NFL Free Agency started at 4pm EST yesterday. Within the first thirty minutes about twenty football players "agreed to terms" on new contracts. I'm not sure if that's any kind of record but it seems like a flurry of activity like none that I can recall. Even the Minnesota Vikings got into the action. They weren't part of the first thirty minutes much to the annoyance of many fans. They weren't even part of the first hour. Before the clock hit two hours, the Vikings had signed former New York Giants nose tackle Linval Joseph. This is a real nice addition to the Vikings defensive line. Ever since Pat Williams played his last game in 2010, the Vikings have been looking for a big man to take up blocks, plug running lanes, and generally make life happy for the linebackers. Linval Joseph can do all of that. I've been curious as to what sort of defensive tackles would interest new head coach Mike Zimmer. I wasn't sure if he wanted a big guy in the middle of if he wanted smaller, more active tackles. This signing answers that question. Joseph will now pair with 2013 first round pick Sharrif Floyd in the interior of the Vikings defensive line. With the re-signing of defensive end Everson Griffen over the weeked, the Vikings defensive front has gotten younger real quick. At 30, end Brian Robison is the old man of the group. Griffen, Joseph, and Floyd are all under 26 years of age. The Vikings showed an interest in a lot of players during the three-day "legal tampering" period. I was curious to see if that would translate into early free agent activity. I can't recall if the Vikings have ever signed a player on the first day of free agency. They signed Antoine Winfield early in 2004. I think that might have been late on the first day. I definitely can't recall the Vikings signing a player within the first two hours of free agency. While the signing of Linval Joseph was, most certainly, the biggest signing of day one, it wasn't the only signing of day one.
The Atlanta Falcons were especially active. They added defensive tackle Paul Soliai, defensive end Tyson Jackson, and guard Jon Asamoah. Obviously, the Falcons felt that they needed to bolster their lines. Several teams went after lineman in the early hours of free agency. It seemed like, at least, half of the early signings were offensive or defensive linemen. The Cleveland Browns popped up often. They addedd linebacker Karlos Dansby, safety Donte Whitner, and signed Cincinnati Bengals restricted free agent receiver Andrew Hawkins to an offer sheet. The Bengals have a week to match. The Browns signing of Whitner was probably the strangest signing of the day. They had their own free agent safety in T.J. Ward. They signed Whitner for more than it cost the Denver Broncos to sign Ward. I'd rather have Ward than Whitner. Maybe, Ward had zero interest in continuing his career in Cleveland. The Broncos got a terrific football player in T.J. Ward. They found another in the evening when they added cornerback Aqib Talib. The Broncos are also hosting the recently released DeMarcus Ware. I'd say that the Broncos are trying like mad to get back to the Super Bowl. If I recall the past Super Bowl correctly, the Broncos offense was more of a problem than the defense. The New York Giants might have lost Linval Joseph but I liked their additions in the free agent flurry. They added running back Rashad Jennings, guard Geoff Schwartz, and linebacker O'Brien Schofield. I think that Schwartz is a terrific, versatile lineman. The Vikings had him in 2012. I wish that they still did. The Schofield was a free agent that intrigued me. I think that he's an under-the-radar player that could really take off. The Pittsburgh Steelers signing of safety Mike Mitchell was another signing that I really liked. Mitchell and Troy Polamalu is a real nice combo. Another nice safety combo is the one that the San Francisco 49ers now have. The 49ers lost Donte Whitner to the Browns. They added Antoine Bethea. I'd rather have Bethea. I really like Eric Reid and and Bethea at the back of the 49ers defense. Speaking of safety combos. The New Orleans Saints now have a terrific one as well. They added Jairus Byrd to pair with Kenny Vaccaro. It's a copy cat league and the Seattle Seahawks sure showed the benefits of having a couple of terrific safeties.
One of the miracles of the day was how the New Orleans Saints, with about $2 million in cap space, managed to fit the contract of Jairus Byrd.
Names were flying off of the board all afternoon. About a third of the NFL.com's top 100 free agents have signed new contracts. There's still a lot of talented players available. What will they do?
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