NFL Free Agency Assessments, Part 1

Or, how I stopped worrying and learned to love the Kirk Cousins signing for both the Falcons and Vikings.

The order is alphabetical. The “grades” are strictly theoretical. Many of the opinions are heretical. These are the free agency assessments. Let's get on with them.

Arizona Cardinals

Status: Rebuilding

Key Arrivals: tackle Jonah Williams, center Evan Brown, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, LB Mack Wilson, DT Bilal Nichols, QB Desmond Ridder

Key Departures: WR Marquise Brown, WR Rondale Moore

The Cardinals will almost certainly draft Marvin Harrison Jr. with the fourth pick in April’s draft, making Brown expendable. Neither Brown nor Moore lived up to their playmaker reputations in Arizona; the Monti Ossenfort/Jonathan Gannon administration is still wisely scrapping Kliff Kingsbury’s all-fins-and-spoilers three-cylinder hotrod for parts.

Wilson may be one of those defenders who excels in a Belichick-defined role but falters elsewhere. He’s still young, however, and has enjoyed more success than the usual Cardinals runaround linebacker. Nichols and Murphy-Bunting are capable contributors who are still in their primes.

Williams will probably start at left tackle, with Paris Johnson staying on the right side. Brown will be in the mix at center or left guard. However it shakes out, the Cardinals line is solidifying after falling apart under Kingsbury and Steve Keim.

The mild upgrades at all three defensive levels will help a defense which finished 32nd in defensive DVOA and a coach who needs to sell more than a culture change in 2024. The skill-position departures are manageable. We’re still two years from really caring about the Cardinals, but at least we are a year closer.

Assessment: B-plus.

Atlanta Falcons

Status: Rising

Key Arrivals: QB Kirk Cousins, WR Darnell Mooney, WR Rondale Moore

Key Departures: Edge Calais Campbell, edge Bud Dupree, WR Mack Hollins, TE Jonnu Smith, QB Desmond Ridder

The arrivals of Mooney and Moore indicate that the Falcons realize Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts and Drake London aren’t 49ers-caliber superweapons just because draftniks loved them and Arthur Smith said so. Coordinator Zac Robinson can now build an offense suitable for earthlings, and Cousins will be able to throw to slot receivers who are slot receivers, not rookie running backs or whatever Pitts has devolved into.

On a related note, the departures of Hollins, Ridder and Jonnu Smith represent an effort to clear the arsenic and mercury out of Arthur Smith’s alchemy lab. 

The Falcons lost 13 sacks and 84 pressures with the Campbell-Dupree departures. That’s a huge problem for a team that has fielded one of the NFL’s weakest pass rushes since 2019. Edge rush will likely be a draft priority, but the Falcons would not be in this predicament if they were good at drafting pass rushers.

The Falcons are getting -130 odds to win the NFC South right now, thanks mostly to the Cousins signing. The beauty of that moneyline is in the eye of the beholder. I hate the concept of settling for a division title (at a premium price) as a goal. But I also get it: the Falcons have now spun their wheels for seven years, so 11-6 and a win over next year’s version of the Eagles will feel like paradise to players and fans. 

Enjoy the Cousins experience, Falcons fans: it can be somewhat pleasant if you set your expectations properly.

Assessment: A-minus.

Baltimore Ravens

Status: Contenders

Key Arrivals: RB Derrick Henry 

Key Departures: WR Odell Beckham, guard John Simpson, guard Morgan Moses, edge Jadeveon Clowney, LB Patrick Queen, RB Gus Edwards, CB Ronald Darby, safety Geno Stone

Key Retentions: Tackle Ronnie Staley, WR Nelson Agholor (why not?), DT Justin Madubuike, DE Brent Urban

The Ravens are difficult to evaluate in free agency because they excel at:

• Drafting and developing mid-round picks; and

• Signing still-useful veterans to one-year deals in late spring.

There’s a second-year sixth-rounder named Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu who did not play a single snap last year at the top of the Ravens depth chart at left guard. For most teams with Super Bowl aspirations, this would be a a red flag. But if the Ravens think  Aumavae-Laulu is ready, history tells us he is ready. If not, the Ravens will just bring Kevin Zeitler back or grab some 32-year old for the veteran minimum after the smoke clears.

