NFL Free Agency 2020: 10 Biggest Winners of March
- iAmMizz!
- Apr 2, 2020
- 12 min read
There's no sugar-coating it, March 2020 has been a disaster for most people around the world. I would like to start by thanking every health care worker and medical professional, every police officer and firefighter, every delivery driver and postal worker, every supermarket and hospitality employee, every serviceman or woman (as always), and anyone out there I have forgotten battling on the front lines of this crisis. I am able to do my job safely from home because of all of you... THANK YOU!
The reach of the COVID-19 virus has found its way into almost all industries large and small in some way or another, including sports. Beloved as one of the most popular distractions from life's many stressors, the sports industry has become a rock that many people have come to rely on. Sports can shatter monotony, spark inspiration, or even provide a light in the darkness. In March 2020, for the first time in my lifetime, that light almost went out. Thankfully, the NFL, America's most powerful sports empire, would not allow that to happen.
I'm not saying the NFL executives are heroes for going on with business as usual – I'm aware the reasons were probably self-serving at their core – but Americans needed some sort of sports distraction, and the NFL free agency delivered. Whether it was the suspense of Tom Brady's decision, the unusually wild quarterback roulette of 2020, or just the simple ability to obsessively examine all of your favorite team's daily transactions throughout the nonstop action, the NFL did not disappoint these last few weeks. Without further ado, here are my 10 biggest winners in March:
1. Buffalo Bills, Grade: A
Key Additions- WR Stefon Diggs, EDGE Mario Addison, G Quinton Spain (re-signed),
LB A.J. Klein, CB Josh Norman, S Jordan Poyer (re-signed), CB Levi Wallace (re-signed),
DT Vernon Butler, DT Quinton Jefferson, OL Daryl Williams, WR Robert Foster (re-signed)
Key Losses- LB Lorenzo Alexander (retired), EDGE Shaq Lawson, DT Jordan Phillips, 2020 1st
This off-season has been a dream for Buffalo. Now I know some might say the Bills gave up too much for Diggs, especially considering how little Hopkins cost the Cardinals, but they went out and got the playmaker they needed. Quite frankly, that's all that matters. Diggs is a young star that is under a manageable contract. This package of draft picks could all end up being busts, who knows. They do sacrifice the 2020 1st, but after that the later round picks are toss ups. They also make intelligent value signings throughout March to bolster a defense that is already stacked; Klein, Butler, Jefferson, Norman (playing a lesser role in this secondary). I thought they overpaid for Addison, but it was necessary to replace Lawson. All this and oh yeah! Tom Brady is no longer on the Patriots, and Jarrett Stidham is likely taking his place. Forget the tables, the Bills Mafia are probably busting through walls right now.
2. New Orleans Saints, Grade: A--
Key Additions- QB Drew Brees (re-signed), WR Emmanuel Sanders, DT David Onyemata (re-signed)
S Malcolm Jenkins, CB Janoris Jenkins (re-signed), G Andrus Peat (re-signed)
Key Losses- QB Teddy Bridgewater, LB A.J. Klein, CB Eli Apple, S Vonn Bell, WR Keith Kirkwood
Oh and the Saints, oh and the Saints, oh and the Saints go marching on... Drew Brees is back for two more and this NOLA team looks better than ever. I can hear the Super Bowl predictions already. Emmanuel Sanders is the perfect complement to Michael Thomas, a motivated Janoris Jenkins across from Lattimore is a scary thought, and Malcolm Jenkins might be the veteran piece this back end has needed for some time. The Saints also re-signed role players like CB P.J. Williams and Justin Hardee, S D.J. Swearinger, and EDGE Noah Spence to go along with the returnees above. Bridgewater does leave to rival Carolina (Taysom Hill isn't going anywhere), and Brady joins the fun for two match-ups per year, but this Saints roster is still the NFC team to beat in my eyes. Time for Sean Payton to stop making excuses and win.
