With Day 2 of the NFL‘s legal tampering period in the books, it’s time to hand out NFL free agency grades. Which teams made out the best on Tuesday, and which clubs might come to regret the deals they handed out on the second day of the free agent period?
NFL Free Agency Grades | Day 2
Houston Texans | EDGE Danielle Hunter
Terms: Two years, $49 million, $48 million guaranteed.
Hunter certainly didn’t give the Texans a hometown discount as he returned to Houston. His $24.5 million average annual ranks sixth among edge rushers, but this is still a solid acquisition for the Texans, who’d primarily targeted more moderately-priced free agents in previous offseasons.
By adding Hunter to a defense that already boasted reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr., Houston has created one of the NFL’s most terrifying pass-rushing duos.
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Hunter set a career-high and ranked fifth in the NFL with 16.5 sacks in 2023. While he may have outperformed his underlying metrics, the former third-round pick still ranked 12th among edge rushers in pressures and 23rd in pass-rush win rate, per PFF.
Hunter is 29 years old and has played nearly 6,000 snaps. He missed the entire 2020 campaign with a neck injury and most of the 2021 season with a pectoral injury. There are concerns here, and the Texans are absorbing risk.
But with C.J. Stroud and other young contributors on rookie contracts, Houston could afford to get aggressive. Hunter could be the finishing touch on a Texans roster that looks poised to go deep into the playoffs next year.
Grade: B+
Baltimore Ravens | RB Derrick Henry
Terms: Two years, $16 million.
Arguably the best team-player fit of NFL free agency thus far, the Ravens’ decision to sign Henry makes all the sense in the world. He’s an AFC North-type player, even if he’s spent his entire career in the AFC South.
Henry, who’s led the league in rushing attempts in four of the past five seasons, is a massively souped-up version of Gus Edwards, who led Baltimore in carries last year.
He’ll get to play behind a Ravens offensive line that ranked second in yards before carry per attempt (3.2). Henry’s former team, the Tennessee Titans, finished just 26th (2.2).
Age and workload corners are real for the 30-year-old Henry. But he’ll only make around $9 million in 2024, so the Ravens can probably exit the deal next offseason with little penalty. Unless Henry completely falls apart as soon as the 2023 campaign begins, there’s little downside here.
Grade: A
Minnesota Vikings | QB Sam Darnold
Terms: One year, $10 million.
Even if the Vikings plan on selecting a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, they knew they couldn’t simply roll into April with only Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall on their roster after losing Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons.
There’s nothing wrong with signing a former top draft pick like Darnold, who is only 26 years old and may have untapped upside. But the simple fact is that Darnold has never been productive at the NFL level. A hot five-game run with the Carolina Panthers at the end of the 2021 season remains his only streak of above-average play.
Darnold won’t block a rookie quarterback if Minnesota goes that route. But neither would have Jacoby Brissett, who has a much stronger track record and cost the New England Patriots just $8 million.
Grade: C
Atlanta Falcons | WR Darnell Mooney
Terms: Three years, $39 million, $26 million guaranteed.
There are plenty of reasons to be bearish on Mooney, the most obvious being that he failed to register even 500 yards receiving in either of the past two years. It’s easy to blame that subdued performance on the Chicago Bears’ lackluster offense. But Mooney wasn’t doing himself any favors, as he ranked 125th among WRs in ESPN’s “open” score, derived from player-tracking data.
However, Mooney is probably a better player than Gabe Davis, who received essentially the same contract from the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday. The Falcons needed a complement for Drake London, and Atlanta has to maximize its Kirk Cousins window. Given the other WR options available on the market, Mooney was the best the Falcons could do.
Grade: B+
Pittsburgh Steelers | LB Patrick Queen
Terms: Three years, $41 million, $13.84 million guaranteed.
We were ready to criticize the Steelers for signing Queen, and you might even recognize the arguments. Does Pittsburgh not care about positional value? Aren’t the Steelers worried that Queen only produced once the Baltimore Ravens acquired fellow LB Roquan Smith?
The second concern remains legitimate, but Queen didn’t receive nearly as much money as contract projections might’ve suggested. While he’s now the NFL’s sixth-highest-paid off-ball linebacker, Queen didn’t come close to matching the $18 million average annual value that LB Tremaine Edmunds landed from the Bears last offseason.
Grade: B
Indianapolis Colts | CB Kenny Moore II
Terms: Three years, $30 million.
