The 2019 NFL Free Agency period began with a flurry during the legal tampering window before officially opening on Wednesday, March 13 at 4 PM. With deals going official at will after that date, we kick off our PFF 2019 NFL Free Agency Deal Grader, taking a look at all the signings once we have official financial details, big or small, and pitting them against our PFF grading system.
A deal will receive an Elite, Very Good, Good, Average, Below Average or Poor grade based on our system of grading and be influenced by player grade, player age, full official contract details as well as other factors. Follow along with our 2019 Free Agency live blog for all other news and rumors as our team of analysts sift through all the news with an eye on player evaluation through our analysis.
We will be updating our Deal Grader as we get official word on the specific contracts, and so, without further ado, our grades on all 2019 NFL Free Agency deals:
Packers sign S Adrian Amos to a four-year, $36M deal, $12M guaranteed
When you compare this to some of the other deals handed out to safeties this week, most notably Landon Collins and Tyrann Mathieu, this is incredible value for the Green Bay Packers. Amos has been a top-10 safety in PFF grades in each of the past two seasons and while he's not going to make as many highlight-reel plays as the likes of his former Bears teammate Eddie Jackson, he's a really good safety. He plays the run well, can run with tight ends downfield and can force incompletions by timing his hits perfectly. One of the best signings of free agency so far. — @PFF_Gordon
Rams sign S Eric Weddle to a two-year, $12.5M deal, $6.3M guaranteed
Eric Weddle is getting on in years, but he remains a consistently productive player whose overall PFF grade in 2018 was 80.7, a top-10 figure at the position. Weddle is versatile and can line up at any spot you need a safety to play, allowing a defense to do a lot schematically, and the Rams aren't committed long term to him in case his decline speeds up. — @PFF_Sam
Buccaneers sign Edge Shaquil Barrett to a one-year, $5M deal
The Bucs had very little cap space to work with in 2019 and made their lone big move in signing the former Broncos edge defender who became expendable when Denver selected Bradley Chubb in last year's draft. Barrett may be somewhat of an unknown to some, living in Von Miller's shadow his entire career, but he has shown a strong ability to get tot he passer and graded positively in run defense in each of his four seasons. He's never graded below a 75.5 overall, and outside of Robert Ayers' 2017 anomaly of a season for Tampa, Barrett has graded higher than any other Bucs edge defender since 2015. This is a low-risk, high-reward signing for the Bucs, and if they can get a breakout year from Barrett, he'll lock up some serious cash after this season. — @PFF_Cam
Bears sign S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to a one-year, $3.5M deal
The safety market rebounded in a big way this offseason, with a number of prominent players cashing in, including former Bears safety Adrian Amos who latched on with the Packers. While Amos has been among the best, most sound safeties in football in recent years, replacing him with Clinton-Dix on a low-cost deal represents tremendous value. Despite changing teams mid-season, the former Alabama product finished with a career-best 82.0 coverage grade that ranked 14th among safeties. Clinton-Dix hasn't been as consistent as the man he will replace, but his versatility and playmaking ability paired with Eddie Jackson should give the Bears a quality safety tandem yet again in 2019. — @PFF_David
Lions add edge Trey Flowers, sign him to a five-year, $90M deal, $50M guaranteed
It's a lot of money, but it's also market value for one of the top edge defenders in the NFL. Flowers hit free agency at 26 years old, is coming off a career year where he was the third highest-graded player in the regular season at the position and has the positional versatility that allows him to play across the defensive line. A player who can make an impact on the edge and on the defensive interior, Flowers might not have been a bargain salary wise, but he improves the Lions defense. — @PFF_Gordon
Titans sign edge Cameron Wake to a three-year, $23M deal, $10M guaranteed
How long can Cameron Wake continue to be an effective pass-rusher in the NFL despite his advancing years? Well, until his performance drops off, deals like this are always going to be good value. Wake registered a sack, hit or hurry once every 5.8 pass-rushing snaps in 2018 and finished the year with a PFF pass-rushing grade of 81.1, the 11th-highest at the position. Getting a high-quality veteran pass-rusher for less than $8M per year is nice business for Tennessee. — @PFF_Gordon
Cardinals sign Jordan Hicks to a four-year, $36M deal, $12M guaranteed
Hicks was our top-ranked off-ball linebacker available in free agency this season due to his abilities in coverage. In his four seasons with the Eagles, his lowest coverage grade for a season was 71.5 in 2017, a mark still above average. He has surrendered just one touchdown into his coverage in each of his four NFL seasons and has accumulated seven interceptions and seven pass breakups in that span. Josh Bynes was Arizona's highest-graded linebacker in coverage last year (63.7), and he remains a free agent. — @PFF_Josh
