Two days into free agency and, well, are we having fun yet? I might or might not still be married, and seeing a Twitter scroll in my sleep isn't the greatest thing in the world. But let's be honest: NFL free agency, even without a ton of money being spent, is a fascinating and fun thing to watch.
Rumors/signings/visits/physicals/redacted rumors move so fast that it's almost impossible to keep up with what's going on. So let's push the reset button and figure out where teams stand two days deep into the NFL free agency period.
I'm not assigning a grade, and I'm not even going winner or loser on anyone because you don't win in the NFL in March. Many of the teams who aren't making moves are the ones that we see in the playoffs every year. Some teams are cash-strapped, so there's no money to spend. And there will be value later on.
This is more of a temperature gauge for what's going on. If you love, hate, agree or disagree with what I say about your team, let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @WillBrinson.
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Adding Rashard Mendenhall (1 year, $2.5M) is nice; an upgrade over Beanie Wells for sure. Drew Stanton is ... a sleeper? Why not! I love the Josh Cribbs signing. Nothing over the top for AZ, but they dumped some older players and made some quality moves. Still a long(ish) climb to catch up with the NFC West "powers." |
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Bringing back Sam Baker and Tony Gonzalez is huge. They still have issues at cornerback, running back and defensive end. Lucky them, those are the exact markets that are currently supressed. Thomas Dimitroff needs to land solid value at all three spots to head into 2013 as one of the top contenders. |
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OH, MY GOD. SET IT ON FIRE. Just kidding. Pete Prisco had a perfectly accurate take on the Ravens: they're making sure they don't get stuck in a bad salary-cap spot again. Losing Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe, Anquan Boldin, Ray Lewis, Bernard Pollard and (maybe) Ed Reed hurts, but they'll be fine. Keep calm and Ozzie Newsome. |
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Cutting Ryan Fitzpatrick is the right move (as Mike Freeman noted). But it kind of lets the cat out of the bag on the draft, doesn't it? Manny Lawson is a nice/underrated add. Much quieter offseason for Buffalo so far this year. That would be a lot better if they hadn't lost Andy Levitre. |
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No money, no problems? The Panthers are strapped for cash and basically swapped Chris Gamble for Drayton Florence and kept Derek Anderson. Their fans need to trust Dave Gettleman can find some value once free agency cools down. Don't expect any action. |
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Unicorns and dinosaurs, oh my! Martellus Bennett's an underrated add. Jermon Bushrod is help, but they paid way, way too much. The worst part? Everyone's saying Jay Cutler needs to ball out or be stoned to death. Or something. Lots of expectations here for some reason. |
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What has two thumbs, a ton of cap space and isn't doing a dang thing in free agency? (Actually, Bengals might not have two thumbs, but you get the point.) A quiet offseason so far; bringing back Andre Smith would be very, very nice. |
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Cleveland's probably No. 2 in the Offseason Champs Power Rankings. That's usually not a good thing, but I like what they've done. Paul Kruger, Desmond Bryant and Quinten Groves fit with Ray Horton's new scheme. Would like to see them add a tight end too. If Brandon Weeden plays well, could they contend in the AFC North? But, no, really? |
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Totally boring free agency period. That's OK, obviously; they spent big last year and have a cap hit and are paying Anthony Spencer out the wazz. Is Tony Romo going to be safe, though?
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John Elway is basically just a character on NBA Jam right now. The Broncos just have a pile of great free-agent signings: Wes Welker, Louis Vasquez, Stewart Bradley, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Terrance Knighton. Every deal makes sense, isn't too expensive and a few have hurt their rivals in the process. Killing it right now. |
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Chris Houston shores up the secondary, and I love the Reggie Bush signing -- he'll give their offense added versatility. Jason Jones is sneaky good on the defensive line. Glover Quin might be the real steal here, though, in a nice second-day haul for Detroit. |
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Rumors abound of a Steven Jackson deal. But other than that, Ted Thompson is being very quiet. This isn't that surprising, and the Packers should be fine. No one expected them to go nuts. |
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Mostly losing here, with the aforementioned Quin leaving, James Casey bolting for Philadelphia and Kevin Walter getting cut. The Texans didn't have a lot of money to start with, are fine from a talent standpoint but head into the third day of free agency with holes to fill. |
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Ryan Grigson's 2012 draft was good enough to get the benefit of the doubt on overpaying Gosder Cherilus and Erik Walden. The new-look secondary, with Darius Butler, Vontae Davis, LaRon Landry, Antoine Bethea and Greg Toler, is stout. Donald Thomas is a nice addition as well on the line. Can these signings pan out? |
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Cutting Laurent Robinson tells you everything you need to know: the Jaguars aren't -- and don't intend to be -- active in free agency. At least while they're paying the price of past bad decisions the new regime has the right idea about building a team. |
