2023 NFL Free Agency Tracker: Everything you need to know

NFL free agency is alive and humming. Players aren’t officially supposed to sign with teams until Wednesday March 15, but legal tampering and gossiping national reporters always lead to plenty of early news.

The FantasyLife crew is celebrating one of the NFL offseason’s best holidays by analyzing each and every fantasy-relevant move as they roll in. Be sure to check back in for updated contract numbers and analysis throughout the week. As always: It’s a great day to be great.

Quarterback

Eagles sign Marcus Mariota (3/16)

• Contract: 1-year, $5M deal with the potential to earn up to $8M (@AdamSchefter)
• Fantasy Projection: QB3 (Jalen Hurts Handcuff)

The Eagles lost backup Gardner Minshew to the Colts but promptly remedied the situation by signing former Titan, Raider, and Falcon, Marcus Mariota. 

Philadelphia has a history of investing and valuing the quarterback position under Howie Roseman, who won the city a Super Bowl with his Nick Foles foresight in 2017, and this move feels eerily similar in some ways. 

Jalen Hurts ran the ball an absurd 165 times in 2022-23 and endured a scary sprained sternoclavicular (SC) joint injury, which nearly derailed his season. 

It’s not hard to see Mariota mattering for fantasy at some point in 2023-24, even if it’s just for a game or two. 

From a fit perspective, Mariota is an ideal signing for the Eagles run-heavy scheme and proved he has plenty of pep left at age 29, rushing for a career-high 438 yards in just 13 games with Atlanta.

While he remains a limited passer, he ended last season with numbers mostly in line with his career averages and a 5.0% TD rate which was the best of his career. 

He ranked 19th in EPA per play last season, putting him in Andy Dalton/Derek Carr territory. 

Commanders sign Jacoby Brissett (3/15)

• Contract: 1-year, $10M deal with $8M guaranteed
• Fantasy projection: QB3 (QB42 ADP)

Washington has their veteran signal-caller. Expect Brissett to compete with rising second-year QB Sam Howell for the starting gig; head coach Ron Rivera previously said if a veteran QB beats out Howell for the Week 1 starting job “so be it.”

Brissett out-played Deshaun Watson in Cleveland last season, but unfortunately his stellar efficiency stats didn't translate to anything resembling useful fantasy goodness. Overall, Brissett ranked third in completion percentage over expected (+2.8%) and 11th in EPA per dropback (+0.12) among all QBs to play at least 300 snaps, yet he was just the QB18 in total fantasy points in Weeks 1 to 12 as the starter.

The Commanders certainly have ample weaponry in Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel; just realize it's far from a given that Brissett will have too long of a leash should he regress closer to pre-2022 levels of play. Good news for the Washington weapons, but don't expect Brissett himself to be more than a bye-week streamer in most traditional fantasy formats. 

Packers expected to trade Aaron Rodgers to the Jets (3/15)

• Trade details: TBD
• Fantasy projection: Low-end QB1 with upside (ADP QB16)

Rodgers told The Pat McAfee Show, “Since Friday, my intention was to play and play for the New York Jets.” While the trade isn't official, the saga finally appears to be over.

The 18-year veteran will be 39 at the beginning of the 2023 season, but he can still make all of the throws and has an uncanny ability to create big plays off-script. Over the last three years, Rodgers has the third-most TDs (14) on scramble drill plays, per PFF data. He stands in ELITE company, trailing only Patrick Mahomes (18) and Josh Allen (18).

He delivered a career-low 15 fantasy points per game in 2022 but wasn’t playing with a full deck after the trade of Davante Adams to the Raiders. Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb were his top two options until late in the season when he and Christian Watson found a groove, producing seven TD passes from Week 10 to 18.

With the Jets, Rodgers inherits an appealing group of weapons. Offensive Rookie of the Year, Garrett Wilson will lead the way, but Corey Davis and Elijah Moore will battle for the No. 2 role. 

Moore was a bust in his second season, but we saw glimpses of brilliance as a rookie when he delivered three top-eight finishes in a seven-week span as a starter. Davis posted a career year in 2020 with a 2.58 YPRR and 24% TPRR, before signing with the Jets in 2021. Everyone in this WR has a bright spot that we can point to as a source for potential upside.

Sprinkle in a little Breece Hall out of the backfield, and you have the makings of a supporting cast that could help Rodgers return to his 2020 and 2021 form when he finished as the QB3 and QB6, respectively. He is currently the QB17 off the board on Underdog, but that should rise in the coming days. Consider Rodgers a low-end QB1 with upside.

Wilson is already the WR10 off the board in best-ball drafts and has a chance to deliver a high-end WR1 season, while Davis and Moore are WR4 options with WR3 upside.

Buccaneers sign Baker Mayfield (3/15)

• Contract: 1-year, $8.5M deal (Adam Schefter)
• Fantasy projection: Borderline QB2 (QB34 ADP)

Mayfield is expected to compete with 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask for the starting job with Tom Brady allegedly retired.

Yes, Mayfield has spent the better part of the last two seasons being an objectively bad QB. Also yes, he has at least flashed more best-case upside than your typical low-level QB, setting the NFL record for touchdown passes by a rookie (27 before Justin Herbert broke it) and leading the Browns to their first playoff victory since 1994.

Getting to throw the football to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin represents an upgrade over his weapons in Cleveland, Carolina and Los Angeles (Cooper Kupp was already hurt) alike; it's possible that Mayfield can provide a few boom games over the course of an 18-week season. Still, the f*cking GOAT couldn't manage better than the QB16 in fantasy points per game in this offense last season; it's unlikely Mayfield emerges as anything more than a bye-week streamer in traditional re-draft fantasy leagues.

Falcons sign Taylor Heinicke (3/14)

• Contract: 2-year, $14M with $6.32M guaranteed (Spotrac)
• Fantasy projection: QB3+ (QB45 ADP)

The Falcons have said that Desmond Ridder is the starter, but this is certainly “top-end backup money” as NFL Network's Tom Pelissero put it.

Ultimately, the former Panthers and Commanders QB signing with the Falcons is more so good news for Ridder AND Sam Howell than it necessarily is for Heinicke himself. While Heinicke deserves credit for his career 12-12-1 record as a starter, he ranks a lowly 25th in adjusted yards per attempt (6.6), 26th in completion rate (87.2%) and (most importantly) just 26th in fantasy points per game (13.5) among 34 QBs with 16-plus starts over the last two seasons.

Heinicke never managed to provide any level of high-end fantasy consistency in Washington; don't expect him to turn a corner in a more run-heavy offense with arguably fewer places to go with the football.

Ridder is in the driver's seat to start Week 1 (for now); the problem is he failed to demonstrate any sort of fantasy upside himself during the final four weeks of 2022. Most depressing was that the rookie totaled a mediocre 16-64-0 rushing line in his four starts despite boasting a pretty great physical profile at 6'3", 207-pounds with a 4.52-second 40-yard dash. The lack of pass-game volume combined with a mediocre rushing floor doesn't exactly make for a fantasy asset worth chasing.

Howell’s deep-ball goodness and 183-828-11 rushing line in his final season at North Carolina paint the picture of a fantasy-friendly QB, although head coach Ron Rivera said if a veteran QB beats out Sam Howell for the Week 1 starting job, "so be it." Of course, the veteran QB market isn't exactly thriving at the moment; the second-year signal-caller's chances of starting come Week 1 have improved with the long-time Rivera favorite out of the picture.

Raiders sign Jimmy Garoppolo (3/13)

• Contract: 3-year, $67.5M with $34M guaranteed (Adam Schefter)
• Fantasy projection: Low-end QB2 (QB29 ADP)

Garoppolo never enjoyed the breakout season some hoped for in his time with the 49ers, but has 4,000-yard passing upside. The 10th-year veteran averaged 238 yards per game and a touchdown on 5% of his passes, slightly above the NFL average. From a YPA efficiency perspective, Garoppolo has been astoundingly good over his career. 

He is a decent clean-pocket passer but struggles against pressure. The 31-year-old finished below the NFL average in PFF pass grade versus pressure in four out of his last five seasons in San Francisco.

Garoppolo will likely remain a low-end QB2 option in 2023, but he helps stabilize the value of Davante Adams, Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow.

Giants re-sign Daniel Jones (3/7)

• Contract: 4-years, $160 million with $82 million guaranteed (ESPN)
• Fantasy projection: Borderline QB1 (QB14 ADP)

Jones has decreased his interception rate in every season of his career and managed to set career-best marks in adjusted yards per attempt (6.9), passer rating (92.5) and QBR (60.8) in his first season with head coach Brian Daboll.

This was despite dealing with quite a bit of pass-catcher turnover: The team’s top-four WRs entering Week 1 in Kenny Golladay (mannequin), Sterling Shepard (torn ACL in Week 3), Kadarius Toney (traded to Chiefs) and Wan’Dale Robinson (played 6 games due to injury) all managed to not work out, leaving Jones to make the most out of the likes of Darius Slayton, Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins among others.

A lack of high-end resources in the passing game led to the fourth-year signal-caller posting career-high marks in carries (120), rushing yards (708) and rushing touchdowns (7); Jones had more fantasy points per game from purely rushing production than anyone other than Justin Fields, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.

Here’s to hoping the Giants do a better job surrounding their new $160 million QB with capable pass-catchers, and even if they don’t the soon-to-be 26-year-old dual-threat should have more than enough rushing volume to vie for another top-10 fantasy finish.

Saints sign QB Derek Carr (3/6)

• Contract: 4-years, $150 million with $100 million guaranteed (ESPN)
• Fantasy projection: Mid-tier QB2 (QB20 ADP)

The longtime Raiders QB joins a Saints offense with at least one high-end weapon in WR Chris Olave, while the statuses of WR Michael Thomas (renegotiating) and RB Alvin Kamara (legal) are a bit murkier. 

Still, the deal cements Carr as New Orlean’s undisputed QB1, as the franchise continues to do everything in their power to prove that the salary cap is merely a figment of our collective imagination.

Metrics like adjusted yards per attempt (7.5 vs. 6.7) and completion rate (66.7% vs. 60.8%) paint the picture of Andy Dalton being a superior signal-caller to Carr in 2022, although the latter QB did hold the lead in EPA per dropback (0.07 vs. 0.02). 

Potential real-life upgrade under center aside: There shouldn’t be all that much optimism behind Carr breaking out in any sort of major way as a fantasy asset. The soon-to-be 32-year-old veteran has worked as a top-12 QB in fantasy points per game in just one season since entering the league in 2014.

• 2022: QB20 in fantasy points per game
• 2021: QB18
• 2020: QB18
• 2019: QB23
• 2018: QB25
• 2017: QB20
• 2016: QB10
• 2015: QB18
• 2014: QB26

Carr’s present QB20 ADP on Underdog Fantasy isn’t egregious, but incoming rookies Bryce Young (QB21 ADP) and especially Anthony Richardson (QB24 ADP) offer far more potential fantasy-friendly rushing ability. He’s not someone who needs to be prioritized in season-long formats and should only be viewed as a stacking partner in best-ball land.

The Raiders’ next move at QB is unclear. Jarrett Stidham put forward an entertaining 365-3-2 performance against the 49ers in Week 17 and posted encouraging 7-34-0 and 7-50-0 rushing lines in his only two starts, but he signed with the Broncos shortly after free agency began. 

The fantasy stock of Davante Adams and company could certainly use an upgrade through the draft or free agency, otherwise it’ll be tough to look at this offense as anything other than a bottom-10 unit.

Seahawks re-sign QB Geno Smith (3/6)

• Contract: 3-years, $75 million with $40 million guaranteed (Mike Garafolo)
• Fantasy projection: Borderline QB1 (QB18 ADP)

The NFL’s reigning comeback player of the year could flirt with top-12 treatment in fantasy land should the Seahawks decide against adding real 2023 competition through the NFL Draft, although that might be wishful thinking for Geno truthers considering they boast five picks inside of the top-100 selections (No. 5, No. 20, No. 37, No. 52, No. 83).

Smith was one of the league’s very best QBs in completion percentage over expected in 2022 and posted top-10 numbers in yards per attempt (7.5, No. 9), adjusted completion rate (77.8%, No. 6), passer rating (100.9, No. 5) and PFF passing grade (76.1, No. 9) despite his much discussed second-half dropoff. 

Having two great WRs in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett helps matters; just realize Smith is coming off an arguable top-10 real-life season in addition to his fantasy success.

Smith will be 33 in October, but still showed a decent rushing floor (68-366-1) in 17 starts last season. Nobody will confuse that sort of production with Lamar Jackson or Justin Fields. Still, it is superior to similarly-priced QBs like Kirk Cousins (QB12 ADP), Jared Goff (QB15) and Aaron Rodgers (QB17) offer. 

The middle-class fantasy QB has been dead in recent years; Smith isn’t someone drafters will need to go out of their way to land, but fantasy’s reigning QB9 in fantasy points per game could emerge as a pretty, pretty, pretty good value (again) should draft hoopla push him down towards the position’s QB2 borderline.

Ravens franchise tag QB Lamar Jackson (3/7)

• Contract: 1-year, $32 million (ESPN)
• Fantasy projection: Consensus upside QB1 (ADP QB6)

It’s the nonexclusive franchise tag, meaning Jackson is able to engage in contract talks with other teams. However, the Ravens can match any offer or demand two first-round picks as compensation. While there would seemingly be all sorts of suitors for a former MVP QB entering his prime, reports indicate QB-needy teams like the Raiders, Commanders, Falcons and Panthers aren’t interested in acquiring his services.