The Ravens also do a fine job identifying and retaining core players. Extending Madubuike and reworking Staley’s deal after a bounce-back season are the kinds of unsexy moves that have kept the Ravens relevant since the start of the John Harbaugh era.

Make no mistake: the Ravens lost a lot of talent in the last two weeks. The fact that they are good at finding the next Beckham or Clowney in the (relative) bargain bin doesn’t mean they will. But few organizations have earned more benefit-of-the-doubt than the Ravens, and they did about as well as most of the other contenders at keeping their core intact.

Assessment: C-plus.

Buffalo Bills

Status: Contenders

Key Arrivals: WR Curtis Samuel, WR Mack Hollins, LB Nick Morrow, QB Mitch Trubisky, edge Casey Toohill

Key Departures: CB Tre'Davious White, safety Jordan Poyer, center Mitch Morse, WR Gabriel Davis, edge Leonard Floyd, DT Poona Ford, probably safety Micah Hyde

Key Retentions: DT Da’Quan Jones, edge Von Miller, TE Dawson Knox, tackle Dion Dawkins, edge A.J. Epenesa, safety Taylor Rapp

The Bills faced a potential salary cap nightmare entering free agency. They turned it into a minor bummer thanks to some aggressive cuts (White, Davis, etc.) and contract adjustments (Miller, Knox, Rasul Douglas).

Samuel and Hollins are useful additions at a position of need. Samuel is a shifty slot guy who got stuck with hazard duty in Washington: he caught a lot of slot screens that defenders saw coming a mile away. Hollins is tall, fast and hustles on special teams, making him a useful WR4. KJ Hamler is also on board, if you are into that sort of thing. With Khalil Shakir stepping up late last year, wide receiver is no longer a pressing need for the Bills, assuming Stefon Diggs isn’t quietly seething somewhere as I write this.

The Bills appear to have lost more talent than the Ravens. They also retained and acquired more talent, and they were faced with a bigger pickle in the first place. The Bills need to rebuild their secondary, but there are potential solutions on the roster (Kaiir Elam might still do something), and the Bills had no hope of escaping their cap quagmire without some consequences.

The Bills free agent haul may not be impressive, but the principles behind what the organization did are.

Assessment: B-plus.

Carolina Panthers

Status: Comatose

Key Arrivals: WR Diontae Johnson, guard Robert Hunt, guard Damien Lewis, DT A’Shawn Robinson, LB Josey Jewell, edge D.J. Wonnum, CB Dane Jackson

Key Departures: Edge Brian Burns, LB Frankie Luvu, safety Jeremy Chinn, CB Donte Jackson, safety Vonn Bell, center Bradley Bozeman

Burns, Luvu, Chinn and Jackson, along with Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn and Shaq Thompson, formed the core of the Panthers defense for the last four years. That defense was always competitive when not injury-ravaged: the team’s late-2022 mini-surge was fueled by the defense, which helped interim coach Steve Wilks manufacture victories by scores like 21-3, 23-10 and 10-7.

The Burns Bunch (let’s call ‘em that) played hard for four different head coaches in two seasons. Even last year, when the Panthers offense flatlined before November arrived, the team lost a bunch of games by scores like 16-13, 17-10 and 9-0. (They also pulled off a 9-7 win over the Falcons.)

Now, there were a few ways for the new Panthers administration to interpret the success of the Burns Bunch:

• These young defenders have battled through adversity together. That makes them players the organization should build around. Or;

• These young defenders are beaten and battered. They absorbed too much bad Matt Rhule and Frank Reich juju. The organization needs a fresh start.

From the outside, the first interpretation appeared to make the most sense, especially since Luvu and Chinn (in particular) were well-regarded by their coaches. The second interpretation was at least justifiable, and it dovetails with Chinn’s injury history and Burns’ exorbitant salary expectations.

There is, unfortunately, a third way to interpret how the Panthers approached the Burns bunch:

• What’s going on? How do contract extensions work? WHO AM I? HOW DID I GET HERE? Let’s just replace these dudes with, I dunno, some other dudes.

That sounds like the Panthers’ approach to pretty much everything these days. New GM Dan Morgan is either a figurehead for owner David Tepper or got promoted into a situation where few of the in-house free agents even saw the point of picking up the phone when he called. Neither scenario is encouraging.

