The free hand is in full swing in the NFL as the new league year is set to begin on Wednesday. While Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers will take center stage with less than 24 hours to go, teams agree on contract terms with top free agents as they meet the cap.
New deals can’t be officially announced until tomorrow, but Day 2 saw plenty of league signings. After a busy day 2 of free agency, who are the winners and losers? Many teams get excited after their free agent finds.
From Monday: Day 1 winners and losers
Have a day Howie Roseman. The Eagles retained their biggest free agent by getting James Bradberry to stay in Philadelphia — at a discount no less (three years and up to $44 million). Whether the Eagles will have Bradberry and Darius Slay in 2023 is currently up in the air, but they currently have the dynamic cornerback duo on their hands two days back.
Philadelphia also got Rashaad Penny at a bargain price (one-year contract up to $2.1 million) and kept Boston Scott, which brought the pair together with Kenneth Gainwell at running back. The Eagles are still scrambling to re-sign CJ Gardner-Johnson, who is still a free agent.
Philadelphia is still immensely talented despite their free agent losses. The Eagles prioritized the runners-up and got Bradberry to stay. Big win for Roseman.
Losers: Jets WRs not named Garrett Wilson
Aaron Rodgers appears to be on his way to the New York Jets, but he’s had a shopping list of what he wants with his new team. The Jets landed Allan Lazard (Rodgers wide receiver in Green Bay) and Rodgers has reportedly asked about Randall Cobb and Odell Beckham Jr. (whom the Packers were interested in two seasons ago).
What will become of Elijah Moore and Corey Davis? Garrett Wilson is going nowhere and the reception room will be crowded when Cobb and Beckham join Lazard. Moore and Davis will certainly be expendables, although both players would be beneficial to Rodgers.
The Jets are desperate for a quarterback. Rodgers gets what he wants.
Now that Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley are back in New York, Jones’ next task is to get Jones some pass catchers who can improve his game as quarterback even further. The Giants accomplished this by trading a third-round pick for Darren Waller, who had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020.
Waller has since played in 20 of a potential 34 regular-season games but is still one of the best at making tight ends in the game when healthy. Expect plenty of two tight end sets with Waller and Daniel Bellinger helping Jones significantly in midfield.
There’s still work to be done on the wide receiver and offensive line, but this is a good start for the Giants to improve their offense.
The hiring of Jonathan Gannon as head coach proved to be a prime free agent target for the number of Eagles players to come to the open market. All Cardinals received from the 2022 Eagles defense so far have been Kyzir White.
The Cardinals aren’t usually big players in free hands, but they couldn’t convince either James Bradberry or TJ Edwards to join Gannon. Javon Hargrave made a free-hand move to the San Francisco 49ers, a division rival, to cap a poor start.
Unless the Cardinals can convince CJ Gardner-Johnson to come to Arizona, this period of legal manipulation has been disastrous. Gannon’s Eagles’ connections have not worked so far. They also lost Byron Murphy and Zach Allen on defense.
The Cowboys aren’t usually active in free hands, but they did land Stephon Gilmore in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts (giving up only one equalizing pick in the fifth round). Dallas needed to pair someone with Trevon Diggs and ended up with a good starter in Gilmore.
Not only is Gilmore joining a defense featuring Diggs, Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Jayron Kearse — the Cowboys are getting a player who has only allowed a 42.0 passer rating in the last six seasons. Gilmore should thrive and Dan Quinn’s defense as he’s needed to contain the Eagles and Commanders strong wide receiver units.
TBD: Jamal Williams
Williams was a perfect match for the Detroit Lions, who flipped him and signed David Montgomery to a three-year, $18 million contract. Montgomery will take Williams’ place as the Lions’ No. 1 offense while Williams will move to the free agent market.
Some teams will get an outstanding player in Williams who was great with Detroit last season. Williams had 262 carries for 1,066 yards (4.1 yards per carry) and 17 touchdowns. He produced the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career and the first 1,000-yard rushing season by a Lions player since Reggie Bush in 2013.
Williams also led the league with 17 rushing touchdowns and set the Lions’ franchise record for most rushing touchdowns in a season. He has rushed for 50 yards in 10 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL.
Williams will have well-deserved cash in hand, but it should have been in Detroit. Some teams will be very lucky to have him.