NFL offseason chaos kicked off earlier this week, with many teams making moves to alter the leagues landscape.
This year, the NFL’s salary cap was set at 279.2 million. This means that no team can spend more than 279.2 million on their team’s roster. This is a large increase from 255.4 million (last season).
The Las Vegas Raiders kicked things off by releasing star receiver Davante Adams. Adams would go on to sign a 2 year contract with the Rams worth up to $44 million, with $26 million guaranteed. The Raiders releasing of Adams frees up 28.4 million dollars in free agency.
Many other teams released prolific players, such as the Los Angeles Chargers releasing five time pro bowler Joey Bosa. Bosa was a dominant player for the chargers, racking up the 2016 rookie of the year and five pro bowls for the franchise. Bosa then signed with the Buffalo Bills on a one year 12.6 million dollar contract.
The third notable star player to get released was 6x pro bowl corner Darius Slay. Slay has been regarded as one of the league’s top cornerbacks over the years. A few days later, Slay signed to the Steelers on a one year 10 million dollar contract. Slay will now play for his third team after playing well for the Eagles and Lions.
“It is part of the business, and, nah, I'm not hurt about it. "I'm not sad about it because this is what I signed up for. I knew I gave that team everything I had, the organization everything I had. So, it's always a possibility, though, of your boy coming back. It's not always throw it in the back, but this time I'm just thankful enough that I could get ahead of free agency if I find me a good destination for myself,” Eagles corner Darius Slay said.
Other teams, however, focused on extending their players. The Eagles extended linebacker Zach Baun with a 3 year $51 million deal. Baun was a key piece to the loaded super bowl champion’s defense, with him setting career highs in tackles, sacks, forced fumbles, pass deflections, and stuffs.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin agreed to a 3 year 66 million dollar deal with the Bucs. Godwin has spent every year of his 8 year career for the Bucs and has become a beloved and well accomplished player for the franchise.
"But at the end of the day, like I was mentioning in the presser, I have to go based off my gut, I have to go based off my intuition and what I think is going to be best for us in the long run. Being here, where we call home, where we feel the most comfortable, where we can raise our newborn son, I think all those things are big factors for us in making this decision," Godwin said.
The Bengals franchise tagged star receiver Tee Higgins for the second straight season. A franchise tag is essentially a one year contract that keeps the player from entering free agency. The franchise tag averages out the money for the top 10 paid players at a position, and pays it to the player on a one year guaranteed deal.
The top free agent quarterback according to ESPN Sam Darnold signed to the Seahawks on a 3 year 101 million dollar contract. This comes just a day after the Seahawks traded QB Geno Smith to the Raiders. The new QB change keeps Darnold in the NFC and eliminates the possibility of the Seahawks taking a quarterback in the upcoming NFL draft.
The Cardinals signed defensive end Josh Sweat. Sweat is considered a top 5 free agent and the best defensive edge available. Sweat reunites with Coach Johnathan Gannon, who coached Sweat during his career best season in 2022. Sweat joins a team that finished in the bottom five in sacks and pressures in 2024.
Defensive tackle Milton Williams received a 4 year 104 million dollar deal with the Patriots. The Patriots address a big need of an edge rusher by acquiring the best defensive tackle available.
So far NFL free agency has been wild with many more signings likely to happen during the next couple of days.
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