Raiders sign S Lamarcus Joyner to a four-year, $42M deal, $16.7M guaranteed
Joyner is coming off a franchise tag season after grading as one of the best safeties in the game in 2017 that was buoyed by an elite coverage grade of 91.2. He was unable to replicate those lofty grades but still performed at a good level in 2018 with a coverage grade of 70.9 and an overall 73.1 grade. He provides Oakland with a true deep safety with good range to allow Karl Joseph the freedom to roam the box. — @JohnKosko3
Bills sign OT Ty Nsekhe to a two-year, $14.5M deal, $7.7M guaranteed
Ty Nsekhe may be the game's best swing tackle, having shown over the past few seasons that he can fill in and start along multiple positions on the offensive line. He also has high-quality starts at left tackle, such as an 81.9 PFF grade against the Falcons this past season. And Buffalo got him for similar money to Bobby Hart in Cincinnati. — @PFF_Sam
Browns sign DI Sheldon Richardson to a three-year, $39M deal, $21.5M guaranteed
Sheldon Richardson may forever tease even greater potential than the production he has shown in his career, but he will be consistently productive and add significant pressure to the interior of the Browns' defense. He has averaged 47 total pressures over his career, which would have been second on the Browns in 2018, and he now gives Cleveland one of the meanest looking front-fours in the game. — @PFF_Sam
Bills sign RB Frank Gore to a one-year, $2M deal
Minimal money for an ageless wonder who somehow remains not only productive but also out-grading his raw statistics, you can't help but like this deal. — @PFF_Sam
Ravens sign S Earl Thomas to a four-year, $55M deal, $32M deal
Arguably the best free agent available this offseason and possibly even the best safety since entering the NFL in 2010, Thomas has notched at least a coverage grade of 89.1 in five of the last six seasons. Thomas comes with a small amount of risk because of his age and coming off a broken leg but even if he comes back at 85% of what he was, the Ravens likely improved on the backend despite their loss of Eric Weddle. — @JohnKosko3
Eagles sign DI Malik Jackson to a three-year, $30M deal
Over the past four seasons, only four interior defensive linemen have more quarterback pressures than Malik Jackson. Jackson had a down year grade-wise last season in Jacksonville, but at just 29 years old, should have good football left in him. Jackson and Fletcher Cox could be one of the more formidable duos on the interior in the NFL. — @PFF_Louie
Panthers sign OT Daryl Williams to a one-year, $6M deal
Williams is coming off a knee injury that limited him to just 56 snaps in 2018. In his last full season, the four-year pro had a career year, earning a 79.0 pass-block grade that ranked 17th among tackles, surrendering 35 total pressures across 601 pass-block snaps. Even average tackle play can be difficult to come by, and getting that on a one-year deal for just $6 million represents good value for the Panthers. — @PFF_David
Bears sign WR Cordarrelle Patterson to a two-year, $10M deal, $5M guaranteed
Patterson showed last season for the Patriots that his skill set is capable of being utilized outside of just kick returns, and Bears head coach Matt Nagy has the type of creativity in his game planning needed to take advantage. In 45 carries last year, Patterson averaged an impressive 4.16 yards after initial contact, and Tom Brady had a passer rating of 127.0 when targeting him in the passing game. — @PFF_Josh
Chargers sign QB Tyrod Taylor to a two-year, $11M deal, $6M guaranteed
This deal is friendly to the Chargers in the sense that they got a starting-caliber quarterback for backup money. Since 2016, Taylor has limited his turnover-worthy plays better than any other qualified quarterback, just 1.5% of his dropbacks resulted in a TWP, and at worst he's a reliable backup who should be able to pick up the scheme in LA and should be able to do enough to not lose the games for the Chargers if thrust into action. — @PFF_Cam
Patriots sign CB Jason McCourty to a two-year, $10M deal, $5.5M guaranteed
The Patriots re-signed one of the most underrated players of the 2018 season in McCourty. Although McCourty will turn 32 by the time the season starts, he showed no signs of decline as he earned an overall grade of 82.3, which was the highest of his career and ranked sixth among cornerbacks in the NFL. McCourty also had a career-high 13 pass breakups, including his key play of separating a seemingly wide open Brandin Cooks from the ball in the end zone in Super Bowl LIII where he earned the highest coverage grade of all players. — @PFF_Zoltan
Panthers sign C Matt Paradis to a three-year, $27M deal, $10M guaranteed
Including his injury-plagued 2018 season, Paradis has earned 74.0-plus overall grades in all four years he’s played in the NFL. He also earned a career-best 90.2 overall grade in 2016, which was largely propped up by his 90.0 run-blocking grade that season.
Paradis’ four-year grade (86.7) ranks fourth among the 29 centers with 2,000 or more snaps in the NFL since 2015. Only Travis Frederick (91.7), Alex Mack (91.7) and Jason Kelce (91.1) rank ahead of him in overall grade. Paradis also ranks fourth in run-blocking grade (85.0) and 10th in pass-blocking grade (82.3) on the list.