On defense, it’s possible that the Panthers got older AND less talented at several positions. That takes some doing for a 2-15 team.

The Panthers fared a little better on offense. Johnson is an experienced gobbler of short dump-offs over the middle of the field, and the new guards will provide Bryce Young with a cleaner pocket (though putting the 6-foot-7 Hunt in front of Young will be like making your toddler sit behind a support beam during Disney on Ice). Austin Corbett will probably move inside to replace Bozeman. Sure, why not?

The Panthers look more like an expansion team this year than they did last year. The key difference: expansion teams usually have a first-round pick to work with.

Assessment: F.

Chicago Bears

Status: Rebuilding

Key Arrivals: WR Keenan Allen, TE Gerald Everett, RB D’Andre Swift, offensive lineman Ryan Bates, offensive lineman Coleman Shelton, tackle Matt Pryor, safety Keith Byard

Key Departures: QB Justin Fields, WR Darnell Mooney, DT Justin Jones, safety Eddie Jackson

The Bears did NOT take less in trade than they could have for Fields because they wanted to “do right” by him. It’s important for me to know that you know that.

If you believe that suitors were lined up offering mid-round 2024 picks for Fields, but Ryan Poles said, Justin, I’m willing to send you to the Steelers for what will probably end up a 2025 sixth-rounder, because I wuv you and your happiness is important to me, please promise to never walk onto a used car lot alone. You will end up with a classic 1971 Ford Pinto with the custom undercoat for just $20,000, but only because the sales manager took a shine to you.

Backup quarterbacks are supposed to be rarely seen and never heard. Few teams want a reclamation project that fans/media think is better than the starter. No one is going to clamor for Mac Jones if Trevor Lawrence has a slump. Fields could cause a public relations headache for just about any quarterback below the Josh Allen line, not because he’s really a viable alternative to a mid-tier starter, but because lots of folks mistake him for one.

Do you really think, say, the Seahawks made a competitive offer for Fields? If you are representing Fields, where would you send your client: to Seattle to challenge the fading Geno Smith or Pittsburgh to take part in a Russell Wilson circus? Think, dear reader, think!

Poles was forced to dump Fields in a trade that he knew would look ridiculous. Leaning into the “do right” storyline with a few insider tips makes Fields sound like a hotter commodity than he really was and Poles sound like a compassionate soul instead of someone who misread the market. Everyone wins, except anyone gullible enough to actually swallow the claptrap.

Sigh. Let’s move on.

Giving Caleb Williams the Justin Herbert Starter Kit of Allen and Everett makes sense, especially with D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet already in-house. All of those versatile backup lineman types listed above should foster enough competition to keep Williams upright. Jackson-for-Byard amounts to swapping out one fading big-name safety for another.

The Bears have feathered their nest for a new quarterback. Now it’s time for that new quarterback. In fact, it’s about a year past time.

Assessment: A-minus.

Cincinnati Bengals

Status: Contenders

Key Arrivals: Safety Geno Stone, safety Vonn Bell, tackle Trent Brown, TE Mike Gesicki, RB Zack Moss, DT Sheldon Rankins

Key Departures: DT D.J. Reader, CB Chidi Awuzie, RB Joe Mixon, tackle Jonah Williams, TE Irv Smith.

In Limbo: WR Tee Higgins, WR Tyler Boyd

What’s missing here is clarity: clarity of outcome for us, clarity of purpose for the Bengals.

We just covered the Ravens, who locked Justin Madubuike into a long-term deal, as well as the Bills, who performed successful cap surgery. Now here are the Bengals, who are contenders because of Joe Burrow and one of the league’s best receiving corps, but two-thirds of that corps could be gone before you read this.

Assuming Boyd leaves but Higgins accepts the franchise tag and stays, the rest of the Bengals moves are fine. The changes in the secondary and at running back are a wash – the Bengals secondary was better with Bell and Jessie Bates two years ago than it is now – while losing Reader for Rankins is a downgrade. Gesicki is a big name who cannot block and will likely disappear from game plans. A healthy Trent Brown is a modest upgrade over Williams.

