NFL free agency 2021: Jaguars, Patriots among winners on Day 2, while Bears come up losers
Bears #Bears
The first two days of the legal tampering period in the NFL have been incredibly eventful, as dozens of players have agreed to new deals with news teams, others have re-upped with their current club and then there have been other players who were released, and quickly found themselves in the free agency fray. On Tuesday, we saw several quarterbacks change teams, a top wide receiver come off the board and once again, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots were incredibly aggressive in their dealings.
There were some clear winners and losers in Day 1, but what about Day 2? We still have a ways to go in free agency, but let’s take a look at a couple of teams who won on Tuesday, and a couple that lost.
Winners: Jacksonville Jaguars
First-year head coach Urban Meyer has begun to shape his roster down in Jacksonville. To start things off on Tuesday, the Jaguars agreed to terms on a three-year, $40 million deal with former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin. Despite missing four regular-season games in 2020, Griffin recorded a career-high three interceptions, 12 pass deflections and 63 combined tackles. The Seahawks passed on utilizing the franchise tag on him, and now have paid the price. Hours later, the Jags made a bigger splash by snagging former Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones — reportedly giving him a two-year deal worth $14.5 million. While he just turned 31, Jones caught a career-high 76 passes for 978 yards and nine touchdowns in 2020. He’s also the only player in the NFL who has caught at least nine touchdown passes in each of the last two seasons. To cap things off, the Jaguars traded with the New Orleans Saints for defensive lineman Malcolm Brown, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, who was set to be released as a cap casualty. The defensive tackle had been a consistent presence on New Orleans’ defensive line, and should play a role in stuffing the run with Jacksonville immediately.
Losers: Chicago Bears
The Bears finally got some quarterback news, but it wasn’t the news fans were hoping for. On Tuesday, the Bears reportedly agreed to terms with former Dallas Cowboys backup Andy Dalton on a one-year, $10 million deal. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears made “a very aggressive pursuit” of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, but were told that Seattle was not trading him at this time. Just last week, CBS NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that the Bears were prepared to throw a “boatload” of picks at the Seahawks for Wilson or the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson. Instead, Chicago ends up with Dalton. If the Seahawks do end up fielding offers for Wilson in the near future, you would have to imagine the Bears would again put themselves in the mix. Still, Tuesday was not a happy day for Bears fans. In fact, their odds to win the Super Bowl actually took a dip with the addition of Dalton!
Winners: New England Patriots … again
The Patriots were the clear winner in Day 1 after picking up tight end Jonnu Smith, wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne and then linebacker Matt Judon, but they made shockwaves again on Tuesday by agreeing to terms with former Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry. Smith was already considered one of the elite tight ends looking for a new NFL home, but the Patriots picked up the best in Henry. He has recorded at least 550 receiving yards in his past three active seasons, with a career-high 652 in 2019 despite playing in just 12 games. Henry has also caught at least four touchdowns in each season. We know how much success Belichick and the Patriots have found with elite tight ends in the past, and having Smith and Henry is going to open up this offense in big ways for Cam Newton moving forward. While the Patriots have been the clear headline in free agency thus far, we may need to pump the brakes when it comes to predicting how they will fare in 2021. Still, there’s a chance the Patriots aren’t done just yet. CBS Sports NFL writer Tyler Sullivan penned a piece on Tuesday hypothesizing that the Pats’ aggressive mindset won’t change anytime soon.
Losers: Derek Carr
Carr was pretty middle of the pack when it comes to how many times he was sacked in 2020, as he was brought down 26 times — which was tied for 16th most. As of now, it appears that number will increase in 2020, as the Las Vegas Raiders have moved on from four of their five starting offensive linemen. The Raiders traded tackle Trent Brown to the Patriots, cut offensive guards Gabe Jackson and Richie Incognito, and on Tuesday, cut star center Rodney Hudson, according to Rapoport. It was a move that was not expected at all, as the Raiders don’t save money by parting ways with him. Hudson is a three-time Pro Bowler and was named second-team All-Pro in 2019. Just two years ago, the Raiders made him the highest-paid center in the league! All of a sudden, Jon Gruden is facing a major rebuild along the offensive line.
Winners: New York Giants
How about some love for Big Blue? On Tuesday, the Giants and defensive lineman Leonard Williams agreed to a reported three-year, $63 million deal to keep him in New York past the 2021 season. The $21 million average annual salary is higher than the projected $19.4 million Williams would have received under the franchise tag this year. After being traded from one New York NFL team to the other, Williams recorded 57 combined tackles and a career-high 11.5 sacks in his first season as a Giant. Williams’ 42 pressures and 12 hurries were third amongst all defensive tackles (behind only Aaron Donald and Chris Jones) and his 30 quarterback hits led all players at his position. The Giants also made an intriguing move on the offensive side of the ball, as they reportedly agreed to terms with former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver and speedster John Ross on a one-year deal, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. The former Washington star will be remembered for breaking Chris Johnson’s 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine in 2017, when he recorded a 4.22 run. It was so impressive that Ross flew up draft boards and was selected by the Bengals with the No. 9 overall pick. He hasn’t been able to stay on the field and certainly hasn’t been able to maintain consistent play, but this is a low-risk signing that could help Daniel Jones in the passing game.