A healthy Paradis is well worth the $9 million Carolina will throw his way on average per year, especially considering his high-floor production and 2016 ceiling. — @PFF_AustinGayle
Packers sign edge Preston Smith to a four-year, $52M deal, $16M guaranteed
Like Za'Darius Smith, Preston Smith heads to Green Bay on the back of a career year and in reality is a better deal than the other Smith simply because he represents a little better value. He set career highs in PFF grade (76.9), total pressures (53) and tackles resulting in a defensive stop (27). Pairing the two Smiths on the edge has definitely improved the Packers defense heading into 2019. — @PFF_Gordon
Titans sign OG Rodger Saffold to a four-year, $44M deal, $22.5M guaranteed
Saffold was one of the top offensive linemen available in free agency this year, and his addition at least on paper gives the Titans one of the top offensive lines in the league. The fact that his 72.6 pass-blocking grade in 2018 was his second-lowest in the past seven seasons speaks to how consistent he is in the discipline. In four playoff games over the past two seasons, he did not surrender a single sack or hit. — @PFF_Josh
Texans sign CB Bradley Roby to a one-year, $10M deal
Roby had a down 2018, grading out at just 58.6 while allowing passer rating of 113.0 into his coverage. Though, in 2017, he finished as the 23rd-ranked cornerback with a grade of 78.3 and an 84.0 passer rating against. Which type of season the Texans will get out of Roby remains to be seen, but he has shown he can perform as an above-average boundary corner in this league. And a one-year prove-it deal makes sense to test what kind of player he can be for Houston. — @PFF_Louie
Bills sign WR John Brown to a three-year, $27M deal, $10.1M guaranteed
John Brown showed last season in Baltimore he could still get open, and when Joe Flacco was the quarterback, he was a viable deep threat. Josh Allen took a deep shot on 19.7% of his attempts as a rookie, by far the most of any quarterback in the league, so this is a connection with potential for big plays. — @PFF_Sam
Bills sign WR Cole Beasley to a four-year, $29M deal, $14.4M guaranteed
While the fit is intriguing considering QB Josh Allen's accuracy concerns and Beasley's propensity to work underneath (46 of his 69 receptions in 2018 came on routes less than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage), he is an intriguing player who was likely under-utilized in Dallas. Over his past three seasons, 761 of his 1907 receiving yards came after the catch, and he dropped just 6-of-189 catchable balls thrown his way. — @PFF_Josh
Jets sign WR Jamison Crowder to a three-year, $28M deal, $17M guaranteed
Despite coming off the least productive season of his four-year professional career with Washington (due in part to injuries keeping him out of seven games), Crowder should prove to be a solid target out of the slot for second-year quarterback Sam Darnold. Of his career 2643 receiving yards, 1299 of them he earned after the catch, but he does have 17 total drops and four fumbles to his name. — @PFF_Josh
Redskins sign S Landon Collins to a six-year, $84M deal, $44.5M guaranteed
When used properly, Collins is a very good player. He doesn't have the range of a deep safety as a single-high defender so his best position is in the box, covering the slot, matching up with tight ends or running backs and covering deep in a quarters or deep-half look. Collins' deal is a bit rich but Washington is getting a player to fill a position of need in the prime of his career. — @JohnKosko3
Lions sign CB Justin Coleman to a four-year, $36M deal, $19M guaranteed
One of the first deals agreed upon on Monday once the legal tampering window opened, this is quietly a shrewd move by the Lions. Detroit has long struggled on passes from the slot, and only three cornerbacks have bested Coleman's 84.9 cumulative coverage grade when targeted from the slot over the past three seasons. — @PFF_Josh
Raiders sign WR Tyrell Williams to a four-year, $44M deal, $22M guaranteed
Oakland's revamp of their wide receiving corps continues with the addition of former Chargers wideout Tyrell Williams on a four-year deal to pair with Antonio Brown. Williams' calling card has been the deep ball, seeing over 25% of his targets on throws of 20 yards or more downfield over the past three seasons, totaling 1,039 yards on 66 such targets (11th-most). It remains to be seen how Williams fits with quarterback Derek Carr should he, in fact, enter the season as the Raiders' starting quarterback. Carr has been among the more conservative quarterbacks in the league — his 7.9 yard average depth of target is tied for the fifth shortest among quarterbacks with at least 500 dropbacks in the last three years. — @PFF_David
Redskins sign RB Adrian Peterson to a two-year, $5.03M deal, $1.5M guaranteed
Many — including yours truly — have written off Peterson over the last couple years, however, he bounced back in Washington at the age of 33 by earning his highest overall grade since 2013 and ranking 20th among running backs. Peterson showed that he still has something left in the tank as he averaged 3.0 yards after contact, which was his highest mark since 2012. Although the former Viking has always been a somewhat one-dimensional back, in 2018 he earned his highest receiving grade since his rookie campaign, which shows that he can still be part of an offense in 2019. — @PFF_Zoltan
Colts sign CB Pierre Desir to a three-year, $22.5M deal, $12M guaranteed
Desir stays in Indianapolis after a career year with the Colts a season ago. He was impressive against the run, producing a PFF run-defense grade of 90.3, and made plenty of plays on the ball in coverage. While he had just the one interception, he finished the 2018 season with 10 pass breakups. — @PFF_Gordon
Chargers sign LB Thomas Davis to a two-year, $10.5M deal, $5.25M guaranteed