If Higgins and Boyd both leave, however, the impact on Burrow and the passing game is hard to estimate. The Bengals won’t really be the Bengals we have known for the last three years anymore. And penciling in, say, a second-round pick as compensation for Higgins won’t change the equation much. The Bengals may be one false move from a steep decline.

The Bengals could have extended Higgins, or traded Higgins already and used the $22 million in cap savings on a replacement, or Reader, or an edge rusher, or a Ja’Marr Chase extension, or some combination thereof.

Instead, we are in limbo because they are in limbo. And a 9-8 team that wasn’t playing all that well when Burrow was available cannot really afford to idle in neutral while their challengers gain on them and the other contenders pull away.

Assessment: C-minus.

Cleveland Browns

Status: Crossroads

Key Arrivals: WR Jerry Jeudy, QB Jameis Winston, LB Devin Bush, LB Jordan Hicks, DT Quinton Jefferson.

Key Departures: LB Sione Takitaki, LB Anthony Walker Jr., DT Jordan Elliott, QB Joe Flacco, TE Harrison Bryant

Key Retentions: DT Shelby Harris, edge Z’Darius Smith, punter Corey Bojorquez

The Browns added a credible WR2 in Jeudy while keeping their defensive line mostly intact. That’s about all a team with cap issues and no first-round pick could ask for.

The new Jeudy contract looks a little rich – you can tell when a front office is working from their rookie scouting report on a player, not four years of modest NFL disappointment – but we all know there is no tomorrow in Cleveland. 

Without digging too deeply, the linebacker swap looks like a lateral move. Hicks can still play well in space. Injuries kept Bush from living up to his billing, but he’ll be fine on a team that doesn’t ask too much of linebackers in coverage. 

Feel free to season your own Deshaun Watson/Jameis Winston remarks to taste. On the field, Winston is an upgrade over Flacco, who did not magically grow young again last season just because he completed some play-action bombs.

Each year, it becomes less likely that Watson will return to 2018-20 form. Each year, it also becomes harder to build a championship-caliber team around Watson, due to his compensation and the draft picks that he cost the Browns. The 2024 season is the inflection point. The Browns have done all they can to juice their odds. The rest is up to Watson and fate.

Assessment: B.

Dallas Cowboys

Status: Contender

Key Arrivals: LB Erik Kendricks

Key Departures: Edge Dorance Armstrong, edge Dante Fowler, center Tyler Biadasz, tackle Tyron Smith, RB Tony Pollard, LB Leighton Vander Esch

Key Retentions: CB Jourdan Lewis, RB Rico Dowdle

The Cowboys have not been a free-spending team in many, many years. They are a draft-and-develop team. They are not nearly as methodical as, say, a drunk looking for his cellphone, let alone the Ravens, but they make up for it with a knack for hitting three-run homers on draft weekend.

The Cowboys have a reputation as big spenders because:

• It seems like it would be in character for them;

• They often find themselves in overheated contract squabbles (usually with their own players); and most importantly,

• linking the Cowboys to every big name on the market is a tried-and-true Internet sports media business model. Or at least it was back when Internet sports media could stay in business. 

"I've always been of the ilk that you, in this first couple of days of free agency, you pay good players like they're great, you pay average players like they're good," Stephen Jones recently said, per ESPN’s Todd Archer, "Because the market's inflated in our mind.” That’s wise. The Cowboys also have Micah Parsons, Ceedee Lamb and (let’s be real) Dak Prescott extensions to worry about. They can’t throw money at Saquon Barkley types just because Jerrah wants some headlines. 

Now, let’s talk about retention. 

There’s a difference between staying away from an inflated market and letting two starters on the offensive line and several important role players on the defensive line leave without replacing them. Right now, 2023 UDFA Brock Hoffman is listed as the Cowboys’ starting center. Running backs may not matter much, but the Dowdle/Deuce Vaughn backfield looks mighty thin. The Cowboys can add a running back in the draft, but that’s one less pick to use on a center, rotational edge rusher or someone else who can help the team keep pace with the 49ers, Lions and very busy Eagles. 

This is how the Cowboys trap themselves in perennial runner-up purgatory: not by doing big, stupid things, but by failing to do enough of the smart little things. 

Assessment: D+.

