2014 NFL free agency: Chris Johnson joins the Jets

Judging the free agent deals comes later. For now, it’s hot stove season for football fans. Many of the best players on the market will never make it there, re-signed by their teams before a rival scoops them up. Others will make it to the promised land. Our handy free agent tracker will help you keep up with the action.

Eli Manning is 33-year-old, coming off his worst season as a pro and is going through offseason ankle surgery. No, that’s not a lead-in to suggest his spot on the depth chart is anywhere close to shaky, but it does mean the G-men are thinking about the depth behind him. They addressed that concern with the signing of Josh Freeman, the former Buccaneers starter who spent the back half of last season on the bench in Minnesota. He’ll be competing with Curtis Painter and Ryan Nassib for the backup job.

Johnson was released by the Tennessee Titans earlier this month after a string of respectable but underwhelming seasons in Nashville. He hasn’t had more than 1,400 yards rushing since he became just the sixth player in league history to go over the 2,000-yard mark in 2009, and finished with a career-low 3.9 yards per carry in 2013. That said, Johnson’s departure from Tennessee had a lot more to do with his price tag -- he was set to count $10 million against the salary cap in 2014 -- than his ability on the field.

The question Jets fans are asking themselves is how many RPMs does Johnson have left in the engine? After putting up an unbelievable 22 carries of at least 20 yards in 2009, he’s declined to 13, 11, eight and five over the following four seasons. Those five in 2013 were actually three fewer than Ivory’s total.

Manning, 33, is coming off arguably the worst season of his professional career. He threw just 18 touchdown passes (his fewest since his rookie season) to 27 interceptions (his most ever). He completed 57.5 percent of his passes at 6.93 yards per attempt for a 69.4 passer rating, which, again, betters only his rookie year. There’s talk that Manning is in irreversible decline. And now his ankle is iffy.

That doesn’t mean the Giants are shifting course away from the man who helped win them two Super Bowls, but perhaps they have an eye to the future. According to Ed Valentine at Giants blog Big Blue View, the front office would be foolish not to discuss what Manning will be capable of in the coming seasons:

Schefter reports that Mack has no interest in returning to Cleveland and hopes to have the contract with Jacksonville go through. The five-year deal from the Jags has reportedly been specifically tailored to make it as hard as possible for the Browns to match it.

Cleveland placed the rarely used transition tag on Mack in early March at the beginning of free agency. The tag allows a player to negotiate freely with other teams but gives the team that placed the tag the option of matching any offer. Unlike the non-exclusive franchise tag, however, the Browns will receive no compensation if they elect not to let Mack walk.

Whether Bailey makes the Saints significantly better is the big question. He’s a future Hall of Famer, and was still effective when he managed to get healthy for the Broncos last season. However, Bailey appeared in just five games due to a Lisfranc injury, and failed to record an interception for the first time in his 16-year career.

UPDATE: It’s official, Johnson is no longer with the Titans:

Johnson is one of only seven NFL running backs to ever rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. He became the second-youngest player to accomplish the feat when he rushed for 2,006 yards in 2009 at 24 years and 102 days old. Johnson appeared on pace for a Hall of Fame career, but his numbers petered out. Though 2010 was a good year by the standard of most running backs, Johnson’s yards per carry fell from 5.6 to 4.3 on his way to 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing.

The details of the contract actually make it a four-year deal that voids to three years.

Philadelphia had been trying to trade Jackson for weeks leading up to his release, but could not find any team willing to take on his salary, which was due to be $10 million this year. The day Jackson was released, a story broke about his potential ties to the Crips, a notorious Los Angeles gang. Jackson vehemently denied the story was true.

Bailey already has another visit lined up with another team, though the report does not specify where he will be headed. The visit depends on how things go with the Saints, likely meaning that Bailey wants to wrap up his courtship sooner than later, provided the two sides can come together on a deal that’s mutually beneficial.

At 35 years old, Bailey’s contract isn’t going to break the bank, but he has still played at a very high level in recent seasons. Despite a significant foot injury, he played well when active for the Broncos last season. Unfortunately, Bailey’s camp have since suggested that he should probably have sat out all of the season due to said injury.

Here are a few more stories and updates around the league, from players not named Jackson.

As expected, the Houston Texans released safety Danieal Manning on Monday, per Adam Schefter. Manning was scheduled to count as $6 million against the cap this season with a base salary of $4.5 million, but refused to take a pay cut following an injury-shortened 2013 season.

The following players are free to sign with any team of their choosing, without penalty to anyone. It’s tough to find good free agents near the beginning of April, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no value to be had. Here are the top five unrestricted free agents as of Monday.

The Raiders have plenty of cap space and the two parties have shown mutual interest. If Jackson leaves Washington without a contract, then Oakland probably steps to the very front of the line.

During the season, there is no busier day in the NFL than on Sundays. But here at the end of March, with free agency winding down and the draft still over a month away, it’s harder for football fans to get all the information their gridiron-addicted brains desire. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t any news going on, however.

