Best Free Agents Available?

[MadCardDisease]

This was kind of a silly exercise by ESPN but WTF Weinfuss? You have the Cards only offering $14M per year for Sweat while other teams are offering well over $22M? I'm thinking Weinfuss is just trolling the Cardinals here.

Simulating NFL free agency for six top players: We made offers and chose landing spots

Our NFL Nation reporters played GM and made offers on six free agents ... and we signed each player to a new deal. Who lands where?

www.espn.com

Top NFL free agents will begin to agree to new deals in less than a week, when the legal negotiating window kicks off Tuesday (though 2025 free agency officially opens two days later). To get a sense of how all the action will play out, we simulated the market on six key players -- four on defense, including two Eagles -- who could be available.

How? We asked our NFL Nation reporters to serve as the GM for the team they cover and make contract offers for key free agents while trying to stay within that team's salary cap restraints and realm of realistic outcomes. The object wasn't to "win" but rather to accurately reflect how a team might approach negotiations. For instance, the cap-strapped Saints didn't throw around any offers here, but the Patriots have money to spend -- and it showed. Once all the offers came in, national NFL reporter Dan Graziano played the role of player rep, mulling the proposals and "signing" each of the stars to a new deal.

Cardinals' offer: Three years, $43 million ($21 million guaranteed)

The Cardinals seriously need help at pass rusher. They were 28th in pass rush win rate in 2024 at 33.3%. The position has been a liability the past two seasons because of injuries to presumptive and actual starters.

Sweat, who will be 28 in March, would give instant credibility to Arizona's pass rush. He also has experience playing for Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon, who was his defensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022 -- Sweat's best two-season stretch in sacks. He had 7.5 in 2021 and 11 in 2022. Arizona would include a $12 million signing bonus and incentives for cracking 10, 12 and 15 sacks each season. -- Josh Weinfuss

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

But that would also apply to Josh Sweat as well lol

I know and I'm not in favor of giving him a big contract either.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I don't want him here. Do you?

Browns rule out Garrett after crashing Porsche

The Cleveland Browns have downgraded Myles Garrett to out for the game Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons after the star defensive end was involved in a single-car accident this week.

www.espn.com

He was going 20 over two years ago and crashed his car into a ditch if that counts.

Yes, yes I do! He's a top 10 defensive player in the NFL, and we're in desperate need of those.

 

[football karma]

DT Javon Hargreaves of the 49ers will be released

32 years old, so this would be a 2 year kinda deal. Missed most of last year with a torn tricep

 

[kerouac9]

I wonder if we’re gonna have a few mid free agent classes. This group was drafted the year after COVID (2021 draft class, mostly). Hard to scout these dudes.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

This FA class is so bad I am not even trying to guess on the contracts at this point.

It's almost as if we should have been more aggressive last year in FA!

 

[BritCard]

DT Javon Hargreaves of the 49ers will be released

32 years old, so this would be a 2 year kinda deal. Missed most of last year with a torn tricep

Hargrave played with Gannon right? I'd spin the wheels on him. He could be a good value pickup and much needed vet experience.

 

[Stout]

It's almost as if we should have been more aggressive last year in FA!

If only some posters would have said that

 

[ASUCHRIS]

If only some posters would have said that

At least we got Nichols/Jones/SMB...real difference makers.

 

[Stout]

At least we got Nichols/Jones/SMB...real difference makers.

Now I'm waiting for the "No, this FA market is too bad to spend much money" posts to come out of the woodwork after promising the big spend while excusing Monti last year.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Now I'm waiting for the "No, this FA market is too bad to spend much money" posts to come out of the woodwork after promising the big spend while excusing Monti last year.

Stalin looks enviously at this 5 year plan.

 

[kerouac9]

Now I'm waiting for the "No, this FA market is too bad to spend much money" posts to come out of the woodwork after promising the big spend while excusing Monti last year.

That’s the second part of the Cap Savings Two-step.

 

[CardLogic]

A couple of posts have questioned, What about Metcalf? While he may physically be a fit, I think he is a Me-first guy, rather than a team-first guy. That just doesn't fit what the Cardinals under Gannon and Monti are doing.

 

[Harry]

Monti isn’t afraid to take a chance on injured player.
I think Koonze might be a good gamble.
Would anybody be open to trade for Metcalf?

The problem with giving away draft picks is the salary cap. How confident are you in your drafting abilities? It takes courage to focus almost entirely on the draft with a free agents sprinkled in here and there. Draft picks are so much more economical. You can build a stronger, deeper team. I know guys like Metcalf aren’t easy to find and they likely won’t find one this year, but giving the picks to Seattle would mean they feel better going that way. In the end I don’t think Metcalf is going anywhere once he calms down.

 

[football karma]

not a free agent, but Trey Hendrickson, EDGE of the Bengals has been given permission to seek a trade

one year left on his deal, so its the old draft pick + a new contract kinda deal

 

[TheCardFan]

Christian Kirk getting traded to Texans

 

[TheCardFan]

Trey Hendrickson, EDGE

Yes please

 

[slanidrac16]

The problem with giving away draft picks is the salary cap. How confident are you in your drafting abilities? It takes courage to focus almost entirely on the draft with a free agents sprinkled in here and there. Draft picks are so much more economical. You can build a stronger, deeper team. I know guys like Metcalf aren’t easy to find and they likely won’t find one this year, but giving the picks to Seattle would mean they feel better going that way. In the end I don’t think Metcalf is going anywhere once he calms down.

I agree.

 

[kerouac9]

Christian Kirk getting traded to Texans

Jaguars trading WR Kirk to Texans, source says

The Jaguars are trading wide receiver Christian Kirk to the Texans for a 2026 seventh-round pick, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Thursday.

www.espn.com

$15.5 million for Christian Kirk. People thinking that a starting-caliber X receiver is gonna be cheap are not paying very close attention.

Respect for the Texans' big swings to support their QB.

 

[Denny Green Fan]

Jaguars trading WR Kirk to Texans, source says

The Jaguars are trading wide receiver Christian Kirk to the Texans for a 2026 seventh-round pick, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Thursday.

www.espn.com

$15.5 million for Christian Kirk. People thinking that a starting-caliber X receiver is gonna be cheap are not paying very close attention.

Respect for the Texans' big swings to support their QB.

lol but you don’t want us to give Milton Williams a contract when we have nothing on defense?

 

[kerouac9]

lol but you don’t want us to give Milton Williams a contract when we have nothing on defense?

I don't think Milton Williams fixes a problem.