The veteran Davis showed last season in Carolina that at the age of 35 he can still play at a high level with his overall grade of 74.2, ranking as the 19th-highest among linebackers. Davis bounced back after two down seasons and had his best season since 2015 as he excelled in coverage especially. Davis fills a need in Los Angeles since linebacker Denzel Perryman has failed to play more than 500 snaps in each of his four seasons and the rest of the young linebacker corps lacks experience. — @PFF_Zoltan
Texans sign S Tashaun Gipson to a three-year, $22.5M deal, $11.3M guaranteed
Gipson is a solid deep safety with the range to track the whole field but will have lapses on occasion and give up the big play. His 70.7 overall grade, boosted by his work in coverage (71.9), is his best season since 2014 when he was part of the Cleveland Browns. The Texans hope to continue the upswing and get him at a reasonable deal. — @JohnKosko3
Dolphins sign WR DeVante Parker to a two-year, $11.1M deal, $4.5M guaranteed
Parker will get a chance at a fresh start in a familiar locale, with the new coaching staff in Miami opting to bring back the former first-round pick in what is ultimately a one-year prove-it deal with no guaranteed money after the first season. Parker hasn't been able to live up to the expectations his draft status placed upon him and injuries have kept him out of significant action, but he's been solid with the opportunities provided to him, earning grades between 69.2 and 75.1 in all four of his pro seasons. The talent is there, the risk is minimal, and if the new staff can squeeze more production out of the former Louisville star (and, of course, he can stay on the field) the opportunity to get value above that of the contract is there. — @PFF_David
Rams sign edge Dante Fowler Jr. to a one-year, $12M deal
The former top-five pick did not pan out in Jacksonville, however, he made some big improvements in his fourth season in the NFL as he ended up with a grade of 67.3 for the season, which was a career high for him. Fowler still failed to stay consistent but he showed early in the season against New England and in the NFC Championship Game that when he is at his best, he can take over a game, which justifies the Rams bringing him back for another season. — @PFF_Zoltan
Jets sign DI Henry Anderson to a three-year, $25.2M deal, $17M guaranteed
Anderson hasn't quite lived up to our expectations of him coming out of college but he's proven to be a reliable run stopper with solid production rushing the passer. His 76.5 grade in 2018 is a career high as he finished with eight sacks, nine hits and 31 hurries and will be under his third defensive coordinator in as many years. — @JohnKosko3
Seahawks sign LB K.J. Wright to a two-year, $15.5M deal
Wright got injured at an unfortunate time right before becoming a free agent as 2018 was the first season since his rookie campaign where he played fewer than 800 snaps. However, Wright has been a model of consistency throughout his career. While he has not been able to get back to the nearly elite form he showed in 2015 when he earned a grade of 86.4, he graded above 65.0 but below 76.0 in every other season. In addition, he has been one of the more complete linebackers in the NFL who can do it all – defend the run, rush the passer and drop back into coverage as well. — @PFF_Zoltan
49ers sign CB Jason Verrett to a one-year, $3.6M deal
Verrett has played 864 snaps in coverage since 2014, earning a 90.6 coverage grade, though he has been injured for much of the past three seasons including all of 2018. Whether Verrett can ever be elite again like he was before an injury derailed a promising career remains to be seen, but $3.6 million is worth the gamble of getting a potentially elite cover corner when healthy. — @PFF_Louie
Jets sign CB Brian Poole to a one-year, $3.5M deal
Poole is a slot corner who has provided value throughout his career on blitzes. While he allowed 73.3% of throws into his coverage to be completed during his three seasons in Atlanta, he finished strong last year by not allowing a touchdown after Week 6 and committing only two penalties. — @PFF_Josh
Lions sign WR Danny Amendola to a one-year, $5.75M deal, $4.5M guaranteed
Amendola played through lackluster quarterback play in Miami last season and still finished the season with the 14th-highest catch rate from the slot at 79.6%. He's a capable weapon over the middle and one the Lions will hope can help fill the void left by Golden Tate. Amendola's presence in the locker room as a potential veteran leader as well as his prowess on the field should pay dividends and is well worth the cost of just $4.5 million guaranteed over the next season. — @PFF_Cam
Jets sign RB Le'Veon Bell to a four-year, $52.5M deal, $35M guaranteed
There are few teams in the NFL that Le'Veon Bell wouldn't materially upgrade with his talents, but the question was always going to come down to money after he sat out the entirety of 2018 looking for a big contract. Bell's peak year of 2015 saw him earn an overall PFF grade of 89.7, one of the best marks we've ever seen, and he can help in all facets of the game on offense. — @PFF_Sam
Packers sign edge Za'Darius Smith to a four-year, $66M deal, $34.5M guaranteed
The Packers are taking a little bit of a gamble here, given that Smith's 2018 season was significantly better than his first three years in the league, but they are adding a player who was tied for the 14th-highest PFF pass-rushing grade among edge defenders in 2018. With 10 sacks, 17 hits and 34 pressures in his final year in Baltimore, he has the opportunity to provide a big improvement to the Packers defense if he can continue at that level and beyond. — @PFF_Gordon
Broncos sign CB Kareem Jackson to a three-year, $33M deal, $23M guaranteed
Jackson was the 14th highest-graded cornerback in the NFL last year and produced a PFF coverage grade of 74.2 and a PFF run-defense grade of 90.5, both of which ranked in the top 25 among cornerbacks. If you're looking for a shutdown corner, you're going to be disappointed, but Jackson is solid value at $11M per year. — @PFF_Gordon
Broncos sign OT Ja'Wuan James to a four-year, $52M deal, $25M guaranteed
