Patriots, Packers, tackles score free agency coups
It has been one week since the NFL free agent market opened, so what better time to reflect upon who’s done the most effective shopping?
WINNERS
New England Patriots: When was the last time a defending champion added so many substantial upgrades? The trade for WR Brandin Cooks should provide an element of explosiveness and deep speed on offense that QB Tom Brady hasn’t enjoyed in some time. The acquisition of TE Dwayne Allen offsets the loss of Martellus Bennett — and at a reasonable price over the next three years. The Pats paid handsomely for Stephon Gilmore (five years, $65 million), but they gained a top-echelon cornerback, weakened a division rival (Buffalo Bills) and now have flexibility regarding Malcolm Butler’s future. And the cherry on top came Wednesday when defensive leader Dont’a Hightower decided to re-sign for four years. Hard to reach any other conclusion than Bill Belichick and Co. following up their Super Bowl LI victory with a crown as the league’s offseason champs.
Offensive tackles: Russell Okung (Los Angeles Chargers), Riley Reiff (Minnesota Vikings), Andrew Whitworth (Los Angeles Rams), Matt Kalil (Carolina Panthers), Ricky Wagner (Detroit Lions) and Kelvin Beachum (New York Jets) have combined for all of five Pro Bowl nods — three belonging to Whitworth — yet all are now among the league’s top 20 in terms of compensation at their position. Timing is everything, and it was a good year to be a free agent tackle given the dearth of talent available in the draft pipeline.
Fullbacks: Who would have guessed that guys who play what was once thought to be an endangered position were in higher demand than Adrian Peterson? The San Francisco 49ers sent Kyle Juszczyk to the top of the
positional scale with a four-year, $21 million offer. Elsewhere, Patrick DiMarco (Bills) and James Develin (Patriots) also landed multiyear multimillion-dollar deals.
Aaron Rodgers: Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson did something he rarely does — open the checkbook for outside free agents — and upgraded the team’s tight end position by adding veterans Bennett and Lance Kendricks, much to Rodgers’ delight if his Twitter account is an accurate gauge. (Thompson also gets kudos for retaining emerging OLB Nick Perry.) Mike Glennon: The Chicago Bears’ new No. 1 quarterback reeled in a three-year, $45 million deal even though he hasn’t started a game since 2014 and has thrown all of 11 passes over the last two seasons. Jimmy Garoppolo: Tom Brady’s backup wasn’t exiled to Cleveland (at least not yet).
Kirk Cousins: The Redskins quarterback (for now) is set to collect nearly $24 million in 2017.
LOSERS
Garoppolo: He’ll apparently have to wait one more year to break the bank and get the opportunity to lead his own team.
Cousins: Despite his generous salary, he’s attempting to defuse reports he wants out of D.C. He also saw his top two wideouts, Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, bolt for other teams and must now hope Terrelle Pryor is up to the task of being a No. 1 receiver. Tailbacks: While Juszczyk is sitting pretty, Peterson, Jamaal
Charles, Latavius Murray and LeGarrette Blount are still waiting to learn where they’ll be playing in 2017.
Wide receivers: They have fared better than the backs, but the wideouts certainly have not reset the market. Alshon Jeffery, thought to be the best available, had to settle for an incentive-laden one-year deal ($9.5 million, not including incentives). Only DeSean Jackson, now of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, became a top-10 earner among receivers with his three-year, $33.5 million contract.
STAY TUNED
Cleveland Browns: They’re now the proud owners of two of the league’s most expensive guards (Kevin Zeitler, Joel Bitonio). They took a hard stance with Pryor and wound up with Kenny Britt, whose pedestrian eight-year résumé still commanded a four-year, $32.5 million pact. Cleveland also parted with $16 million of its precious cap space to essentially buy the Houston Texans’ 2018 secondrounder in exchange for absorbing the rest of QB Brock Osweiler’s contract. (It’s difficult to quantify the value of a Round 2 pick, but for some context it’s worth noting that the Browns’ second-rounder in 2016, DE Emmanuel Ogbah, will make less than $7 million over four years.) If GM Sashi Brown, coach Hue Jackson and Co. convert all these draft picks into foundational players or find a way to use them in constructing a deal for an established quarterback, Cleveland will rejoice. But that’s a big “if ” right now.
Tony Romo: For some reason, he remains a member of the Dallas Cowboys even as it becomes apparent that a deal for the longtime quarterback almost certainly isn’t forthcoming.
Houston Texans: They unloaded last year’s mistake, Osweiler and his contract, but at a premium. And with Romo still twisting in the wind (and A.J. Bouye leaving for division rival Jacksonville), it can’t yet be determined if the AFC South champs are moving forward or in reverse.