As the clock ticked down to the official beginning of free agency in the NFL, teams wasted no time finalizing deals and trades. It was the big names that kicked things off before the 4:00 p.m. EST. beginning on Tuesday, including the New Orleans Saints trading star tight end Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks. The Saints received Pro-Bowl center Max Unger and a draft pick in return.
Graham struggled against the Seahawks in their last meeting, but he gives Russell Wilson an athletic target at that position. It seems that the deal did not sit well with Saints' quarterback Drew Brees, who tweeted a picture of his visibly upset son wearing a Graham uniform. This has some wondering whether this means Brees could be on his way out of New Orleans via a trade.
A possible landing spot for Brees could have been the New York Jets, who made a splash late Tuesday night by bringing back cornerback Darrelle Revis. Revis, who was let go by the New England Patriots, agreed to a 5-year, $70 million deal. The Jets then traded for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in a deal with the Houston Texans on Wednesday.
The Detroit Lions also wasted little time finding a replacement for Ndamukong Suh, who signed a $114 miilion deal with the Miami Dolphins. The Lions made a shocking trade to acquire defensive end Haloti Ngata from the Baltimore Ravens. Ngata claims that he is not replacing Suh and wants to be his own player. The Lions only gave up a couple of draft picks for Ngata, who might consider signing an extension with his new team.
One of the biggest question marks in all of this is Chip Kelly's plan for the Philadelphia Eagles. He let wide receiver DeSean Jackson go to the Washington Redskins before last season, and traded running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills last week. Many believed it to be a big possibility for the Eagles to draft quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is familiar with Kelly's wildcat offense from their days with the Oregon Ducks.
That possibily was thrown out the window when Philadelphia made the questionable trade with the St. Louis Rams to acquire oft-injured quarterback Sam Bradford for starting quarterback Nick Foles. Not only is Bradford coming off a torn ACL, but has shown no mobility in his college or NFL career to prove to be a good fit in Kelly's offense.
After letting McCoy go, the Eagles found a possible replacement by signing running back Ryan Mathews to a 3-year deal on Wednesday. This was a sigh of relief after they lost out on the Frank Gore sweepstakes, who was reportedly ready to sign with Philly. A bigger sigh of relief may be on the way, as the Eagles could be the front runner to land star running back DeMarco Murray.
Kelly also found help on the defensive side of things, as Byron Maxwell agreed to a 6-year deal worth $63 million.
Gore called it a tough decision to leave the San Francisco 49ers, and seemed to have a hard time deciding where his next landing place would be. After looking as if he would sign with the Eagles, the Indianapolis Colts came out of nowhere to scoop Gore up. Not only did the Colts add help in the backfield for Andrew Luck, but they gave him another target by adding wide receiver Andre Johnson, who was let go by the Houston Texans.
Other deals that took place saw Torrey Smith signing a 5-year deal with the 49ers, while the Denver Broncos added tight end Owen Daniels on a 3-year deal. In the middle of all of these transactions, a few players decided to make a few personal decisions of their own. 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis announced his retirement at the age of 30, following 8 NFL seasons.
Titans' quarterback Jake Locker, who is only 26 years old, announced his early retirement, while Pittsburgh Steelers' linebacker Jason Worilds shocked the franchise by announcing that he would be hanging up his uniform.
The Jets also released wide receiver Percy Harvin on Tuesday. Harvin is meeting with the Buffalo Bills, but some believe that New England is the favorite to land the former Minnesota Viking. Speaking of the Vikings, it is not a lock that Adrian Peterson will be wearing Minnesota purple in the upcoming season.
Despite all of the moves that were announced over the past 2 days, this is just the beginning of the NFL free agency period.
Graham struggled against the Seahawks in their last meeting, but he gives Russell Wilson an athletic target at that position. It seems that the deal did not sit well with Saints' quarterback Drew Brees, who tweeted a picture of his visibly upset son wearing a Graham uniform. This has some wondering whether this means Brees could be on his way out of New Orleans via a trade.
A possible landing spot for Brees could have been the New York Jets, who made a splash late Tuesday night by bringing back cornerback Darrelle Revis. Revis, who was let go by the New England Patriots, agreed to a 5-year, $70 million deal. The Jets then traded for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in a deal with the Houston Texans on Wednesday.
The Detroit Lions also wasted little time finding a replacement for Ndamukong Suh, who signed a $114 miilion deal with the Miami Dolphins. The Lions made a shocking trade to acquire defensive end Haloti Ngata from the Baltimore Ravens. Ngata claims that he is not replacing Suh and wants to be his own player. The Lions only gave up a couple of draft picks for Ngata, who might consider signing an extension with his new team.
One of the biggest question marks in all of this is Chip Kelly's plan for the Philadelphia Eagles. He let wide receiver DeSean Jackson go to the Washington Redskins before last season, and traded running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills last week. Many believed it to be a big possibility for the Eagles to draft quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is familiar with Kelly's wildcat offense from their days with the Oregon Ducks.
That possibily was thrown out the window when Philadelphia made the questionable trade with the St. Louis Rams to acquire oft-injured quarterback Sam Bradford for starting quarterback Nick Foles. Not only is Bradford coming off a torn ACL, but has shown no mobility in his college or NFL career to prove to be a good fit in Kelly's offense.
After letting McCoy go, the Eagles found a possible replacement by signing running back Ryan Mathews to a 3-year deal on Wednesday. This was a sigh of relief after they lost out on the Frank Gore sweepstakes, who was reportedly ready to sign with Philly. A bigger sigh of relief may be on the way, as the Eagles could be the front runner to land star running back DeMarco Murray.
Kelly also found help on the defensive side of things, as Byron Maxwell agreed to a 6-year deal worth $63 million.
Gore called it a tough decision to leave the San Francisco 49ers, and seemed to have a hard time deciding where his next landing place would be. After looking as if he would sign with the Eagles, the Indianapolis Colts came out of nowhere to scoop Gore up. Not only did the Colts add help in the backfield for Andrew Luck, but they gave him another target by adding wide receiver Andre Johnson, who was let go by the Houston Texans.
Other deals that took place saw Torrey Smith signing a 5-year deal with the 49ers, while the Denver Broncos added tight end Owen Daniels on a 3-year deal. In the middle of all of these transactions, a few players decided to make a few personal decisions of their own. 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis announced his retirement at the age of 30, following 8 NFL seasons.
Titans' quarterback Jake Locker, who is only 26 years old, announced his early retirement, while Pittsburgh Steelers' linebacker Jason Worilds shocked the franchise by announcing that he would be hanging up his uniform.
The Jets also released wide receiver Percy Harvin on Tuesday. Harvin is meeting with the Buffalo Bills, but some believe that New England is the favorite to land the former Minnesota Viking. Speaking of the Vikings, it is not a lock that Adrian Peterson will be wearing Minnesota purple in the upcoming season.
Despite all of the moves that were announced over the past 2 days, this is just the beginning of the NFL free agency period.