A return home to Baltimore with a few new WRs and new OC Todd Monken certainly qualifies as a solid landing spot; Jackson is responsible for the single-greatest season in NFL history in terms of fantasy points per game after all. 

Still, more help sure would be nice: The Ravens rank 31st in non-QB spending since drafting Jackson in 2018, yet fifth in total points scored. While there are plenty of landing spots with the sort of offensive weapons that would only help Jackson’s value (49ers? Raiders?), it’s impossible to rule out a worst-case scenario of a holdout and/or new employer that would constitute a downgrade (Texans? Panthers?).

Only Justin Fields (10.8) and Jalen Hurts (10.3) averaged more fantasy points per game from purely rushing production than Jackson (7.9) in 2022, while his average of +0.11 EPA per dropback ranked 11th among all QBs with 300-plus attempts and ahead of more traditional pocket passers like Tom Brady (+0.07), Kirk Cousins (+0.06) and Justin Herbert (+0.05).

One of just 10 QBs in NFL history averaging north of 19 fantasy points per game: Even Jason Pierre-Paul won’t need more than two hands to count the number of signal-callers to draft before Jackson in fantasy land this season regardless of where he lands.

Andy Dalton

• (Signed with the Panthers on a 2-year, $11M deal with $8M guaranteed)

CJ Beathard 

• (Re-signed with the Jaguars on a 2-year, $4.5M deal)

Case Keenum 

• (Signed with the Texans on a 2-year, $6.25M deal with $4M guaranteed)

Sam Darnold 

• (Signed with the 49ers on a 1-year, $4.5M deal with $3.5M guaranteed)

Easton Stick 

• (Signed with the Chargers on a 1-year, $1.8M deal)

Mike White

•  (Signed with the Dolphins on a 2-year, $16M deal)

Jarrett Stidham 

• (Signed with the Broncos on a 2-year, $10M deal with $5M guaranteed)

Carson Wentz

Blaine Gabbert

Brandon Allen

Brian Hoyer

Cam Newton

Chase Daniel

Cooper Rush

• (Re-signed with the Cowboys on a 2-year, $6M deal)

David Blough

• (Signed a 1-year deal with the Cardinals)

Drew Lock

• (Re-signed with the Seahawks on a 1-year, $4M deal)

Gardner Minshew

• (Signed with the Colts on a 1-year, 5.5M deal with $3.5M guaranteed)

Jameis Winston

• (Re-signed with the Saints on a 1-year, $8M deal)

Jeff Driskel

Joe Flacco

Josh Johnson

Josh Rosen

Joshua Dobbs

• (Signed with the Browns on a 1-year, $2M deal that is fully guaranteed)

Kurt Benkert

Kyle Allen

• (Signed with the Bills)

Mason Rudolph

Mike Glennon

Nate Sudfeld

• (Re-signed with the Lions)

Nathan Peterman

Nick Mullens

• (Re-signed with the Vikings on a 2-year, $4M deal with a little less than $2M guaranteed)

P.J. Walker

• (Signed with the Bears)

Teddy Bridgewater

Tim Boyle

Trace McSorley

Running back

Bills sign Damien Harris (3/20)

• Contract: 1-year, $1.7M deal (Ari Meirov)
• Fantasy Projection: Touchdown-dependent RB3

Harris replaces former early-down bell-cow RB Devin Singletary, who signed with the Texans.

The former Patriots back posted a beastly 202-929-15 rushing line in 2021, but has otherwise struggled to stay healthy enough to consistently rack up high-end production. Overall, Harris has played just 38 of 66 games, missing time due to hamstring, groin, finger, ankle, rib, thigh and head injuries since entering the league in 2019.

While Harris does figure to work as the Bills' primary short-yardage and accordingly goal-line back, those opportunities are few and far between with Josh Allen typically handling those duties. Overall, the Bills rank just 24th in expected backfield PPR points per game over the past two seasons despite ranking second in scoring offense during the same span; unfortunately that's usually life for RBs with a dual-threat QB.

Further complicating matters for Harris is the fact that the Bills were more resistant to give any RB 15-plus touches than anybody other than the Rams and Ravens last season. He'll supply some enhanced upside inside of standard formats, but don't expect anything resembling steady production without injuries to both James Cook and Nyheim Hines.

Cook unfortunately is a pretty big loser here; he only reached double-digit carries on five occasions in 2022 and it wasn't a coincidence that three of those games featured wins by two-plus TDs. The Bills played the rookie on half of the offense's snaps just once; he's perhaps being type-cast as a scat back despite averaging a gaudy 5.7 yards per carry. Expect the rising second-year back to still lead the way in full-PPR scoring, but Cook sure seems to be at least one injury away from having anything close to a high-end fantasy role.

Texans sign Devin Singletary (3/20)

• Contract: 1-year, $3.75M deal
• Fantasy Projection: RB4

Singletary averaged a respectable 1,030.5 total yards and five scores across four seasons with the Bills; sneaky-solid elusiveness helped him average a whopping 0.22 missed tackles forced per carry during this stretch – tied for the fourth-highest mark at the position among 56 qualified backs.

$3.75 million is something, although it's also not exactly enough to guarantee a starting role. This is especially true in a Houston offense that figures to keep Dameon Pierce plenty involved; all the rising second-year talent did in 13 games was rack up 1,104 total yards and five scores.

Most impressive with Pierce's debut campaign was his ability to make people miss. Overall, only 2014 Marshawn Lynch forced more missed tackles per touch in a single season than Pierce managed in 2022 (PFF, min. 225 touches).

This deal is more so an unfortunate cut to Pierce's fantasy upside and dreams for a workhorse role than good news for Singletary. New offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik could perhaps see differently, although he certainly saw Kyle Shanahan rotate RBs plenty during his time with the 49ers.

Pierce still profiles as a solid RB2 inside a (hopefully) improved Texans offense with some semblance of upside under center in the form of the 2023 NFL Draft's No. 2 overall pick, but his path to a monstrous “can't sit even if there's a fire” workload certainly seems muddier than it was a few days ago.

Buccaneers sign Chase Edmonds (3/16)

• Contract: 1-year, $1.08M deal (ESPN)
• Fantasy Projection: RB3

Edmonds’ mid-round ADP in 2022 belied his potential value within what we believed to be an explosive Miami offense. The five-year veteran ended his ’21 campaign in the top 20 in yards after the catch (YAC) among all RBs and could still function between the tackles (10th in success rate). With Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as coverage distractions, Edmonds could thrive as a PPR asset. At least, that’s what we thought.

For the first six weeks of the 2022 season, Edmonds saw 29.7% of the backfield snaps. Raheem Mostert stole the show as an all-purpose back for the Dolphins. And, what’s worse, Edmonds couldn’t even carve out a role in the passing game. 

Hill and Waddle inhaled 50.7% of Miami’s attempts and leaving the scraps for the other pass-catchers. Edmonds had an abysmal 1.05 yards per route run on 10 targets by Week 6. So, it was no surprise to see the miscast RB traded to the Broncos a month after Javonte Williams suffered a season-ending injury. It brightened fantasy managers’ hopes for a revival of Edmonds’ fantasy outlook, but again, Edmonds couldn’t find the field.

Again, a veteran supplanted the dual-threat rusher. In Edmonds’ first two weeks playing for Denver, Latavius Murray handled 57.8% of the carries with Melvin Gordon as the primary backup. Edmonds earned two totes before getting injured and we didn’t see him again until Week 16. So, with two stops in a single season alone, it’s hard to see his fantasy stock rising in Tampa Bay.

Rachaad White walks into the starting position after a lukewarm rookie season with Ke’Shawn Vaughn still waiting in the wings. At times, White challenged Leonard Fournette for third-down and red-zone work, but the LSU product held his fantasy-friendly role as Tom Brady's favorite RB to target. We’re already downgrading the Bucs WRs with Baker Mayfield (or Kyle Trask) at the helm. This move for Edmonds gives him a path to opportunity, but only if White falters in his sophomore year.

Bears Sign D’Onta Foreman (3/16)

• Contract: 1 year, $3M deal (ESPN)
• Fantasy Projection: High-end RB3

After the Panthers traded away Christian McCaffrey, the fantasy community lost interest in the offense. The disastrous duo of Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker were offensive anchors, but Carolina’s running game grabbed our attention.

From Weeks 8 to 18, D’Onta Foreman was 8th in yards after contact per attempt with the sixth-most explosive runs. Only Josh Jacobs generated more first downs over the ten-game stretch. Foreman exhibited some of the power and speed we saw in his final games with Tennessee the prior year. Now in Chicago, Foreman has a whole season to prove the last two years weren’t a fluke.

Khalil Herbert, Foreman’s primary competition for RB touches, was 34th out of 42 RBs in success rate. It took David Montgomery’s absence for Herbert to see increased usage. Otherwise, the sophomore operated in minimal third-down or short-yardage situations. Assuming health, Foreman can challenge Herbert for opportunities in the backfield. However, with Justin Fields continuing to take carries in high-leverage scenarios, Foreman has a limited ceiling, given his lack of usage as a receiver.

Vikings re-sign Alexander Mattison (3/16)

• Contract: 2-years, $7M deal (@TomPelissero)
• Fantasy Projection: RB3/4 (with RB2 upside if Cook is traded)

In a lateral move, the Vikings brought back Mattison on a two-year deal. Mattison is a well-known handcuff in fantasy circles who has shown he can produce when the volume gets dialed up. 

In five career games where he’s received 20 or more carries, Mattison has produced over 100-yards on three occasions. 

Given how long he’s existed as the backup to Dalvin Cook the fifth-year back feels like he’s been around forever. Known as a bruising, in between the tackles runner, Mattison had his worst statistical year in 2022-23, producing 3.8 yards per carry while setting a career low with a 1.5 yards YAC/ATT (yards after contact, per attempt). 

The signing may not move the fantasy needle much but there have been rumors swirling around Dalvin Cook, who has a 14.1M cap hit for next season and may be on the trade block. Bringing back Mattison gives the Vikings some stability in the backfield and a known quantity for a relatively low pricetag. 

Mattison’s best case is that the team decides to move on from Cook and he inhabits the “David Montgomery role” as early down and red zone specialist. He could also get entirely bypassed from a talent perspective as the Vikings have fifth-round pick from last season Ty Chandler on the roster and could also add in the draft. He’s a player whose value could stay flat or potentially rise depending on what the Vikings do over the next couple of months. 

Patriots sign James Robinson (3/15)

• Contract: 2-year, $8M deal
• Fantasy projection: It's the Patriots so anything is possible (RB79 ADP)

Awesome real-life recovery storyline aside: Robinson wasn't good in 2022. That makes sense considering the man tore his Achilles in late December of 2021; either way, he boasted a bottom-five rate in average carries with two-plus yards after contact (PFF) and converted 121 touches into just 476 yards (3.9 yards per touch).

Making matters worse and as much as I hate to be the guy who points to inept defense as a reason for high-end fantasy success: J-Rob's early-season consistency was largely due to literally two chunk wide-open runs.

Of course, the only consistency with the Patriots backfield has been the general inconsistency with how the RBs are utilized under head coach Bill Belichick and his myriad of assistants over the years.  Rhamondre Stevenson certainly handled an every-down role in 2022, but absences from Damien Harris (played 11 games), Ty Montgomery (out-snapped Stevenson in his only healthy game of 2022, seriously, I know, it was Week 1, crazy) and James White (retired) certainly helped matters.

Harris remains an unrestricted free agent; for now Robinson profiles as a potential early-down grinder complement to Stevenson. Historically the Patriots primary pass-catching RB has been far more successful in full-PPR fantasy land than the touchdown scorers, but that doesn't mean Robinson can't beat value at a reasonable late-round ADP should the team decline to add any sort of real additional competition to the backfield.

Panthers sign Miles Sanders (3/15)

• Contract: 4-year, $25.4M deal with $13M guaranteed (Spotrac)
• Fantasy projection: Borderline RB2 (RB29 ADP)

Sanders rebounded from his scoreless 2021 campaign with 1,347 total yards and 11 scores. For reference, Dalvin Cook went for 1,468 yards and 10 scores last season.

The former Eagles RB has averaged five yards per carry for his career and showed true flashes of big-play ability: He posted a 15% 10-plus yard attempt rate in 2021 and followed that up with the No. 9 mark at 13% in 2022. The 25-year-old back eclipsed an 80.0 PFF rush grade for the first time in his career last season and boasted the fifth-best PFF rush grade out of 13 free agent RBs with at least 100 carries entering the offseason. 

While Sanders has a 50-catch season to his name, he joined Derrick Henry as PFF's two-worst backs in PFF receiving grade in 2022. This is the biggest question for Sanders' fantasy upside in Carolina: Failure to demand more work in the passing game could lead to another run-heavy role inside of a significantly worse scoring offense. Hopefully reuniting with former RB coach Duce Staley leads to more of that fantasy-friendly 2019 usage.

The rest of the offseason will be telling regarding Sanders' 2023 upside. Confirmation of a more featured role across all three downs could push Sanders into the position's top-20 options in a hurry, but his aforementioned receiving troubles could make that more of a pipe dream than anything. The Panthers are replacing the third-most total touches in the league at RB; my early guess is that Chuba Hubbard or a player to be named later will annoyingly seize a good chunk of this offense's pass-game work.

