I can't say who the big winner was today

because it seems like every signing was for outrageous money. Miami was no different, but you have to say that they absolutely killed it with the trade they made with Philly. Getting BMax and Kiko Alonso to move down 5 spots in the draft?! They still have the 13th pick and you get a very good corner and an all-pro caliber LB. Holy crap!

I'll just leave this here.

I can't stop laughing at this trade. The Dolphins essentially acquired two injured, overpriced players, one of whom has a bloated contract, and also traded out of the top 10. What's the upside here? Why are they doing this? Have they cursed the No. 8 overall pick? Is the prospect the Eagles draft there destined to sustain a torn patellar tendon during the first day of practice? If so, this trade still sucks for Miami!

This really reminds me of an NBA trade, something like Isiah Thomas would've made with the Knicks. Normal NBA trades where teams unload contracts usually involve them giving up something; not upgrading their draft positioning. Like, if the Eagles swapped one of their third-rounders for Miami's fourth-rounder, this would've made much more sense. It's completely illogical that the Dolphins would want to move down after acquiring a linebacker who's always hurt and a mediocre, high-priced cornerback whose shoulder is so damaged right now that he told a physician that he can't even bench press right now.

This really might be one of the lopsided trades in NFL history, and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is being hailed as a god right now by the fans. Philadelphia earns a very easy A+. As for the Dolphins, well, it's like Matt Millen and Isiah Thomas mated and made the worst trade possible.

Grade for Dolphins - MILLEN ISIAH BABY
Grade for Eagles - A+

Read more at http://walterfootball.com/freeagentsign ... lBrVm5f.99

The Eagles defense was on the field for more plays than any other defense in the NFL last year, not to mention the team was completely dysfunctional. I could see why some teams might view Maxwell as a salvageable player.

Maxwell's signing bonus got eaten by Philly so it's only 2016's base salary that is guaranteed for Miami. It's basically the equivalent of a fully guaranteed 1 year, $8.5m contract with some team option years coming after it. Which given some of the insane money we've seen 3rd tier players make today, doesn't sound all that bad.

And Kiko is a terrific asset, if he can stay healthy. If he plays well this year the comp pick he'd get from leaving in 2017 would pay for the trade down by itself.

It's a decent trade for both teams. If Maxwell bounces back and Alonso stays healthy it will look like Miami fleeced Philly. Philly rids themselves of two Chip Kelly acquisitions, saves about $8.5 million, and boosts their draft pick (though in a draft like this, #13 is probably as good as #8).

As far as Walterfootball grades, it's just one guys opinion, a guy that had some fun things to say about Seattle's 2012 draft. (Nothing against ya Fade, you are one of my favorites).

As far as the teams that won today, the best signings were all by teams who kept their own players. Charles Johnson for $3m, Pac-Man for $6m APY, Rubin for $4m APY, etc. I don't know what Lane got, but given that he agreed to Seattle's terms and that interest in Lane seemed minimal, it's probably a good deal for the team.

Alright, some non cop-out answers.

Houston.

I think Osweiler has Alex Smith type value. Most people view the Alex Smith trade as a great move for the Chiefs in retrospect, even though they gave up two 2nd rounders and paid Smith a decent amount of money. Houston didn't have to give up any draft picks and Osweiler's pay is fairly close to Smith's.

Lamar Miller is risky, but talented. His deal is not all that big, so if he flops in Houston they can escape it without much pain. If he and Osweiler pay off, it probably solidifies Houston as a 10+ win team.

The AFC South is a joke, so these two moves probably did enough to make Houston the division favorite in 2016.

Miami.

Miami seems have big free agencies every year and can't turn it into wins. But just on paper, I like the additions. Maxwell on what is basically a one year "prove it" deal. Alonso on his last cheap year. Mario Williams for $8m APY, returning to a 4-3 and lining up next to Suh and across from Cameron Wake.

Ultimately, it will boil down to Adam Gase and what he's capable of getting out of Ryan Tannehill.

Nobody should be afraid of Miami just yet, but their offseason gets good marks for efficiency in a year where JR Sweezy and Coby Fleener are getting mega deals. That plus Miami's new additions were more or less paid for by the releases of Greg Jennings and Brent Grimes. They lost Miller, but apparently they are pretty high on Ajayi as a 3 down back. They lost Matthews and Jennings at WR, but their remaining trio of Landry, Parker, and Stills has plenty of talent.

Oakland.

They were in a position where they had to blow money and overpay for guys, or else the money would go to waste. For a team that doesn't feel like it will be staying put all that much longer...

Being in that scenario, and still getting Osemele and Irvin for semi-reasonable deals, feels like a win to me.

Tennessee.

I think Murray can still play. His deal with Tennessee is basically a fully guaranteed 2/12.25 deal with some option years added. Roughly a $6m APY player. That's not bad.

The Titans also added Rishard Matthews who was one of the NFL's most efficient WRs last season. The other two teams allegedly in on Matthews were New England and Seattle.

They will probably use the #1 pick on a left tackle and they might grab another quality OL at #32 if they want. The Titans defense sucks, but their offense is slowly starting to get interesting.

Miami will suck. Maker my words.

Tennessee did some smart business. I could see Murray being a solid back behind an O-line they're expected to spend some capital on. Matthews is a really nice piece for Mariota.

Osweiller's deal is ridiculous but all said I hope it works out for both parties. It's about time the South got competitive. I expect Andrew Luck to bounce back and the Colts need competition!