Denver Broncos

Status: Rebuilding

Key Arrivals: safety Brandon Jones, DT Malcolm Roach, LB Cody Barton

Key Departures: QB Russell Wilson, WR Jerry Jeudy, safety Justin Simmons, LB Josey Jewell, center Lloyd Cushenberry

Right now, Sean Payton’s rebuilding plan looks like this:

Step 1: Toss Russell Window out a window.

Step 2: ???????

Step 3: Success.

The current Broncos purge is surely necessary, but the team’s retention list reads like the middle of the 2020 Saints depth chart (Will Lutz, Adam Trautman, Lil’Jordan Humphrey), so it sure feels like Sean Payton is just futzing around and rewarding “his guys” because no one can stop him. 

It would be great to see an Asante Samuel extension, or some extension/trade/cut clarity on where Garrett Bolles or Cortland Sutton stand, or even someone in the quarterback room besides Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci. Until any of those things happen, Payton is just replacing salary and talent with promises. That’s not rebuilding, it’s demolition, and any mook with a sledgehammer could do it.

Assessment: F.

Detroit Lions

Status: Contender

Key Arrivals: DT D.J. Reader, CB Carlton Davis, CB Arik Robertson, edge Marcus Davenport

Key Departures: CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson, edge Julian Okwara, guard Jonah Jackson

Key Retentions: Many

This is a little bit of a “D.J. Reader: ‘nuff said” situation. 

Reader is going to be a force multiplier for Aidan Hutchinson and fellow interior lineman Alim McNeill. Davenport has been a toolsy tease for most of his career, but he’s a handful to block 1-on-1 and could end up scooping up lots of quarterbacks who are flushed straight into him.

The Lions’ retention list is full of useful bench players on the D-line (John Cominskey), in the secondary (Emmanuel Moseley, hurt most of last year), on the offensive line (Graham Glasgow, replacing Jackson), at tight end (Brock Wright, everyone’s favorite pharmaceutical Shane Zylstra) and elsewhere. If someone gets hurt in Week 4, the Lions won’t be forced to rely upon some sixth-round pick in a key role, unless that lad wins a job from someone like Comiskey or Zylstra. It’s hard to put a price on retaining depth in late March, but it’s valuable.

Assessment: A.

Green Bay Packers

Status: Rising

Key Arrivals: Safety Xavier McKinney, RB Josh Jacobs

Key Departures: Safety Darnell Savage, RB Aaron Jones, guard Jon Runyan, tackle David Bakhtiari, tackle Yosh Nijman

The Packers replaced Savage, the Harvey Dent of safeties (it’s 50-50 whether he will play like an All Pro or sabotage the defense) with McKinney, a rangy coverage safety whose reputation may be slightly inflated by being one of the few non-disappointing Giants last year. McKinney won’t suddenly forget how to tackle for a month the way Savage sometimes did, so this is an upgrade.

By letting Bakhtiari test the open market, the Packers may have saved America from Aaron Rodgers’ vice-presidential campaign, for which we are mostly grateful. The Packers have been planning for Bakhtiari’s departure for years, so the team can absorb his loss, though Nijman’s departure robs the team of one of their Plans B. Runyan has been plugging holes at both guard positions for four years. The Packers, who always seem to be facing an injury crunch on the offensive line, will need to address depth in the draft.

Preston Smith is the Packers’ most notable veteran retention; he’s steady, versatile and has not declined yet. The running backs are running backs.

The Packers are a young team that should improve by developing this year, and McKinney represents a moderate free-agent splash. It still feels like there is something missing, especially in light of the losses on the offensive line. 

With five draft picks among the top 100, the Packers can add talent and depth in April. But these are free agency assessments, not draft assessments.

Grade: C.

Houston Texans

Status: Rising

Key Arrivals: Edge Danielle Hunter, edge Darnell Autry, RB Joe Mixon, many others

Key Departures: Edge Jonathan Greenard, DT Maliek Collins, DT Sheldon Rankins, RB Devin Singletary, many others

The Texans traded out of the first round, giving the Vikings the 23rd overall pick in exchange for the 42nd overall and a second-rounder next year, plus change. They changed punters and re-signed kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn. Lots of linebackers and safeties have come and gone. It’s been a busy few weeks, making all the moves hard to summarize.

