The 2021 NFL free agency started off with a bang, and we have witnessed the most signings ever in a free agency period before the new league year had actually begun. Players are getting overpaid as per usual, include Carl Lawson (20 sacks in 4 years with a career best 5.5 this past year), who signed a 3-year, $45 million with the New York Jets. The Jets overpaying for a free agent seems to be an annual occurrence. How you doing C.J. Mosley?
Nelson Agholor, who totaled 896 receiving yards last year, signed a 2-year, $26 million deal the Patriots, along with Jonnu Smith, who tallied a career-high 448 yards last season. He was also reached heavily for, as they signed him to a 4-year, $50 million deal. Let's not forget Matthew Judon, who signed a 4-year, $56 million deal with the Pats. I don’t think New England over payed for him per se, but this guy has never hit double digit sacks, and while I do see him as a great player, he just isn’t the top dog for a pass rush.
Now let’s discuss some big-name signings that made sense, starting off with Shaq Barret, who proved that his 19.5 sack season wasn’t a fluke, re-signing with the Buccaneers on a 4-year, $72 million deal. While he did only manage 8 sacks this year, that was with a lot of other players around him getting in on the fun, and he was a key part of the Bucs Super Bowl run this year.
Trey Hendrickson had his coming out party this year, accumulating 13.5 sacks. That earned him a hefty pay-day with the Bengals, who signed him to a 4-year deal worth $60 million. While his previous career-high was 4.5 sacks, he performed well enough in the contract year for teams to take notice. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being a major whiff by the Bengals, but this one can go either way.
Joe Thuney couldn’t have come soon enough for the Chiefs, who proved in the Super Bowl that if you want your quarterback to succeed and make plays, he NEEDS TIME in the pocket to throw the football (maybe the Ravens should also take notes and get a new center already). He signed a nice 5-year, $80 million deal. He was one of the most highly-touted offensive lineman on the market, so a splurge on the Chiefs part was necessary. How they have enough cap space after signing Patrick Mahomes, Tyreke Hill, and Travis Kelce is beyond my pay grade
. Marvin Jones came at a huge bargain for the Jaguars, as they signed him to a middling 2-year, $14 million deal. This is a guy that the Ravens should have snagged, especially at that price. Jones is an amazing route-runner who constantly makes contested catches and big plays. It appears that the Jaguars are stocking up for their future franchise QB Trevor Lawrence.
Let’s not forget about all the quarterbacks who signed short-term deals, including Ryan Fitzpatrick who signed a 1-year, $10 million deal with Washington, as well as Andy Dalton, signing with the Bears on a similar 1-year deal worth $10 million. Of course, there has to be a signing that creates a stir with the Deshaun Watson situation in Houston, as the Texans inked Tyrod Taylor to a 1-year, $12 million deal.
We are all still waiting with baited breath for the news that Kenny Golladay has signed with the Ravens. While JuJu Smith-Schuster still searches for a new home, I’m surprised he hasn’t made a Tik Tok about his free agency experience yet. Will Fuller and Curtis Samuel are two very similar skillsets that can instantly transform an offense like the Packers or the Lions, who both lost their top receivers
Running backs like Chris Carson, Kenyan Drake, and Leonard Fournette are all looking for new teams. Maybe the Texans will sign one of them just because they can. The Falcons definitely need a running back following the departure of Todd Gurley.
Justin Houston could prove to be a huge addition for the Ravens, while Melvin Ingram, Haason Reddick, and Carlos Dunlap are all still on the market. Reddick is coming off of a huge 12.5-sack season, but he recorded only one sack the year prior, so don’t expect much of an encore this season. Dunlap and Ingram will instantly transform any team looking for pass-rush help, like the Seahawks (Dunlap already made a major impact last year for them) or the Jets.
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