Saints sign Jamaal Williams (3/15)

• Contract: 3-year, $12M deal with $8M guaranteed (Ian Rapoport)
• Fantasy projection: Touchdown-dependent RB3 (RB35 ADP)

Williams profiles as the thunder to Alvin Kamara's lightning, but the potential for the Saints' long-time stud RB to be suspended can't be ignored. Fantasy football legal expert/real-life criminal defense attorney Drew Davenport made a helpful Twitter thread explaining the specifics of the case and noted, “Things are dicey for Kamara’s upcoming season and I’m still out in all formats.” Davenport considers the case complicated enough that a settlement seems unlikely and ultimately predicts Kamara will be suspended for four to eight games of the 2023 season.

The likelihood that Kamara is suspended gives Williams an awfully nice theoretical ceiling to go along with his expected double-digit carry per-game role. The ex-Packers and Lions RB did show three-down ability with the former squad, although the likes of D'Andre Swift, Craig Reynolds and Justin Jackson helped limit the reigning RB18 in PPR points per game to just 16 total targets last season.

Williams is fine; just realize he scored 17 touchdowns in large part thanks to a league-high 28 carries inside the five-yard line – the next-closest player was Jalen Hurts with 20.  All but three of Williams' scores came from inside the five-yard line; don't expect too much non-PPR upside for the rising seventh-year veteran when Kamara is also available.

Lions sign David Montgomery (3/14)

• Contract: 3-year, $18M deal with $11M guaranteed
• Fantasy projection: Touchdown-dependent RB3 (RB36 ADP)

The good news for Montgomery: He got paid. That $18M is the sixth-largest contract given out to a free-agent RB that signed with a new team since 2016.

The bad news for Montgomery: Said list is filled with one bust after another. There's admittingly a bit of survivorship bias here – not many RBs are good enough to earn a big-time second contract in the first place, thus creating a fairly small sample that is stockpiled with older players. Top-tier fantasy RBs get rarer and rarer starting at 27 and especially 29-plus years of age, and to Montgomery's credit he doesn't turn 26 until June.

Perhaps the larger problem with immediately anointing Montgomery as an upside RB2 in fantasy land is his projected workload. Jamaal Williams might have scored 17 touchdowns last season, but he only finished as the RB18 in PPR points per game thanks to just 16 targets all year. Williams only played more than 50% of the offense's snaps once in 2022 despite Swift being banged up for most of the season; Montgomery will likely have to make the most out of his rush attempts due to the presence of D'Andre Swift and (to a lesser extent) Craig Reynolds.

D-Mont had better hope that he inherits the heavy majority of Williams' vacated league-high 28 rush attempts inside the five-yard line: Only the Jets, Bills, Chiefs and Dolphins were less willing to give their lead RB 20-plus touches in 2022.

And then there are Da Bears. Presumed new No. 1 RB Khalil Herbert has made the most out of his opportunities during his two years with the Bears, especially in five career games playing at least 60% of the offense's snaps:

• Week 6, 2021: 19-97-1 rushing, 2-15-0 receiving, 89% snaps
• Week 7, 2021: 18-100-0 rushing, 5-33-0 receiving, 77% snaps
• Week 8, 2021: 23-72-0 rushing, 2-(-)4-0 receiving, 84% snaps
• Week 3, 2022: 20-157-2 rushing, 2-12-0 receiving, 60% snaps
• Week 4, 2022: 19-77-0 rushing, 1-24-0 receiving, 77% snaps

No RB averaged more rushing yards over expected per carry than Herbert (+1.44) in 2022; he checks all sorts of boxes as a pure rusher and could certainly supply some solid RB2 fantasy value with a featured role.

That latter point is the biggest concern: The Chicago backfield will be a key position group to monitor throughout the rest of the offseason, as Herbert could emerge as a screaming value as the current RB32 over at Underdog Fantasy should the Bears mostly decline to seriously address the position. Note that recently signed Travis Homer shouldn't be viewed as too big of a threat due to his lack of history handling anything close to a featured role and middling two-year, $4.5M deal, although he does boast the sort of pass-down chops to potentially steal some fantasy-friendly targets. 

Broncos sign RB Samaje Perine (3/14)

• Contract: 2-year, $7.5M with $3M guaranteed (Spotrac)
• Fantasy projection: RB4 and priority handcuff (RB48 ADP)

Perine profiles as the “thunder” to Javonte Williams' “lightning” in Sean Payton's new-look Broncos offense, although it's possible the team isn't done adding to the position. Latavius Murray remains a free agent and Matthew Berry noted the team is interested in Kareem Hunt. Still, the situation at least offers more committee potential than what Perine was used to in Cincinnati.

Intriguingly, Perine posted superior rushing numbers to Joe Mixon in essentially everything other than explosive run-play rate while obviously working behind the same offensive line in 2022. The veteran's ability to handle pass-protection duties has been a common annoyance for Mixon truthers; Perine has legit three-down ability, which he showcased in three extended appearances last season:

• Week 11: 11-30-0 rushing, 4-52-3 receiving, 70% snaps
• Week 12: 17-58-1 rushing, 4-35-0 receiving, 80% snaps
• Week 13: 21-106-0 rushing, 6-49-0 receiving, 83% snaps

Of course, Perine isn't being brought into Denver to work as the team's featured back; that job already belongs to their stud second-year RB.

The million-dollar question: When will Williams be ready to play after tearing the ACL, LCL and PCL in his knee last season? While Broncos GM George Patton said Williams is “on track” for Week 1, Dr. Jeff Mueller notes this is the rising third-year back’s best-case scenario. The “worst case” scenario is a 12 to 14-month recovery with a slow ramp up a la what J.K. Dobbins went through last season. Beat writer reports indicate that Williams could be out “well into” the 2023 season, and Dr. Edwin Porras notes that since 2010 five of 13 qualified RBs with ACL and PCL tears occurring between August and November still started the next season on the PUP list. Further hurting matters: One of Matthew Berry’s 23 interesting things he heard at the combine: “There is a VERY wide range of possibilities regarding his (Williams) return. There is a chance he is healthy to start the year. There is a chance he misses multiple games. And there is actually a chance he misses all of next year. I was told he is currently a lot more hurt than the team is letting on publicly and that the Broncos are secretly nervous.”

Perine isn't likely to have all that much standalone value once Williams is back, but it sure seems like that latter variable might not be imminent. The ex-Bengals talent could be a late-round gem should his ADP stay in the RB4 range; this feels like his floor with a healthy Williams, while failure to recover in a timely manner could shoot Perine up into weekly RB2 territory in a hurry. 

Eagles sign RB Rashaad Penny (3/14)

• Contract: 1-year, $3.5M with $600K guaranteed (Spotrac)
• Fantasy projection: Upside RB3 (RB51 ADP)

Out of all RBs with at least 300 attempts since 2018, Penny ranks No. 3 in average yards after contact (3.8) behind only Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry. Over that same span, he registered a 10-plus-yard run on a sparkling 15% of attempts, well above the NFL average of 10.5%.

Penny is easily the best RB on the Eagles' depth chart at the moment, with Miles Sanders trying to catch on elsewhere as a free agent. Kenneth Gainwell will likely steal passing-down duties, but Philadelphia’s high-end offense will offer bushels of quality opportunities to score TDs and rack up early-down yardage.

In a similar situation at the end of the 2021 season with Seattle, Penny racked up 26.8, 6.4, 19.5, 32.5 and 25 PPR points over the final five games of the season without handling the two-minute offense or long-down-distance work. If you had Penny on your fantasy roster for that run, you likely enjoyed winning a championship.

The sixth-year RB has played 12, 10, 3, 10 and 5 games, so availability isn’t a given. However, the potential for upside is undeniable, given the talent profile and quality of the offense. Penny has legit RB1 upside if things break in his favor.

The Eagles could still add competition via the NFL Draft, but Penny’s ADP should climb significantly from RB51 as a late-round selection on Underdog. Consider him a boom-bust RB3 that will continue to ascend to upside RB2 status if the Eagles don’t select an RB in the draft.

Dolphins re-sign RB Jeff Wilson Jr. (3/14)

• Contract: 2-year, 8.2M deal
• Fantasy projection: RB3 (RB60 ADP)

The deal has initially been reported as a decent bit better than teammate Raheem Mostert (2-year, $5.6M), although neither stand as the sort of commitment that guarantees much in the way of playing time.

Credit to Wilson for playing as effectively as he did in Miami after spending his first eight games of 2022 with the 49ers. The 27-year-old veteran wound up posting respectable 176-860-5 rushing and 22-185-1 in 16 combined games last season; the question is whether or not he'll truly be leaned on as a bell-cow back, or if head coach Mike McDaniel will utilize more of a committee system.

Whoever winds up working as McDaniel’s lead back will certainly carry plenty of fantasy upside thanks to existing in the league’s reigning 11th-ranked scoring offense, although no team was less willing to give their RBs 20-plus touches than the Dolphins last season.

While Wilson did rack up 15-plus combined carries and targets on four separate occasions with the Dolphins, that stretch coincided with Mostert working through knee and thumb issues. The only game that both played in that seemingly featured Mostert at 100% health saw the backs engage in a 49%/47% snap split and neither managed to reach double-digit carries.

Ultimately, this Dolphins offense figures to continue to flow through Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle before anyone else. Wilson deserves the slight edge in the ole fantasy rankings thanks to his youth, superior contract and enhanced playing time (even though Mostert was banged up); that said it'll be tough to rank either as a top-30 RB without more information surrounding McDaniel's plans for the position.

Dolphins re-sign RB Raheem Mostert (3/14)

• Contract: 2-year, 5.6M deal with $2.2M guaranteed
• Fantasy projection: RB3 (RB52 ADP)

The Dolphins have also re-signed Jeff Wilson, complicating the idea that this deal makes Mostert the frontrunner to start for now. It's possible the front office isn't done adding to the position; this contract isn’t exactly big enough to assume Mostert will be taking the first snap come Week 1.

While Mostert will be 31 years old in April, the 11-year veteran only has 532 career regular season touches due to spending most of his early career strictly on special teams. This lack of wear and tear has helped him consistently work as one of the league’s fastest players: Mostert owns the top-two fastest runs with the ball in his hands since 2017 (Next-Gen Stats).

Mostert was flirting with upside RB2 fantasy value during the first half of 2022, but struggled to maintain a bell-cow role after the team traded for Wilson. A strained knee and fractured thumb didn’t help matters; that said it’s also not easy to assume the often-injured Mostert will be a model of good health given that he’s played in just 25 of a possible 50 regular season games over the past three seasons.

Whoever winds up working as head coach Mike McDaniel’s lead back will certainly carry plenty of fantasy upside thanks to existing in the league’s reigning 11th-ranked scoring offense, although no team was less willing to give their RBs 20-plus touches than the Dolphins last season.

Best-case scenario: Mostert is featured and averages the 17.2 touches per game he saw in Weeks 4 to 8 after beating out Chase Edmonds and before Wilson was added to the equation. More-likely scenario: This is the first of several Miami backfield moves, and Mostert will serve as the lightning to someone else’s thunder in a committee system. The former scenario would be good enough to provide upside RB2 value, the latter more likely something closer to a middling to low-end RB3.

Giants franchise tag RB Saquon Barkley (3/7)

• Contract: 1-year, $10.09 million (ESPN)
• Fantasy projection: Mid-tier RB1 (RB5 ADP)

The Giants were able to use the franchise tag on Barkley after managing to lock down Daniel Jones on a long-term deal.

Good news: Barkley rebounded in a major way in 2022, racking up 1,650 total yards and 10 scores in the regular season before converting 14 touches into 109 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s thrilling Wild Card victory over the Vikings. These numbers were good enough for Barkley to work as the RB5 in PPR points per game (17.8) behind only Austin Ekeler (21.9), Christian McCaffrey (21), Josh Jacobs (19.3) and Derrick Henry (18.9).

Bad news: Barkley wasn’t all that good on a per-touch basis last season – especially as a receiver. As a rookie, he demonstrated high-end upside with a 24% TPRR and 1.53 YPRR. Since then, he’s had two sub-20% TPRR and three sub-1.20 YPRR campaigns. Overall, Barkley averaged 11.7 PPR points per game as a rookie from only receiving production compared to just 5.7 in 2022.

Ultimately, Barkley doesn’t even need to regain prime form in order to (again) post high-end fantasy production thanks to head coach Brian Daboll’s willingness to give him a true every-down role. Only the Titans and Raiders gave their lead RB 20- and 25-plus touches more often than the Giants; middling efficiency is fine when it comes with one of the largest workloads in the league. He’s a rock-solid mid-tier RB1 with the potential to regain top-three form should last season’s receiving deficiencies wind up being a one-year blip on the radar.

Cowboys franchise tag RB Tony Pollard (3/6)

• Contract: 1-year, $10.09 million (ESPN)
• Fantasy projection: Borderline RB1 (RB13 ADP)

Pollard was absolutely electric in 2022, racking up 1,378 total yards and 12 scores. He averaged a ridiculous 25.1 yards per TD, easily the highest mark among 13 RBs with at least 10-plus scores in 2022. You can probably guess who finished last in that metric (Zeke, 3.6 yards per TD).

An advanced metric darling, Pollard ranked near the top of the league in yards per route run (1.82, No. 4), breakaway run rate (8.8%, No. 4) and yards created per touch (3.3, No. 8) in 2022. The 25-year-old back is explosive and difficult to handle in space; the question is whether or not he’ll fully be given the reigns to the full-time RB1 job in 2023, or if he will be out-touched by Ezekiel Elliott for the fifth-consecutive season.