The Chiefs were the true winners of free agency. They worked their voodoo magic in re-signing Jaye Howard and Derrick Johnson to short, team-friendly deals. And they signed RT Mitchell Schwartz for just $6.6 million APY. Wait . . . what?! The Seahawks could have signed Mitchell Schwartz for that little money and then flipped Gilliam to LT. :34853_doh:

I'm also a fan of what the Raiders did in adding game-changing lineman Kelechi Osemele and SLB Bruce Irvin. But it came at a real cost, whereas the Chiefs managed to pull three rabbits out of their hat.

The Vikings got Alex Boone for a sick bargain. But again, the Chiefs really worked some magic. Count me as impressed.

Chiefs, Texans and Raiders seem to have done some solid business.

On paper the Giants seemed to have gotten a lot of good players to help fix their terrible defense...........but they had to guarantee 100M to do it.

So we'll see if that pans out. But yeah, on paper they got a front line DT, DE, CB and locked up JPP for another year. NFC East is wide open, so IMO they're the favorites going into camp.

kearly":23ez2opl said:

As far as Walterfootball grades, it's just one guys opinion, a guy that had some fun things to say about Seattle's 2012 draft. (Nothing against ya Fade, you are one of my favorites).

Click to expand...

No offense taken. I like different opinions, it creates discussion.

As for WFB, he isn't very good evaluating drafts, especially past the 1st rd. (Also I remember when he put out the Hawks '12 draft grade I couldn't stop laughing.) His Free Agent Grades are a lot better though.

I think Miami is the new D.Snyder early 2000's Redskins. This trade is horrible for them because they are taking on a lot of salary for guys that are hardly ever going to contribute going forward in the NFL (Maxwell has a bum shoulder & Alonso is always hurt), and they traded down to do this. This is huge for Philly they get to dump salary, and get rewarded with a higher draft position.

Overseasfan":2uc9j0dh said:

Chiefs, Texans and Raiders seem to have done some solid business.

Click to expand...

I like Howard for the Chiefs but they overpaid to keep a guy who is already washed up in Hall, and also lost Smith, who is a big blow for them.

The Texans are giving 17 APY to a guy who on a team stacked to the brim put up numbers that are worse than what Brian Hoyer was already doing on the Texans.

The Raiders had to spend, but somehow are spending much smarter than a team that wasn't forced to spend, the Giants.

Who wins the middle and the back of the market will end up being the true winners, IMO, but as for the front end I think the big winner is the Raiders and the big losers are the Giants.

hawknation2016":5tl7dpew said:

The Chiefs were the true winners of free agency. They worked their voodoo magic in re-signing Jaye Howard and Derrick Johnson to short, team-friendly deals. And they signed RT Mitchell Schwartz for just $6.6 million APY. Wait . . . what?! The Seahawks could have signed Mitchell Schwartz for that little money and then flipped Gilliam to LT. :34853_doh:

I'm also a fan of what the Raiders did in adding game-changing lineman Kelechi Osemele and SLB Bruce Irvin. But it came at a real cost, whereas the Chiefs managed to pull three rabbits out of their hat.

The Vikings got Alex Boone for a sick bargain. But again, the Chiefs really worked some magic. Count me as impressed.

Click to expand...

Sorry, stopped reading at "could have flipped Gilliam to LT". NO. THANK. YOU.

Raiders for me, hands down.

hawknation2016":tpzx9lpr said:

The Chiefs were the true winners of free agency. They worked their voodoo magic in re-signing Jaye Howard and Derrick Johnson to short, team-friendly deals. And they signed RT Mitchell Schwartz for just $6.6 million APY. Wait . . . what?! The Seahawks could have signed Mitchell Schwartz for that little money and then flipped Gilliam to LT. :34853_doh:

I'm also a fan of what the Raiders did in adding game-changing lineman Kelechi Osemele and SLB Bruce Irvin. But it came at a real cost, whereas the Chiefs managed to pull three rabbits out of their hat.

The Vikings got Alex Boone for a sick bargain. But again, the Chiefs really worked some magic. Count me as impressed.

Click to expand...

Good call on the Chiefs. I thought they'd get plundered this offseason and yet they've nearly kept all their own free agents somehow.

Fade":tt75cosj said:

No offense taken. I like different opinions, it creates discussion.

As for WFB, he isn't very good evaluating drafts, especially past the 1st rd. (Also I remember when he put out the Hawks '12 draft grade I couldn't stop laughing.) His Free Agent Grades are a lot better though.

I think Miami is the new D.Snyder early 2000's Redskins. This trade is horrible for them because they are taking on a lot of salary for guys that are hardly ever going to contribute going forward in the NFL (Maxwell has a bum shoulder & Alonso is always hurt), and they traded down to do this. This is huge for Philly they get to dump salary, and get rewarded with a higher draft position.

Click to expand...

That's how I feel too. Message boards should be about having fun, not about being proven right or being made to look like a genius in one's own eyes. Discussions are fun and help us grow as thinkers.

I get why someone would compare Miami to the Redskins and Dan Schneider, but my feeling on the Dolphins is a bit different. I've actually liked a lot of the signings and draft picks Miami has made over the years, but I think they've been undone by sub-par coaching staffs and a sup-par, highly paid QB.

To me the Tannehill Dolphins feel like the Matt Stafford Lions. They have their "franchise QB", yet they can never quite seem to get over the hump. Both Tannehill and Stafford are mediocre at best, but both flash enough exciting moments to get their teams to think "next year they'll take that step."

Maybe Tannehill will take the next step some day, maybe Adam Gase can be a QB whisperer. But until that day comes, Tannehill might be the most franchise damaging QB in the league.

^^^ I like that comparison, as they're two really different QBs who at the end of the day create the exact same problem.

I'm inclined to think Gase can right that ship, but for every Mike Tomlin you probably get 10 bright young other guys who could innovate a little bit but can't actually lead a team.

Who won? Players, most will never see the back end of those contracts, now as far as teams winning, give it a week and then we will see.