NFL Free Agency: The best, worst, and sneakiest deals so far
By Erik Lambert
NFL free agency has officially begun and the moves have been flying already with several teams not wasting time in their attempts to upgrade.
While time always tells whether a signing will turn out good or bad, one could at least make judgments on whether the deals themselves were good. Sure a team may have gotten a talented player, but were they able to get them at a favorable price? That is what this will be about. Who had the best and worst moves in the early stages of this market period?
Size of the deal doesn’t matter. It’s all about whether the team did well for itself without going overboard.
BEST:
Buffalo Bills sign Mitch Morse
Offensive line play was one of the primary reasons the Bills struggled so much last year. Josh Allen was hit too often and they couldn’t run the ball consistently. Part of the issue was losing longtime center Eric Wood to retirement. Something they weren’t ready for. They didn’t let it linger though. Morse is one of the best centers in the NFL, especially when it comes to pass protection as he was a major focal point towards Patrick Mahomes putting up his absurd numbers last year.
New York Jets sign Le’Veon Bell
Yes the entire fiasco was mind-numbing, but at the end of the day the New York Jets did the job. They got a former All-Pro running back in his prime at a price lower than he’d been demanding for over a year. Head coach Adam Gase finally has a weapon that he can fully utilize in the offense and make life so much easier for Sam Darnold. Bell is a tremendous runner but might be the best receiving back in all of football. That’s where the true value lay.
Philadelphia Eagles sign Malik Jackson
He might not be in the prime of his career anymore, Malik Jackson remains a good football player. He was a constant presence on the interior in Jacksonville. Somebody who could get up the field and apply pressure on the pocket, making quarterbacks uncomfortable. So try to imagine what having him on the same line with Fletcher Cox could look like for that Eagles front. It’s going to be as dangerous as ever under Jim Schwartz.