Free Agency: Rekordvertrag in Los Angeles, irre Patriots-Shoppingtour

Day 1 of the Free Agency had quite a few surprises in store, especially the unexpectedly wild shopping spree by the New England Patriots. Several offensive linemen are also cashing in, while the wide receivers still keep their feet still as far as possible. We’ll bring you up to speed after the first day and summarize the most important developments.

The New England Patriots’ shopping spree

Any remaining questions about whether the Patriots might tackle a year of transition and want to build the squad from scratch with the long-term perspective can be put aside on the first day of the Free Agency. This team undeniably needed a lot of new talent – and Bill Belichick was willing to pay premium prices for it.

The trend in that direction was already foreseeable, with the trade for Trent Brown, the new contract for Cam Newton, even if it is essentially backup quarterback money. But what happened in the first few hours of the Free Agency surpassed all of that by several steps.

The Patriots provided the first two big exclamation marks for this Free Agency, with ex-Titans tight-end Jonnu Smith and ex-Ravens edge rusher Matt Judon. Both are excellent scheme fits first of all: Smith gives New England a much-needed, dynamic playmaker weapon. A tight end that is dangerous after the catch and also brings a Red Zone presence that New England simply did not have in the previous year.

It’s also an admission that they didn’t do enough for the offensive arsenal last year and that two third-round tight ends Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene may not have been the best choices. As a rookie, both had virtually no impact.

Judon also fits ideally into defense. The Ex-Raven is not a number 1 edge rusher, but has the flexibility to play in a complex, versatile front – that’s exactly what the Patriots want to be. Here they can push Judon around and create one-on-one duels for him, which again looks best.

He also has the athleticism to give a QB-Spy or let himself fall back in coverage: Among edge rushers with at least 1,000 pass defense snaps since 2016, he has the third highest coverage snap rate (27 percent) . And New England was in dire need of upgrades here too.

Judon, Smith, Agholor: Patriots surprise with expensive deals

But in both cases the contracts are enormous. Smith received 4 years, $ 50 million, of which 31 million was guaranteed. 3rd place under tight ends for average annual salary, 2nd place for guarantees. Judon (4 years, $ 56 million, $ 32 million guaranteed) is just behind Tampa’s Shaq Barrett on guarantees.

Defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, who comes from Miami, is also a scheme fit and fulfills a need: New England needs the massive players in the middle of the defensive line to occupy spaces and create space for the teammates. But two years and up to 16 million dollars is a proud price for Godchaux too.

This also applies, without a doubt, to Jalen Mills. Mills impresses with his versatility, can fill corners, safety and several roles in the pits – but at a particularly high level he rarely did that in Philly. Four years, $ 24 million and 9 million of that guaranteed, hardly anyone expected at Mills.

Ex-Raiders-Receiver Nelson Agholor moves into the Damiere-Byrd role and should represent a clear upgrade – but for two years and up to $ 26 million (base value: eleven million dollars per year) this is also the one over that Measured unexpectedly expensive deal. Kendrick Bourne (3 years, up to $ 22.5 million) was then something of the tip of the iceberg.

The Patriots made an extremely large number of very expensive decisions about starting the Free Agency. An unusual feeling, as the Pats were mostly the team that sat out this phase of the Free Agency and watched other teams spend money while you were collecting compensatory draft picks yourself.

Perhaps, however, this start in the Free Agency shows that Bill Belichick simply wants to know again at short notice – and possibly with the end of his career on the horizon. If necessary with a crowbar.

Los Angeles Chargers sign Corey Linsley

In the league, probably no team with more O-Line construction sites went into this offseason than the Chargers – and that in a phase in which LA should actually begin to build a strong team around Justin Herbert in order to open a possible title window.

Taken together, these two factors also explain why the Chargers did not back off at Linsley: According to reports, LA competed for Linsley in particular with the Arizona Cardinals until the end and ultimately outpaced the Cardinals. The all-pro center agreed with the Chargers on a five-year contract for 62.5 million dollars, which makes it the highest-paid center in the league.

Of this, $ 26 million is due over the first two years, which is also the guarantee amount. 36.5 million will be due in the first three years. LA retains long-term flexibility with this contract and can get out of the deal relatively early.

The restoration of the Chargers-O-Line is far from over, but this obligation is an immensely important first pillar.

Shaq Barrett stays in Tampa – Gronk also extended

The Buccaneers actually did it – all three top free agents stay in Tampa Bay. After the Bucs wide receivers had already given Chris Godwin the franchise tag and linebacker Lavonte had tied David again with a short-term contract, the biggest fish followed a few minutes after the start of the Free Agency.

Edge rusher Shaq Barrett has signed up to $ 72 million for four years, of which “only” 36 million are guaranteed – just four million more than Matt Judon is guaranteed to receive from the Patriots. It’s a surprisingly cheap deal by comparison: ranked 8th among edge rushers for average annual salary. A performance-based contract – and these are usually rather rare with high-end free agents.

Similar to Lavonte David and the contract extension of Tom Brady, the Bucs push the cap hit into later years. Barrett’s four-year contract receives a fifth void year for cap reasons, and his 2021 cap hit is just $ 5.6 million. The Bucs are completely all-in for their next title window with Brady, the bill will follow later.

That includes Rob Gronkowski, who, as expected, signs a new one-year contract with the Buccaneers. It can be worth a maximum of ten million dollars, and Gronk also signs a contract with several void years in the back to push the cap hit in 2021 to 4.8 million dollars.