Keep an eye on Pollard’s surgery recovery from a high ankle sprain and fractured fibula, but he’s reportedly expected to be at full strength well before training camp. Head coach Mike McCarthy’s desire to run the d*mn ball might not make too many Cowboys or fantasy fans all that happy; that said more touches are always appreciated in fantasy land.

One could argue the reigning RB8 in PPR points per game deserves to be a poster child for regression in 2023 after scoring more times (12) on 232 touches than he did in 2019 to 2021 (10) on 401 touches; just realize successful second-contract RBs do tend to experience booms on their original team. 

Still, Pollard’s present ADP has him going alongside fellow backs who could be splitting touches with one back or another like Travis Etienne (RB11 ADP) and D’Andre Swift (RB15); he’s not egregiously expensive at the moment thanks to how fast the WR position has been flying off the board.

Raiders franchise tag RB Josh Jacobs (3/3)

• Contract: 1-year, $10.09 million (ESPN)
• Fantasy projection: Top-10 RB (RB10 ADP)

If you drafted Jacobs in fantasy in 2022, you likely made the playoffs based on that one genius selection. He led the NFL in rushing yards and was the RB2 in fantasy scoring.

Jacobs flashed high-end yards-after-contact prowess as a rookie by averaging 3.5 yards per carry. However, that number slipped to 2.8 over his second two seasons before rebounding to 3.4 in 2022.

Outside of that rebound, most of Jacobs’ efficiency metrics align with previous years in his career. The big difference this past season was getting an 85% share of the Raiders’ rushing attempts, which enabled 340 totes. He also registered a career-high in route participation (53%), but his TPRR (18%) and YPRR (1.17) were in line with previous seasons.

Jacobs doesn’t possess the same dual-threat ability as Pollard, but he isn’t a zero in the passing game. He is a high-end early-down option who can punch in TDs inside the five-yard line. He is above average in the big-play and make-you-miss departments, which keeps long scoring plays on the table.

From a fantasy perspective, Jacobs carries high-end RB1 upside with Jimmy Garoppolo adding some solid stability to the QB room. Even if Jimmy G disappoints it’ll be awfully hard for the 25-year-old talent to bust in a major way if head coach Josh McDaniels again finds a way to feed his workhorse back more touches than any other player in the league.

Jerick McKinnon

Kareem Hunt

Leonard Fournette

Melvin Gordon III

Ameer Abdullah 

• (Re-signed with the Raiders on a 1-year, $1.75M deal)

Andrew Beck 

• (Signed with the Texans on a 2-year, $6.75M deal with $4M guaranteed)

Benny Snell

Boston Scott

• (Re-signed with the Eagles on a 1-year, $2M deal)

CJ Ham

• (Re-signed with the Vikings on a 2-year deal)

Corey Clement

Craig Reynolds 

• (Re-signed with the Lions)

Darrel Williams

Darrell Henderson

David Johnson

D’Ernest Johnson

• (Signed with the Jaguars on a 1-year deal)

Devontae Booker

Dontrell Hilliard

Dwayne Washington

Giovani Bernard

Keith Smith

• (Re-signed with the Falcons on a 1-year deal)

Jakob Johnson

• (Re-signed with the Raiders on a 1-year deal)

Jonathan Williams 

• (Re-signed with the Commanders on a 1-year, $1.3M deal)

Justice Hill

• (Re-signed with the Ravens on a 2-year, $4.5M deal)

Justin Jackson

Kenyan Drake

Latavius Murray

Malcolm Brown

Mark Ingram

Marlon Mack

Matt Breida 

• (Re-signed with Giants on a 1-year deal)

Mike Boone 

• (Signed with the Texans)

Mike Burton

• (Signed with the Broncos on a 1-year deal)

Myles Gaskin

• (Re-signed with the Dolphins on a 1-year deal)

Rex Burkhead

Rico Dowdle

• (Re-signed with the Cowboys)

Ronald Jones

• (Signed with the Cowboys)

Royce Freeman

Salvon Ahmed 

• (Re-signed with the Dolphins)

Sony Michel 

Taiwan Jones

Tony Jones

• (Signed with the Broncos on a 1-year deal)

Travis Homer

• (Signed with the Bears on a 2-year, $4.5M deal)

Trayveon Williams

• (Re-signed with the Bengals)

Trenton Cannon

Ty Johnson

• (Re-signed with the Jets on a 1-year deal)

Wide receiver

Panthers sign D.J. Chark (3/24)

• Contract: 1-year deal (Ian Rapoport)
• Fantasy Projection: Upside WR4

Chark was good not great in 2022, as evidenced by his average marks in PFF receiving grade (69.6) and yards per route run (1.47), both of which ranked outside the top 40 among WRs with at least 50 targets last season.

The good news for Chark is that he still proved plenty capable of stretching the field, as his average of 16.7 yards per reception ranked fifth among 80 qualified players at the position. 

 6-foot-3, 199-pounds with 4.34 speed: Chark possesses all the requisite physical tools to cause problems for cornerbacks of all shapes and sizes; here’s to hoping the 26-year-old talent can experience some better injury luck after playing in just 15 games over the past two seasons.

The fit in Carolina is rather awesome from a volume standpoint thanks to the Panthers being a top-six offense in vacated air yards and targets, although the potential for both 1.) His personal efficiency to decline depending on who winds up under center, and 2.) Carolina to be a dismal scoring offense, could prevent him from partying like it's 2019 again.

Jets trade Elijah Moore to the Browns (3/22)

• Trade details: Jets get: 2nd-round pick (No. 42). Browns get: Elijah Moore, 3rd-round pick (No. 74)
• Fantasy projection: WR5 with the potential to soar higher

The Browns acquired Moore by dropping 32 spots in the 2023 NFL Draft. Not too shabby, especially with the former second-round pick set to be just 23 years old by Week 1.

There were times in 2021 when Moore looked like the next big thing at WR. Here’s a clip of him roasting former Dolphins No. 1 CB Byron Jones.

Moore put forward one helluva stretch following the Jets' Week 6 bye as a rookie, posting PPR WR36, WR26, WR1, WR27, WR3, WR40, and WR8 finishes during his final seven games of the season. For fans of arbitrary cutoffs that confirm your priors: Moore worked as the overall WR3 from Weeks 7-13 behind only Cooper Kupp and Justin Jefferson.

And yet, one could have jumped through these sorts of hoops to make it look like just about any 2021 rookie WR was always capable of putting forward top-15 production last season. Moore benefited from Corey Davis being healthy enough to play just three full games after the Jets' Week 6 bye, while the likes of Joe Flacco and (briefly) Mike White were usually under center in place of an injured Wilson during this hot stretch.

Then 2022 happened. Trade requests and a lack of playing time (something named Jeff Smith was regularly just as involved in the offense) limited Moore to a pedestrian 37-446-1 receiving line despite playing in 16 games. The team's carousel of bad QBs certainly didn't help, although that didn't stop both Garrett Wilson (83-1103-4) and Corey Davis (32-536-2) from producing far better than Moore.

Perhaps the fresh start in Cleveland brings out the best in Moore; it was certainly worth it for the Browns to find out. Still, he enters the offense clearly behind Amari Cooper in Deshaun Watson's pecking order, while it also wouldn't be shocking if WR Donovan Peoples-Jones and TE David Njoku wind up earning more targets.

Moving on to an allegedly more wide-open Browns offense might be good news for Moore in the long run, although expecting 2023 fantasy excellence as a complementary option inside an offense that was rather terrible with Watson under center last season might be wishful thinking.

Jets sign Mecole Hardman (3/22)

• Contract: 1-year, $6.5M deal (Ian Rapoport)
• Fantasy Projection: WR5

Hardman enters an already full Jets WR room consisting of Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Corey Davis and Denzel Mims.

On the one hand, the latter two receivers join new Browns WR Elijah Moore as cut/trade candidates. On the other, alleged future Jets QB Aaron Rodgers' alleged wish list also includes current free agents Randall Cobb and Odell Beckham.

Keeping up? This situation still feels rather wide open, but at a minimum Hardman figures to at least work behind Wilson and Lazard. This sure seems to point towards more of a gadget role – even if Hardman himself disagrees.

Still, a non-gadget role would be new for the four-year veteran: 36% of Hardman’s career receptions and 26% of his receiving yards have come on targets behind the line of scrimmage (both top-five marks among 125 qualified WRs).

Hardman's big-play potential can help make up for fewer targets than his future fantasy managers would desire, but even then it's hard to be overly thrilled about the fantasy upside of any offense's clear-cut No. 3 WR (at best). Expect a few big-play-induced boom games; the problem is that week-to-week low-volume-induced inconsistency will likely continue to be the primary culprit in the 25-year-old's fantasy profile. 

Panthers sign Adam Thielen (3/19)

• Contract: 3-year, $25M deal with $14M guaranteed (Aaron Wilson)
• Fantasy Projection: Volume-based WR3

The long-time Vikings receiver will be 33 years old in August. Thielen certainly has some gaudy counting numbers to his name in recent years – only Davante Adams (43), Mike Evans (33), Travis Kelce (32) and Tyreek Hill (31) have more receiving TDs than Thielen (30) since 2020 – but it's awfully rare for WRs to post big-time fantasy production once their age starts with a three.

Thielen wasn't too shabby in 2022; his 70-717-6 receiving line was good enough to earn PPR WR30 and WR43 honors on an overall and per-game basis. Still, that was with ever maligned, yet efficient and established Kirk Cousins tossing him the rock. It's possible that C.J. Stroud, or whoever else the Panthers choose as their franchise QB moving forward, is eventually far better than Cousins, but that's hardly a certainty to be true in the year 2023. 

The money at hand certainly looks good and is on par with the sort of historical big-money deals that landed new WRs solid year-one roles; just realize this is an already old WR in an offense that deserves to be consensually viewed as a bottom-five unit entering 2023. 

Thielen has theoretically great volume on his side thanks to the Panthers being a top-six offense in vacated air yards and targets, although the potential for both 1.) His personal efficiency to decline due to age as well as QB, and 2.) Carolina to be a dismal scoring offense, could prevent him from partying like it's 2018 again.

Texans trade WR Brandin Cooks to the Cowboys (3/19)

• Trade details: Cowboys get: WR Brandin Cooks. Texans get: 2023 5th (No. 161), 2024 6th
• Fantasy projection: Upside WR3 (ADP WR45)

The Cowboys were able to pull off a semi-shocker over the weekend, landing  Cooks early Sunday morning in exchange for two late round draft picks – one from 2023 and the other from 2024. 

The move is a near replica of the deal that saw them move Amari Cooper to the Browns last off-season and improves a Cowboy receiving core that was looking barren after the loss of Noah Brown (Texans). Cooks has two years left on his contract, but none of the money beyond 2023 is guaranteed. The Texans also agreed to pay $6M of Cooks’ $18M salary in 2023, so they are getting him for far less than they would have paid Cooper, who is due 20M in 2023.

Cooks will join a Cowboys receiving core that is headlined by CeeDee Lamb, who ranked fourth in team target share last season. The 29-year-old Cooks isn’t a threat to dethrone Lamb’s status as WR1 in Dallas but he will eat into Lamb’s overall target upside. Cooks averaged 7.79 targets per game over the last two seasons with Houston, playing primarily as a boundary receiver, who lined up in the slot just 14.5% of the time.

Lamb lined up in the slot around 45% of the time in 2022-23 but that number could jump in 2023-24 with Cooks in the fold. Having Lamb lined up more against undersized corners could also help push his efficiency upwards, so the move shouldn’t be viewed as entirely negative to Lamb’s fantasy upside. 

Cooks produced two 1,000-yard seasons in Houston, while catching passes from the likes of Davis Mills and Tyrod Taylor. While his team target share dipped from 26.5% in 2021 to 21% in 2022, injuries were an issue for the veteran last season as he struggled with wrist and calf issues. He also saw his yards per route run dip from 2.13 (16th in the league) to 1.77 (43rd). 

Cooks has some potential red flags, but his profile as a top 10% athlete who ran a 4.33 out of college suggests there’s likely more usefulness to be had. Given that the Cowboys defense is trending to be a top unit in the league again, and the fact their offense ranked just 24th in pass play percentage, means Cooks will likely struggle to reach 1000 yards in 2023. He’s a solid safety net for Dallas but for fantasy isn’t a player to reach for before his current ADP, unless an injury to Lamb were to occur. 

Dolphins sign Braxton Berrios (3/16)

• Contract: 1-year, $3.5M deal with $3M guaranteed (Spotrac)
• Fantasy Projection: WR5

Typically, we like slot receivers. They serve as “safety blankets” or earn “lay-up” or “high-percentage” targets from their quarterback. But, in Berrios’ situation, his new quarterback already has options to fill those needs.

Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combined for 61.0% of the team’s targets in 2022. Even worse for Berrios, Mike McDaniel frequently moved the dynamic duo into the slot to create defensive mismatches. Hill led the Blur Brothers with 39.5% of his targets coming from the interior. Regardless, their inside looks made up 72.1% of the targets thrown to slot receivers. Outside of those two, Cedrick Wilson Jr. had the highest slot target rate and he’s still on contract for 2023 leaving Berrios, ironically, as the odd man on the outside.

Speculation points to Berrios as Miami’s new return man. The former Hurricane handled kick or punt returns throughout the season while being sixth in target share on the Jets. Without a change in personnel, Berrios is a low-end WR5 for 2023.