James has been a solid but not great starter throughout his career while being plagued with injuries that kept him sidelined for several games in 2015 and 2017. He's coming off just his third (almost) full season in 2018 and it coincides with a career low in pressures allowed at 26 but a career high in sacks allowed at seven. James' 70.8 overall grade ranked 32nd at the offensive tackle position in 2018 but for a Broncos team that started Jared Veldheer at RT and failed to regain his early career form of having five seasons of at least a 77.5 overall grade, it was a needed improvement. — @JohnKosko3
Colts sign WR Devin Funchess to a one-year, $10M deal, $7M guaranteed
Devin Funchess finished 2018 with an overall grade of 68.0, which would be the second-highest on the Colts roster. Out of his 46 receptions, 35 went for a first down or touchdown, however, he averaged just 1.9 yards after catch per reception, which tied for 114th out of 116 qualified receivers. He also caught just 35.0% of his contested catch opportunities, which ranked 84th in the NFL and would have been last of Colts wide receivers. Similar to Bradley Roby, a one-year, prove-it deal makes sense for the Colts. — @PFF_Louie
Bills sign C Mitch Morse to a four-year, $44M deal, $20.4M guaranteed
The need at center (and throughout Buffalo's offensive line for that matter) was significant, and when healthy, Morse represents an upgrade at the position, albeit an expensive one. Morse has gotten consistently better in pass protection during his four years in the league, as his season pass-blocking grade while with the Chiefs never fell below 70.0 but his run-blocking grades never reached that mark. On 534 pass-blocks in 2018, he gave up no sacks, just one quarterback hit and four hurries. — @PFF_Josh
Saints sign RB Latavius Murray to a four-year, $14.4M deal, $7.2M guaranteed
The Saints signing of their Mark Ingram placeholder in Latavius Murray isn’t a flashy one, as his missed tackles forced per attempt rate of 0.10 tied for just 37th out of 47 qualified running backs. Though, in Murray, they are getting a reliable player who did not have a fumble or drop a pass in 2018. Murray’s pass-block grade of 72.6 ranked tied for 15th among qualified running backs as well, rounding out his skill set. — @PFF_Louie
Jets sign LB C.J. Mosley to a five-year, $85 million deal, $51M guaranteed
On the surface, these numbers are eye-popping, and it might seem crazy that Mosley is earning over $4 million per year more than Carolina's Luke Kuechly, but it's important to remember that Kuechly's deal was signed back in 2015. As soon as Kwon Alexander signed for $13.5million per year, Mosley was always going to come in significantly higher than that. Mosley ranked 22nd among linebackers with a 73.6 PFF grade in the regular season and playoffs and is an upgrade at the position for the Jets. Yes, they have overpaid at least a bit, but that's often the nature of free agency. — @PFF_Gordon
Bucs sign WR Breshad Perriman to a one-year, $4M deal
The Bucs took advantage of the Odell Beckham Jr. trade by honoring the same offer the Browns had originally extended to Perriman. Perriman struggled to stay on the field with Baltimore, the team to originally draft him, but finally was able to show some flashes for the Browns last season. He caught all 16 catchable balls thrown his way last year, and Browns QB Baker Mayfield had a 134.2 rating when targeting Perriman. — @PFF_Josh
Browns sign TE Demetrius Harris to a two-year, $6M deal, $3.25M guaranteed
The Browns signed Harris to play the same role that he did in Kansas City by complementing fellow tight end David Njoku similarly to how he did with Travis Kelce with the Chiefs. Harris was one of the best run-blocking tight ends in the NFL last season as his run-blocking grade of 72.0 ranked ninth at the position. While he is not really a true receiving threat, he could become a decent red-zone target for Baker Mayfield as his three receiving touchdowns in the red zone were tied for 11th most among tight ends last season. — @PFF_Zoltan
Bucs sign LB Deone Bucannon to a one-year, $2.5M deal, $1.45M guaranteed
Bucannon's career hasn't exactly been impressive, but his 2015 season where he produced a PFF grade of 72.6 has been the highlight. He's had a PFF grade south of 50.0 in each of the past two seasons, but this isn't a deal that's costing Tampa Bay a lot of money. If he could replicate that 2015 form he would be a bargain, and set himself up for a decent payday next offseason. — @PFF_Gordon
Falcons sign OG Jamon Brown to a three-year, $13.25M deal, $7M guaranteed
Brown is coming off of a career-low 51.7 overall grade in 2018 with the Giants as his pass-blocking efficiency of 96.2 tied for 52nd among 65 guards with at least 300 snaps in pass protection. Brown's highest-graded season of 66.2 came in 2016 with the Rams as Atlanta has to hope for more of that season than last year for upwards of $4M a year. — @PFF_Louie
Bills sign CB Kevin Johnson to a one-year, $3M deal, $400k guaranteed
The former first-rounder out of Wake Forest never lived up to his No. 16 overall draft status as he's graded below replacement level in three of his four seasons. His 2018 season was cut short due to injury, as was his best season in 2016 but the Bills are giving Johnson a chance he can capture the success he had in his one good year in 2016 where he graded at 80.9 and allowed a passer rating of 68.8. — @JohnKosko3
Chiefs sign RB Carlos Hyde to a one-year, $2.8M deal, $1.5M guaranteed
Hyde is coming off a disappointing season after he was traded from Cleveland to Jacksonville and was later cut by the Jaguars, earning a career-low grade of 52.8. Hyde has always been a one-dimensional back who is a liability in the passing game, which showed in 2018 as well since he earned the second-lowest pass-blocking grade and third-lowest receiving grade among all running backs. However, while 2018 was a down year for him, during his time in San Francisco, he showed that he can contribute to an offense by carrying the ball, which is what the Chiefs can hope for. — @PFF_Zoltan