3. Indianapolis Colts, Grade: A--
Key Additions- T Anthony Castonzo (re-signed), DT DeForest Buckner, QB Philip Rivers,
CB Xavier Rhodes, DT Sheldon Day, CB T.J. Carrie
Key Losses- TE Eric Ebron, EDGE Jabaal Sheard (*unsigned FA), T Joe Haeg, CB Pierre Desir (cut), WR Devin Funchess, 2020 1st
I have to hand it to the Colts, they got creative and acquired a player that nobody knew of or expected to be available coming off a Super Bowl run, All-Pro DT DeForest Buckner. I actually really liked this trade for both sides. Indy has had excess cap space for years now. They brought in veteran QB Philip Rivers on a one year window. They needed an impact player on defense no matter the cost. Buckner is a rare talent that the Niners may not have been able to afford down the line, with others to pay. They smartly got a 13th overall draft pick for him, which they can use to select another top talent at a much more affordable price tag. It was the unicorn of deals, a complete win-win. The other huge move was retaining Castonzo, who was contemplating retirement. The sturdy left tackle is one of the best in the NFL, and Rivers will be throwing behind the best offensive line he has had in a long, long time. The Desir release, only to sign a very similar player in Rhodes didn't make much sense to me, but either way the Colts do not lose anything too valuable this off-season, improving on their flaws in an AFC South that saw Houston and Jacksonville take major steps back. Even Tennessee scrambled to re-sign their key free agents. The Colts should look skill position players in the draft, then playoffs.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Grade: B+
Key Additions- QB Tom Brady, EDGE Shaq Barrett (franchise tag), DT Ndamukong Suh (re-signed),
EDGE Jason Pierre-Paul (re-signed), T Joe Haeg, CB Ryan Smith (re-signed)
Key Losses- QB Jameis Winston (*unsigned FA), WR Breshad Perriman, EDGE Carl Nassib,
DT Beau Allen, T Demar Dotson (*unsigned FA), RB Peyton Barber
They may not have had the best free agency period in the league, or even the division, but the Bucs definitely stole the spotlight and the box office in March by convincing Tom Brady to take a chance on Tampa. In one of the unlikeliest scenarios, TB12 signed with the Buccaneers... what?! Huh?! Come again?! It did make sense once you factored in Brady's request for offensive weapons (which Tampa has) and Bruce Arians dynamic play-calling ability, but still, no one predicted this one months ago and I will give Brady his credit, he ran the media this off-season as well as he ran the Patriots offense for the past two decades. Brady aside, I thought the Bucs would really do more here and go "all-in" after snagging the legendary QB. So far I am disappointed to say they haven't. Joe Haeg was a decent sleeper pickup, especially if he wins a starting tackle job in preseason, but the rest was just necessary re-unions. Shaq Barrett had to be tagged after his breakout season, JPP and Suh were very important in the Bucs number one ranked run defense in 2019, Ryan Smith emerged as an okay corner. Still, I wanted them to bolster that secondary and offensive line to compete with the Saints studly roster, and they didn't do it. They also lose out on Perriman to the Jets, among other depth players like Nassib and Allen.
5. Cleveland Browns, Grade: B+
Key Additions- T Jack Conklin, TE Austin Hooper, S Karl Joseph, DT Andrew Billings,
S Andrew Sendejo, EDGE Adrian Clayborn, LB B.J. Goodson, FB Andy Janovic, QB Case Keenum
Key Losses- LB Joe Schobert, S Damarious Randall (*unsigned FA), LB Christian Kirksey (cut),
S Morgan Burnett (cut), CB T.J. Carrie, T Greg Robinson (cut), Rashard Higgins (*unsigned FA)
There the Browns go again, spending a ton of money like last year, only this time nobody is willing to hype them up and look foolish. Honestly speaking though, the acquisitions were much more intelligent this time around. While signing Kareem Hunt and trading a star offensive guard for Olivier Vernon were dumb moves in 2019, spending on the top tackle available this year (Conklin) was smart. I also liked the cheaper pickups like Billings, Clayborn, Goodson and Janovic. Football is about fitting the pieces together, not signing all the biggest names. We'll see if Hooper is worth the money, but at the very least he will make the offense better, as should head coach Kevin Stefanski. I think safety Damarious Randall has the potential to be an important loss, if he does sign elsewhere, but most of what the Browns got rid of was sub-par. The Ravens and Steelers have not had tremendous off-seasons, in fact, they've had poor ones. With less hype and lower expectations, Cleveland could make the playoffs in 2020.
6. Arizona Cardinals, Grade: B+
Key Additions- WR DeAndre Hopkins, T Marcus Gilbert (re-signed), RB Kenyan Drake (re-signed),
T D.J. Humphries (re-signed), DT Jordan Phillips, LB De'Vondre Campbell, LB Devon Kennard
Key Losses- RB David Johnson, TE Charles Clay (*unsigned FA), EDGE Brooks Reed (*unsigned FA),
EDGE Cassius Marsh, WR Damiere Byrd, DL Rodney Gunter, 2020 2nd
The trade heard round the world, DeAndre Hopkins for David Johnson and a swap of 2nd and 4th rounders, WOW! We have all laid into Texans head coach/GM Bill O'Brien for this, the guy is a putz, but behind the scenes details tell us this relationship between BOB and D-Hop wasn't going to last. If it were me, I would have fired Bill O'Brien for what should have been a first round playoff loss to Buffalo, not promoted him. If Texans ownership did things my way, they might still have DeAndre Hopkins. More on this in the 10 Biggest Losers article. The Cardinals really lucked out here. They just so happened to have the cap space to invest in a guy like Hopkins who just so happened to become available. Somehow they also managed to shed David Johnson's entire contract in the deal, talk about an all-time fleecing. I considered giving Arizona an 'A' grade for this trade alone, plus some of their key re-signings, but I thought about it like this... if a team is really going to receive an 'A' grade or even 'A-', that should mean I consider them a playoff team next season at minimum. I'm not saying Arizona can't make the playoffs in 2020, they absolutely could, but they didn't do enough to prove to me that they absolutely will. This is still a weak offensive line and defense with holes throughout, all moves cannot be skill players Kliff! On the right track, but still a year away most likely.