Giants sign Parris Campbell (3/16)

• Contract: 1-year, $4.7M deal (Spotrac)
• Fantasy Projection: WR3/4

After dragging an injury-riddled receiving corps to the playoffs, the expectation was the Giants would make additions at WR. Kenny Golladay didn’t work out and Darius Slayton is still testing the free-agency market. And while Campbell doesn’t entice a huge reaction, he fits what New York needs.

Campbell earned 75.3% of his targets from the slot. He was top 12 in average separation per Next Gen Stats, but drops (fourth-highest drop rate for slot interior receivers) and volatile QB play plagued his ’22 season. Neither should be a problem for the upcoming year, but his inability to earn targets is a concern.

Despite playing on a team with lesser relative talent, Campbell battled with then-rookie Alec Pierce and any of the tight ends for targets. And, with Wan’Dale Robinson set to return and Isaiah Hodgins and Darren Waller in the fold, there’s no guarantee Campbell will see consistent usage. Campbell’s signing re-opens the conversation on Robinson’s injury timeline but the Giants’ 51.6% early-down pass rate (15th in the league) should put Campbell as a low-end WR3 heading into 2023.

Patriots sign WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (3/15)

• Contract: 3-year, $33M deal with $22.5M guaranteed (Adam Schefter) 
• Fantasy projection: Low-ceiling WR3 (WR50 ADP)

It's nearly identical to the deal that Jakobi Meyers signed with the Raiders. The expectation is that JuJu will essentially take over that very role which produced an average of 6.7 targets per game over the past three seasons.

Give the tik-toker credit for rebounding with a 78-933-3 receiving line with the Chiefs in 2022; his 9.2 yards per target were the most he averaged since his rookie season. Most impressive was JuJu's ability after the catch: He ranked seventh among 80 qualified WRs in yards after the catch per reception (5.9) during his first season in Kansas City and the production wasn’t overly fluky as evidenced by his sixth-place ranking in yards after the catch above expectation (Next-Gen Stats).

The Patriots have all sorts of targets up for grabs with Meyers, Nelson Agholor (current free agent) and Jonnu Smith out of the picture. They could also save $6.2M by releasing DeVante Parker at any point. Overall, New England boasts top-eight marks in vacated air yards and targets; this is an objectively great landing spot as far as available opportunity goes.

Smith-Schuster is still just 26 years old and once again finds himself in an offense with few other proven avenues to go with the football. Here's to hoping new OC Bill O'Brien 1.) Gets Mac Jones looking more like the guy we saw in 2021 vs. 2022, and 2.) Makes life a bit more fantasy-friendly for a Patriots WR group that ranks 28th in expected PPR points over the past three seasons.

Fire up JuJu as a volume-based WR3 who will have far more value in full-PPR formats.

Jets sign WR Allen Lazard (3/14)

• Contract: 4-year, $44M deal with $22M guaranteed (Jordan Schultz)
• Fantasy projection: Low-ceiling WR4 (WR62 ADP)

Enjoyed single-season highs in receptions (60) and receiving yards (788) in 2022. This coincided with Lazard demanding a target on a career-high 20.1% of his routes; his previous best mark was just 17.4% back in 2020. Also known for his rather pristine run blocking: There’s little doubt that the 27-year-old veteran adds some solid depth to the Jets WR room.

Of course, Garrett Wilson remains the alpha of the group following his impressive 83-1103-4 rookie campaign. Rising third-year WR Elijah Moore also probably isn’t going anywhere considering he’s still on a rookie contract. Hell, Aaron Rodgers apparently also wants Randall Cobb and Odell Beckham Jr. to join the Jets (if that is in fact where A-aron even ends up).

Lazard’s presence seems to point toward Corey Davis inevitably being released or traded. The Jets can save a whopping $10.5M against the cap by releasing or trading Davis at any point this offseason; the amount of money allotted to the former Packers WR makes this next decision more so a matter of “when” not “if.”

Underdog ADP is firmly on the side of Wilson (WR10) as the top Jets WR, but both Moore (WR51) and Lazard (WR62) are plenty affordable. Assuming this is the first domino to fall with Rodgers eventually making his way to the east coast, Lazard provides some decent enough late-round upside thanks to his familiarity with the 39-year-old QB – just don’t expect more of a boom than he managed in Green Bay (WR35 in PPR points per game) as the expected no-doubt WR1.

Saints re-sign WR Michael Thomas (3/14)

• Contract: 1-year, $10M deal with a max value of $15M
• Fantasy projection: WR2 when healthy (WR53 ADP)

The incentive-laden deal will keep Thomas in New Orleans for at least 2023. The 30-year-old veteran has played in just 10 of a potential 50 regular season games since 2020.

Yes, the NFL's all-time single-season leader in receptions has had an awful lot of trouble staying on the field. Also yes, Thomas posted PPR WR8, WR18 and WR47 finishes in his only three games of 2022; give the man some credit for scoring in style over A.J. Terrell and in front of long-time nemesis Carlton Davis.

Still, the age concern is very real. There have been just 14 instances of a WR posting top-12 PPR fantasy production on a per-game basis at 30-plus years of age over the past 10 years; it's quite likely that Thomas has already played the best football of his career.

The presence of Derek Carr under center does give Thomas an upgrade in the arm strength department compared to what he's worked with during his career, although rising second-year talent Chris Olave offers more competition for targets than any other WR that he's had to share the field with since probably Brandin Cooks.

Thomas will likely be ranked far higher in the Week 1 rankings compared to where he settles in actual best-ball and re-draft ADP; he's a big-time risk with questionable upside given the obvious age concerns, but a bill of good health could certainly lead to a triple-digit target campaign.

Raiders sign WR Jakobi Meyers (3/14)

• Contract: 3-year, $33M deal with $21M guaranteed (Ian Rapoport)
• Fantasy projection: Mid-tier WR3 (WR46 ADP)

Meyers was the top available free-agent WR on the market from a target-earning perspective. His three-year 23% TPRR suggests he has WR2 upside in fantasy, but the fit with the Raiders is an odd one. He is at his best in the intermediate areas of the field (10.4 career aDOT) inside the numbers.

The fifth-year WR operated from the slot on 65% of his routes in New England, and Las Vegas already has a slot WR in Hunter Renfrow, although losing a key intermediate-range inside presence in TE Darren Waller does offer superior target upside than when Meyers initially signed. Of course, the ex-Patriots WR will also have to contend with target hog Davante Adams.

Meyers isn’t a huge threat after the catch, averaging 3.7 yards after the catch over his career, and doesn’t garner many deep targets. Jimmy Garoppolo has proven capable of supporting one to two fantasy weapons win healthy, but Meyers will have work to do to make this landing spot a good one.

Consider the veteran slot WR a mid-tier WR3 with the potential to soar higher should Jimmy G and/or the Raiders choose to firmly prioritize his offensive involvement over Renfrow.

Giants re-sign WR Sterling Shepard (3/13)

• Contract: 1-year, $1.165 million (Albert Breer)
• Fantasy projection: WR5 (WR114 ADP)

It’s a true prove-it deal and perhaps a sign that the franchise has concerns about how the 30-year-old veteran will recover from last season’s torn ACL. The injury did occur in September; either way, it’s possible that he enters 2023 at less than 100% depending on how the recovery goes.

Various injuries have limited the long-time Giants receiver to just 10, 12, seven and three games over the last four years, but Shepard has always demanded targets when healthy and ranks 22nd in targets per route run (22.7%) among 129 WRs with at least 100 targets since the Giants drafted Daniel Jones in 2019.

If healthy, Shepard has the potential to demand all sorts of targets inside of this wide-open offense. Top-five in both available air yards and targets, New York has little returning proven talent at the position and could feasibly lean on Shepard more than ever if his recovery winds up being quicker than teammate Wan’Dale Robinson. He’s presently free in best-ball land and a worthy last-round dart, albeit the history of WRs putting up big-time fantasy numbers at 30-plus years of age is scarce to say the least.

Bears trade for WR D.J. Moore (3/10)

• Trade: Bears get: 2023 1st (No. 9), 2024 1st, 2023 2nd (No. 61), 2025 2nd, WR D.J. Moore. Panthers get: 2023 1st (No. 1) (Underdog NFL)
• Fantasy projection: Upside WR3 (WR22 ADP)

There probably isn’t a single WR in the NFL that has suffered more from porous QB performance than Moore over the past half-decade. 

Maybe Terry McLaurin, but I still lean Moore. It’s a minor miracle that Moore has managed to continue supplying WR3 fantasy goodness along the way:

• 2018: 9.8 PPR points per game (PPR WR54 per game)
• 2019: 15.4 (WR17)
• 2020: 14.1 (WR28)
• 2021: 14 (WR27)
• 2022:  11.7 (WR35)

Give the Bears’ franchise QB credit for making a handful or two of truly awesome throws in 2022, but Justin Fields ranked outside the NFL’s top-20 signal-callers in accuracy rating (25th), deep ball completion rate (22nd), pressured completion rate (24th) and clean pocket completion rate (27th). The NFL’s reigning second-most run-heavy offense in non-garbage time pass-play rate, only the Titans, Panthers, Ravens and Falcons offered fewer expected PPR points per game to their WRs than the Bears in 2022.

Yes, Fields is likely an upgrade for Moore over what he dealt with in 2022. Also yes, it’s possible that the improvement in passing efficiency won’t be enough to make up for reduced volume inside of a passing game that could add a day one pick to the equation.

Young QBs like Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, Kyler Murray and Joe Burrow took their game to another level when their respective offenses added a true alpha WR1 to the equation; just realize Moore is being drafted far closer to his demonstrated ceiling than what he’s been for the better part of the last three seasons. 

There’s an awful large discrepancy between Moore and fellow talented, albeit a bit older, WRs with similar projected target volume like Keenan Allen (WR30 ADP), Tyler Lockett (WR32) and Mike Evans (WR34).

Texans sign WR Robert Woods (3/10)

• Contract: 2-years, $15.25 million with $10 million guaranteed (ESPN)
• Fantasy projection: WR6+ (WR92 ADP)

Woods is expected to join Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins in starting three-WR sets. It remains to be seen who will be under center for the 2023 Texans, but it’s not a given that he’ll enter the world’s most pass-happy offense with new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik spending the better part of the last decade working under Kyle Shanahan.

Perhaps Woods’ down 2022 campaign was disappointing because it was his first year removed from a torn ACL. 

Or it was another example of WRs over 30 generally not supplying much of any fantasy goodness. Over the last 10 years there have been just 14 instances of a WR posting top-12 PPR fantasy production on a per-game basis at 30-plus years of age; it’s almost certain that Woods’ best years of his career are in the past.

The artist known as Bobby Trees is more than capable of supplying some run-blocking goodness and professionalism inside of a franchise that could use a bit of both; just don’t expect the reigning WR83 in PPR points per game to provide much of any upside in terms of counting numbers. 

He’s nothing more than a contrarian last-round pick in best-ball land, and even then I’d rather throw a dart at younger guys like David Bell (WR94 ADP) and Cedric Tillman (WR95) at that point in the draft.

Odell Beckham Jr.

Marvin Jones

DeAndre Carter

Jarvis Landry

Andre Roberts

Ashton Dulin

• (Re-signed with the Colts on a 2-year deal)

A.J. Green 

• (Announced retirement)

Brandon Powell

Breshad Perriman

Byron Pringle

C.J. Board

Cam Sims

• (Signed with the Raiders)

Chosen Robbie Anderson

Chris Conley

Chris Moore

Cody Hollister

Cole Beasley

Darius Slayton

• (Re-signed with the Giants on a 2-year, $12M base with max value of $16.5M) 

Dante Pettis

Demarcus Robinson

Deonte Harty

• (Signed with the Bills on a 2-year, $9.5M deal with $4.75M guaranteed)

Freddie Swain

• (Claimed off waivers by the Dolphins)

Isaiah McKenzie

• (Signed with the Colts)

Jake Kumerow

Jamison Crowder

• (Signed with the Giants on a 1-year deal)

Jeff Smith

• (Signed with the Giants)

Julio Jones

Justin Watson

Keelan Cole

• (Re-signed with the Raiders on a 1-year deal)

Keith Kirkwood

Kenny Golladay

KhaDarel Hodge 

Laquon Treadwell

Mack Hollins

• (Signed with the Falcons on a 1-year, $2.5M deal)

Marcus Johnson

Marquise Goodwin

Marcus Kemp 

• (Signed with the Commanders on a 1-year, $1M deal)

Matthew Slater 

• (Re-signed with the Patriots on a 1-year, $2.6M deal)

Miles Boykin

Nelson Agholor

• (Signed with the Ravens on a 1-year, $3.25M deal)

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

• (Re-signed with the Titans on a 1-year deal)

N’Keal Harry

Noah Brown

• (Signed with the Texans on a 1-year, $2.6M deal with $2.24M guaranteed)

Olamide Zaccheaus

Pharoh Cooper

Phillip Dorsett

• (Signed with the Raiders)

Randall Cobb

Rashard Higgins

Richie James

River Cracraft

Sammy Watkins

Trent Sherfield

• (Signed with the Bills on a 1-year deal)

Trent Taylor

• (Re-signed with the Bengals on a 1-year deal)

Zach Pascal

• (Signed with the Cardinals on a 2-year deal)

Tight end

Raiders sign Austin Hooper (3/22)

• Contract: 1-year, $2.75M deal (Mike Garafolo)
• Fantasy Projection: Upside TE2

Hooper struggled to re-produce his once elite Falcons fantasy numbers with both the Browns and the Titans over the past three seasons, mostly due to both squads regularly rotating three TEs more games than not.