Steelers sign CB Steven Nelson to a three-year, $25.5M deal, $7.5M guaranteed
Nelson produced a career year with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018, producing a PFF grade of 72.1 and a PFF coverage grade of 71.2. After failing to record an interception in his first three seasons in the league, Nelson picked off four passes in 2018 and added 11 pass breakups. — @PFF_Gordon
49ers sign S Jimmie Ward to a one-year, $4.5M deal
Ward has amassed just 2,483 career snaps over five seasons and has shown at times to be a quality starter. This seems like his last-ditch effort to stay in the league so giving him $4.5M for one year to help bolster their secondary is a relatively safe move for the Niners. — @PFF_Cam
Bears sign RB Mike Davis to a two-year, $7M deal
The Bears added who could be a pivotal piece to their backfield in Davis, who comes to Chi-town off a career year in Seattle. He logged 409 snaps to the tune of a career-high 75.0 overall grade and forced 15 missed tackles to go along with 335 yards after contact. With Jordan Howard's tenure in the air in Chicago and Tarik Cohen the receiving threat out of the backfield, it's not at all unlikely that the Bears have signed who could be their leading ballcarrier to a very team-friendly contract. — @PFF_Cam
Jets sign WR Joshua Bellamy to a two-year, $5M deal
Bellamy hasn't really had the quarterback situation that helps his stock since his time in the league, but he hasn't really done much on his own to warrant much more than $2.5M a year either. Either way, Bellamy is a savvy vet who cut down on the drops a season ago despite seeing just 16 catchable passes thrown his way with the Bears as this low-risk deal behind Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa in New York. — @PFF_Cam
Cowboys sign OT Cameron Fleming to a two-year, $8.5M deal
While Fleming was rarely called into action in 2018 as he played extensively in just three games, he had established himself as one of the better backup swing tackles in the league during his years in New England. Although he struggled mightily in the Cowboys' last regular season game against Olivier Vernon, Fleming's experience can come useful for Dallas, especially with star left tackle Tyron Smith's injury history. — @PFF_Zoltan
49ers sign RB Tevin Coleman to a two-year, $10M deal
Coleman re-unites with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, which makes sense for both sides. He actually had his best season in 2016 when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Atlanta and the Falcons made it to the Super Bowl. While the running back did not carry the ball as often as in subsequent seasons, he was used more heavily in the passing game. He earned a receiving grade of 85.2 in 2018, which ranked seventh among running backs as he caught 38 passes for 484 receiving yards, which are both career highs for him. While the 49ers have multiple talented running backs on the roster, Coleman's previous performance in Shanahan's offense would suggest he could carve out a role for himself as a pass-catching back for San Francisco. — @PFF_Zoltan
Chiefs sign S Tyrann Mathieu to a three-year, $42M deal
The Chiefs signed one of the most versatile players in the NFL in Mathieu to replace safety Eric Berry. Mathieu logged more than 150 snaps at strong safety, free safety, slot cornerback and linebacker as well. While versatility is not always a strength in itself, Mathieu was also the fifth highest-graded safety against the run last season. Although he had a down year in coverage for his standard, giving up six touchdowns, his work when lining up at cornerback and his previous seasons suggest the Honey Badger can bounce back in this aspect too in 2019. Still, the Chiefs better hope to get some immediate returns from an investment this size. — @PFF_Zoltan
Chiefs sign Edge Alex Okafor to a three-year, $24M deal
Signing with the Saints in back-to-back offseasons paid off for Okafor as he followed up his career year in 2017 with another solid season in 2018. Although he did not have a great season rushing the passer, Okafor made up for it with a solid performance in run defense and ended up with an overall grade of 69.4, which ranked 44th among edge defenders. The Chiefs hope Okafor can get back to his 2017 form as they expect him to play more than 800 snaps for the first time in his career. — @PFF_Zoltan
Chiefs sign LB Damien Wilson to a one-year, $5.71M deal, $2.47M guaranteed
Wilson has been mainly a special team player for his entire career as he actually logged more snaps on special teams than on defense during his time in Dallas. However, with the way Kansas City's linebacker corps struggled in 2018, he might get his opportunity and get a little more playing time on defense with the Chiefs. While Wilson has been a liability in coverage, he flashed ability defending the run in his limited playing time with the Cowboys as he earned run-defense grades above 72.0 in three of his four seasons in Dallas. — @PFF_Zoltan
Dolphins sign CB Eric Rowe to a one-year, $3.5M deal, $400k guaranteed
Rowe has struggled to stay healthy throughout his NFL career as he failed to play more than 600 snaps in any of his four seasons and played has fewer than 600 snaps in the last two seasons combined. However, he flashed enough ability in his first season with the Patriots to show that, if healthy, he can be a starting cornerback in the NFL. Although his inconsistency resulted in him earning an overall grade of just 64.2, he allowed a passer rating of just 61.9 as he recorded two interceptions and broke up an additional seven passes while allowing just one touchdown reception. — @PFF_Zoltan
Saints sign S Chris Banjo to a three-year, $6.9M deal, $2.6M guaranteed
Banjo has only played a combined 195 snaps on defense since 2014, but has 1401 snaps on special teams over that same period. Last season, Banjo saw 276 special teams snaps, logging three tackles, a missed tackle and two penalties. — @PFF_Louie
