Grudging Enthusiasm About Select Teams: NFL Free-Agent Foreplay Day 2
...in which kind things are said about the Vikings, Najee Harris, Daniel Jones and other unexpected subjects.
Too Deep Zone doesn’t hate every team’s free agency plan after two days of tantalizing tampering. Just most of them! Overpaying for run-of-the-mill starters and a contender’s backups, while an annual tradition in cities like Jacksonville, is expensive and often disappointing!
But in the interest of cutting through the negativity of yesterday’s feature, and perhaps tactically luring in some subscribers, here are three teams who have done a fine job so far in the NFL’s preliminary petting period. And like the Musketeers, there are actually four of them!
Honorable Mention: Buffalo Bills
They extended Josh Allen, Terrell Bernard, Greg Rousseau and Khalil Shakir while adding Joshua Palmer to their growing collection of WR2 types and versatile Michael Hoecht to their bottomless pasta bowl of rotational defensive linemen. They lost Mack Hollins, but while Hollins is a gutsy special teamer, he’s about 30% as important as his reputation suggests.
(The Bills added Joey Bosa after Too Deep Zone turned off the football factory for the night. Bosa is an upgrade over Von Miller at this point in their careers and a logical acquisition for a team trying to get past a conference rival trying to rebuild its collapsed offensive line.)
A controversial take: for a team that’s always two plays away from the Super Bowl, retention of core players is good, actually.
Third Place: Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings defense, while excellent in 2024, was highly scheme-dependent. Brian Flores coaxed some amazing seasons out of otherwise ordinary defenders. The Vikings weren’t particularly stout at defensive tackle, where they rotated lots of Harrison Phillips and Jerry Tillery-caliber journeymen, but Flores compensated by mixing up fronts and causing general offensive bewilderment. Flores could probably keep such tactics viable for years, but he should not have to.
Jonathan Allen can be an absolute wrecker at defensive tackle when healthy. He produced four pressures in the playoff win against the Lions, delivering hits on Jared Goff all four times. A pectoral injury sidelined him most of last year, and the Commanders opted for the younger Javon Kinlaw. Allen’s presence will allow Flores to be more conventional when he chooses to be.
The Vikings also added Javon Hargrave, a member of the 49ers’ All Injured Reserve Team in 2024 (more on that in moment), to their defensive tackle rotation. Hargrave missed most of last year with a torn triceps. He’s not the player he was about three years ago, but Flores could do weird and worrisome things with him for about 25 snaps per game.
Meanwhile, the Vikings re-signed Byron Murphy and added Isaiah Rodgers, meaning they won’t have to risk another year with aging Stephon Gilmore at cornerback. They also retained Aaron Jones, the best running back on the market.
On offense, the Vikings signed former Colts center Ryan Kelly to replace Garrett Bradbury, who could not handle top-tier defensive tackles at all last season. Colts guard Will Fries arrives on a gargantuan contract (four years at a reported $88 million). He’s a sturdy starter who was playing well before a leg injury last year, and he helps solidify a shaky interior line, though I don’t love the reported money.
Of course, the Vikings also set Sam Darnold free and fully committed to J.J. McCarthy as their starting quarterback. McCarthy may be a mystery box after last year’s injury, but the Vikings are placing trust in their 2024 draft process. There’s a name for teams that hedge their bets and grossly overpay for quarterback insurance. Such teams are called “the Falcons.”
Second Place: Washington Commanders
There’s reason for skepticism about the Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil trades. Both players are embarking on the downsides of their careers, Samuel is slightly bugnuts, and the Texans were strangely eager to let the penalty-plagued Tunsil leave an offensive line that otherwise consists of sandbags and caution tape. Also, letting Jonathan Allen walk while splurging for former 49ers disappointment Javon Kinlaw may be a downgrade on the defensive line.
The Commanders, however, are trying to compete with the Eagles/Lions oligarchy for the NFC title while Jayden Daniels is on his rookie contract. It makes sense for them to take big risks. Deebo and Tunsil are still Pro Bowl-caliber players when healthy and focused. It’s hard for a team in the Commanders’ position to add two potential Pro Bowlers, especially when the upcoming draft class is very thin at tackle and thinner-than-usual at wide receiver.
The Commanders also re-signed Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz and specialists Tress Way and Zane Gonzalez. Wagner and Ertz proved they had a year left in 2024, Wagner appears to have at least one more, and both did useful leadership stuff, by all accounts. Way is a dependable punter, while Gonzalez performed well enough in the playoffs as a late-season arrival to be worth retaining. A little continuity should keep the Commanders from backsliding.