NFL: Assessing the top free-agency signings and trades

Latest Super Bowl odds and market moves after the key free agent signings and trades in the NFL

Background

With the regular season not due to start until September, the business of the NFL year has been progressing relatively in the usual fashion and there has been no lack of interest in some of the big deals and trades that have been made at the start of the free agency period when players whose contracts expired hit the open market.

Here we assess some of the key contracts that have been signed and the trades that have been made.

Top free agent signings

Tom Brady Quarterback
New England to Tampa Bay

You may have heard of this one already. After 20 seasons, nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl wins with the New England Patriots, Tom Brady decided to move on.

Tennessee, LA Chargers and Miami were all reported to be interested in the NFL superstar, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to tempt Brady with a two-year deal worth $50 million.

It will be fascinating to see how this pans out.

You can argue that Brady will have a better supporting cast with the Bucs than he ever had in New England. Wide receivers Mike Evans and 2019 breakout performer Chris Godwin form one of the top tandems in the league while Cameron Brate and OJ Howard - hugely underused last season - are on hand for a veteran who excelled when feeding tight ends such as Rob Gronkowski with the Pats.

Whether he's suited to the Florida club's offence is another question. The Bucs were aggressive when they had the ball last season, to the extent that quarterback Jameis Winston threw 33 TD passes and 30 interceptions, while Brady has been associated with a more restrained short and mid-range passing game.

Arm strength has to be a concern too - Brady will be 43 by the time the season is scheduled to start.

Philip Rivers Quarterback
LA Chargers to Indianapolis

Philip Rivers was another veteran QB on the move. The 38-year-old has spent his whole career with the Chargers franchise - first in San Diego (where his potential led the team to move on from Drew Brees in 2006) and more recently in Los Angeles.

Always considered top-level passer who never quite fulfilled his potential, Rivers has a chance to shine in the autumn of his career with an Indianapolis team who look to be on the up under head coach Frank Reich.

The Colts were left in the lurch by Andrew Luck's retirement at just 29 before last season, but old man Rivers gives them hope that the roster they had built with the intention of supporting Luck will not be wasted.

Chris Harris Cornerback
Denver to LA Chargers

The four-time Pro Bowler was one of the marquee names on the free agent list, but Denver are likely to have got better value from Harris than the Chargers will.

Harris was often seen as one of the most underrated and underpaid players in the league with the Broncos, but now he's getting the big bucks with a $20.5m two-year deal just as his skills may be about to wane as he hits 30.

Byron Jones Cornerback
Dallas to Miami

Shutdown cornerbacks are hard to find and Miami's willingness to give Jones a five-year $82.5m deal shows just how much they wanted him.

There's a big opportunity for the rest of the AFC East now Tom Brady has left New England and the Dolphins, who stripped down their roster in a huge rebuild last season look like they mean business.

Cory Littleton Linebacker
Los Angeles Rams to Las Vegas

The Rams fell short in the 2019 Super Bowl two seasons ago but they are feeling the pinch now and lost another key defensive performer when Cory Littleton signed a $36m three-year deal with the renamed Las Vegas Raiders.

Linebacker Littleton recorded ten tackles and an interception in his Super Bowl appearance and should be a high-quality performer in Nevada.

Teddy Bridgewater Quarterback
New Orleans to Carolina

Teddy Bridgewater looks like a shrewd pick-up by the Panthers, who struggled at quarterback after Cam Newton was injured last season. Carolina have now released Newton, a former first pick in the draft and the 2015 NFL MVP after failing to find a trade partner.

Bridgewater went 5-0 as a starter for New Orleans last season, but saw this as a better opportunity to establish himself when veteran Drew Brees decided to return for another season with the Saints.

Jack Conklin Offensive tackle
Tennessee to Cleveland

The Browns got exactly what they needed in free agency by shoring up their offensive line with big Titans right tackle Jack Conklin.

