10 million. He’s evolved into a different player for Tampa Bay, but again, we don’t know what Gronkowski will be like in 2021 with a full weight training season and a better idea of his place in the Bruce Arians / Tom Brady system. It could be vintage Gronkowski. It could also be a bit of a hubris.
Grade: B-
Corey Linsley on the chargers
There’s no bigger gift for a developing star quarterback than a center who has controlled and named the protection schemes of one of the NFL’s most sophisticated and manic quarterbacks. Linsley can be a lifesaver for the Chargers and suddenly the presence of a Packers offensive line doubles to the west. It’s never bad to have more offensive liners than Ted Thompson.
DEGREE: B +
Yannick Ngakoue to the Raiders
Jon Gruden takes a new leap forward to replace the current talent he gave away a few years ago. This is not a linear comparison, of course, and there is no way Ngakoue can create the same kind of devastation in the field as Khalil Mack. That said, he’s a good runner who, despite having some weird ping-pong around Minnesota and Baltimore, is worth more than $ 13 million.
DEGREE: B-
Kendrick Bourne to the Patriots
Jimmy Garoppolo had a pass score of over 120 when he signed up for Bourne in 2019, which is worth taking for another day. Bourne seems the best of what Belichick longs for in a wide receiver; the type of player who can dominate the center of the field and create space. A trio of Bourne, Julian Edelman and Nelson Agholor feels a bit formidable, which is the first time in a long time that we can say that in New England.
DEGREE: B
Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports
Nelson Agholor to the Patriots
Agholor is a phenomenal athlete with an explosive speed that has sometimes been scratched, but last year he made the most of a contract season in Las Vegas, capturing 48 balls for nearly 900 yards and eight touchdowns. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Belichick and Josh McDaniels make the most of Agholor, although such situations are always a big bet, especially for a receiver with a career catch percentage in the 1950s and an uncertain situation at center. of QB (to be fair, Agholor’s drop rate is pretty low, so the catch percentage is a bit misleading).
GRADE: C +
Jalen Mills to the Patriots
Mills is an ideal player for Belichick, who comes from the Eagles, a team that played a very similar home / zone coverage division in 2020. Mills is working on that defense for his versatility. Just last year he played a high percentage of moments as a safe, but he was also a slot corner, a wide corner and a free safety in a formidable number of descents.
DEGREE: B
Shaq Barrett signs back with the Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are in this glorious post-Super Bowl YOLO stage where an untouchable GM can take advantage of their cash reserves and a horde of talented players who all want to come and play. Keeping Barrett, however, would always be more complicated. Coming out of a franchise label, the negotiations could have been controversial, especially after the pass passed delivered to Tampa Bay a Super Bowl. But instead, the Buccaneers get him a relative steal: $ 18 million per season. That just makes signing good for Tampa.
DEGREE: A
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Jonnu Smith to the Patriots
Cam Newton’s new record was a lukewarm start for free agency, which is why the signing of Jonnu Smith was so fascinating. New England spends significant money ($ 12.5 million) on a trapped end that is demonic in space. Smith’s market was always going to be surprisingly high for laymen (the Titans are working to re-sign Anthony Firkser), which is why Tennessee had to let him go. The Patriots ’pronounced arrival in the free agent market does not indicate that there is time to rebuild in New England. Smith will be a gift to Newton, or whoever throws passes.
DEGREE: A-
Jason Verrett signs back with the 49ers
Unfortunately for Verrett, a number of injuries have forced him to accept these offers in the short term. Luckily for the 49ers, he’s a great corner kicker who comes back and helps them repair a secondary that will lose a lot of heart and soul this offseason. Verrett may be that cunning veteran presence, especially after a season in which he played more than three-quarters of the team’s defensive catches with an opposing QB rating of 76.2.
DEGREE: B +
Aaron Jones signs back with the Packers
Green Bay is a smart team that understands the importance of establishing a position like backing down, especially in this offense. Maybe Jones doesn’t exist forever and maybe it affects the development of AJ Dillon, but they ensure that the position is well stocked and that they are as versatile as possible in the red zone.
DEGREE: A
Kevin Zeitler to the Ravens
Zeitler is one of football’s most prolific inner blockers, which makes perfect sense for him to go down 95 to Baltimore and help anchor the place that the great Marshall Yanda had. Zeitler has missed a game since 2015 and, despite an offensive collective struggle in 2020 with the Giants, should be in a place to maximize Baltimore’s relegation game. A bonus for Baltimore: Zeitler doesn’t mark his compensation formula because the Giants let him go. Therefore, they recover a significant victim of the cover and do not lose much in return.
DEGREE: A-
Tyrell Williams to the Lions
The Lions are soft tanks, which is an absolute necessity after Matt Patricia came in and covered a brick house with deteriorated vinyl siding. They released Kenny Golladay and essentially inherited a bare closet to the spacious receiver. Williams arrives as Jared Goff’s only reliable reception target, apart from the locked TJ Hockenson, after losing the entire 2020 season with a tear of labrum.
DEGREE: D +
Mark Ingram in jeans
Jeans show the type of market in which they will operate. At best, they will be a lifesaver for several veterans with soft markets elsewhere. At worst … well … Houston might be experiencing the worst case right now. The bonus here? Ingram is a valuable veteran and cornerstone player who could help develop other talents in the position.
DEGREE: C
Brian Fluharty / USA Today Sports
Cam Newton signs back with the Patriots
I think most people realize how valuable Newton is with an insignificant, incentive-laden contract like this. It’s an interesting pairing at Foxboro; he seems to be legitimately in love with the idea of playing Bill Belichick and the Patriots, which, as we all know, may be an acquired taste for some. Having Newton with a reserve QB salary gives New England the flexibility to upgrade the rest of the offense, while ensuring they have enough QB if there are other options (through draft or trade for someone like Jimmy Garoppolo).
DEGREE: B
JJ Watt to the Cardinals
I wrote at length about Watt’s signing the day he first announced it, but in short: It will be interesting to see what the Cardinals do with the rest of their free agency. For example, I think re-signing Haason Reddick would further improve Watt’s signature, but did signing Watt mean Reddick wouldn’t return? Arizona’s aggressiveness on Watt shows they have something going on during this offseason. If the long and short that allows the future Hall of Famer to crash the opposite side of Chandler Jones, the Cardinals still have it pretty well.
DEGREE: B