This will be an unusual NFL off-season, given the diminishing salary cap and fewer opportunities to explore concept prospects. The full ramifications of these changes aren’t fully known yet, but here’s our early guess with the legal sabotage window now open: This will be the free choice of dream teams. Whether it’s a team that wants to become the Buccaneers, the Buccaneers are trying to become stay the Buccaneers or a sleeping superpower rising from a long slumber to reclaim its role as the mainstay of the championship.
None of this will be accomplished through free agency. Unlike other major professional sports leagues, you can’t build a team that way, but you can underscore your excitement around the squad with acquisitions from free agents. And we’ve already seen quite a splash.
Here’s what we’ve seen so far, as well as our numbers for each signing.
Mark Konezny / USA TODAY Sports
Joe Thuney to the Chiefs
The Chiefs are also reportedly in the mix for Trent Williams, which would be a great offseason if they managed to get their hands on two top offensive linemen to bolster their front. Everyone has seen the Super Bowl and understands the limitations Patrick Mahomes will have if he doesn’t get time to be Superman. Thuney costs a lot of money, but when you find yourself in a similar window to the Chiefs now, it’s worth the premium price tag. An encouraging sign: Thuney only allowed two sacks last season, despite blocking out for a recovering Cam Newton and a nonexistent wide receiver corps that sometimes forced play unnecessarily long.
GRADE: B +
Matt Judon to the patriots
This felt like a series of wins for Bill Belichick. Not only does he pay well below market value for a great pass rusher that helped a similar amoebic defense in Baltimore, but he also takes away a key piece from a rival at the conference who might have loved having Judon back for that price tag (or around that price tag). Belichick was able to shop in the top tier at an upper mid-range price, which could help rebuild his defenses quickly.
CLASS A.
Rob Gronkowski signs with the Buccaneers again
It’s strange to say that Jonnu Smith is worth every penny at $ 12 million a 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 look like in 2021 with a full off-season of strength training and a better idea of his place in the Bruce Arians / Tom Brady system. It could be vintage Gronkowski. It can also be a bit of hubris.
Grade B-
Corey Linsley to the Chargers
There is no greater gift to an evolving star quarterback than a center that has checked and summoned protection schedules for one of the most advanced and maniacal quarterbacks in the NFL. Linsley can be a lifeline for the Chargers, and suddenly the presence of a Packers line of attack to the west doubles. This is never a bad thing to have more Ted Thompson offensive linemen.
GRADE: B +
Yannick Ngakoue for the Raiders
Jon Gruden makes another attempt to replace the pass-rush talent he gave away a few years ago. This isn’t a linear equation, of course, and there is no way Ngakoue can wreak the same havoc on the field as Khalil Mack. That said, he’s a good pass rusher who, despite some odd ping-pong in Minnesota and Baltimore, is worth over $ 13 million.
GRADE B-
Kendrick Bourne to the patriots
Jimmy Garoppolo had a passer-by rating of over 120 when he focused on Bourne in 2019, which is well worth stopping for another day. Bourne seems to have the best of what Belichick desires in a wide receiver; the kind of player who can dominate the center of the field and create space. A trio of Bourne, Julian Edelman and Nelson Agholor feel somewhat formidable, and that’s 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 explosive speed who was streaky at times, but made the most of a contract season in Las Vegas last year, catching 48 balls at nearly half a mile and eight touchdowns. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Belichick and Josh McDaniels getting the most out of Agholor, although situations like this are always a big gamble, especially for a receiver with a career catch rate in their 50s and an uncertain below-mid-range situation. QB. (to be fair, Agholor’s drop rate is quite low, so catch rate 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 man / zone coverage split in 2020. Mills works in this defense because of its versatility. Last year alone he played a high percentage of snaps as box safety, but was also a slot corner, wide corner and free safety on a formidable number of downs.