Kansas City Chiefs verpflichten Guard Joe Thuney

The Chiefs had created financial leeway on Monday morning by restructuring the contracts of Travis Kelce and Chris Jones after Mahomes – this money then flowed directly into the largest construction site, the offensive line: Ex-Patriots guard Joe Thuney signs for five years and A whopping $ 80 million ($ 48 million guaranteed) from the reigning AFC Champion

The commitment is also exciting because the chiefs have to overhaul almost the entire offensive line. The team recently split from the tackles Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, center Austin Reiter is a free agent – but KC is now in only one guard position 16 million dollars per year.

The Chiefs have Lucas Niang up their sleeves, last year’s third-round pick didn’t play a snap in his rookie season after he opted for the corona opt-out. But that too is a wildcard at this point. One has to assume that Kansas City will be active here several times, including the draft. Until the Thuney commitment, reports had held that Kansas City had bid for Niners-Tackle Trent Williams.

Jets agree with wide receiver Corey Davis

Who will be the quarterback in the New York Jets is still open – but at least he will find an increasingly better arsenal: The Jets have agreed with ex-Titans receiver Corey Davis on a three-year contract for up to 37.5 million dollars. Of this, $ 27 million is guaranteed.

Davis is now in a receiving group with slot receiver Jamison Crowder and last year’s rookie Denzel Mims. It will be exciting to see how New York ultimately divides the roles of these receivers, because Davis is not a true number 1 receiver. But in the Shanahan-influenced offense he should feel more than comfortable from Titans days.

Safety John Johnson goes to Cleveland

An obligation that fits like a fist. The Browns want to play more flexibly defensively, also play more dime personnel – i.e. with six defensive backs – and generally be able to offer three safeties at the same time. From a strong Safety Free Agency group, John Johnson was the best fit for such a role.

The Ex-Ram is not a safety that should occupy a spot in more static defenses, but is best kept when it can be used flexibly and pushed around.

That’s worth $ 33.75 million in Cleveland over 3 years (of which $ 24 million guaranteed). Johnson should significantly improve Cleveland’s secondary in one fell swoop, he could form a highly exciting duo with last year’s second-round pick Grant Delpit and then act in the trio with Ronnie Harrison.

Pass-Rusher Romeo Okwara was in Detroit

In the first few hours of the Free Agency, it was the pass rushers who made the headlines. Shaq Barrett, Matt Judon – and Romeo Okwara.

Only six edge rushers had more than 60 quarterback pressures last year, from this small circle only Joey Bosa and Romeo Okwara managed this feat with less than 430 pass rush snaps. Okwara is only 25 years old and has the talent to become a very solid number 2 – apparently the team that should know him best saw that too.

Shortly after the Free Agency was launched, the Detroit Lions agreed with Okwara on a new three-year contract worth $ 39 million. A proud price, especially in combination with the short contract period, which allows the Edge-Rusher to come onto the market again well before its 30th birthday. Detroit, whose squad is crying out for a change in many places, holds one of its young talents.

Free Agency: More deals in a fast run

• The Las Vegas Raiders urgently needed to do something for their pass rush, a first step has been taken: Yannick Ngakoue comes from Baltimore and signs for two years and up to 26 million dollars. Ngakoue is reunited in Las Vegas with the new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, both of whom still know each other from Jacksonville.
• At first glance, Leonard Floyd’s contract looks expensive. The Edge Rusher stays with the Rams – and collects up to $ 64 million over 4 years. Undoubtedly a proud sum for a player who never lived up to his high draft status, was more likely to attract attention through inconstancy and ultimately had a good season in the defense of Brandon Staley. But that was tough, with personal career highs in pressures and sacks. Can the Rams get that out of him consistently with a new defense?
• The Denver Broncos struck double for defense. After Denver recently split up with cornerback AJ Bouye, another veteran takes his place: Ronald Darby comes from Washington and signs for 3 years and $ 30 million (19.5 million guaranteed). The Broncos also hold all-around defensive tackle Shelby Harris. Harris receives a new three-year contract for up to $ 27 million.
• The Carolina Panthers attracted attention with a strange approach: The Panthers came to an agreement with Cam Erving (2 years, $ 10 million, 8 million guaranteed) and with Pat Elflein (3 years, $ 3.5 million, 6 million guaranteed) ). Both more like category 3 (or even less) among the offensive linemen, Elflein in particular was a massive disappointment last year. For some reason, however, the Panthers clearly prioritized this lineman category.
• The San Francisco 49ers, on the other hand, prioritized their own free agents. After Kyle Juszczyk and Emmanuel Moseley, Jason Verrett also received a new contract. While Juszczyk wins by far the best fullback contract in the league, Verrett signs again for a year. The deal amounts to $ 5.5 million with an additional million possible through bonus payments. The most surprising Niners deal, on the other hand, came from outside: Ex-Rams linebacker Samson Ebukam is coming for two years and up to $ 13.5 million.
• The New Orleans Saints have agreed a new one-year contract with Jameis Winston for up to twelve million dollars. He goes into an open competition with Taysom Hill for the starting QB spot.
• The Washington Football Team has found their transition quarterback! Ryan Fitzpatrick is from Miami and will be awarded a ten million dollar one-year contract. He can collect a maximum of twelve million dollars in the capital.
• The Cincinnati Bengals have signed a four-year contract worth $ 60 million with Edge Rusher Trey Hendrickson of the New Orleans Saints. Over the first two years he will make $ 32 million.
• Ex-Bengals-Edge-Rusher Carl Lawson, in turn, has joined the New York Jets. He is awarded a three-year contract worth $ 45 million, of which 30 million is guaranteed. He can earn a maximum of 47.1 million Dolalr there.