We’re well into the new league year now, and if we’re being honest, free agency is almost entirely over with. The biggest and most impactful deals all tend to happen during the legal tampering period these days, and that phase of the offseason is now in the rearview mirror.
While there will still be plenty of signings over the next few days and weeks, now is as good a time as any to take stock of what we’ve seen so far. With at least 160 free agent deals already signed, according to Spotrac, there is a whole lot for us to sift through when we are looking for the best bargain signings to date.
As we usually do when performing this exercise, we established a couple of rules when determining what constitutes a bargain. The first and most important rule is that the player’s contract had to be for less than $10 million per year. (That rules out guys like Kristian Fulton, who got two years and $20 million from the Chiefs.) Second, we tried to limit it to players changing teams, though we did sneak one re-signing in there because the value was too good to pass up.
And so without further ado, the 10 best bargains of free agency so far.
Ford is coming off a really solid year with the Chargers during which he picked up 21 run stops and 23 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s a really good run stopper and he’s flashed some more pass-rush usefulness in recent seasons. The Rams kept him in L.A. and did so for three years and $27.6 million.
Zeitler has become a kind of mercenary offensive lineman. He keeps getting paid good money to go to a new team and help solidify the interior, because it keeps working. Woods, meanwhile, is one of the most durable and reliable safeties in the league, having played 90% of his team’s snaps or more every year since 2018. The Titans got Zeitler for $9 million and Woods for two years and $10 million.
The Cowboys let Dowdle walk to sign Javonte Williams, and then Dowdle soon signed a contract with a lower base value but more upside when he went back home to Carolina. Dowdle had one of the highest rushing success rates in the NFL last season and led the league in the share of carries on which he produced at least 3 yards after contact. And the Panthers got him for somewhere between $3 million and $6.25 million.
The Raiders definitely needed to refortify the second level of their defense what with all the pending free agents they had this offseason, and they landed two nice values here. Chinn is coming off a really nice year playing for Dan Quinn in Washington, and Quinn is, of course, a member of the Pete Carroll coaching tree. And Roberts seemingly always puts together solid seasons and then gets picked up as a bargain in free agency. Chinn got $16.25 million over two years and Roberts cost just $3 million.
NWI surprisingly popped up with a career-high NINE touchdowns for Tennessee last year. He definitely ran hot in deep balls, but the Dolphins don’t really need him to be more than a situational deep threat, and he can do that. Melifonwu missed most of last season with an injury but was a really good player in 2023, finally coming into his own after two years of not doing all that much to begin his career. Westbrook-Ikhine was had for just two years and $6.5 million, while Melifonwu got $3 million.
EDGE Michael Hoecht, Bills
This signing won’t get as much play as the Bills’ other addition on the edge, but I really like it. Hoecht had 13.5 sacks in a rotational role for the Rams over the last few years, but his per-snap metrics have always looked good. His 11% pressure rate last season, per TruMedia, was on par with players like Travon Walker (also 11%) and just south of Joey Bosa (11.5%). He went to Buffalo for three years and $21 million.
Golston also turned himself into a really nice rotational player over the last few years in Dallas, and is coming off what was probably his best season. He can play on the edge and on the interior, and he should really help the Giants against the run. He got $19.5 million over three years to head to New Jersey.
We gave the Lions an “A” for re-signing Onwuzurike in our Day 3 free-agency grades.
Onwuzurike was one of the few Lions defenders that stayed healthy for most of last season, and he played well in the middle of the defensive line. He got up to a career high 61% of the defensive snaps, finished the year with 20 run stops (per Pro Football Focus) and and his 11.7% pressure rate, via TruMedia, was actually higher than that of Alim McNeill, his partner on the inside.
On a one-year, $5.5 million contract, he’s a steal.
Gainwell is just a really, really solid No. 2 running back. He’s great in pass protection and the two-minute drill, and he excels at creating yards after the catch. He’s not the most efficient runner, but that’s likely not what Pittsburgh brought him in to do. And on just a one-year, $1.8 million deal, he’s very cheap.
The Vikings will have a good bit of turnover in the secondary next season after seemingly half their defensive backs hit free agency. They were going to have to make some changes, and they brought in Rodgers as a low-cost alternative to play across from Byron Murphy. He’s not a shutdown corner, but he’s physical and fared decently well when called upon in Philly. He just got $11 million over two years.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