One of the biggest names in the NFL is available, and he has scheduled his first official visit.

Who could those nine teams be?

Why it makes sense

Free agency. It’s one of a number of offseason events that keeps that warm NFL feeling going year-round (joining the combine, the Draft and a number of other such things). Here at SB Nation, we’re dedicated to fulfilling all your free agency coverage needs, and you can find all the important stuff right here on this landing page. Cool, huh?

Free agent tracker: Follow all the moves around the league

The contracts of Greene and (Michael) Bush are perhaps the best examples of the diminishing market value for running backs. Both earned what would be near-starting money in the 2014 market to carry the ball a combined 140 times last season. Bell and Jennings both had more than 160 carries last season. McFadden would have, too, if he had played more than 10 games. Jones-Drew paced them all with 234 carries. Of those four running backs, only Jones-Drew will be expected to see fewer touches next season.

It’s a tough time to be an NFL running back, and by earning a three-year deal at presumably the market average, Jones-Drew made out about as well as he could have hoped. His deal and others serve as signposts of the decreasing value NFL teams place on the position. Bargaining power appears to be slipping ever more in favor of ownership in a league that seems to fall more in love with the passing game by the day.

While a substantial number of players are still on the market, the dust has largely settled on the first big wave of 2014 NFL free agency. With most of the top available talent having settled into new digs, now’s a great time to take a comprehensive look at which teams did the most to improve their 2014 fortunes, and conversely, which squads have a tougher row to hoe now that they’ve lost more talent than they brought in.

From the top to the bottom, here’s a look at who hauled in the most free agent riches this offseason.

It was during this stretch of time that fans gave up on Sanchez, according to John Butchko of SB Nation’s Jets blog, Gang Green Nation:

After developing a reputation for being clutch with four road victories in the postseason of his first two seasons, Sanchez showed signs of improvement in 2011 with a career-best 3,474 yards passing and 26 touchdowns to 18 interceptions. However, the previously top-ranked defense finished 20th in the NFL in yards allowed, and the Jets were left on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

According to Schefter, the deal is potentially worth $32 million that can void to three years worth $24 million with $15.5 million in fully-guaranteed money.

He turns 32 in April, but Allen has yet to show any signs of slowing down. He led the NFL in sacks in 2011 when he had a career-high 22 of them and that earned him All-Pro honors for the fourth time in his career. He is also a five-time Pro Bowler.

There’s no such thing as an under-used sports cliche, and “change of scenery” certainly sees its fair share of usage during any free agency period. Usually, it’s meant to imply some sort of magical change that takes place in a player after leaving the city they had been in for quite some time.

The reality? “Change of scenery” is much closer to what happens when a player who has struggled under a certain type of system with a certain set of players goes to a new system with new players.

Starky writes:

Even at his advancing age, Harrison came in as the ninth-best 4-3 outside linebacker by Pro Football Focus last season and was No. 4 among that group in run defense.

Taking into consideration team needs, quality of player and value of the contract, we take a look at the five best and five worst signings of the free-agent period so far.

Finnegan must be one hell of a negotiator, because he managed to wrangle an unbelievably favorable deal with the Dolphins without using an agent. Finnegan, who never came close to living up to his massive deal in St. Louis, inked a two-year contract that includes a $2 million signing bonus and $3.5 million guaranteed. That means Miami is betting $5.5 million (he’ll count $4.5 against the 2014 cap) that Finnegan will have a bounce-back season. That’s a lot riding on a guy who graded as the second-worst corner in the league last season by Pro Football Focus.

The Jets finished 28th in total points scored in 2012 and 29th in 2013.

Earlier in the day, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Ed Werder reported that Allen had reached an agreement with Seattle, giving the Seahawks one of the premiere pass rushers of his generation. Allen’s agent, Ken Harris, backed reporters off the story, however, saying that the defensive end was still considering several teams.

That said, Allen’s visit with the Seahawks on Thursday -- his second of the offseason, and this time with his wife in tow -- reportedly went well.

The NFC West was arguably the best division in football last season, and it’s probably only arguable if the guy you’re debating with doesn’t watch much football.

Does that mean that the NFC West is resting on its laurels and assuming that it’ll be able to be just as competitive and tough next season without adding marquee players?

Here are a few updates on free agency and more from Thursday.

He was selected by the Raiders with the fourth overall pick in the 1998 draft and spent eight seasons there, making the Pro Bowl in each of his first four years with Oakland. Woodson moved to free safety for the first time in his career last season, making two sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries.

In February, Incognito checked himself into a mental health facility after taking a baseball bat to the front of his car out of anger issues. The lineman is out of treatment and says his first goal is to return to the Dolphins, per the interview.

Despite his off-field issues, there is no denying Incognito is talented. The former Nebraska Cornhuskers standout was a Pro Bowl selection in 2012, and at the age of 30, stands to have good football left in him.