Never A Dull Moment in 2022 NFL Free Agency
More big moves happened, so let's examine them.
Well before the NFL free agency period started, word came that Russell Wilson was being traded.
Then came Khalil Mack, then Carson Wentz, then Amari Cooper -- all of this before free agency got underway.
But it didn't stop there. There was Shaq Mason, Robert Woods, Davante Adams and -- perhaps the craziest trade of all -- DeShaun Watson.
The Watson trade, of course, involved a quarterback who has multiple sexual harassment lawsuits still pending against him. It also involved a team that Watson had ruled out early (the Cleveland Browns), only for that team to come back and offer essentially everything Watson could have wanted in a new contract.
It's hard for me to recall an NFL free agency period with so many headline trades -- and that's just the start of the list.
There was the Jacksonville Jaguars going about their usual spending habits, Von Miller getting a six-year deal despite his age and multiple players agreeing to terms with a team, then changing their minds.
To think that the four trades in the week prior to free agency officially getting underway was only the beginning of a crazy period.
I already went over those four trades, but let's look at other moves that made the headlines in the NFL the past week.
DeShaun Watson Traded to the Browns
Let's sum up what happened here: Watson had a no-trade clause and visited with multiple teams regarding what they had to offer. He ruled out the Browns first, then the Panthers, which left the Saints and the Falcons.
The latter two teams started restructuring contracts and making other moves to clear cap space for a trade to accommodate his $35M base salary.
Then came the news that Watson was going to the Browns after all, a result of the Browns offering him a five-year, fully guaranteed contract for $230M -- an unprecedented amount of money and the first time a team has offered fully guaranteed money for a five-year period.
Watson got a $44M signing bonus in the first season, plus language where his guarantees won't be voided for any suspension he may receive because of the sexual harassment lawsuits against him.
As Jason Fitzgerald pointed out in his recent podcast, it's not unusual for teams to give a newly-acquired player a large signing bonus, plus other teams who acquired him may have wound up adding language about what could void guarantees.
What really made this contract unprecedented is that the Browns gave him a true long-term contract in which the entire amount is locked in, plus he set a new record for fully guaranteed money received in a contract and now has the second-highest APY salary among quarterbacks, trailing only Aaron Rodgers.
This is a major roll of the dice by the Browns, who clearly expect that they will go to the playoffs on a regular basis and, given the draft capital surrendered, would expect at least one Super Bowl trip.
Will it happen? That depends on more than just Watson's performance. As we saw with the Rams, their Super Bowl trip came from more than just trading for Matthew Stafford. If other factors don't fall into place for the Browns, their ceiling could be a "one and done" playoff team, year after year.
Meanwhile, one has to ask the Texans why they didn't try to squeeze more draft capital from the Browns. Three firsts, a third and a future fourth, while sending back a future fifth, is certainly a good number of picks.
However, why the Texans didn't seek to get additional draft picks from the Browns -- particularly when the Browns were clearly desperate to acquire him -- is a mystery. Wanting to get rid of a player is one thing, but when other teams clearly covet him, you should seek to get anything you can for that player.
Davante Adams Traded to the Raiders
It appeared at first that the Packers were going to keep most of their team together after Aaron Rodgers agreed to an extension. However, that changed when the Packers traded Adams to the Raiders for 2022 first and second-round picks.
The Packers gave Adams the franchise tag, then came the reports that Adams had told the Packers he wouldn't play under the tag. That's not unusual -- plenty of players would prefer to get an extension done rather than sign the tag and play under it for the year.
Instead, the announcement came a couple of days into free agency that the Packers were trading Adams. Some may have wondered why the Packers didn't just let the Raiders sign Adams to an offer sheet they wouldn't match, but when the Packers indicated they were willing to pay Adams what he wanted, it follows they would have just matched it. Thus, the Packers got reasonable compensation in return.
As for the Raiders, they are banking on Adams being the difference in the team being a "one and done" playoff team and a team that has a good chance to reach the Super Bowl. On one hand, Adams will have a positive impact on the offense. On the other hand, it remains to be seen if Adams (and other players the Raiders acquired) will be enough to get the Raiders past other teams in the AFC West -- particularly the Chiefs, who may be only second to the Bills in terms of who is the favorite to reach the Super Bowl.
Von Miller Signs Six-Year Deal With the Bills
When most players who aren't quarterbacks enter their mid-30s, they usually don't get long-term deals for a lot of money. That changed when 33-year-old edge rusher Von Miller agreed to a six-year, $120M contract with the Bills.
Of course, those figures can be misleading, because it's not likely that Miller will collect the full amount -- after all, the entire contract isn't fully guaranteed.
However, this is still quite a commitment by the Bills. Miller will collect $45M in full guarantees and a total of $51M in the first three years of the deal. He also has a $13.3M roster bonus due in 2023, which could be converted into a signing bonus if the Bills need cap relief.
While the Bills have committed to less than half of the total amount of money in the deal, Miller will collect an average of $17M over the first three years of the contract. That's a lot of money to pay for an aging pass rusher. Of course, Miller did play well in the last Super Bowl, but it remains to be seen if he can keep that level of play going this season.
Jaguars Spend Lots of Money -- But How Wisely?
In my free agency preview, I mentioned that the Jaguars were likely to be aggressive in free agency. That proved to be the case, but that begs the question: How smart were they with spending the money?
The Jaguars were a mixed bag in terms of the contracts they handed out. Some of these deals were fine for the player they were getting.
Brandon Schreff's contract puts him among the highest paid guards, but it didn't result in a major re-set of the market. It's a reasonable deal for Schreff, but it works well for the Jaguars because they kept the money in line for a player of his talents.
Christian Kirk is more questionable, though. He's primarily a slot receiver and is getting paid like he will be the No. 1 receiver in the offense. How productive will he be when he may need to be the top option, rather than the No. 2 option? That remains to be seen, but this was a major gamble by the Jaguars.
The Jaguars also overpaid for off-ball linebacker Foyesade Oluokun and wide receiver Zay Jones. And while tight end Evan Engram is on a one-year deal, they gave him quite a bit of money.
It's true that the AFC South is a weak division and the Jaguars should have much better coaching than they did last year. But can they complete a turnaround and head to the playoffs in 2022? If they do, more power to them. But if they don't, they'll become the punch line for how teams who win in free agency don't win outside of it.