A Pro Bowler in 2021, Moore posted a rebound campaign after a down 2022 that saw him miss the final five games of the year with an ankle injury. He allowed 9.1 yards per completion, his best mark since 2019, and gave up just 0.93 yards from the slot, 11th-best among 42 CBs with at least 100 snaps inside, per PFF.
Cornerbacks can always fall off a cliff with little warning. But Moore is still 28 years old and plays closer to the ball than perimeter CBs. With less space to cover, Moore’s decline could be gradual.
Grade: B
Minnesota Vikings | RB Aaron Jones
Terms: One year, $6 million.
Jones lost his job on Monday when the Green Bay Packers signed fellow running back Josh Jacobs. But the 29-year-old decided to stick in the NFC North fewer than 24 hours later by agreeing to a one-year pact with the Vikings.
MORE: NFL Free Agency Tracker 2024
Minnesota’s running game was still a problem after it moved on from Dalvin Cook before last season. Alexander Mattison didn’t play at a starting-caliber level and has since been released. Ty Chandler flashed near the end of the season but doesn’t have much of an NFL track record.
Injuries are always an issue for Jones, who missed six games with an MCL issue in 2023. But the Vikings can live with that at a $6 million price point. Jones remains one of the NFL’s best pass-catching RBs, while he ranked 10th in yards after contact per attempt last season, suggesting he can still bounce off tacklers when needed.
Grade: A-
Cleveland Browns | QB Jameis Winston
Terms: One year, up to $8.7 million.
Yes, Winston threw 30 interceptions the last time he was a full-time NFL quarterback (2019). But he also posted a 55.7 QBR that year at the age of 25. Winston ranked top-10 in QBR through seven games in 2021 before suffering a torn ACL. He’s never gotten another shot, and that’s a shame.
Deshaun Watson’s contract means he’ll be the Browns’ starting QB barring a complete and utter collapse. But even if Watson’s performance stays above water, his health remains a question mark. If Watson can’t stay on the field, Winston could see action and create an opportunity for a multi-year deal with another club in 2025.
Grade: A-
Chicago Bears | TE Gerald Everett
Terms: Two years, $12 million, $6.1 million guaranteed.
Everett has never been anything but a solid contributor during his seven-year NFL career. Plus, he worked with new Bears OC Shane Waldron from 2017 to 2021 in previous stops, so Everett could be a valuable resource as Chicago’s offense learns a new playbook.
Waldron ran plenty of two- and three-TE sets as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator. Everett could be busy alongside Cole Kmet, especially if the Bears don’t make any wide receiver upgrades.
Grade: B
Cincinnati Bengals | TE Mike Gesicki
Terms: One year, up to $3.25 million.
It’s hard to hate any signing at this price point, but Gesicki could be a perfect fit in Cincinnati. The Bengals are poised to lose Tyler Boyd to free agency, so Gesicki should see most of his snaps out of the slot.
Blocking is not quite Gesicki’s tempo, but the Bengals already have TE Drew Sample around to play in-line and will likely add more tight ends in the coming weeks. TEs who can manage 700 receiving yards are a relative rarity. Gesicki has done it twice in his NFL career.
Grade: A
Miami Dolphins | EDGE Shaquil Barrett
Terms: One year, up to $9 million.
Entering his age-31 campaign, Barrett is clearly no longer the player who put up 19.5 sacks for the Buccaneers in 2020 while earning second-team All-Pro honors. He’s totaled just 7.5 sacks and 15 QB hits over the past two seasons and lacks the pass-rushing juice he once boasted.
Barrett is a downgrade over Andrew Van Ginkel, but the Dolphins are paying him as such. The former undrafted free agent is still a valuable member of an edge-rushing rotation and is considered a locker-room leader. That’s worth something.
How much? We’re still waiting on exact figures, but a maximum value of $9 million suggests Barrett’s contract has a base value in the $5-6 million range. That’s in line with what veteran pass rushers like Leonard Floyd landed last season. Miami paying Barrett a similar amount in 2024 — after a significant league-wide salary cap increase — represents a win.
Grade: B
Washington Commanders | LB/S Jeremy Chinn
Terms: One year, up to $5.1 million.
We called Chinn one of the NFL’s forgotten free agents earlier this offseason, noting the former second-round pick’s absence from the Panthers’ defensive plans. He might’ve landed in a perfect spot on Tuesday when he signed with the Dan Quinn-led Commanders.
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Quinn always got the most out of unheralded tweeners like Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson, and Markquese Bell during his run as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. Chinn is cut from the same cloth. He can do a little bit of everything while lining up as a safety, nickel corner, or linebacker.
Grade: B+
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