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- 2020 NFL Free Agency: Live analysis of the top free agent signings and news — Follow along below as PFF reacts to all of the latest and biggest 2020 NFL free agency news, including re-signings, franchise tag designations, trades, new blockbuster signings and more.
- NFL Free Agency LIVE Deal Grader — The PFF Free Agency Deal Grader will break down all the news using PFF’s play-by-play grading system along with team situations and contract details, and we'll assign each deal into one of six categories: Elite, Very Good, Above Average, Average, Below Average or Poor. It will be upgraded throughout the week as additional news comes in.
- 2020 NFL Free Agency: PFF Improvement Index for all 32 teams — Over the past several months, PFF has used the machine learning capabilities of AWS to develop a measure to quantify the value gained and lost by each team in the offseason — we’re calling it the Improvement Index.
- Ranking the 100 best available NFL free agents remaining in 2020 — PFF has provided you with our top 100 free agent rankings over the last few weeks and we will continue to do so all throughout the coming days by updating the list after every single signing made.
Done deals & Developments
- 2020 NFL Free Agency: Examining the NFL's recently released players — As NFL free agency unfolds, many players will be released around the NFL. Here’s a look at the recently released players and where they stand at this point in their respective careers.
- 2020 NFL Free Agency: S Justin Simmons tagged by Denver Broncos — As expected, the Denver Broncos have used the franchise tag on free safety Justin Simmons. The franchise designation for free safeties carries with it a one-year guaranteed salary of $12,474,000 and will allow Justin Simmons another year in Vic Fangio’s defense to prove he is worth signing to a long-term deal.
- How the Indianapolis Colts can build a contender after signing Anthony Castonzo — The Indianapolis Colts have officially brought back left tackle Anthony Castonzo on a two-year, $33 million deal, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
- 2020 NFL Free Agency: Jacksonville Jaguars franchise tag pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue — Days before the franchise tag deadline, the Jacksonville Jaguars placed their tag on edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue for a guaranteed price tag around $18,000,000 for the 2020 NFL season.
- 2020 NFL Free Agency: Minnesota Vikings re-sign QB Kirk Cousins — With a year remaining on the unusual three-year, fully-guaranteed contract that the Minnesota Vikings gave Kirk Cousins in 2018, the team has decided to effectively recreate it by signing Cousins to a two-year extension.
- 2020 NFL Free Agency: Dallas Cowboys franchise tag QB Dak Prescott — Dallas made the move everybody expected on the eve of free agency and placed the franchise tag on quarterback Dak Prescott, preventing him from hitting the open market while the two sides work on a long-term extension.
- Arizona Cardinals pulled off one of the biggest steals in NFL history by acquiring DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans — Even though the Houston Texans have made some questionable trades in the past — like trading two first-round picks and a second-round pick for Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills, and trading Jadeveon Clowney away for a third-round pick and a couple of lower-tier players — no one expected this to actually happen. Then, a few hours later, it actually happened.
- Buffalo Bills trading for Stefon Diggs is a huge step toward a Super Bowl-caliber team — The Buffalo Bills made significant strides offensively from 2018 to 2019. Their expected points added (EPA) per play jumped nine spots from their second-to-last ranking in 2018 — the third-largest improvement in the NFL behind only the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens.
- New Browns tight end Austin Hooper is not the difference-maker many expect him to be — On the surface, the interest in Hooper and the ensuing deal is understandable. Last season, he was a top-10 tight end in both PFF grade and PFF WAR. He will not turn 26 years old until midway through next season, and he has shown himself to be durable, playing over 700 offensive snaps in each of the past three seasons. Hooper looks the part of a complete tight end. A deeper dive into the numbers, however, shows that his production has some caveats.
- Cleveland Browns filled a big hole with Jack Conklin's signing and didn't overpay to do so — Cleveland Browns fans and Baker Mayfield can both collectively breathe a sigh of relief. The Browns secured their starting right tackle for the foreseeable future when they signed former Tennessee Titans first-rounder Jack Conklin to a three-year, $42 million deal. It was a fairly modest price to pay for PFF’s 21st-ranked free agent and second-ranked tackle set to hit the market (behind Anthony Castonzo).