7. Miami Dolphins, Grade: B
Key Additions- CB Byron Jones, EDGE Shaq Lawson, LB Kyle Van Noy, RB Jordan Howard,
G Ereck Flowers, S Clayton Fejedelem, LB Elandon Roberts, EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah,C Ted Karras
Key Losses- S Reshad Jones (cut), CB Aqib Talib, C Daniel Kilgore (cut), EDGE Vince Biegel
This grade comes with a wait and see clause, because the Dolphins spent boatloads of money and cap, and some of it seemed frivolous. As a Jets fan, I know that spending a ton of money doesn't necessarily mean you will win any more games, we've done it and gotten burned many times. Football (unlike other sports) is all about managing cap and using the funds you have wisely. My favorite signing here was Shaq Lawson, the edge rusher is a pro who can disrupt the opposing quarterback all game long (also liked Jordan Howard). My least favorite was Ereck Flowers, who is one year removed from being an unusable bust. I know he's a guard now, but Miami overpaid him, plain and simple. They also may have overpaid Byron Jones. Cornerback is one of the riskiest free agent markets in the sport. These guys always seem to play worse after they get paid, from Josh Norman to Trumaine Johnson with plenty of examples in between, and Jones GOT PAAAAAID. We'll see how it turns out. I'm also usually wary of former Patriots role players outside of their system. I'll give Miami the benefit of the doubt here, being that former Pats D-Coordinator Brian Flores is the head coach (and he looks like a pretty damn good one so far), but the same strategy has not worked out so well for Matt Patricia in Detroit. At the end of the day, even if I didn't love the haphazard spending, the Dolphins were playing with a semi-pro roster last season. They lost virtually nothing in free agency, so even if some of these massive signings crash and burn, they can't get much worse.
8. Cincinnati Bengals, Grade: B
Key Additions- WR A.J. Green (franchise tag), DT D.J. Reader, CB Trae Waynes, S Vonn Bell,
CB Mackenzie Alexander, LB Josh Bynes, G Xavier Su'a-Filo, CB LeShaun Sims
Key Losses- CB Darqueze Dennard, DT Andrew Billings, LB Nick Vigil, S Clayton Fejedelem,
TE Tyler Eifert, CB Dre Kirkpatrick (cut), OL Cordy Glenn (cut)
I think I gave the Bengals off-season an 'F' last season, or close to it (which I could not have been more correct about). Just one year later, I am pleasantly surprised by their decision-making. Is it possible they were trying to lose last year? Absolutely. Do I care? Not really. The A.J. Green franchise tag doesn't bother me. I still think they should trade him down the line, but letting him walk would have accomplished nothing. Hopefully he'll actually take the field this season. Stealing D.J. Reader away from Houston was a slam-dunk move, he is an underrated beast that will fit in nicely beside Geno Atkins. Reader coupled with a total ambush of the Vikings secondary (Waynes and Alexander), and the Cincy defense is looking ten times better already. Josh Bynes should also upgrade on Vigil. This is nowhere near a finished product, and I'm shocked that they barely addressed the offensive line with a rookie quarterback likely taking over the offense, but this team is becoming competitive, and this defense may turn some heads.