Truthers are likely still holding on to the 28-year-old veteran's performance with the 2017 to 2019 Falcons as a reason for optimism:

• 2017: 49-526-3 (TE18 in PPR points per game)
• 2018: 71-660-4 (TE8)
• 2019: 75-787-6 (TE3)

Losing out on targets to guys like David Njoku and Chigoziem Okonkwo isn't especially damning. Hooper also deserves credit for putting up fairly solid numbers in both yards (1.46, 20th) and targets (19.7%, 16th) per route run among 47 qualified TEs in 2022.

Hooper is a decent athlete at a position that historically ages like fine wine compared to RBs and WRs.

Head coach Josh McDaniels didn't have a healthy Darren Waller for most of 2022; he accordingly played Foster Moreau on at least 90% of the offense's snaps in eight consecutive games from Week 7 to 14. Moreau averaged just 4.6 targets per game in this stretch – that Davante Adams is pretty good – but this sort of every-down role could quickly have Hooper near the position's TE1 borderline should the team refrain from adding serious competition in an admittingly loaded TE draft.

Texans sign Dalton Schultz (3/20)

• Contract: 1-year, $9M deal (Tom Pelissero)
• Fantasy Projection: Borderline TE1

Not exactly the sort of big-money deal that Schultz was perhaps hoping for after racking up 17 touchdowns over the past three seasons. Still, he ranks 14th in yards per route run and 19th in percentage of routes to be considered open or wide open by PFF over the last two seasons; Schultz’s sometimes elite fantasy numbers haven’t been backed by the same level of underlying efficiency.

Of course, volume has a way of curing middling efficiency, and absolutely nobody has more available targets or air yards than the Texans entering 2023. Schultz is a rare TE with a realistic opportunity to lead his offense in targets.

Of course, this isn't a guarantee, and porous efficiency is possible with a rookie QB inside of an offense that hasn't done much of anything right for the better part of the last two seasons. The ex-Cowboys TE isn't someone to go out of your way for in the middle rounds of drafts, but a sub-top-12 ADP could present some newfound solid value for the reigning TE9 in PPR points per game.

Raiders sign O.J. Howard (3/20)

• Contract: TBD
• Fantasy Projection: Low-end TE2

The former No. 19 overall pick finds himself in a baren TE room, as the Raiders traded Darren Waller to the Giants and don't appear poised to re-sign unrestricted free agent Foster Moreau.

It's possible Howard receives a full-time role with his new employer; just realize it's far from a given that he makes all that much out of it. Overall, Howard posted a brutal 24-280-3 receiving line over the past two seasons despite being healthy enough to suit up for 30 games; the 28-year-old veteran hasn't resembled his twitchy-youthful self since tearing his Achilles in 2020.

Howard posted middling marks in both yards per route run (1.34, 36th among 72 qualified TEs) and targets per route run (21.3%, 17th) last season; it's been quite some time since he worked as one of the league's more efficient players at the position.

Expect the Raiders offense to flow through Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Hunter Renfrow and maybe even Josh Jacobs in the passing game ahead of Howard. It'd also make sense if the team uses an early-round pick on the position ahead of a draft that is considered very deep at TE.

Patriots sign Mike Gesicki (3/17)

• Contract: 1-year, $4.5M deal with $3.55M guaranteed (Spotrac)
• Fantasy Projection: Low-end TE2

After taking multiple free-agent swings in 2021, the Patriots are at it again this offseason. Gesicki joins an already-revamped New England passing game, with JuJu Smith-Schuster added earlier in the week. Gesicki’s inter-division move doesn’t prop up his fantasy value, but it helps Mac Jones as he enters his third season.

Despite his 95th-percentile athleticism, the Penn State product relies on volume to generate fantasy points. Even in his 2021 breakout season (106 targets), Gesicki hit uninspiring marks of 1.45 yards per route run (13th among TEs) and 3.2 yards after the catch per reception (20th), and 0.16 expected points added (EPA) per target (13th). And last year wasn’t any better opportunity-wise with Tyreek Hill coming to Miami. But Gesicki’s red-zone prowess will be a boon for the Patriots’ offense.

Even with the lack of overall targets in 2022, Gesicki was second among all TEs in red-zone EPA per target. Plus, he has a connection to Bill O’Brien and has received some praise from Bill Belichick. It lends credence to the idea there’s a plan for the five-year veteran. But with JuJu and Hunter Henry also on the field, Gesicki will need an outlier season finding the paint to make waves in fantasy.

Bears Sign Robert Tonyan (3/16)

• Contract: 1-year $2.6M deal with $1.25M guaranteed (Spotrac)
• Fantasy Projection: TE 2/3

The Bears continued their off-season spending spree by adding Tonyan to the mix at TE. Tonyan’s a five-year veteran who adds depth to a TE core that was essentially barren after Cole Kmet. The 29-year-old Tonyan enjoyed a breakout season in 2019 when he caught a ridiculous 11 TD passes on just 59 targets. 

Unsurprisingly, Tonyan hasn’t been able to replicate that kind of success in the last two seasons. He’s been hampered by injuries and has missed 11 games since 2021. His 79% catch rate over the last three seasons does bring an aspect of reliability to the table that could help out Justin Fields, who completed just six passes to TEs not named Kmet last year. 

As a fantasy option, Tonyan’s standalone value takes a massive hit with this move. He was already a low aDOT receiver and will struggle to maintain anything close to the 12% team target share he enjoyed on the TE-deficient Packers. He’ll have some appeal as the natural handcuff to Kmet, but the Bears attempted just 37 red zone passes last season so even if Kmet goes down there’s not a ton of upside to be mined from that position. 

Tonyan’s a solid signing by the Bears and for fantasy he’ll act as just another roadblock in the way of a Kmet breakout season. Look for him to siphon off some of the already limited red zone targets from the Bears starter and potentially make life miserable for those looking to run it back with Kmet in 2023.

Panthers sign Hayden Hurst (3/15)

• Contract: 3-year, $21.75M deal with $13M guaranteed (Tom Pelissero)
• Fantasy projection: Low-end TE2 (TE28 ADP)

Hurst provides the Panthers with a more proven receiving option than incumbent TEs Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble.

Overall, Hurst ranked 29th in yards per route run (1.1) and 24th in targets per route run (17.8%) among 47 qualified TEs during his lone season in Cincinnati. Good, albeit not exactly game-changing numbers; he finished as the TE19 in PPR points per game despite having a full-time role with Joe Burrow under center.

While Hurst's deal is the first under new head coach Frank Reich, current general manager Scott Fitterer has been running the show since January 2021 and is responsible for extending Thomas (3-year, $16.95M) and drafting Tremble. It'd make sense if Hurst is prioritized in the passing game thanks to his big-money deal and superior receiving ability, but both the Panthers and Colts (with Reich) have regularly utilized two- and even three-TE committees over the years.

The grass is seldom greener on the other side for TEs who switch teams in free agency; Hurst has never been anything more than a low-end TE1 at best in fantasy land and isn't expected to have the sort of featured, volume-heavy role that would help him make up for potential efficiency problems from a rookie QB. He's a late-round dart who doesn't need to be prioritized unless evidence emerges that he'll have more of a full-time role in 2023.

Raiders trade TE Darren Waller to the Giants (3/14)

• Trade details: Giants get: TE Darren Waller. Raiders get: 2023 3rd-round pick (No. 100).
• Fantasy projection: Top-5 TE (TE8 ADP)

One of the biggest moves of free agency landed newly #rich QB Daniel Jones arguably the most proven pass-game weapon of his young career. The Giants used the third-round pick they received from the Kadarius Toney trade in order to acquire the 30-year-old TE.

Waller is one of the league's top receiving threats at the position when right; just look at his blistering 90-1145-3 and 107-1196-9 receiving lines from 2019 and 2020. Alas, injuries have robbed him of replicating those feats over the past two seasons, as ankle, knee and hamstring issues have limited the one-time Pro Bowler to just 20 regular season games since 2021.

While Waller might be a bit long in the tooth, his NFL career really never got going until 2019 due to off-the-field issues, and the TE position historically does a better job producing elderly high-end fantasy assets than any position other than QB.

The real allure of this deal comes down to the pristine landing spot. Top-five in both available air yards and targets, New York has little returning proven talent at the position and might not have their projected top-two WRs in Sterling Shepard (ACL) and Wan'dale Robinson (ACL) functioning at 100% by the time Week 1 rolls around. Jones hasn't put up the biggest counting numbers through the air over the years; just realize Waller has a chance to lead the position – and team – in targets should the Giants refrain from making any extra meaningful additions to their pass-catching group.

The only TEs that I would definitively draft ahead of Waller at the moment: Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews. It's fair to put Waller in a tier with guys like T.J. Hockenson, George Kittle and Dallas Goedert, but each has far more competition for targets in their respective offenses. This move takes Waller from more of a mid-tier TE1 option back into the position's top-five players.

Patriots trade TE Jonnu Smith to the Falcons

• Trade details: Falcons get: TE Jonnu Smith. Patriots get: 2023 7th-round pick.
• Fantasy projection: TE3+ (TE57 ADP)

The Patriots' 2021 offseason spending spree was headlined by a four-year, $50 million deal to land Smith, who had previously posted some borderline erotic efficiency numbers in a limited role with the Titans. Alas, the 27-year-old veteran posted middling 28-294-1 and 27-245-0 receiving lines over the past two seasons with the Patriots.

On the one hand, Smith enjoyed the best years of his career with current Falcons head coach Arthur Smith. He also managed to post some solid underlying numbers in yards per route run (1.69, 13th) and targets per route run (26.2%, 8th) among 74 qualified players at the position last season.

On the other, things are about to be more crowded than ever inside of the NFL’s reigning most run-heavy offense, and It’s tough to see Smith himself becoming any sort of fantasy-viable option inside of an offense that figures to continue to prioritize WR Drake London and TE Kyle Pitts first in the passing game.

The real potential problem is if Smith takes a page out of his old Titans playbook and deploys a regular rotation at the position between Smith and Pitts. The pair is capable of coexisting considering the former TE is far more of a traditional inline option than the latter; either way both London and (especially) Pitts do deserve a bump down in fantasy projections due to their loss in overall target upside. Pitts won’t necessarily be bumped out of the position’s top-eight options; just realize his quest for a year-three boom won’t be made any easier with this added competition.

The biggest winner of the deal is Patriots TE Hunter Henry, who is coming off 50-603-9 and 41-509-2 receiving lines over the past two seasons. Just the TE32 in Underdog ADP before the news, Henry figures to have a far more secure every-down role moving forward and deserves to be in the TE2 mix alongside guys like Cole Kmet (TE13 ADP), Greg Dulcich (TE14) and Tyler Higbee (TE18).

Saints re-sign TE Juwan Johnson

• Contract: 2-years, $12 million deal with $5 million guaranteed (Field Yates)
• Fantasy projection: Low-end TE2 (TE21 ADP)

Johnson was a restricted free agent, so the Saints made sure to get him tied up before he could hit the open market. The 26-year-old talent balled out in a major way in 2022, catching 42 passes for 508 yards and seven TDs – more than any TE not named Travis Kelce (12) or George Kittle (11).

The problem with expecting bigger and better things from Johnson in 2023 and beyond comes down to whether or not the Saints view him as a true every-down player at the position. Both Taysom Hill and Nick Vannett regularly rotated in at TE as well, leaving Johnson with a snap rate south of 75% in all but three games last season.

New QB Derek Carr certainly made plenty of good things happen with Darren Waller over the years; Johnson is a viable late-round dart at the position with more upside than most. Returning to an offense that has thrown him five or fewer targets in all but five career games doesn’t exactly guarantee an imminent breakout, that said Johnson does seem to have a more engrained role than guys with higher ADP like Mike Gesicki (TE20) and rookie Michael Mayer (TE17).

Jaguars franchise tag TE Evan Engram (3/2)

• Contract: 1-year, $11.345 million (ESPN)
• Fantasy projection: Mid-tier TE1 (TE7 ADP)

Engram’s bounce-back campaign featured career-best marks in receptions (73) and receiving yards (766), while he was only one of seven players at the position to catch at least 15 passes that gained 15-plus yards. 

Hell, Engram was only charged with three drops – he racked up 12 drops during his final two seasons with the Giants.

The former first-round pick was the latest TE to put up big-time fantasy numbers under Doug Pederson – and he looked good doing so.

Yes, Engram failed to gain more than 30 receiving yards in nine of 17 regular season contests, and an awful lot of his production came in one majestic Week 14 performance (11-162-2). 

Also, yes, those are the sort of blowup performances one would occasionally expect from a 6-foot-3, 234-pound freak athlete who can run the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds.

The Jaguars ascending passing attack is more crowded than ever with Calvin Ridley replacing Marvin Jones; that said Engram is plenty deserving of his current valuation as a top-eight TE in fantasy. 

The better question might be whether or not it’s worth attacking the middle-tier of TE when that draft range of the position has been so difficult to predict in recent years. Ultimately, Engram will be a staple in the later rounds of traditional one-TE re-draft formats, while his boom capability makes him an awesome stacking partner with Trevor Lawrence in best-ball land.

