Two days of legal tampering and a few days of free agency have wiped out most of the best free agents that were available. Here’s one look at the best remaining players available in free agency. The rankings from the original list are in parentheses.
1.(9) Mitchell Schwartz, OT, Kansas City Chiefs
2.(21) K.J. Wright, LB, Seattle Seahawks
3.(30) T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts
4.(31) Carlos Dunlap, Edge, Seattle Seahawks
5.(33) Jadeveon Clowney, Edge, Tennessee Titans
6.(34) Melvin Ingram, Edge, Los Angeles Chargers
7.(37) Richard Sherman, CB, San Francisco 49ers
8.(39) K’Waun Williams, CB, San Francisco 49ers
9.(44) Eric Wilson, LB, Minnesota Vikings
10.(46) Eric Fisher, OT, Kansas City Chiefs
11.(49) Sheldon Rankins, DT, New Orleans Saints
12.(50) Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Chicago Bears
13. Geno Atkins, DT, Cincinnati Bengals
14. Kwon Alexander, LB, New Orleans Saints
15. Justin Houston, Edge, Indianapolis Colts
16. Adoree’ Jackson, CB, Tennessee Titans
17. Ndamukong Suh, DT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
18. Ryan Kerrigan, Edge, Washington Football Team
19. Xavier Woods, S, Dallas Cowboys
20. Forrest Lamp, OG, Los Angeles Chargers
21. Austin Reiter, C, Kansas City Chiefs
22. DaQuan Jones, DT, Tennessee Titans
23. Malik Hooker, S, Indianapolis Colts
24. Russell Okung, OT, Carolina Panthers
25. Trai Turner, OG, Los Angeles Chargers
26. Sammy Watkins, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
27. Malcolm Butler, CB, Tennessee Titans
28. Alejandro Villanueva, OT, Pittsburgh Steelers
29. Olivier Vernon, Edge, Cleveland Browns
30. Duke Johnson, RB, Houston Texans
31. Jaquiski Tartt, S, San Francisco 49ers
32. Bashaud Breeland, CB, Kansas City Chiefs
33. Quinton Dunbar, CB, Kansas City Chiefs
34. Casey Hayward, CB, Los Angeles Chargers
35. Austin Blythe, C, Los Angeles Rams
36. Leonard Fournette, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
37. Aldon Smith, Edge, Dallas Cowboys
38. Kareem Jackson, S, Denver Broncos
39. Kawann Short, DT, Carolina Panthers
40. Jurrell Casey, DT, Denver Broncos
41. James White, RB, New England Patriots
42. Kerry Hyder, DL, San Francisco 49ers
43. Mackensie Alexander, CB, Cincinnati Bengals
44. James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
45. Lawrence Guy, DT, New England Patriots
46. Alex Smith, QB, Washington Football Team
47. Rick Wagner, OT, Green Bay Packers
48. Adam Humphries, WR, Tennessee Titans
49. Duron Harmon, S, Detroit Lions
50. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona
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The legal tampering period has really shortened NFL free agency. It hasn’t even been a week and only 12 of my original Top 50 Free Agents remain available. It isn’t just the early start to the bidding that’s shortened the process. The legal tampering period removes the visits, the wining and dining, and the in-person negotiations. The players no longer search for the right fit. It’s all about the money. Free agency has always been about the money but there was once a passing attempt at finding the right team and the right place. One of my favorite free agency memories was the Minnesota Vikings 2004 signing of cornerback Antoine Winfield. In that memory, Winfield is moments from the press conference announcing him as the newest member of the New York Jets. He gets cold feet and decides to give the Vikings and his former defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell a visit. If it was only about the money and getting a deal done in a blink, one of my favorite all-time Vikings players would’ve been a Jet. It’s funny that a similar sort of “cold feet” thing happened in 2019 when Anthony Barr flipped on a deal with the Jets and returned to the Vikings. Well, it probably wasn’t too funny to the Jets. Not long ago, there was a lot more to free agency. Now, teams and agents get down to business as soon as the hour hits. It’s really just the first, furious wave of deals that are done in such an impersonal manner. Once those big deals are cleared there are some visits. Occasionally there’s a big deal like the one that Kenny Golladay just did with the New York Giants that’s done with a visit and the accompanying royal treatment. That deal was like a warm return to the old days of free agency. I actually don’t think that today’s media and especially today’s fans could put up with the old days of free agency. They don’t have the patience. They adore the “get ‘er done” pace of today’s free agency.
It’s always interesting to look at the available free agent list a week after the start of the spending. It’s peppered with players that would be at the top of the every team’s “want list” only a few years prior.
Jadeveon Clowney
Richard Sherman
Gene Atkins
Justin Houston
Ndamukong Suh
Ryan Kerrigan
Kawann Short
Jurrell Casey
Only a few years ago, those players would’ve been the first to get big deals during the legal tampering window.
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