DEGREE B
Shaq Barrett signs with the Buccaneers again
The Buccaneers are in that glorious, post-Super Bowl YOLO stage where an untouchable GM can tap into his cash reserves and a horde of talented players all want to come and play there. But keeping Barrett would always get more complicated. If we got off a franchise tag, the negotiations could have gotten contentious, especially after the pass rush turned Tampa Bay into a Super Bowl. But instead, the Buccaneers get it for a relative bargain – $ 18 million per season. That alone makes signing a good one for Tampa.
CLASS A.
The Weak-Side Podcast now has its own feed! Subscribe to listen to Conor Orr and Jenny every week.
Jonnu Smith to the Patriots
Cam Newton’s new signing was a lukewarm start to free choice, which is why Jonnu Smith’s signing was so fascinating. New England spends a lot of money ($ 12.5 million) on a pass-catching tight end that is demonic in space. Smith’s market would always be surprisingly high to the layman (the Titans are working to re-sign Anthony Firkser), so Tennessee had to let him go. The outspoken entry of the Patriots into the free agent market means there is no time for rebuilding in New England. Smith will be a gift to Newton, or whoever rolls passes.
CLASS A-
Jason Verrett signs with the 49ers again
Unfortunately for Verrett, a string of injuries forced him to accept these short-term proof-it deals. Luckily for the 49ers, he’s a great cornerback who will come back and help them fix a secondary that will lose a lot of heart and soul this off-season. Verrett could be that cunning veteran presence, especially after a season where he played more than three-quarters of the team’s defensive snaps with an opposing QB rating of 76.2
GRADE: B +
Aaron Jones signs with the Packers again
Green Bay are a smart team who understand the importance of building a position like walking back, especially in this particular offense. Jones might not be there forever and maybe influencing AJ Dillon’s development, but they make sure the position is well filled and they are as versatile as possible in the red zone.
CLASS A.
Kevin Zeitler for the Ravens
Zeitler is one of football’s more prolific inside-blockers, which makes perfect sense that he would roll to Baltimore to anchor the spot once occupied by the great Marshall Yanda. Zeitler has missed one race since 2015 and, despite a 2020 collective offensive with the Giants, should be able to maximize Baltimore’s downhill running race. A bonus for Baltimore: Zeitler is not using their compensatory formula because the Giants let him go. So they save a big victim from a cap and don’t lose much in return.
CLASS A-
Tyrell Williams to the lions
The lions are softly refueling, which is an absolute necessity after Matt Patricia came in and covered a brick house with dilapidated vinyl siding. They let Kenny Golladay go and essentially inherited a bare closet near a wide receiver. Williams comes in as Jared Goff’s only reliable receiving target, aside from tight ending TJ Hockenson, after missing the entire 2020 season with a labrum tear.
GRADE: D +
Mark Ingram for the Texans
The Texans show what kind of market they will operate in. At best, they will be a lifeline for several soft market veterans elsewhere. Worst case scenario … well … Houston could be going through its worst-case scenario right now. The bonus here? Ingram is a valuable veteran and cornerstone player who could help develop other talent on the position.
GRADE: C
Brian Fluharty / USA Today Sports
Cam Newton signs with the Patriots again
I think almost everyone realizes the value of having Newton on a paltry contract, brimming with incentives, like this one. It’s an interesting combination in Foxboro; he seems rightly in love with the idea of playing for Bill Belichick and the Patriots, which, as we all know, may be an acquired taste for some. Having Newton on a backup QB salary gives New England the flexibility to upgrade the rest of the offense while ensuring they have a good enough QB if other options (via draft or exchange for someone like Jimmy Garoppolo) fail.
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’ll be interesting to see what the cardinals do with the rest of their free agency. For example, I think re-signing Haason Reddick would make Watt’s signing even better, but did signing Watt automatically mean Reddick won’t come back? Arizona’s aggressiveness towards Watt shows that they have something in the works for this off season. If the long and short of it allows the future Hall of Famer to crash the other side of Chandler Jones, then the Cardinals are still pretty good at it.
DEGREE B