Irv Smith

Chris Manhertz 

• (Signed with the Broncos on a 2-year, $6M deal with $3.34M guaranteed)

Adam Shaheen

Andrew Beck

Anthony Firkser

Blake Bell

• (Re-signed with the Chiefs on a 1-year deal)

Cameron Brate

Cethan Carter

Dan Arnold

Donald Parham

• (Re-signed with the Chargers on a 2-year, $2.65M deal)

Drew Sample

Eric Saubert

Eric Tomlinson

Foster Moreau

• (Stepping away to fight Hodgkin's Lymphoma)

Geoff Swaim

Jesse James

Jordan Akins

• (Signed with the Browns)

Josh Oliver 

• (Signed with the Vikings on a 3-year, $21M deal with $10.75M guaranteed)

Kyle Rudolph

Marcedes Lewis

Maxx Williams

MyCole Pruitt

Nick Vannett

Pharaoh Brown

Richard Rodgers

Ross Dwelley

• (Re-signed with the 49ers)

Ryan Griffin

Stephen Anderson

Tommy Sweeney

Trevon Wesco

Tyler Kroft

Zach Gentry

Offensive Tackle

• Laremy Tunsil
  • (Re-signed with the Texans on a 3-year, $75M deal that includes $50M fully guaranteed)
• Orlando Brown
  • (Signed with the Bengals on a 4-year, $64M deal that includes a $31M-plus signing bonus. The largest ever for an offensive lineman.)
• Mike McGlinchey
  • (Signed with the Broncos on a 5-year, $87.5M deal with over $50M guaranteed)
• Kaleb McGary
  • (Re-signed with the Falcons on a 3-year, $34.5M deal)
• Jawaan Taylor 
  • (Signed with the Chiefs on a 4-year, $80M deal, including $60M guaranteed)
• Andrew Wylie 
  • (Signed with the Commanders on a 3-year, $24M deal)
• Isaiah Wynn
• Billy Turner
• George Fant
• Donovan Smith
• Jermaine Eluemunor
• Matt Pryor
• Andre Dillard 
  • (Signed with the Titans)
• Bobby Hart
• Brandon Parker
  • (Re-signed with the Raiders on a 1-year, $1.5M deal)
• Brandon Shell
• Brett Toth
• Calvin Anderson
  • (Signed with the Patriots on a 2-year deal)
• Cameron Erving
• Cameron Fleming
• Cedric Ogbuehi
• Chris Hubbard
• Chuma Edoga
  • (Signed with the Cowboys on a 1-year deal)
• Dan Skipper
• Dennis Kelly
• Eric Fisher
• Ethan Greenidge
• Germain Ifedi
  • (Re-signed with the Falcons on a 1-year deal)
• Geron Christian
• Greg Little
• Jackson Barton
• Jason Peters
• Ja’Wuan James
• Jesse Davis
• Josh Wells
• Joshua Miles
• Kelvin Beachum 
  • (Re-signed with the Cardinals on a 2-year, $5.1M deal)
• Kendall Lamm
• Le’Raven Clark
• Marcus Cannon
• Mike Remmers
• Oli Udoh
• Rashaad Coward
• Riley Reiff
  • (Signed with the Patriots)
• Taylor Lewan
• Tom Compton
• Trenton Scott
• Trey Pipkins
  • (Re-signed with the Chargers on a 3-year deal)
• Ty Nsekhe

Offensive Guard

• Isaac Seumalo
  • (Signed with the Steelers on a 3-year, $24M deal)
• Ben Powers 
  • (Signed with the Broncos on a 4-year, $52M deal with $28.5M guaranteed)
• Nate Davis 
  • (Signed with the Bears on a 3-year, $30M deal)
• Dalton Risner
• Connor McGovern 
  • (Signed with the Bills on a 3-year, $23M deal)
• Will Hernandez
  • (Re-signed with the Cardinals on a 2-year, $9M deal)
• Cody Ford
  • (Signed with the Bengals on a 1-year deal)
• Rodger Saffold
• Graham Glasgow
  • (Signed with the Lions on a 1-year, $4.5M deal)
• Aaron Stinnie
  • (Re-signed with the Buccaneers on a 1-year deal)
• Adam Pankey
  • (Re-signed with the Jets)
• Alex Bars
• Austin Schlottmann
  • (Re-signed with the Vikings)
• Aviante Collins
• Chris Lindstrom 
  • (Re-signed with the Falcons on a 5-year, $105M deal)
• Colby Gossett
• Coleman Shelton
  • (Re-signed with the Rams on a 2-year, $8.75M deal with $3.75M guaranteed)
• Conor McDermott 
  • (Re-signed with the Patriots on a 2-year, $3.6M deal)
• Dakota Dozier
• Dan Feeney
• Daniel Brunskill
  • (Signed with the Titans)
• David Edwards
  • (Signed with the Bills on a 1-year deal)
• David Quessenberry
• Dennis Daley
• Elijah Wilkinson
• Gabe Jackson
• Greg Van Roten
• Hjalte Froholdt
• Ike Boettger 
  • (Re-signed with the Bills on a 1-year, $1.2M deal)
• James Ferentz 
  • (Re-signed with the Patriots on a 1-year, $1.2M deal)
• Jon Feliciano
  • (Signed with the 49ers on a 1-year deal)
• Justin McCray
• Justin Pugh
• Kyle Fuller
• Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
• Max Garcia
• Max Scharping
• Michael Jordan
• Michael Schofield
• Nate Herbig
  • (Signed with the Steelers on a 2-year, $8M deal)
• Nick Allegretti
  • (Re-signed with the Chiefs on a 1-year, $2.85M deal that is fully guaranteed)
• Oday Aboushi
• Phil Haynes 
  • (Re-signed with the Seahawks on a 1-year, $4M deal)
• Shaq Mason
  • (Traded to the Texans)
• Trai Turner
• Wes Martin
• Wes Schweitzer
  • (Signed with the Jets on a 2-year, $7.5M deal)

Center

• Jason Kelce
  • (Re-signed with the Eagles on a 1-year, $14.25M deal)
• Ethan Pocic 
  • (Re-signed with the Browns on a 3-year, $18M deal)
• Garrett Bradbury
  • (Re-signed with the Vikings on a 3-year, $15.75M deal)
• Bradley Bozeman 
  • (Re-signed with the Panthers on a 3-year, $18M deal)
• Austin Blythe 
  • (Announced retirement)
• Ben Jones
• Billy Price
• Connor McGovern
• Corey Levin
• Evan Brown
  • (Signed with the Seahawks)
• Greg Mancz
• Hroniss Grasu
• Jake Brendel
  • (Re-signed with the 49ers on a 4-year deal)
• Justin Britt
• Matt Skura
• Michael Deiter
  • (Signed with the Texans)
• Nick Gates 
  • (Signed with the Commanders on a 3-year deal)
• Nick Martin
• Scott Quessenberry 
  • (Re-signed with the Texans on a 1-year, $1.2M deal)
• Sean Harlow
• Tyler Larsen
• Will Clapp

Edge 

• Marcus Davenport
  • (Signed with the Vikings on a 1-year, $13M deal)
• Robert Quinn
• Zach Allen
  • (Signed with the Broncos on a 3-year, $45.75M deal with $32.5M guaranteed)
• Carlos Dunlap
• Brandon Graham
• LJ Collier
  • (Signed with the Cardinals on a 1-year deal)
• Yannick Ngakoue
• Charles Omenihu
  • (Signed with the Chiefs on a 2-year, $20M deal)
• Arden Key
  • (Signed with the Titans on a 3-year, $24M deal with $13M guaranteed)
• Ogbonnia Okoronkwo 
  • (Signed with the Browns on a 3-year, $19M deal with $12.5M guaranteed)
• Jadeveon Clowney
• Frank Clark
• Justin Houston
• Bud Dupree
• DeMarcus Walker
  • (Signed with the Bears on a 2-year deal)
• Carl Nassib
• Al-Quadin Muhammad
• Austin Bryant
  • (Signed with the 49ers on a 1-year deal)
• Ben Banogu
• Brent Urban  
  • (Re-signed with the Ravens on a 1-year, $1.1M deal)
• Bruce Irvin
• Chase Winovich 
  • (Signed with the Texans)
• Clelin Ferrell
  • (Signed with the 49ers on a 1-year, $2.5M deal with $1.8M guaranteed)
• Dante Fowler Jr.
  • (Re-signed with the Cowboys on a 1-year deal)
• Da’Shawn Hand
• Dawuane Smoot
• Derek Rivers
• Efe Obada
  • (Signed with the Commanders on a 1-year, $3M deal)
• Henry Anderson
  • (Re-signed with the Panthers on a 1-year deal) 
• Jason Pierre-Paul
• Jihad Ward
• Jordan Jenkins
• Jordan Willis
  • (Signed with the Raiders)
• Justin Hollins
  • (Re-signed with the Packers on a 1-year, $1.2M deal)
• Kerry Hyder
• Malik Reed
• Mario Edwards Jr.
• Melvin Ingram
• Oshane Ximines
• Rasheem Green
• Samson Ebukam
  • (Signed with the Colts on a 3-year, $27M deal)
• Shaq Lawson
• Stephen Weatherly
• Steven Means
• Tanoh Kpassagnon 
  • (Re-signed with the Saints on a 2-year, $5M deal)
• Tashawn Bower
• Trey Flowers
• Tyquan Lewis 
  • (Re-signed with the Colts on a 1-year, $2.1M deal)
• Vinny Curry

Defensive Line

• Javon Hargrave 
  • (Signed with the 49ers on a 4-year, $80M deal with $40M guaranteed)
• Daron Payne 
  • (Re-signed with the Commanders on a 4-year, $90M deal)
• Fletcher Cox
  • (Re-signed with the Eagles on a 1-year, $10M deal)
• Dalvin Tomlinson
  • (Signed with the Browns on a 4-year, $57M deal with $27.5M guaranteed)
• Dre’Mont Jones
  • (Signed with the Seahawks on a 3-year, $51.53M deal)
• Greg Gaines
  • (Signed with the Buccaneers on a 1-year deal)
• Sheldon Rankins
• Larry Ogunjobi
  • (Re-signed with the Steelers on a 3-year, $21.75M deal)
• David Onyemata 
  • (Signed with the Falcons on a 3-year, $35M deal with $24.5M guaranteed)
• Akiem Hicks
• Matt Ioannidis
• Jerry Tillery
• Rakeem Nunez-Roches 
  • (Signed with the Giants on a 3-year, $12M deal with $7.5M guaranteed)
• Solomon Thomas
• Adam Gotsis
• Andrew Billings
  • (Signed with the Bears on a 1-year, $3.5M deal with $2.4M guaranteed)
• Angelo Blackson
• Armon Watts
• A’Shawn Robinson
• Brandon Williams
• Byron Coward
  • (Signed with the Chiefs)
• Carl Davis 
  • (Re-signed with the Patriots on a 1-year deal)
• Carlos Watkins
• Chris Wormley
• Christian Covington
• Corey Peters
• Daniel Ekuale
  • (Re-signed with the Patriots)
• Dean Lowry
  • (Signed with the Vikings on a 2-year, $8.5M deal)
• Derrick Nnadi
  • (Re-signed with the Chiefs)
• DeShawn Williams
  • (Signed with the Panthers)
• Hassan Ridgeway 
  • (Signed with the Texans on a 1-year, $4M deal with $3M guaranteed)
• Isaac Rochell
• Isaiah Buggs 
  • (Re-signed with the Lions on a 2-year, $6M deal)
• Jarran Reed
  • (Re-signed with the Seahawks on a 2-year deal)
• John Cominsky
  • (Re-signed with the Lions on a 2-year, $8.5M deal with $4M guaranteed)
• John Jenkins
• Johnathan Hankins
• Jonathan Bullard
• Jordan Phillips
• Justin Ellis
• Kentavius Street
• Kevin Strong
• Khalen Saunders
  • (Signed with the Saints)
• Kyle Peko
• Linval Joseph
• Malcolm Roach
  • (Re-signed with the Saints)
• Maurice Hurst
  • (Signed with the Browns)
• Michael Brockers
• Michael Dogbe
• Mike Pennel
• Morgan Fox
• Nathan Shepherd
  • (Signed with the Saints on a 3-year, $15M deal with $10.2M guaranteed)
• Ndamukong Suh
• Poona Ford
• Shy Tuttle 
  • (Signed with the Panthers on a 3-year, $19.5M deal with $13M guaranteed)
• T.Y. McGill
• Taven Bryan
  • (Signed with the Colts on a 1-year, $4.5M deal)
• Tershawn Wharton
  • (Re-Signed with the Chiefs on a 1-year, $2M deal)
• Trysten Hill
  • (Signed with the Browns)
• TY McGill
  • (Re-signed with the 49ers on a 1-year deal)
• Tyson Alualu
• William Gholston