Jets sign CB Darryl Roberts to a three-year, $18M deal
Roberts enjoyed an increased role with the Jets in 2018 as his 726 total snaps almost matched his combined total from his first two years in New York. He did display a propensity for giving up the big play, however, as four completions into his coverage last year resulted in gains of over 30 yards, so the Jets will have to hope he can limit that moving forward. — @PFF_Josh
Dolphins sign TE Dwayne Allen to a two-year, $7M deal, n/a guaranteed
The Dolphins gave Allen a two-year deal worth $3.5 million a year after he hauled in all of just three passes a season ago with the Patriots. His overall grades have fallen off a cliff as of late and recorded a career-low 51.0 that saw him falter to just a 58.0 pass-blocking grade as well. There are seemingly other tight end options available on the board, so this seems as a bit of a reach in our book with his play falling off as of late. — @PFF_Cam
49ers sign LB Kwon Alexander to a four-year deal, $54M deal, $14.25M guaranteed
Alexander has showcased impressive athleticism on film and does a really good job finding ball carriers. The issue though is that his consistency hasn't matched that athleticism on the field. He has missed 78 tackles over the past four seasons and is coming off an ACL injury. That's a lot of money to commit to a player who hasn't lived up to his athletic potential so far. — @PFF_Gordon
Vikings re-sign LB Anthony Barr to a five-year, $67.5M deal, $33M guaranteed
Anthony's Barr's career in Minnesota has been a curious one, with his grade topping off in 2015, bottoming out in 2016 and ascending slowly the last two years. It's likely good for him to stay as an off-the-ball linebacker who can be effective as a blitzer (best among linebackers in pass-rush productivity in 2018), but it's a real question as to how much a player who has been roughly a win above replacement during his career can add relative to his contract moving forward. — @PFF_Eric
Packers sign OG Billy Turner to a four-year, $28M deal, $11M guaranteed
While the positional need was clear, this move is a bit puzzling in terms of Turner's past production and the amount of money Green Bay is giving him. The Packers are clearly paying him to be a starter, but 2018 was just the second season of his five-year career he served his team as a full-time starter. For his career, he has played a total of 1,142 pass-block reps and has surrendered 16 sacks and 69 total pressures. However, he has shown promise as of late, and last year in Denver, he ended the season strong, as he yielded no sacks and just one quarterback hit in his final eight games. — @PFF_Josh
Jaguars sign QB Nick Foles to a four-year, $88M deal, $50M guaranteed
Nick Foles has the best-two single-game grades that we've seen for the Eagles over the past few seasons, and they came in the two most important games they have played – the NFC Championship and then the Super Bowl – but he also has the worst games and remains a tremendously volatile quarterback whose baseline performance is questionable. The Jaguars are betting on the upside, but it is a significant gamble. — @PFF_Sam
Titans sign WR Adam Humphries to a four-year, $36M deal, $16M guaranteed
Adam Humphries had a career year in 2018, posting an offensive grade of 75.2 and he is a reliable target out of the slot, catching 92.4% of catchable passes thrown his way for a 93.3 passer rating when targeted over his four-year career. However, this is a lot of money given to a player who’s average depth of target in 2018 was just 6.2 yards downfield and gained just 1.51 yards per route run. — @PFF_Louie
Raiders sign OT Trent Brown to a four-year, $66M deal, $36.8M guaranteed
The Raiders are paying Trent Brown elite tackle money (which he has yet to be during his four-year career with New England and San Francisco), likely in large part due to his excellent pass protection during New England's latest Super Bowl run. In three playoff games last season, he surrendered just four total pressures, none of them resulting in sacks or hits on Tom Brady. He is expected to play left tackle in Oakland, and in his first year starting at the position last year he gave up a total of 39 pressures on 744 pass-blocking snaps. — @PFF_Josh
Raiders sign DI Johnathan Hankins to a two-year, $8.5M deal, $5.4M guaranteed
Johnathan Hankins, the Raiders' high-snap player on the defensive interior a year ago, returns to Oakland on a modest two-year deal that reflects his value as a run-first player. Last season was a bit of a down year for Hankins, but he's earned run-defense grades above 80.0 in four of his six NFL seasons, including an 88.1 run-defense grade in 2017 that ranked 10th among qualifying interior defensive lineman. — @PFF_David
Browns sign LB Adarius Taylor to a two-year, $5M deal, $2.55M guaranteed
It's not a huge deal, but Taylor struggled on defense in 2018. He saw a career-high 634 snaps but produced a PFF run-defense grade of just 40.9 and a PFF coverage of 49.5. He was solid on special teams though, registering three tackles and missing none. — @PFF_Gordon
Falcons sign OG James Carpenter to a four-year, $21M deal, $9.25M guaranteed
Carpenter is onto his third team and his ninth year in the league. While he appeared to peak in 2015 after posting an overall grade of 83.4, his grades have declined each of the past three seasons (his overall grade in 2018 with the Jets was 56.3). While run blocking was a struggle for him last season, in 10 appearances, he gave up just one sack in pass protection. — @PFF_Josh
Bills sign TE Tyler Kroft to a three-year, $18.75M deal, $9.05M guaranteed
The Bills are probably banking on potential here more than signing Kroft because of his past performance with the Bengals. Kroft is coming off an injury and has played more than 400 snaps in just one of his four seasons in Cincinnati. While he did put up big numbers in that one season by catching seven touchdowns on 42 receptions, he also had four dropped passes on 46 catchable throws. In addition, Kroft has also failed to earn a run-blocking grade over 65.0 since his rookie year, which suggests the Bills are expecting him to be their No. 1 receiving tight end. — @PFF_Zoltan
