NFL Free Agency 2019: The Biggest Takeaway of a Wild Departure

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Waiting for the official start of the free agency is a remnant of another era. While the world of football is still digesting Saturday's game against Antonio Brown by the Raiders, the opening of the NFL trading period has allowed four of the top 10 ranked players on the top 101 free agents list from NFL.com to accept contracts, including Nick Foles. . Do not pay attention to the fact that free trade begins technically Wednesday afternoon.

We left and will recap every day this week in The Debrief, starting with our biggest takeaway on a wild Monday:

1) Nick Foles is worth the money.


I was surprised by the initial surprise regarding the $ 88 million contract signed by Foles over four years with the Jaguars. In a world where the tackle Trent Brown benefits from his success for the Super Bowl to more than 36 million dollars guaranteed by the Raiders, is it really surprising that Foles obtains apparently over $ 50 million guaranteed?

It does not matter which teams the Jaguars bet on. That's what starting shifts cost, and I guess the details of the deal will put Foles in the middle of the pack among the starters. He is 30 years old and greatly improves the Jaguars' weakest position. It should also be noted that the untested nature of Foles (14 starts in the last three seasons, including the playoffs) could be viewed under a different lens. According to his recent play and comments from Foles and Eagles that surround him, he is a different player from the one he's known at the beginning of his career. His high cap is obvious: he is perhaps the author of the greatest performance of a quarterback in the history of the Super Bowl and supports it with other excellent playoff performances. . he could continue to improve and prove to be a good deal, but even an average quarterback game at the start would make this deal worthwhile.

The Jaguars do not need to close the book on looking for a quarter to grow, but the presence of Foles gives a chance now to the veterans of this team. After his appearance in the CFA Championship game two seasons ago, Blake Bortles did not have much to do. Bortles will cost $ 16.5 million dollars stuck on the cap this season Tom Coughlin and General Manager Dave Caldwell, Executive Vice President of Football Operations, were eliminated later this week. Foles gives the team a chance to bounce back quickly if the pieces around him in Jacksonville come together.

2) The Raiders take a huge risk with Trent Brown.

Antonio Brown's trade was obvious to the Raiders. But the $ 66 million four-year contract for trotter Trent Brown raises the question of whether there really is a plan here. Brown was available for virtually nothing in a trade just a year ago, while he had a reputation for being a straight tackle often injured, sometimes overweight, sometimes under-motivated on the 49ers. A solid year – not bad – in New England made it the highest paid tackle in the league on average. After exchanging Kelechi Osemele guard, it is clear that the team only wants Gruden Guys.


Taking a risk on Trent Brown would be hard enough, even if the Raiders had not used the first two picks among the 65 best tackles last year. It's still possible that Brown could play on the right side and leave the choice of last year's top 10, Kolton Miller, on the left side, but the Raiders give valuable resources to a risky average league player in both meaning. Buying mid-level players with huge bonuses is the usual method used by teams to become independent players. Brown is not of the same caliber as the former Patriots striker, Nate Solder. Ask the Giants fans what they think of paying the Solder quarterback's money a year ago, as the Raiders did with Brown this year. Talking about that …

3) The patriots were ready for it.

Bill Belichick lost two of the highest paid free agents on Monday to Trent Brown and Trey Flowers, but that was no surprise. They would never pay the superstar 's money to Brown, and their first – round pick of last year, Isaiah Wynn, was recovering from an injury and should start at the left tackle. . Flowers, who signs with the Lions, is a much bigger loss. He was the most valuable defender of the Patriots in their series of three consecutive Super Bowl games, but the team's decision not to place the franchise's label indicated that she set a price on flowers that he would not come back. It is safe to say that Lions have exceeded this price.

The pending trade with the Eagles for Michael Bennett telegraphed this move. Bennett and Flowers are similar players because of their flexibility to play indoors and outdoors. Although Flowers is significantly better than Bennett at this stage of his career and that he is much younger, Bennett showed in Philadelphia that he could still provide quality shots at an affordable price. The maximum number of Bennett's is only $ 7.2 million, and the money saved will likely be used to strengthen other parts of the team. The Patriots have not finished fixing their line of defense, but over the years, they have shown that they are in no hurry to conclude agreements before the market settles.

The future of Rob Gronkowski is also on the team. He has a large cap figure ($ 11.8 million) and his potential retirement would change the calculation of the New England offseason. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, spoke on ESPN on Monday, saying Gronk had not yet made his retirement decision. Expect this decision to be made as soon as possible, as the Patriots must make plans as they leave; However, Belichick has proven that he can be very skilled in extending his salary cap with creative moves. A little like …

4) A tight salary cap situation does not stop the Eagles.

This is the daily part of the column where I write about the overstatement of the salary cap space. Perhaps a better way to say it: creative teams can find ways to make big acquisitions, regardless of their salary situation. The Eagles were as successful as all teams in the league in the offseason, but they still found a way to get in touch with former Jaguars defensive forward Malik Jackson (three years for 30 millions of dollars) and acquire DeSean Jackson. in a business before giving him a new contract. The Eagles also reworked Jason Peters' contract to secure their future left tackle from the Hall of Fame.


General Manager Howie Roseman still has to make tough decisions, such as potentially cutting Nelson Agholor later this week, and will likely let linebacker Jordan Hicks leave the freelance position. But the Eagles are not sitting on their hands. They needed players inside, so they basically traded Michael Bennett against Malik Jackson. They needed speed and saw DeSean Jackson's contract as an asset. In this annual league, teams such as the Patriots, Eagles and Rams have discovered that short-term deals for veterans on the wrong side of the 30's could be the best deals possible. (Just look at Chris Long's deal in Philadelphia.) For teams planning to face each year, the idea of ​​putting all your chips in a "window" of the championship is ridiculous …

5) All that was said about the Rams being "all" for 2018 was nonsense.

