By Seth Tow, Editor-in-Chief
Free agency in the NFL began on Tuesday, March 10th. Although it’s only been three days, this free agency period has already become the one of the wildest offseason periods in NFL history.
Many major moves have been made over the first three days. The biggest and most shocking was a trade between the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks sent two-time Pro Bowl Center Max Unger and a 1st round draft pick (the 31st pick in the draft) to the Big Easy, and the Saints sent 3-time Pro Bowler and arguably the best Tight End in the league, Jimmy Graham, to the Emerald City, along with a 4th round draft pick. This move helps both teams, but to see a top-notch player like Graham get traded for an, although very solid as well, offensive lineman is quite stunning for many.
Minutes after that trade was announced, the Baltimore Ravens also made a pretty surprising trade. 5-time Pro Bowl Defensive Tackle Haloti Ngata was traded to the Detroit Lions for a 4th round and a 5th round draft pick. Many Ravens fans were upset with the trade. “It sucks because he has been such a vital part of this franchise for almost a decade and it will be hard to see him play for another team,” said Johnny Moseman. However, this was a great move by Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome. Ngata’s numbers for the salary cap were leaving the Ravens with very little wiggle room to work with to improve the team. They were likely going to have to cut him, and if that happened, it’s widely speculated that he could have ended up signing with the Indianapolis Colts, who continue to strengthen their defense to match their superb offense. Having Ngata stay in the AFC was not something the Ravens wanted to happen. By trading him to Detroit, not only does it ensure Ngata plays in the NFC, but the Ravens obtained two draft picks from the Lions. They wouldn’t have received any compensation if they cut Ngata.
Another major trade that went down was the Chicago Bears traded Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets. Chicago sent Marshall and their 7th round pick in the draft to the Big Apple in exchange for New York’s 5th round draft pick. Marshall is a 5-time Pro Bowler. He has previously played with the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins, in addition to the Bears.
As for actual free agent signings, the biggest one came from the Dolphins. 114 million contract, with $60 million guaranteed. Suh is a 4-time Pro Bowler, and he was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2010.
Another major signing was Darrelle Revis. “Revis Island” signed back with his original team, the Jets, after just one year with the New England Patriots. Revis returns to New York on a 5 year, $70 million contract, with $39 million guaranteed. Revis leaves the Patriots following their victory in Super Bowl XLIX. This is a major loss for the Patriots, as both Revis and Brandon Browner, another Cornerback, signed with new teams.
Some other noteworthy free agent signings include the aforementioned Browner signing with the Saints, former Broncos Tight End Julius Thomas signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars, former Ravens Wide Receiver Torrey Smith signing with the San Francisco 49ers, and former Texans Wide Receiver Andre Johnson signing with the Indianapolis Colts, who also released their longtime wideout Reggie Wayne after some 14 years with the organization.
That’s a lot of activity for just three days. But that just barely scratches the surface, as the most interesting and somewhat confusing team this offseason (by a mile) is the Philadelphia Eagles.
Prior to free agency even starting, there was a jaw-dropping trade that was agreed upon. The Buffalo Bills, led by new Head Coach Rex Ryan, acquired 3-time Pro Bowl Running Back and 2013 Offensive Player of the Year LeSean McCoy from the Philly in exchange for young Linebacker Kiko Alonso. This trade gave the Eagles the cap room they needed to sign former Seahawks Cornerback Byron Maxwell.
Then, just a few minutes after the Graham and Ngata trades had been announced, the Eagles came out with another big trade of their own. The Eagles shipped off their starting Quarterback, Nick Foles, along with a 4th round pick in this year’s draft and a 2nd round pick in next year’s draft to the St. Louis Rams. The Rams sent their Quarterback, Sam Bradford, to the City of Brotherly Love, along with a 5th round pick in this year’s draft and a 3rd or 4th round pick in next year’s draft, depending on Bradford’s health. This move confused many people, as Foles had emerged as a very capable Quarterback in Philadelphia, and Bradford has been injury-prone his entire career. Bradford is coming off multiple knee injuries, and has not played in an NFL game since 2013.
There were later reports that former 49ers Running Back Frank Gore had reached an agreement to sign with the Eagles. However, about a day later, Gore backed out of the agreement, and went on to sign with the Colts. The Eagles also lost receiver Jeremy Maclin, who signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The most confusing moves of all were the Running Backs they ended up signing instead of Gore. The Eagles had agreed to a deal with former Chargers RB Ryan Mathews. But then, they were able to lure DeMarco Murray, who is coming off a career year in which he led the league in rushing, away from the division rival Dallas Cowboys. Murray signed with Philly for 5 years, $42 million, with $21 million guaranteed. That’s a big sum for a player who has also been injury-prone throughout his career. When they signed Murray, many assumed that Mathews would have to look elsewhere for work. However, to the surprise of many, Philly still signed Mathews to a 3-year, $11.5 million deal.
Fans and media alike have questioned and criticized Eagles Head Coach and GM Chip Kelly for these moves. Kelly defended himself by saying he didn’t ask for the GM job on top of the Head Coach job, and that Owner Jeffrey Lurie just gave it to him.
To summarize: don’t bother blinking for the next few weeks — you might miss the next shocking transaction.