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The Chiefs will be interesting to watch: Alex Smith is their offseason lynchpin for now. That's scary. Donnie Avery and Dunta Robinson are nice grabs off the market. Chase Daniel ... eh. They've been real active, but is anyone scared? No. 1 overall is critical. |
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The Dolphins are making it rain all over South Beach. Mike Wallace and Dannell Ellerbe are cash bombs and need to pay off. I like Philip Wheeler. Feels like Brian Hartline cost too much. If they get good value at left tackle and cornerback, I'll change my tune, but I'm not completely sold this working out right now even if it looks nice. |
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Critical of the Vikings to get Phil Loadholt and Jerome Felton back, if only to avoid Adrian Peterson going Hulk Smash on everyone. Losing Percy Harvin hurts, and they've got to reload at wideout in the draft (or FA) but they've got the ammunition. The defense might be in a bit more trouble. Skeptical of a repeat of 2012 at the moment. |
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Hate the Patriots' decision to trade Wes Welker for Danny Amendola. Hate it. Sebastian Vollmer and Aqib Talib are still out there and could come cheap, so New England might be fine. The karma of the Welker move leaves a bad taste in my mouth, though. Who's playing wideout for them if Amendola goes down? |
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Could they crank up the offseason by bringing in Rob Ryan fave Nnamdi Asomugha? Landing Keenan Lewis would be a coup. Mostly losses, including Bushrod, for a cash-strapped team right now. There should be a touch of concern at the moemnt. |
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Locking down Will Beatty before free agency began was big, but that deal looks pretty huge at the moment (dollars-wise, anyway). They also, um, added a kicker. The Giants are being patient, though. It's what they do. |
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The Jets have lost everyone, it feels like (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, since their roster stunk) ... except for Darrelle Revis. His situation still holds them hostage with trade rumors percolating like crazy. Gotta think John Idzik is just in "hold on for dear life and get through our salary-cap trainwreck nightmare" mode at this point. |
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Speaking of nightmares: heeeeeeeeello, Reggie McKenzie. The Raiders are in a purge, too, right now. But it's like I've been saying for a year now -- "Into the Crevasse." It can't get better until it gets worse, and things will be very much worse for Oakland next year. Gone are most of Al Davis' picks, like Darrius Heyward-Bey and Michael Huff. This isn't a bad thing, you know? |
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This version of the not-so-dreamy team is so much better looking than Andy Reid's version. The Eagles are acquiring weapons and versatile players who don't cost a pile of cash, like Bradley Fletcher, James Casey, Patrick Chung, Isaac Sopoaga and Jason Phillips. Very curious to see how Chip Kelly handles the draft, but I like his moves thus far. |
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Resident CBS Steelers homer Ryan Wilson chatted me on Wednesday excited that Pittsburgh might have a visit from Victor Butler (who is quite good), so that tells you what's going on in Pittsburgh. It's a reboot to a younger group. And the Steelers aren't splashy, anyway. |
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The Chargers grabbed Derek Cox late on Wednesday night and if he's healthy it's a great addition. Louis Vasquez might not be ideal for their setup, but losing their best lineman hurt. Who's protecting Philip Rivers? I get that Tom Telesco's gonna be patient,but that offensive line scares me right now, even if they did add King Dunlap and Chad Rinehart. |
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So much was made of the Anquan Boldin trade. Settle down, everyone. Glenn Dorsey's the definition of a guy who gets inexplicably better under Jim Harbaugh (and here's an interesting read on their defensive future). With Dashon Goldson out, safety has to be a priority, and Charles Woodson and Ed Reed are options. Not that concerned about this team being too active in free agency. |
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As I said on Twitter on Wednesday, John Schneider is a friggin Jedi for pulling Cliff Avril in for two years and $15 million. I personally LOVE the Percy Harvin trade as well, although I understand why people are hesitant about it. For me, the Seahawks are crushing free agency right now. Second-best team to the Broncos. |
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Jared Cook I love. His contract? Not so much. Depending on what they do with Jake Long, who took the world's longest physical on Wednesday, they could come out looking nice. But where are the receivers? Cook's a weapon, but get Sam Bradford some help, please. |
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A fascinating team to watch depending on what they do with Revis (competing now with him might involve a first-round pick that they very much want in 2013). Goldson and Mark Barron are a dynamic safety pairing. They still need some defensive end help, but everything hinges on the cornerback situation. |
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Ew, Shonn Greene. Dude got nearly as much as Reggie Bush did to back up Chris Johnson. The Sammie Lee Hill and Delanie Walker signings are very nice, however. Landing Levitre was a great grab (but it ruins my mock draft ...) even if it was expensive. The Greene thing really grinds my gears to the point I almost can't get past it. |
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It doesn't really feel like free agency with the Redskins being so calm, does it? They don't have a ton of money and, honestly, it might be a good thing for them. There should be some quality value on the market in the next few days and weeks, and they can take advantage. Cornerback market, which they need to hit after losing DeAngelo Hall, is far from dried up at this point. |
