NFL Free Agency Begins
With the start of the 2024 NFL league year, here are my quick thoughts on some of the moves we've already seen.
The NFL free agency period kicked off on March 13th. Since then, there have been a number of interesting, eye-catching, and captivating moves. Here are some of my thoughts on the moves teams have made.
New quarterback(s) in Steeltown
The Chicago Bears made it clear they will take Caleb Williams with the number one overall pick by finally trading Justin Fields. What they received for Fields was much less than everyone expected as they netted a sixth-round pick (that can escalate to a fourth-round pick) from the Pittsburgh Steelers. I absolutely love this move from Pittsburgh’s perspective.
Last year, even with one of the worst QB rooms with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph, they still found a way to make it into the playoffs. They have good players on offense (Jaylen Warren, Najee Harris, George Pickens), but they didn’t have a quarterback who could orchestrate it all. They didn’t need prime Terry Bradshaw or Ben Roethlisberger, just someone who could be the catalyst for that offense. Now, between Fields and Russell Wilson (worth a flier on a veteran minimum contract as someone who can be an extreme veteran game manager), they have players who can do that.
Fields has the ability to be something more than that. Taken with the eleventh pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Fields was expected to be a transformative player for Chicago. While that transformation did not happen, one wonders how much of this was due to Fields and how much was because of the Bears (mis)management. In a better situation, which Pittsburgh will assuredly be, he might have the chance to live up to the expectations placed upon him coming into the league.
The Steelers already have a strong defense in place (led by T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cameron Heyward, and with the addition of Patrick Queen). If they can get their offense to be at least average (as opposed to awful), they’ll be really in the postseason mix next season. They do need to find some help at wide receiver opposite Pickens, but I could see them trying to address that through the draft (maybe with their second-round pick).
Eagles flying high
The other team from Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Eagles, made a splash during the free agency period by signing Bryce Huff and Saquon Barkley. The Huff signing makes sense and will enable them to move on from Haason Reddick while not diminishing from their pass rush. A year after leading the league in sacks, the Eagles were closer to the bottom in 2023. Bringing in Huff, who grades quite high according to ProFootballFocus in terms of rushing the quarterback, should jump start their pass rush and get them back to those 2022 levels. Adding a safety like C.J. Gardner-Johnson should also help them defensively. The Eagles need to make sure that their defensive performance in 2023 was an anomaly rather than the norm and these moves should help with that.
Signing Barkley is a fascinating and somewhat shocking move, as the Eagles stole a key player from their divisional rivals. While questions will abound about Barkley’s health and whether spending that kind of money on a running back is worth it (Three years, $37.75 million, $26 million guaranteed), it adds an interesting wrinkle to an already potent Eagles offense with Jalen Hurts, Devonta Smith, and A.J. Brown. It can also, hopefully, take a bit of the onus of Hurts in the rushing game.
After taking a step back last season, I could see the Eagles being resurgent and making a run at San Francisco for the top spot in the NFC. The key will be whether the defensive additions mesh and jump start that side of the ball, and if Barkley can be a contributor on the ground.
Conflicted Regarding Cousins
The Atlanta Falcons decided enough was enough with Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke as they signed Kirk Cousins to a four, $180 million contract (with $100 million guaranteed). They almost had to make that move given the quarterback play they’ve had over the last couple of seasons and it makes them the clear and prohibitive favorite in the NFC South. For the fanbase of a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2017, that might be enough.
I’m extremely conflicted about how to evaluate this move. The Falcons have so much talent at the skill positions (Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson) that even a merely good QB like Cousins could really elevate that team. However, Cousins is older (mid-to-late 30s), coming off an ACL injury, and is not a player you think of as a real “game-changer.”
It’s not that I hate the Falcons decision to shell out that money to sign Cousins, but I don’t love it either. I don’t know what the Falcons should have done, but I also don’t know if they should have made this move with Cousins.
Questions in Jacksonville
At the start of the 2023 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars looked like they were going to be the class of the AFC South for the near future. Yet now they’re clearly the second-best team, behind CJ Stroud’s Houston Texans, and with an up-and-coming Indianapolis Colts team led by Anthony Richardson nipping at their heels
Some of this is due to the Texans wisely building on the successes of 2023 by strengthening their defense (Denico Autry and Danielle Hunter) while trading for a veteran RB in Joe Mixon. The Texans did a good job of complimenting what they had in place through their moves in the free agency period.
In addition, looking at what the Jaguars have done and they’re haven’t kept pace with the Texans. Letting Calvin Ridley walk while signing Gabe Davis does not make much sense to me. Their offense underperformed last season, and the Jaguars should really be looking to make things easier for Trevor Lawrence. They made some other moves around the margins (Arik Armstead, Mitch Morse), but when you see a team in your division jumping up like the Texans did… you need to do something substantial to keep pace with them.