Nick Caserio has been a savvy garage-sale rummager since his Patriots days. He’s great at finding affordable down-market veterans who can play a role for a year or two. He was also great in New England at letting such veterans go after they enjoyed career years. Greenard, Collins and linebacker Blake Cashman all appear to be examples of players who played above their heads in 2023. It’s not too surprising that Caserio has let many of them walk.

Caserio and DeMeco Ryans also do not appear to be buying into any “all-in-for-C.J. Stroud” fallacies. Trading out of the first round is evidence that they still see a two-year building project ahead of them. That’s a prudent strategy: the Texans won a bunch of one-score games against the Broncos/Titans/Cardinals last year, which is not a sign of a team that’s one spending spree away from the Super Bowl. 

Honest self-scouting will be great for the Texans in the long run. In the short term, however, it looks like a modest upgrade on the defensive front and lots of deck-shuffling.

Assessment: B.

Indianapolis Colts

Status: Rising

Key Arrivals: QB Joe Flacco, LB Raekown Davis

Key Departures: QB Gardner Minshew, RB Zack Moss

Key Retentions: WR Michael Pittman, CB Kenny Moore, LB Zaire Franklin, Edge Tyquan Lewis, others.

Finally: free agency for folks who hate free agency!

I wrote a bit about the Colts last week. Retention is good, and I like the Colts’ approach this year. I would like it better if they had a stronger roster to begin with.

Assessment: B-minus.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Status: Crossroads

Key Arrivals: Center Mitch Morse, safety Darnell Savage, WR Gabriel Davis, QB Mac Jones, kicker Brandon McManus

Key Departures: WR Calvin Ridley, CB Darious Williams, safety Rashawn Jenkins, kicker Joey Slye

The Jaguars traded for Ridley during his 2022 suspension year, paid him $11 million for one Ridley-like season (1,018 yards, lots of big plays, a few blunders), then could not keep the Titans from signing him away last week. Davis, a more frustrating, less versatile version of Ridley, takes Ridley’s place. The Jaguars don’t have a third-round pick in April as a result of the Ridley trade. Trevor Lawrence’s playmaker corps needed further upgrades. Instead, it has gotten weaker. This is how bad general managers like Trent Baakle score goals against themselves. 

Morse replaces Luke Fortner and firms up the offensive line a bit; Brandon Scherff is also sticking around. Edge Josh Allen was franchise-tagged; no hurry on that extension, Trent. Williams is a significant loss, and adding Savage to a defense full of talented-but-error-prone youngsters feels like an effort to complete the set.

This team collapsed in a smoldering heap late last year, but the sound of the Eagles’ meteor strike drowned them out. So far, the Jaguars’ offseason has been far from encouraging.

Assessment: D.

Kansas City Chiefs

Status: Contenders

Key Arrivals: WR Marquise Brown, TE Irv Smith Jr

Key Departures: LB William Gay, guard Nick Allegretti.

Key Retentions: DT Chris Jones, LB Drue Tranquill.

Brown has been stuck in untenable situations for much of his career. He has often been tasked with catching passes from Colt McCoy, Josh Dobbs or Tyler Huntley in paint-by-numbers Greg Roman/Kliff Kingsbury passing games. Brown has also played with Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray, and he has his shortcomings: he’s a tiny target who does his best work downfield, so he leaves his quarterbacks little margin-of-error for errant throws. If anything, however, Brown came to the free agent market undervalued: he has WR1 talent but WR2 numbers.

Brown doesn’t have to be a true WR1 for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. He just has to be one wide receiver who can actually threaten the defense. Brown is just enough of a weak-tea version of Tyreek Hill to give the Chiefs what they need. Calvin Ridley would have been a better option, but was not a realistically affordable one. 

Irv Smith is a cozy addition. The Chiefs use lots of multi-tight end packages and could use someone besides Travis Kelce who merits coverage by someone other than the slowest linebacker on the field.

The L’Jarius Sneed trade front has been quiet, despite some Colts blogger’s effort to invent news early in the week. Sneed could return to the Chiefs on the franchise tag. If that happens, the Chiefs will lack the cap flexibility to do much else. But if they keep Jones AND Sneed (Tranquill is a tasty garnish) while addressing their biggest need, what else is there to do?

Grade: B-plus.

Tomorrow: premium subscribers get the exciting conclusion of the free agency assessments!