Technically free agency and the NFL’s new league year haven’t officially started. But the past few days have seen the usual frenzy of big moves during the tampering period.
There are always a bunch of bad contracts handed out in free agency and for the most part a lot of the deals looks very, very good.
We’ve seen a bunch of nine-digit contracts given out and while some appear justified, a few do not.
So let’s take a look at some of the worst free agency signings so far:
Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons – Four years, $180 million
Let’s make one thing clear: This was a VERY good deal for Kirk Cousins and a VERY rough deal for the Falcons. Atlanta are giving Cousins $100 million fully guaranteed coming off a season-ending Achilles injury and are just crossing their fingers that he is not only fully-recovered but is able to play at the exact same level as he was before.
Even if Cousins does play well in his first year of the team, he’s going to be in his late-30s by the end of the deal when the team really starts to feel the pain of the cap hit. How are the Falcons going to build around Cousins in future years if he’s devouring most of their cap space?
Christian Wilkins, Las Vegas Raiders – Four years, $110 million
It’s not so much the player as it is the money. Wilkins was clearly the best interior defensive lineman available after Chris Jones re-upped with the Kansas City Chiefs.
But $110 million over four years coming off a pretty good but hardly elite season seems a little bit much for a Raiders team that needs to be allocating a lot more money to the offense.
Chidobe Awuzie, Tennessee Titans – Three years, $36 million
If this deal had been made in 2021 right after Awuzie led the Super Bowl-bound Cincinnati Bengals in passes defended, this might have been a steal. But a combination of injuries have hindered him over the past two seasons and the defense really regressed when he was healthy this past season.
It was only natural that Titans head coach Brian Callahan would bring over some players from his old Cincinnati stomping grounds, but with so many needs on offense, it feels like they overpaid on this one.