Linebacker

• Lavonte David
  • (Re-signed with the Buccaneers on a 1-year, $7M fully guaranteed deal)
• David Long 
  • (Signed with the Dolphins on a 2-year, $11M deal)
• Tremaine Edmunds 
  • (Signed with the Bears on a 4-year, $72M deal with $50M guaranteed)
• Azeez Al-Shaair
  • (Signed with the Titans on a 1-year, $6M deal)
• Germaine Pratt 
  • (Re-signed with the Bengals on a 3-year, $21M deal) 
• Bobby Okereke 
  • (Signed with the Giants on a 4-year, $40M deal with $22M guaranteed)
• Bobby Wagner
• Eric Kendricks
  • (Signed with the Chargers on a 2-year, $13.25M deal)
• Leighton Vander Esch
  • (Re-signed with the Cowboys on a 2-year, $11M deal)
• TJ Edwards
• Rashaan Evans
• Drue Tranquill
  • (Signed with the Chiefs on a 1-year deal)
• Elandon Roberts
  • (Signed with the Steelers on a 2-year deal)
• Devin Bush
  • (Signed with the Seahawks on a 1-year deal)
• Kaden Elliss
  • (Signed with the Falcons on a 3-year, $21.5M deal with $11M guaranteed)
• Denzel Perryman
  • (Signed with the Texans)
• Kwon Alexander
• Raekwon McMillan 
  • (Re-signed with the Patriots on a 1-year, $1.6M deal worth up to $2.2M with incentives)
• Markus Golden
• Kyle Van Noy
• A.J. Klein
• Alex Anzalone 
  • (Re-signed with the Lions on a 3-year, $18.75M deal)
• Alex Singleton 
  • (Re-signed with the Broncos on a 3-year, $18M deal with $9M guaranteed)
• Andrew Van Ginkel
• Anthony Barr
• Anthony Nelson
  • (Re-signed with the Buccaneers on a 2-year deal)
• Anthony Walker Jr.
  • (Re-signed with the Browns on a 1-year deal)
• Ben Niemann
• Chris Board
  • (Signed with the Patriots on a 2-year, $6.7M deal)
• Cody Barton
  • (Signed with the Commanders on a 1-year, $3.5M deal)
• Cole Holcomb
  • (Signed with the Steelers on a 3-year, $18M deal)
• Cory Littleton
  • (Signed with the Texans)
• Darryl Johnson Jr.
• David Mayo 
  • (Re-signed with the Commanders on a 1-year, $1.3M deal)
• Deion Jones
• Dont'a Hightower
  • (Announced his retirement)
• Duke Riley 
  • (Re-signed with the Dolphins on a 2-year deal)
• Dylan Cole
  • (Signed with the Bears)
• E.J. Speed
  • (Re-signed with the Colts on a 2-year, $8M deal)
• Elijah Lee
• Eric Wilson
• Genard Avery
• Harvey Langi
• Jalen Reeves-Maybin
  • (Re-signed with the Lions)
• Jarrad Davis 
  • (Re-signed with the Giants on a 1-year, $1.1M deal)
• Jaylon Smith
• Jayon Brown
• Jermaine Carter Jr.
• Joe Thomas
• Jon Bostic
• Jordan Kunaszyk
• Kamu Grugier-Hill
• Kevin Pierre-Louis
• Kyzir White
  • (Signed with the Cardinals on a 2-year, $11M deal)
• Lorenzo Carter 
  • (Re-signed with the Falcons on a 2-year, $9M deal)
• Luke Gifford
  • (Signed with the Titans on a 2-year deal)
• Mack Wilson
  • (Re-signed with the Patriots on a 1-year, $2.2M deal)
• Malik Reed
• Matt Milano 
  • (Signed a 2-year contract extension with the Bills)
• Matthew Adams
• Neville Hewitt
• Nicholas Morrow
  • (Signed with the Eagles on a 1-year deal)
• Nick Bellore 
  • (Re-signed with the Seahawks on a 2-year, $6.6M deal)
• Nick Kwiatkoski
• Nick Vigil
• Quincy Williams 
  • (Re-signed with the Jets on a 3-year, $18M deal)
• Reggie Ragland
• Robert Spillane
  • (Signed with the Raiders on a 2-year deal)
• Sione Takitaki
  • (Re-signed with the Browns on a 1-year, $2.6M deal)
• Tae Davis
• Tanner Vallejo
• Tarell Basham
• TJ Edwards 
  • (Signed with the Bears on a 3-year, $19.5M deal with $12M guaranteed)
• Troy Reeder
  • (Signed with the Vikings)
• Tyler Matakevich 
  • (Re-signed with the Bills on a 2-year deal)
• Vince Biegel
• Zach Cunningham
• Zeke Turner

Cornerback

• Jalen Ramsey 
  • (Traded to the Dolphins for a 2023 third-round pick (No. 77) and TE Hunter Long)
• Stephon Gilmore
  • (Traded to the Cowboys for a 2023 fifth-round pick)
• James Bradberry
  • (Re-signed with the Eagles on a 3-year, $38M deal with $20M guaranteed)
• Darius Slay
  • (Re-signed with the Eagles on a 2-year, $42M extension with $23M guaranteed)
• Cameron Sutton 
  • (Signed with the Lions on a 3-year, $33M deal with $22.5M guaranteed)
• Jamel Dean 
  • (Re-signed with the Buccaneers on a 4-year, $52M deal with $24.5M guaranteed)
• Marcus Peters
• Patrick Peterson 
  • (Signed with the Steelers on a 2-year, $14M deal with $5.85M guaranteed)
• Jonathan Jones 
  • (Re-signed with the Patriots on a 2-year, $20M deal with $13M guaranteed)
• Byron Murphy
  • (Signed with the Vikings on a 2-year, $22M deal)
• Eli Apple
• Troy Hill
• Rock Ya-Sin
• Shaquill Griffin
• Emmanuel Moseley
  • (Signed with the Lions on a 1-year, $6M deal)
• Justin Bethel
• Ronald Darby
• William Jackson III
• Byron Jones
• AJ Green 
  • (Re-signed with the Browns on a 1-year deal)
• Amani Oruwariye
  • (Signed with the Giants on a 1-year deal)
• Anthony Averett
• Anthony Brown
• Antonio Hamilton
  • (Re-signed with the Cardinals on a 1-year deal)
• Artie Burns
• Bobby McCain
  • (Signed with the Giants on a 1-year deal)
• Brandon Facyson
• Bryce Callahan
• Cam Dantzler 
  • (Claimed off waivers by the Commanders)
• C.J. Goodwin
  • (Re-signed with the Cowboys on a 1-year deal)
• Chandon Sullivan
• Chris Harris Jr.
• Corey Ballentine
• Cornell Armstrong
• Danny Johnson 
  • (Re-signed with the Commanders on a 2-year, $7M deal with $2.75M guaranteed)
• Darius Phillips
• Daryl Worley 
  • (Re-signed with the Ravens on a 1-year, $1.1M deal)
• David Long
  • (Signed with the Raiders on a 1-year deal)
• Davontae Harris
• Duke Shelley
  • (Signed with the Raiders)
• Fabian Moreau
• Greedy Williams
  • (Signed with the Eagles)
• Greg Mabin
• Isaac Yiadom
• Isaiah Oliver
  • (Signed with the 49ers)
• Jalen Mills
  • (Re-signed with the Patriots)
• Jason Verrett
• Joejuan Williams
• Josh Jackson
• Justin Coleman
• Justin Layne
• Keisean Nixon 
  • (Re-signed with the Packers on a 1-year deal worth a maximum value of $6M)
• Kevon Seymour
• Kris Boyd
• Kyle Fuller
• Lonnie Johnson Jr.
• Mike Ford
• Mike Hughes
  • (Signed with the Falcons)
• Nik Needham
  • (Re-signed with the Dolphins on a 1-year deal)
• P.J. Williams
• Rashad Fenton
• Sean Murphy-Bunting
  • (Signed with the Titans on a 1-year, $5M deal)
• Sidney Jones
• T.J. Carrie
• Tae Hayes
• Tavierre Thomas
• Teez Tabor
• Terrance Mitchell
• Tevaughn Campbell
  • (Re-signed with the Jaguars on a 1-year deal)
• Tony Brown
• Trayvon Mullen
  • (Re-signed with the Ravens on a 1-year deal)
• Tre Flowers
• Tre Herndon
• Tremon Smith
• Xavier Crawford

Safety

• Jessie Bates 
  • (Signed with the Falcons on a 4-year, $64.02M deal)
• Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
  • (Signed with the Lions on a 1-year, $8M deal with $6.5M guaranteed)
• Jimmie Ward
  • (Signed with the Texans)
• Vonn Bell 
  • (Signed with the Panthers on a 3-year, $22.5M deal with $13M guaranteed)
• Jordan Poyer
  • (Re-signed with the Bills on a 2-year, $10M deal with $4.5M guaranteed)
• Julian Love
  • (Signed with the Seahawks on a 2-year, $12M deal)
• John Johnson
• Juan Thornhill
  • (Signed with the Browns on a 3-year, $21M deal with $14M guaranteed)
• Donovan Wilson
  • (Re-signed with the Cowboys on a 3-year, $24M deal with $13.5M guaranteed)
• Taylor Rapp
• Marcus Epps 
  • (Signed with the Raiders on a 2-year, $12M deal with nearly $8M guaranteed)
• Adrian Amos
• Devin McCourty 
  • (Announced retirement)
• Mike Edwards
  • (Signed with the Chiefs on a 1-year, $3M deal)
• Terrell Edmunds
  • (Signed with the Eagles on a 1-year deal)
• DeShon Elliott
  • (Signed with the Dolphins on a 1-year, $1.77M deal)
• Duron Harmon
• Nasir Adderley
  • (Announced retirement)
• Lamarcus Joyner
• Jonathan Owens
• Andrew Adams
• A.J. Moore
• Andrew Wingard
  • (Re-signed with the Jaguars on a 3-year, $13.8M deal with $6M guaranteed)
• Armani Watts
• C.J. Moore
  • (Re-signed with the Lions on a 2-year, $4.5M deal with $3M guaranteed)
• Charles Washington
• Chris Banjo 
  • (Announced retirement)
• Chuck Clark 
  • (Traded to the Jets for a 2024 7th-round pick)
• Clayton Fejedelem
• Cody Davis
• Dallin Leavitt
• Damontae Kazee
  • (Re-signed with the Steelers on a 2-year deal)
• Dane Cruikshank
• Daniel Sorensen
• Dean Marlowe
• DeAndre Houston-Carson
• Deon Bush
• Eric Rowe
• Erik Harris
• J.T. Gray 
  • (Re-signed with the Saints on a 3-year, $9.6M deal)
• Jabrill Peppers
  • (Re-signed with the Patriots on a 2-year deal)
• Jaquan Johnson
  • (Signed with the Raiders on a 1-year deal)
• Johnathan Abram
  • (Signed with the Saints)
• Josh Jones
• Joshua Kalu
• Justin Evans
  • (Signed with the Eagles)
• Juston Burris
• Kareem Jackson
• Karl Joseph
• Keanu Neal
• Landon Collins
• Logan Ryan
• M.J. Stewart 
  • (Re-signed with the Texans on a 2-year, $6M deal)
• Matthias Farley
• Michael Thomas 
  • (Re-signed with the Bengals on a 1-year deal)
• Nick Scott
  • (Signed with the Bengals on a 3-year, $12M deal)
• Rodney McLeod
• Ronnie Harrison
• Rudy Ford
  • (Re-signed with the Packers on a 1-year, $2.5M deal)
• Sean Chandler
• Tarvarius Moore
• Tashaun Gipson 
  • (Re-signed with the 49ers on a 1-year, $2.9M deal)
• Tony Jefferson
• Will Harris
  • (Re-signed with the Lions on a 1-year, $2.58M deal)

The Best Free Agents at Each Position

Dwain McFarland outlined the best free agents at each position. Get his thoughts here:

• Best Free Agent QBs
• Best Free Agent RB
• Best Free Agent WRs
• Best Free Agent TEs

Important things to know

What is the Franchise tag?

• The franchise tag is a designation that allows NFL teams to select one player set to be an unrestricted free agent and guarantees another year under contract if certain conditions are met. 
• The assigned player is paid the average of the top five salaries at their position for each of the prior five years. Each team receives one franchise tag per year and can be applied as either exclusive or non-exclusive.

Types of tags

Exclusive: 

Teams need to offer the selected player a one-year deal worth no less than either the average of the top-five salaries at that player’s position or 120% of the player’s previous year’s salary; whichever is greater. 

Non-exclusive: 

Teams must offer the selected player a one-year contract no less than the average of the top-five cap hits of that player’s positions or 120% of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater.

How do the exclusive and non-exclusive tag differentiate from each other?

The exclusive tag (as you could probably guess) gives the team exclusive negotiating rights; that player cannot sign with another team for that entire season should they reject the offer. 

The non-exclusive tag gives the player an opportunity to negotiate with other teams, but their current team has the opportunity to match any offer. 

The current team will receive two first-round picks in exchange for the player in the event that the player wants to take their talents elsewhere.

What is the tag value for each position?: 

2023 franchise tag projections by position are as follows: 

• QB: $32.42 million
• RB: $10.09 million
• WR: $19.74 million 
• TE: $11.35 million 
• Offensive line: $18.24 million
• DT: $18.94 million
• DE: $19.73 million
• LB: $20.93 million
• CB: $18.14 million 
• Saftey: $14.46 million.

What is the transition tag?

The two main differences between the transition and franchise tag: 1.) Transition tags use the average of the top-10 highest paid players at the position and don’t provide a guaranteed compensation clause, and 2.) Teams aren’t given any promise of assets (first-round picks) at the end of the deal should they decline to match a competing team’s offer.

What time does free agency effectively start?

The NFL’s legal tampering period begins at 12:00pm ET pm on March 13. During the negotiating period teams are permitted to contact unrestricted free agents, which typically leads to plenty of reported signings and deals.

What time does free agency officially start?

Technically no players are allowed to execute a contract with a new club until 4:00pm ET on March 15. This is the point at which many rumored, and reported signings will become official.