Free Agency Recap - Period 1

by Crimsion | 6 years ago | 4 Comments

As the SFL season came to a close and the Atlanta Falcons added yet another peice of hardware to their collection teams went back to the drawing board in an effort to rebuild and retool. The slate was wiped clean, the records were reset and every team in the SFL believed that this upcoming year was theirs.

That's where things get interesting, teams looking to improve quickly took to the free agent market to find their missing pieces, franchise quarterbacks and depth.

Here are some of the top sigings after week 1.

FS - Devin McCourty (90) - 1yr/$24M

The New York Jets have a busy off-season ahead of them even outside of this free agency period, but they started things off with a bang. Following a disappointing 2019-2020 campaign they vowed to come back stronger than ever, armed to the teeth with a plethora of draft picks, Steps and his crew brought in a veteran safety to play alongside Jamaal Adams for at least one season.

The former Patriot finished this past season with 73 total tackles and 3 interceptions. He'll act as a solid piece to this secondary and a very important mentor to this young roster.

LE - Calais Campbell (87) - 1yr/$14.2M

Coming off a Super Bowl loss at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons, Chan, Gabe, whomever did this first round of Free Agency, made it clear that they had one thing in mind, and that was getting to the quarterback. The Texans looked all over the league in effort to secure another pass-rusher to play alongide J.J. Watt, and they found their man in former Jacksonville Jaguar, Calais Campbell.

The 12 year veteran had a down year this past season, only recording 4.0 sacks and only playing 363 downs. It was apparent that he was phased out of the plan in Jacksonville, but could get things going once again here in Houston.

FS - Derrick Kindred (84) - 6yrs/$46M

It's not everday that you see a young talent like Derrick Kindred available on the open market, but the Cleveland Browns decided to part ways with the TCU product and Matt decided he was worth the money. Kindred didn't amount to much in Cleveland, not that their system did not fit him, but he just didn't perform to the level he should have. Kindred had 6 interceptions throughout his first four years in the league, a single sack and didn't bat down a single pass in the 2019 season. 

Seattle may have a fairly raw product on their hands, but this system will rely on Kindred to learn the ropes quickly and make a massive impact from day one.

QB - Marcus Mariota (83) - 4yrs/$121M

Marcus Mariota will have some big shoes to fill when it comes to his role within this Jacksonville Jaguars offense. Last season the Jags looked to new signee Case Keenum to carry the load, but felt as if he didn't live up to the hype and decided to move on a year into his two-year deal. Keenum only found the end-zone 8 times last season, while Mariota tossed 22 touchdown passes.

This move by the Jaguars may not put them over the top in a very tough AFC South division, but it shows that they are in win now mode, they just need to show up each and every week and prove that investing in this seasoned signal caller was the right call.

LG - Andrew Whitworth (83) - 1yr/$21.6M

Offensive lineman are few and far between when it comes to those that can make a big difference on the field. With the likes of Whitworth hitting the open market, many teams offered up to sign the 38-year old, but in the end it was the Kansas City Chiefs who won the sweepstakes.

Finishin 9-7 and just missing the playoffs, the Chiefs knew they needed to make a move that would make them better right now, so throwing down over $20 million in cap was a necessity. With their franchise man under centre and looking for an extension following this season Whitworth will be given the task of keeping him upright, something that this line did a pretty good job at last season with Patrick Mahomes only going down 38 times.