Bears sign CB Buster Skrine to a three-year, $16.5M deal, $8.5M guaranteed
Skrine has massive shoes to fill as Bryce Callahan was the top slot cornerback in the league last year but will not be returning to the Bears in 2019. Reliable in terms of health (he has logged over 400 coverage snaps each of the past seven seasons), he has surrendered 39 touchdowns into his coverage over the past seven years. That's good money to a player who allows over five touchdowns a season in coverage. — @PFF_Josh
Vikings sign DI Shamar Stephen to a three-year, $12.5M deal, $4.9M guaranteed
Stephan has been a depth player throughout his career but will need to elevate his play to live up to his new salary in Minnesota. Despite playing at least 180 pass-rush snaps in four of his five seasons with Minnesota and Seattle, he has never tallied more than 10 total pressures in a single year. — @PFF_Josh
Ravens sign RB Mark Ingram to a three-year, $15M deal
The Ravens got solid production from their existing stable of backs in 2018, so it's difficult to rationalize spending a presumed $5M per year on a veteran entering his ninth year in the league. Interestingly, from a statistical perspective a season ago, he was a very similar player to Gus Edwards, who forced the same number of missed tackles (23) on one less carry (137) and beat out Ingram in yards after contact per attempt 3.22 to 3.20. — @PFF_Josh
Cardinals sign QB Brett Hundley to a one-year, $1.875M deal
While this isn't quite the level of poor that the Mike Glennon deal was last year, Hundley is not proven as much more than a low-tier backup quarterback in the league and offers little of value in terms of veteran leader to a presumably young quarterback who should get the start, be that Josh Rosen or Kyler Murray at No. 1 overall. Still, Hundley does have NFL years behind him and can at least vie for the backup job in Arizona, but shelling out nearly $2M for the chance at logging preseason snaps at this rate seems steep. –– @PFF_Cam
Bengals sign LB Preston Brown to a three-year, $21M deal
Although Brown's season was cut short due to injury and he played fewer than 1,000 snaps for the first time in his career, the Bengals have seen enough from him to give him a long-term contract. Even in his limited time, Brown impressed in coverage as he tied his career-high two interceptions and earned his highest coverage grade since his rookie campaign a season ago. It's a decent amount of cash to hand over to someone who's only flashed good coverage skills at times in his career. Especially in today's NFL. — @PFF_Zoltan
Texans sign DI Angelo Blackson to a three-year, $12M deal, $3.5M guaranteed
Blackson made seven run stops last season on 171 run-defense snaps and he registered 12 total pressures over 251 pass-rush snaps, including one sack. Blackson stays in Houston with the team that drafted him after a career-high 429 snaps in 2018 but only graded out at 60.2. — @PFF_Louie
Bengals sign CB B.W. Webb to a three-year, $13M deal
While Webb's coverage grades have actually improved each of the last two years, his 61.9 grade in the discipline this past season is still below average. For his career, opposing quarterbacks have a rating of 103.9 when testing his coverage. — @PFF_Josh
Bengals re-sign OT Bobby Hart to a three-year, $21M deal, $5.5M guaranteed
Hart is clearly a high-effort player that the Bengals staff is high on but there were 85 tackles who took at least 232 snaps for their team last year and Hart ranked 73rd out of all of them. He struggled in pass protection, allowing 39 pressures on his 651 snaps in pass protection that included 10 sacks. His run-blocking wasn't much better either as that hasn't ever really been a strong suit for him. The Bengals will shell out a lot of cash to him at the right tackle spot when there were certainly other options available, including at the time of signing, Ty Nsekhe who signed in Buffalo for similar money. — @PFF_Cam
Lions sign TE Jesse James to a five-year, $22.6M deal
The Lions shelled out quite a bit of cash for James who hasn't graded above a 71.6 in either of his four seasons as a pro and just finished with his second-highest overall season grade of 66.4 that ranked 24th in the league. To be making top-five positional money, the Lions better hope he can build off a more rounded skill set than what he possessed in his years with Pittsburgh as he never quite put together a solid receiving grade with plus-blocking grades. — @PFF_Cam
Jaguars sign OG A.J. Cann to a three-year, $15M deal
Cann has been a steady presence for the Jaguars as he started 59 games over the last four seasons and has played more than 4,000 snaps. However, his play has been rather inconsistent throughout these years. Cann was off to a good start early in his career as he ranked 27th among all guards in 2016 with a grade of 72.6, but he has been unable to replicate his success from his sophomore season as he earned grades of 61.3 and 60.6 in subsequent seasons and ranked just 44th at his position in 2018. There may be some good to his game but he hasn't shown that regularly enough to warrant a hefty payday. — @PFF_Zoltan
Steelers sign LB Anthony Chickillo to a two-year, $8M deal
Chickillo thus far has done little to suggest he can translate to a full-time starter, as he has never produced more than 10 quarterback pressures in a season despite rushing the passer more than 110 times in each of the past three seasons. His play in coverage has also failed to impress, as he has allowed 15-of-18 throws into his coverage during his four-year career to be completed, and only one of those three incompletions was a direct result of his coverage. He has been a relatively sound tackler during his time in Pittsburgh, aside from 2017 in which he missed five of his 16 total attempts, so there is possibly something to build upon. — @PFF_Josh
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