NFL Free Agency has been open for a week now and the league has had so much turnover.
Tom Brady signed in Tampa Bay, DeAndre Hopkins got traded to Arizona, Teddy Bridgewater signed with Carolina, Stefon Diggs got traded to Buffalo, Byron Jones signed with Miami, among many many other dealings.
This offseason has had one of the deepest free agent classes and upcoming draft classes in some time which had several ripple effects. Teams could afford to trade away stars like DeAndre Hopkins and acquire picks. Some teams had to make difficult decisions and cut fan favorites, for example, the Eagles cut safety Malcolm Jenkins and the Panthers cut former MVP, Cam Newton.
With all that movement there are many quality free agents left on the market and I’ll look at a few and analyze where they may fit.
The 2014 first overall pick has spent the bulk of his career with the Houston Texans but was with the Seattle Seahawks last season after a trade pre-season. In his time with Houston, he was selected to three consecutive Pro-Bowls from 2016-2018. Additionally, in 2016 he was selected to the Second-Team All-Pro.
In 2017, he led the league with 9.5 sacks, 18 assisted tackles, 41 total tackles, and 59 combined tackles. His talent is felt by opposing offenses, and he’d be an upgrade on most teams in the league. The reason why he is yet to sign is because of the self-imposed price tag.
He has set the price at $20 million a year which may be a bit high.
There have been rumors of teams offering $17-18 million but he has clearly not been satisfied with what he’s seen yet.
Fits: Jets, Giants, Titans, Seahawks
CB Logan Ryan
The former New England Patriot third-round pick has surprisingly never been selected to the Pro-Bowl but certainly should be valued as such. He spent 2013-2016 on the Patriots before signing with the Tennesee Titans in 2017 and playing there up till now.
In 2019, Ryan played in all 16 games for the first time since 2016, and he was very formidable. He has 113 combined tackles, 73 total tackles, 40 assisted tackles, 4.5 sacks, four interceptions, and four forced fumbles. If that doesn’t sound worthy of a payday then what does?
Fits: Lions, Raiders, Cowboys
The lifetime Viking has entered free agency for the first time in his career. He has appeared in the Pro-Bowl four times; 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019. Griffen was selected to the second-team All-Pro in 2017, a season in which he was named to his third consecutive Pro-Bowl, the Vikings made it to the NFC Championship game, and where he had a whopping 13 sacks in only 15 games.
In 2019, Griffen played in 15 games, accumulating 8 sacks, 15 assisted tackles, 26 total tackles, 41 combined tackles, and an interception.
Fits: Bills, Jets, Titans
QB Cam Newton
Newton was released by the Panthers on Tuesday after missing the entire season due to injury.
Over his time in Carolina, Newton has accomplished the following feats: selected as the No. 1 overall pick in 2011, he is the franchise leader in passing yards with 29,041, rushing touchdowns with 58 and passing touchdowns with 182. He also has 4,806 rushing yards as a quarterback and a Super Bowl appearance in 2015 which is the same season in which he won NFL MVP. He is a three-time Pro Bowler in 2011, 2013, 2015, he was selected to the First-Team All-Pro in 2015, and lastly, he won the NFL Rookie of the Year in 2011.
Quite the resume for somebody who just got released.
Fits: Patriots, Chargers, Jaguars