Cleveland have an array of attacking talent but were often let down by a weakness in the trenches which has been addressed by this three-year $42m deal for the 25-year-old former top-ten draft pick.

Dante Fowler Linebacker
Los Angeles Rams to Atlanta

Sack specialist Dante Fowler fills a huge need in the Atlanta defence with his three-year $48m signing, but it leaves another hole that the pick-starved Rams may struggle to fill.

Todd Gurley will be an Atlanta Falcon next seasonCredit: Carmen Mandato (Getty Images)

Todd Gurley Running back
Los Angeles Rams to Atlanta

The Falcons decided to move on from running back Devonta Freeman, who played a starring role when they went so close to winning the Super Bowl in 2017, and they have picked up a premium replacement in Todd Gurley, another refugee from the Rams on this list.

There's an element of risk, though, as Gurley has been troubled by a knee injury and had a greatly reduced workload last season.

James Bradberry Cornerback
Carolina to NY Giants

James Bradberry is not the best-known defensive back in the league, but at $45m for three years, the Giants clearly think he's what their secondary requires. There's no denying it was an area that needed strengthening.

Top trades

Darius Slay Cornerback
Detroit to Philadelphia

The Eagles look to have got a great deal by picking up Darius 'Big Play' Slay for just third and fifth-round draft picks. Slay wanted out after the Lions said they didn't consider him an elite player and that seems to be the case given the moderate trade price they accepted for him. This looks to be a big gain for Philly.

Nick Foles Quarterback
Jacksonville to Chicago

Nick Foles threw and famously caught a touchdown pass in Philadelphia's 2018 Super Bowl success but his stay in Jacksonville lasted just one season as he failed to convince them he was better value than 2019 rookie Gardner Minshew.

He heads to Chicago for just a fourth-round pick but may well prove to be their starting quarterback given the struggles of former first-round choice Mitchell Trubisky.

DeAndre Hopkins has made the switch from Houston to ArizonaCredit: Getty Images

DeAndre Hopkins Wide receiver
& David Johnson Running back
Houston to Arizona & Arizona to Houston

Two-way trades are supposed to balance out but few neutral observers see this deal as anything other than the Cardinals fleecing the Texans.

Houston also give up a fourth-round pick and gain a second and a fourth.

DeAndre Hopkins is a top-five receiver in the league, while running back David Johnson had lost his job to free-agent pick-up Kenyan Drake. Given the relative trade value of WRs and RBs, this looks a big win for Arizona.

Stefon Diggs Wide receiver
Minnesota to Buffalo

Buffalo forked out a much more substantial fee for their free-agent wide receiver, handing Minnesota a first-round pick and some lower draft choices for the talented Diggs.

It looks like the Bills overpaid a little, and if Diggs was frustrated in Minnesota it could get nasty when he finds passes from Buffalo's erratic QB Josh Allen flying over his head.

The Vikings have lost a talented player, but they were well compensated.

DeForest Buckner Defensive end
San Francisco to Indianapolis

This looks a well-balanced trade to suit both parties. The 49ers are well off for defensive-line talent, and picking up the 13th pick in the draft gives them the chance to add a top-quality performer at any position.

Buckner joins an improved Colts defence and has signed a new deal that makes him the league's second-highest earner at defensive tackle.

Super Bowl betting

Super Bowl champions Kansas City have been relatively quiet in free agency and remain the 6-1 favourites for the 2020-21 title.

Tampa Bay had been on offer at as big as 66-1 in the off-season but snaring Tom Brady has seen their odds tumble to 16-1 fifth favourites and third favourites to win the AFC behind the Chiefs and Ravens.

New England are out to 20-1 from 12-1 after losing Brady but there has been support for Indianapolis after they picked up Rivers.

The Colts are a top-priced 33-1 from 40-1 but as short as 20-1 with some firms. Arizona are 50-1 from 80-1 after their upgrades.

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