The Rams made a number of aggressive moves during the last season, but the idea that it was "2018 or collapse" never made sense. The Rams have not bothered their future cap position and their main players (Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, etc.) are not going anywhere. Their first steps in free agencies remind that they can continue to be aggressive.

Eric Weddle will essentially replace LaMarcus Joyner by one third of the price. Dante Fowler's one-year, $ 14 million contract was a real blow to the team, even though there are risks involved. Los Angeles took advantage of Fowler's great experience with the team after they traded against him for Fowler to agree to a "prove it" agreement in the mold of Ndamukong Suh's contract with the Rams. Fowler would surely have seen more money guaranteed in the free market, but his experience in Los Angeles was enough for him to believe that he could earn even more money in 2020 after a full season with the company. 39; team. They are likely to allow Rodger Saffold (and Suh) to walk, in part because they think they have Saffold's internal substitute in the 2018 draft, Joseph Noteboom. The team has other holes in the lineup, but GM Snead's history shows it can be creative to fill them.

6) Landon Collins (and other securities) should continue to thank the giants

Redskins cornerback Josh Norman became a very rich man after former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman surprisingly canceled the franchise's label on him in 2016. A similar thing It's produced this year when Gettleman, chief executive of the Giants, frees Landon Collins, thus freeing up security. as a teammate.

The six-million dollar deal signed by Collins with the Redskins was a revelation. It's a player that makes the difference, but its new average annual value has brought the market back to a security position where pay was strangely stagnant. Mike Garafolo of the NFL network has the details, including that Collins receives $ 32 million fully secured in the first two years of the contract. After that, Collins will have to play at a high level to stay on the list, like virtually all NFL players who are not in the first two years of his contract. (Norman, for example, will probably not see the last year of his contract in 2020.)

The total contract brings the ghosts of Redskins back as free agents, though Collins reached its peak at 25 years old. I am more worried that Washington 's front office is filling the rest of the list, rather than knowing if Collins is worth it.

The huge contract triggered an avalanche of lucrative contracts on the job. Tyrann Mathieu has received $ 42 million over three years from the Chiefs, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network Insider. The Honey Badger was the main target of independent agent chiefs, which makes one wonder if Eric Berry could be released in the next few days. The contract completes Mathieu's remarkable comeback in his second torn ACL. This was also not the last accord granted to a security patiently waiting for a long-term love.

Lamarcus Joyner traveled the California coast after agreeing to join the Raiders, giving his new general manager Mike Mayock an intriguing (albeit short) security combination with Karl Joseph. Kenny Vaccaro signed a one-year contract with the Titans last season on a $ 26 million four-year deal, including $ 11.5 million guaranteed this time around. Kareem Jackson, who can play cornerback and safety, has used a sneaky season in Houston as a stepping stone for a three-year deal worth $ 33 million, according to Rapoport, including $ 23 million. guaranteed. The Broncos traded Aqib Talib to save money a year ago and will now pay more to Jackson.

NFL teams say a lot with whom they pay early in the free agency. They said Monday that the trough of 2018 in the security market was random and stupid. Versatile defensive backs that can cover and hit are more valuable than ever. If the Texans wanted Mathieu as badly as they said – and they would have been outbid for Mathieu – they could have paid a year ago when the price was much lower.

7) Mike Maccagnan is not going to lose his last chance

After a tough year in New York, Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan is spending like a man who knows he may have to join his mentor, Charley Casserly, on the NFL Network, if that happens. Free Agency Frenzy do not go well for the Jets. (Good luck to make as much news as Charley!)

After trading against Kelechi Osemele, the Raiders' teammate this weekend, the Jets added linebacker Anthony Barr of the Vikings and slot machine receiver Jamison Crowder Monday. According to rumors, the Steelers running back, Veon Bell, Broncos center Matt Paradis and Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley have not finished yet. I do not think agents use the interests of the Jets as leverage to raise their customers' prices. I think the Jets want to sign every quality entry possible.

Crowder, which will earn less than $ 10 million per season, is the surest way to pick up moves. Slot receivers are still relatively affordable in this market, despite their value for a young quarterback like Sam Darnold. (The addition of Adam Humphries to Tennesse on Monday was also a good thing.) Crowder is an early opening expert at the bottom and was a favorite of the former Redskins quarterback, Kirk Cousins .

Barr is no longer a projection and a swing for the fences. There is first indications of Jets beat the writers that the team projects that Barr is a scammer as in college and not an off-ball linebacker as he was with the Vikings. Maybe Barr can make the transition to a 3-4 pass under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams; it just has not been used that way in Minnesota.

8) A terribly incomplete list of other notable transactions …

– The Colts have signed with Devin Funchess, ex-Panthers, a one-year contract worth $ 13 million, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL network. The movement provides the receiving body of the team with a much needed size. Funchess has been a top-down player during his four seasons, but he can be a force when used properly, and coach Frank Reich knows how to use his offensive weapons properly. General Manager Chris Ballard expects to be active this week, but has not yet been ready to pay top market money.

– The Bills were quietly very active and accepted the agreements with Frank Gore, the former Chiefs 'departure center, Mitch Morse, the former Texans' half-corner, Kevin Johnson, and the former former Bengals, Tyler Kroft. The contract with Kroft was particularly generous, but it was interesting to see Buffalo aggressively attack the players on the first day, which I was expecting to be part of Phase 2 of the free investment contract. Morse is now one of the highest-paying football centers, according to Pelissero.

– Terrell Suggs leaving Baltimore is a surprise. The cardinals who sign it are one of those free agent contracts that seem to set the tone for new staff plans more than field production. However, T-Sizzle was still playing at a high level last year, after 16 seasons in Baltimore.

Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.

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