- Amari Cooper is more than worthy of his $100 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys — With Amari Cooper, the Dallas Cowboys have a receiver who they can count on to consistently beat man coverage. This value can’t be understated. Cooper earned the fourth-highest grade of any wideout in the NFL when facing man coverage last year. He was quite simply Dallas’ only reliable option against man coverage in 2019.
- Six options for the Patriots’ next quarterback — Brady has been the starter for the last 20 seasons, but it’s now time to move on as he announced his intention to play elsewhere in 2020. So where does that leave the Patriots? Here’s a look at their potential options.
- Potential landing spots for Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton —We’ve been up and down this road a lot over the last year, but this time it is official — the Carolina Panthers intend to move on from quarterback Cam Newton and have permitted him to seek a trade partner.
- Is it time for the New Orleans Saints to manage Drew Brees' workload? — With his age, it’s clear he isn’t the player he once was physically, and so it’s worth taking a look at just what kind of player Brees is right now and how likely another Super Bowl run is in a stacked NFL.
- Teddy Bridgewater: Bridge or building block for the Carolina Panthers? — Teddy Bridgewater has finally worked his way back to being a starting NFL quarterback, signing a three-year deal in free agency with the Carolina Panthers.
- Tom Brady's legacy in New England is cemented — Let’s look at Brady’s evolution and how he changed with the times during the 20-year opus that ended on St. Paddy’s Day 2020.
- By signing Philip Rivers, the Indianapolis Colts are AFC South favorites in 2020 — When I looked at five potential landing spots for Rivers in late January, the Colts held the No. 1 slot, and I wasn’t alone in that opinion. There were plenty of people linking the two sides — and for good reason.
- Safety Anthony Harris is a key component in the Vikings defense — In today’s NFL, there is a premium on playmaking defensive backs who can steal the ball and limit offensive touchdowns.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a contender for Super Bowl LV with Tom Brady at QB — After a few months of laughing at the idea of him playing for anyone other than the New England Patriots, and then another few months of second-guessing that thought, and then another few months of debating his potential landing spots and guessing whether or not he had the “guts” to leave, Tom Brady finally announced his intent to leave the New England Patriots.
- A stacked Philadelphia Eagles defensive line got even better with the Javon Hargrave signing — While many expected the Philadelphia Eagles to look hard at the wide receiver and cornerback positions this offseason, the team's first big move came along the defensive line. Philadelphia signed former Pittsburgh Steelers interior defender Javon Hargrave to a three-year, $39 million deal to open free agency, a deal that we categorized as “Very Good” for the Eagles in the 2020 NFL Free Agency LIVE Deal Grader.
- Cleveland Browns free agency moves putting all the focus on Baker Mayfield for 2020 — The point is that the Browns moves this offseason have been about eliminating those variables from the equation so they can fairly judge Mayfield and, as much as possible, only Mayfield this coming season. Or, another way of looking at it: They are doing everything possible to build around Mayfield to give him the best chance to succeed.
- Las Vegas Raiders land free agency’s top coverage linebacker in Cory Littleton — The Raiders arrived in Las Vegas with the league's fifth-worst pass coverage unit from 2019. So, in the early days of free agency, they decided to go for broke by signing the best coverage linebacker on the market, inking Cory Littleton to a three-year, $36 million deal with $22 million guaranteed.
- Early winners and losers in 2020 NFL free agency — Some teams and player situations improved while others got worse, so with that in mind, here are some early winners and losers of the offseason.
- The addition of Chris Harris Jr. gives the Chargers a potentially special secondary — Chris Harris Jr. was one of the best free agents available and ended up choosing the Los Angeles Chargers as his destination for 2020 and beyond, giving the team quite the group of defensive backs.
- Darius Slay is poised to bounce back for the Philadelphia Eagles — This week, the Philadelphia Eagles traded two draft picks to the Detroit Lions in exchange for cornerback Darius Slay in an aggressive move to re-tool their secondary. Slay is coming off the second-lowest PFF grade of his career and the worst since his rookie season of 2013. However, the PFF consensus is that it’s the right move for the Eagles and one that should pay off. Why the discrepancy? It’s all about how to use the PFF grade and data in order to make an informed decision.
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