Winners
Receivers looking for big money
When low end receivers get paid big money in free agency, high end receivers pop champagne bottles. Christian Kirk’s mega deal should put a big smile on Davante Adams’ face. If Kirk can pull in $84M over four years, just imagine what elite receivers can demand.
Bengals get reinforcements on the offensive line
Cincinnati was in big need of help on the interior of their offensive line. Guard Alex Cappa should help with that. The Bengals managed to lure him away from the Buccaneers on a four year deal worth $40M. They also picked up G/C Ted Karras on a three-year, $18M deal. It is clearly not lose on the Bengals that keeping their star quarterback healthy was of the utmost importance.
Losers
Jaguars overpay
The headline of the Jaguars free agency class is Christian Kirk. He’s a solid player with some good upside, but he’s now paid as a top three receiver in the NFL. That’s not good value for Jacksonville. He has never had over 1,000 yards in a season and yet is being paid $84M over the next four years. No other reasonable team would pay over $20M/Yr for a secondary or tertiary receiving option. He does bolster a lackluster receiving group, but you have to wonder whether Shad Khan’s loyalty to general manager Trent Baalke is going to ruin the Jaguars’ rookie deal window with Trevor Lawrence.
Seahawks invest in safeties
Quandre Diggs is a great player, but Seattle now has $100M invested in him and Jamal Adams. Safeties just aren’t that impactful in the grand scheme of things. Seattle is in rebuild mode after trading Russell Wilson, but that makes it even more curious as to why they felt the need to retain Diggs. He’s not the solution to helping you win now and the Seahawks are not in a position to compete in the NFC.