Every year, there are always free agency moves that end up surprising us. These are either signings that surprise us in a “Way to go, Team ‘X’,” or in a “Why would they even bother to sign that guy?” way.
There have been plenty of those reactions already in just four days of the free agency period, and these are the most surprising.
Panthers Allow Ted Ginn Jr. to Leave for Arizona
This signing makes sense for Arizona, considering Ginn is coming off one of the best years of his career. But, it’s surprising because Carolina had no business letting him walk. Ginn had a career year with Cam Newton throwing to him this season with the Panthers.
Ginn pulled down 36 balls on 68 targets for 556 yards and career-high five touchdowns. He had six games of over 50 yards, including a 104-yard game against the 49ers in Carolina’s only playoff game this season, a game they lost.
It’s even more surprising that Carolina didn’t pursue bringing Ginn back after it was announced that Steve Smith wouldn’t be returning to the team. They virtually have no receivers now, with Smith gone and Brandon LaFell visiting other teams in free agency.
Although they are in the running for Hakeem Nicks, it was surprising to hear that Carolina let him go so easily to the Cardinals on a three-year deal.
Donald Brown Heads to San Diego
This signing doesn’t make much sense, mainly because San Diego doesn’t have a need at running back.
The Chargers already have Danny Woodhead and Ryan Mathews on the roster, yet they signed Brown to a three-year, $10.5 million deal.
Brown has never rushed for more than 645 yards in a season, but did pick up a career-high six touchdowns as Indianapolis’s starter toward the end of the season when Trent Richardson started to struggle.
Woodhead and Mathews are both under contract through the 2014 season, and Woodhead served as a solid backup, picking up 429 yards on the ground and catching 76 passes for 605 yards and six touchdowns. Taking snaps away from him doesn’t make a lot of sense.
The Chargers are also down now to just over $5.4 million in cap space, but they have to address other positions still, mainly on the defensive side of the ball. Signing Brown could have waited until later in the free agency period – or just not happened for the Chargers at all.
Rodger Saffold Signs with Raiders, Fails Physical, Returns to Rams
This was just an unexpected story in general. Saffold, an offensive lineman, was set to make $42.5 million over five years with the Oakland Raiders.
But, he ended up failing a physical in Oakland. It came out that Saffold would need surgery in the physical.
The Raiders elected to not keep Saffold, who hasn’t played a full season during his NFL career.
He is now back with the Rams, making about $1 million less than he would have with the Raiders. Saffold is a solid offensive lineman when healthy, but this was one of the weirder stories to come out of free agency so far.
Jairus Byrd gets Massive Contract from Saints
There were a number of teams that were rumored to be in the running for Byrd heading into free agency, including the Browns, Bills and Eagles. But the first day of free agency, the Saints wasted no time pursuing the safety, bringing him in and giving him a six-year, $54 million contract.
This was surprising for a few reasons.
The Saints didn’t have a major need on defense to begin with. They finished second in the league during the regular season in pass defense and their run defense even came on strong in the second half of the season.
New Orleans could have been better off working on the running back or wide receiver positions.
Then, there’s the issue of cap space. The Saints came in to free agency with one of the lowest cap space numbers in the NFL. They gave Byrd a huge contract, and now have to maneuver contracts to make this work.
Even with the signing bonus, Byrd’s cap hit is going to be $4 million this season.
They already traded away Darren Sproles to the Philadelphia Eagles, and also released Lance Moore. Between the two, they accounted for six total touchdowns, and now the Saints are down to using the aging Pierre Thomas and the disappointing Mark Ingram at running back.
Byrd is an explosive player, but the Saints would have been better off addressing other positions for less money.
Darrelle Revis Signs with Patriots
This is by far and away the most surprising signing of free agency so far. No one was expecting Revis to be available, mainly because he was under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But, the Bucs shocked the NFL world when they announced they would look for a trade for Revis, who is only one year removed from tearing his ACL. When they couldn’t find a trade partner, Tampa released him.
There were a number of rumors immediately around Revis, including that the Raiders and Browns were interested in the cornerback. When he became a free agent, the New York Jets, Revis’s old team, seemed to be the frontrunner to land him.
Then, the Patriots surprised everyone by signing him to a one-year, $12 million deal. The Pats tacked on a second year worth $20 million, but it’s very unlikely the Patriots would be open to paying that, making Revis unrestricted again in 2015.
New England needed a corner, so grabbing Revis makes sense. But the one-year contract doesn’t make a lot of sense in this situation, because it doesn’t solve the need long-term.
Besides that, the fact that Revis was a free agent to begin with was a huge surprise.
Demarcus Ware Agrees to Deal with Broncos
Like Revis, no one was expecting Ware to be available. Ware is third among all active players in sacks, yet the Dallas Cowboys parted ways with him when he refused to take a pay cut.
The Cowboys have serious cap issues, but Ware was a staple of their defense, and they are now without any strong defensive linemen.
Once he became available, the Broncos worked quickly to go after him. After already getting Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward, they grabbed Ware to sure up their struggling defense.
It’s very rare to see this caliber of a defensive player looking for a home, but he wasn’t unemployed for long.