FREE AGENCY FRENZY breaking down all of todays moves.
Steak breaks down todays NFL Free Agency signings
Steak
NBA, CBB, NFL, CFB
Today was the first day of NFL free agency, and we had a lot of action, so I am going to give my opinions and an official letter grade on each move.
Odafe Oweh – 4 years, $100 million ($68 million guaranteed) – Washington Commanders
Let me just start this by saying Oweh is good — he’s very good — but this is an overpay. I’m not that upset with it. The Commanders, with Jayden Daniels, feel like they are in “win-now” mode and that they need to bolster this defense. I don’t hate this move at all, but it is absolutely an overpay in my opinion.
Official grade: C
Alontae Taylor – 3 years, $60 million – Tennessee Titans
A lot of teams need a good CB this year, it seems more so than years past, which is why I do not see this move as an overpay by the Tennessee Titans, who have shown they’re all-in on next season by getting the 27-year-old Taylor. He was PFF’s 52nd-ranked CB last season, took a giant leap, and I’m good with 3/$60 for one of the top five free-agent CBs this year.
Official grade: B-
Mike Evans – 3 years, $60.4 million – San Francisco 49ers
This guy probably should’ve been a Buc for life, but when Todd Bowles gets to keep his job when you could have had guys like Liam Coen or Dave Canales, I guess stuff like this will follow.
That being said, this is a perfectly fine move for the 49ers to make and is a great deal if Evans can stay on the field — which is uncommon for any 49er player these days. But with Deebo gone, Aiyuk off the deep end, and Pearsall playing four games a season, there’s just no denying San Fran had to add another weapon at wide receiver.
Official grade: C+
Jamel Dean – 3 years, $36.5 million – Pittsburgh Steelers
Now this may be the steal of the day. I have no issue with the Alontae Taylor signing, as I stated earlier, but seeing Jamel Dean — a top-five PFF-ranked CB — go for this much cheaper was shocking to me.
This CB room also has Jalen Ramsey and Joey Porter, making this a top-five room in the league in my opinion, despite how you feel about Ramsey moving forward.
Official grade: A-
Wan’Dale Robinson – 4 years, $70 million – Tennessee Titans
Wan’Dale doesn’t get a lot of love, but you can argue going out and getting Cam Ward a guy who has posted back-to-back 140-target, 90-catch seasons and proved to be a safety blanket and PPR monster no matter who was under center — was the perfect move.
I would have maybe called it a slight overpay if I hadn’t seen the Alec Pierce contract, but now I can’t even call it that. The Titans needed a consistent WR worse than anyone in the league.
Official grade: B-
Tyler Linderbaum – 3 years, $81 million – Las Vegas Raiders
Tyler is now the highest-paid center in the NFL by nine million dollars a season, and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there calling this the overpay of the century.
But if you watched how many times Geno Smith was on his back last year, or how many times Ashton Jeanty was being hit in the backfield, you’d have no problem with Las Vegas putting an aggressive focus on improving the offensive line. There are quite a few other teams out there, like the Bears — whose starting center just retired out of nowhere — that would love to have gotten Linderbaum too.
Official grade: B
Kenneth Gainwell – 2 years, $14 million – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I’m not going to touch on any of the other RBs in this article, but this one is interesting. Pittsburgh kind of unlocked Gainwell last year. He was a massive part of the receiving game and ended the year fourth among RBs in receptions and fifth among RBs in receiving yards, while also averaging five yards per carry on the ground.
I thought it was strange the Steelers didn’t do a little more to keep him around, but I do like the move for the Bucs, and I think he’s an improvement over Rachaad White.
Official grade: B
Malik Willis – 3 years, $67.5 million – Miami Dolphins
I like Malik Willis, but this move makes absolutely no sense to me for the Dolphins.
Are you trying to win games? You’re staring down the barrel of having one of the worst rosters in the NFL, and I really expected them to go out and get a veteran guy like Jacoby Brissett or Geno Smith for cheap and end up with a top-five pick next year that they would then use on a QB in a much better-looking QB class.
Love Malik. HATE the fit. This would be the last place I’d choose for him.
Official grade: D+
Jaelan Phillips – 4 years, $120 million – Carolina Panthers
Never surprised to see a good young edge rusher get paid, but given the significant injury history, I was surprised a little by just how much he got paid and how long he got signed for.
Either way, this is high risk, high reward for a Panthers team that believes they can compete and win the worst division in football.
Official grade: C+
Kenneth Walker – 3 years, $45 million
Absolutely LOVE IT. The Chiefs needed a real RB. Isiah Pacheco has regressed so badly that you find yourself wondering if he belongs on an NFL field, and Kareem Hunt is about as average as they come.
The Chiefs need weapons, and it was either make a move like this or use the 9th pick of the draft on a guy like Jeremiah Love.
Official grade: A-
Alec Pierce – 4 years, $116 million – Indianapolis Colts
If this ain’t an overpay, then I don’t know a lick of ball.
Pierce shows glimpses and flashes of being a great player, but four years, $116 million is absolutely nutty to me. It’s giving me Kirk Cousins contract vibes.
Alec needs to make sure he gets a real nice gift for his agent.
Official grade: D+
Honorable Mentions
Isaiah Likely – Giants – C+
Travis Etienne – Saints – C-
Jaylen Watson – Rams – B-
Alex Anzalone – Bucs – B
Coby Bryant – Bears – B-
