As ever in the dizzying first few days of NFL free agency, transactions were next to impossible to keep up with. Where would all the quarterback dominoes fall, who would make Kirk Cousins the highest-paid NFL player to ever live? Which general manager would improve his team and who’d make boneheaded decisions to further sink their side into the mid-pack mire? With deals announced in the two days ahead of the official free agency kickoff time on Wednesday night, it felt like a bit of an anti-climax when the clock ticked to 9pm. That said, several teams have completely reshaped their roster in just the space of a few days, here’s a recap of what’s happened so far.
QB carousel
Alex Smith’s trade to Washington from Kansas City kicked things off the week after the Super Bowl, ensuring Kirk Cousins would soon be able to make it rain. Cleveland then took themselves out of the QB stakes with a trade for ex-Bill Tyrod Taylor. Minnesota had three quarterbacks on their roster that were free agents but were happy for all of them to leave, despite being one game from the Super Bowl last year. Case Keenum, who unexpectedly had the season of his career, cashed in with Denver. Teddy Bridgewater, who lost all of 2016 following a catastrophic knee injury, signed a one-year contract with the Jets but it was Sam Bradford’s deal that raised eyebrows around the league.
Bradford was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and since then he’s achieved, well, next to nothing. At the end of his $20million one-year deal with Arizona for 2018, he’ll have earned $134million in his career, despite never having been to a Super Bowl, a Pro Bowl or even starting a playoff game. He’s completed a full season only twice and yet his per season average salary is higher than modern quarterbacking greats Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, with nine Super Bowl rings between them. Talking of Brees, the Vikings had sounded him out about leaving the Saints, but New Orleans put a quick stop to that, rewarding the face of their franchise with $50million over two seasons. Minnesota won the Cousins sweepstakes, however, rewarding the former Redskins QB with $84million over three years, they then traded with Denver for Trevor Siemian to back him up. The moves left Buffalo without a starting quarterback for a couple of days, but they remedied that by signing AJ McCarron from the Bengals.
New additions
The free agent pool was bolstered when Miami parted ways with defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Just three years ago, the Dolphins made Suh the richest ever defender but now he’s a free agent and has visits with New Orleans and Tennessee already lined up. Also looking for employment is Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu of Arizona. With a new coach and a new defensive scheme, Mathieu was asked to take a pay cut but decided against it and was released.
Big names in new places
Chicago snapped up the best receiver on offer in Allen Robinson (albeit coming off a torn ACL), then added complementary wideout Taylor Gabriel (Falcons) and athletic tight end Trey Burton (who threw the trick TD pass to Nick Foles in the Super Bowl) to rookie head coach Matt Nagy’s offensive arsenal. The top two linemen didn’t hang around long –guard Andrew Norwell was grabbed by Jacksonville to solidify Blake Bortles’ blind side. Tackle Nate Solder went from New England to New York Giants to do the same for the last few years of Eli Manning’s career. The usually free agency-averse Packers grabbed tight end Jimmy Graham, who could become QB Aaron Rodgers’ new best friend and Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson. Cleveland added 49ers running back Carlos Hyde to their revamped backfield and Super Bowl LIX hero Malcolm Butler rejoined former defensive-mate Logan Ryan in Tennessee.
Finally, the NFL said goodbye to two warriors. Paul Posluszny started his career in Buffalo before being a leader on Jaguars teams for the last seven seasons. Despite 11 years in the league, 2017 was the first time he’d played in the playoffs. Cleveland Browns’ ironman tackle Joe Thomas wasn’t quite so lucky however. The third overall pick in the 2007 Draft, Thomas played an unheard of 10,363 consecutive snaps and never made the postseason before injury last season led to him calling it quits on Wednesday.