9. New York Jets, Grade: B
Key Additions- C Connor McGovern, EDGE Jordan Jenkins (re-signed), CB Pierre Desir,
CB Brian Poole (re-signed), WR Breshad Perriman, T George Fant, G Alex Lewis (re-signed),
G Greg Van Roten, LB Patrick Onwuasor, WR Josh Doctson
Key Losses- WR Robby Anderson, CB Darryl Roberts (cut), T Kelvin Beachum (*unsigned FA),
T Brandon Shell, G Tom Compton, EDGE Brandon Copeland, CB Trumaine Johnson (cut)
The Jets new general manager Joe Douglas made two things perfectly clear when he took over. He will not overpay for any player, and he will address the offensive line. Both of those statements have been one hundred percent on par with his first off-season. It has not been flashy, and some have criticized Douglas for doing too little, but personally it was exactly what I was hoping for. First off, Mike Maccagnan was fired because he blew through cap faster than a teen with a Juul pod. The Jets were in no position to spend huge this Spring. Secondly, Douglas decided to go depth and value over investing all his money into a few stars, which might end up being wise. Vets like McGovern, Fant, Lewis, Van Roten, and more have already been brought in at offensive line. None of them have received a ton of guaranteed money, and the supposed idea is that the best players will play, fueling competition around camp. The Robby Anderson decision hurts, but he wanted more than Douglas (or me for that matter) thought he was worth. Perriman is talented player who has yet to reach his potential, the move has upside and is a decent replacement. Doctson is a similar type of player, and although I'm not expecting much from the bust draft pick, he was dirt cheap. I really liked the Desir and Onwuasor pickups, under-performing players that defensive guru Gregg Williams can unlock. I also thought it was paramount that they re-sign Jordan Jenkins, and I was surprised that they were able to for just five million. I was happy to see role players like Poole, Hewitt and Burgess return as well. The Jets finished 7-9 in 2019 with players like C.J. Mosley, Avery Williamson, Quincy Enunwa, Chris Herndon and more out for almost the entire season... not to mention Darnold's case of mono. Besides WR, they have improved across the board so far in free agency and should have any injured players return. They still need a left tackle and a receiver in the draft, but otherwise it's playoffs or bust for Gase in 2020, especially with Tom Brady out of the division.
10. Philadelphia Eagles, Grade: B--
Key Additions- CB Darius Slay, DT Javon Hargrave, CB Nickell Robey-Coleman, S Will Parks,
S Rodney McLeod (re-signed), DB Jalen Mills (re-signed), LB Jatavis Brown, DT Hassan Ridgeway (re-signed)
Key Losses- CB Ronald Darby, S Malcolm Jenkins, RB Jordan Howard, LB Nigel Bradham,
DT Timmy Jernigan, WR Nelson Agholor, T Halapoulivaati Vaitai, T Jason Peters, 2020 3rd
Ever since Doug Pederson took over in Philly, I have been a huge fan of the way their organization is run. That's tough for me to say as a New Yorker, but this team is quickly becoming one of the best-run franchises in the NFL. They had a very successful off-season yet again, but unfortunately they had so many impending free agents that there was no way they were going to re-sign them all. Because of this and some of the losses, their grade dropped to 'B-'. Even so, they gained talent where they needed it most and lost talent where they had excess. The Eagles have been strong on the offensive and defensive line since their Super Bowl win. They get even stronger in this regard by adding Javon Hargrave, a dominant DT from Pittsburgh. With Ridgeway also returning, Jernigan became expendable. Similarly, Peters and Vaitai were expendable due to draft pick Andre Dillard's confident play. Parks replaces Jenkins and the trade for Slay upgrades on Darby. Jatavis Brown got benched in L.A., but he'll get an opportunity to start in a weak linebacker core. I loved the Robey-Coleman addition. The only loss in a position of need was Nelson Agholor, but he was despised by most Philly fans for his poor hands. It wasn't a breathtaking off-season for the Eagles, but it was a solid one. If they can stay healthy, they'll be a playoff team again in 2020.
Honorable Mentions
(key additions below include signings, trades, and franchise tags)
Las Vegas Raiders, Grade: B-, Keys- Maliek Collins, Cory Littleton, Eli Apple, Marcus Mariota
Denver Broncos, Grade: B-, Keys- A.J. Bouye, Melvin Gordon, Graham Glasgow, Jurrell Casey
L.A. Chargers, Grade: C+, Keys- Bryan Bulaga, Chris Harris, Linval Joseph, Trai Turner, H. Henry
N.Y. Giants, Grade: C+, Keys- James Bradberry, Blake Martinez, Kyler Fackrell, Leonard Williams
Washington Redskins, Grade: C+, Keys- Kendall Fuller, Brandon Scherff, Ronald Darby, Kyle Allen
Neutral (neither a winner or loser)
Seattle Seahawks, Grade: C, Keys- Quinton Dunbar(+), Jadeveon Clowney/Ezekiel Ansah(?/--)
Tennessee Titans, Grade: C, Keys- Ryan Tannehill/Derrick Henry(+), Jack Conklin(--), Logan Ryan(?)
Detroit Lions, Grade: C, Keys- Desmond Trufant/Duron Harmon/Jamie Collins/Danny Shelton(+),
Darius Slay(trade +/--), Damon Harrison/A'Shawn Robinson/Graham Glasgow/Rick Wagner(--)
NFL Free Agency: 10 Biggest Losers of March coming soon!
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