The 2022 NFL offseason is officially upon us. Several big-name quarterbacks found new homes ahead of the kickoff of the legal tampering period Monday, but now dozens of notable veterans are actually hitting the market, free to negotiate with other teams. From blockbuster moves to bargain-bin shopping, we’ve got you covered below with a running tracker of every team’s 2022 additions, including external signings and trade acquisitions:
(The following terms are not official yet until Wednesday at 4 p.m., but have been agreed to)
Acquisitions:
It’s not that the players the Cardinals added or retained are bad; Conner and Ertz are vital to their offense. But paying those two a combined $50M+ on long-term deals? What is this, 2017? Arizona went all in on older and/or injury-prone veterans a year ago, but it’d be nice to see the team go a little greener if its gonna spend big money. It has also got pass rusher to address.
Locking up one of the NFL‘s most accurate kickers is fine. But they’ve got lots of holes still to fill, especially if they plan on competing with Matt Ryan (or, somehow, Deshaun Watson) at QB. Letting Russell Gage walk may haunt them.
There are other areas (OL, DL) that need addressing, but Williams is a top-flight ball hawk who will instantly improve their defense in transition, especially alongside a healthier Marcus Peters, Marlon Humphrey, etc.
They basically swapped out Daryl Williams for Saffold, which isn’t an obvious upgrade. Settle is a solid pickup for the D-line, however, and McKissic, while replaceable, should make for a high-volume safety valve for Josh Allen out of the backfield.
Foreman gives them big-bodied insurance for Christian McCaffrey, which is smart. And Corbett is their best O-line investment in two years. Woods, meanwhile, brings experience to the back end of the defense at a reasonable price. Now, what happens at QB?
They’re betting on Ogubjobi’s continued development, but the price tag is still relatively steep at $13.5M per year. Let’s see what they do at other important spots (WR, OL, etc.).
Good for them, finally getting Joe Burrow some more help up front. Cappa and Karras weren’t necessarily the best options out there, but they’ll do. Also, was B.J. Hill worth locking up over Larry Ogunjobi? Maybe. Maybe not.
Losing Jarvis Landry hurts, but getting Cooper gives them a bona fide No. 1 — at a reasonable cost, considering the free-agent market, no less. Bryan and Winovich are decent depth additions. Let’s see what happens at QB.
Dallas Cowboys: C
Gallup is worth keeping, no doubt, but they’re gonna miss Amari Cooper more than most realize, especially with Cedrick Wilson now gone as well. They deserve props for retaining Schultz, too, but there’s still a glaring pass-rushing need to fill after they whiffed on re-signing Randy Gregory.
It would be really hard for them to lose an “A” this offseason, because, well, Russell Wilson. They promised to be aggressive at QB, and they delivered. Jones is their next-best addition, giving an already-solid defense an ascending big man on the interior. They may well have overpaid for Gregory, but he at least brings long-term upside opposite Bradley Chubb.
Nothing splashy here, but they were always gonna make more of their noise in the draft. Chark and Reynolds are an underrated duo out wide, giving Jared Goff — or whomever they draft at QB — some big-play talent.
Retaining Aaron Rodgers was the biggest move of the offseason, even if the QB wasn’t technically a free agent. Adams, meanwhile, is seemingly threatening a holdout barring a long-term deal, so his return is still TBD. Campbell is a rock-solid playmaker for their defense, but $50M for a soon-to-be 29-year-old linebacker is a little rich.
Another year, another free agency filled with cheap deals for mid- and low-tier veterans. In truth, none of these moves are glaringly bad, but the…
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