Free Agent Tracker

By: Lucas Kochevar 

        This post will consistently be updated with notable free agent news. The NFL's legal tampering period started as teams can officially start negotiations towards contracts for this years free agents. Slight analysis, mostly news. 
 
The Big Nasties Get Paid
          The offensive line seemed to be a big priority as free agency negotiations started to get leaked. The morning started with Kevin Zeitler getting a decent 3yrs./$22 million deal with the Ravens to fill one of their guard spots. The Chargers prioritzed protecting star rookie QB Justin Herbert by signing one of the league's best centers, Corey Linsley. Linsley was a key cog in the Packers offense and signed for a whooping 5yrs./$62 million deal as the leagues highest paid center. The biggest surprise from the guard market happened with Joe Thuney got signed to the Kansas City Chiefs for 5yrs./$80 million. Yes, those Kansas City Chiefs. After releasing both starting OTs and restructuring some deals, the Chiefs added cap space to sign the best lineman on the market. These were the big dominoes to fall so far with lineman being a priority to teams early in the process. Smaller signings occurred and many tier 2 and tier 3 guys are still out there for the choosing.

The Wide Receiver Market Moves Slowly
           There are a number of good WRs out on the market as FAs. The biggest domino fell yesterday as former Lions WR Kenny Golladay signed a 4yr./$72 million deal with the New York Giants. Golladay looks to help out young QB Daniel Jones as he tries to take the next step in his development. The Giants have a strong core of weapons now to surround the third year QB. Versatile weapon Curtis Samuel to a 3yr./$35 million deal with the Washington Football Team. Washington adds Samuel as a weapon opposite of WR1 Terry McLaurin. This was one of the more interesting WRs to move this offseason as he proved to be a valuable player inside the red zone for the Panthers last year. The last big move was Juju Smith-Schuster signing back with the Steelers for a 1yr./$8 million deal. Juju had several offers that were for one year, but he finds himself returning to the Steelers on a prove-it deal. WR is a very deep position in this draft class and the thinking around the league is, "Why would I spend so much money on these decent receivers, when I can draft one for cheap and develop them," so many guys are still out there that are quality receivers.