Unlike Tuesday, the second day of free agency was not filled with polarizing moves. Tuesday saw an awful lot of money go to an awful lot of players who, while good, were somewhat unproven. Wednesday saw some big deals as well, but most of them can be considered positive. However, some were better than others.
NFL free agency 2014: Broncos, Patriots big winners on Wednesday
The Patriots and Broncos had strong Wednesdays in the free agent market, while the Cowboys and Buccaneers ... didn’t.
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODA
Winners
SB Nation NFL
The Denver Broncos are signing everybody. Well, they're bringing in just about every big-name player they can to improve their defense. After adding Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward in free agency on Tuesday, the team went ahead and signed outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware.
Denver fielded the most prolific offense in the NFL last season, putting forth the most productive season an offense has ever had. But the defense struggled in multiple areas, from the secondary to the pass rush. Von Miller has had multiple issues off the field, and Ware can step in and solidify that unit while Ward and Talib hold down the secondary.
Ware is headed to Denver on a three-year, $30 million contract. That isn’t exactly cheap, but it is a solid dollar amount for a player of his caliber.
The New England Patriots may have lost Talib to the Broncos, who gave him a HUGE deal, but they also managed to land an even better corner. New England didn't lock him down for multiple seasons or anything, but the Patriots made a clear statement by bringing in Darrelle Revis on a one-year contract worth $12 million.
Revis seemed to regress with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but if there's one thing that can motivate a player to get back on track, it's playing for a playoff team like the Patriots. New England needs to get the secondary performing up to the same standards as the rest of the team, and Revis on his game can definitely do that.
To make things even sweeter, Revis doesn't count when compensatory selections for the NFL Draft are factored in. So the Patriots will surely get a third-round pick for Talib departing, and they get Revis.
Josh McCown did everything he had to do to earn himself a job last season, taking over for an injured Jay Cutler and making the Chicago Bears arguably a better team. But Cutler resumed his duties when he was healthy. McCown, however, hit the open market and it all paid off when the Buccaneers signed him to a two-year contract.
Lovie Smith, the new head coach in Tampa Bay, now considers McCown his starting quarterback. He will have an opportunity to lose the job, to Mike Glennon or possibly a rookie. But Smith's vote of confidence in naming McCown his quarterback is a huge step for McCown.
Losers
Maybe the Dallas Cowboys had to release DeMarcus Ware, but if that's the case, it was still a decision based entirely on their own poor cap management. Dallas has faced significant cap penalties in recent seasons, and only recently became cap compliant with several players released.
But there was still no room to sign potential free agents and hardly any room to sign rookies to deals when the NFL Draft rolls around, even with the rookie wage scale. Ware’s release clears up over $7.4 million in cap space, bringing Dallas’ cap space to $8.5 million. When the regular season came to an end, the Cowboys were projected to be several million over the 2014 cap.
Injuries were an issue in 2013, though Ware remains one of the most effective pass rushers in the NFL.
Golden Tate should be a solid addition to a Detroit Lions offense that desperately needs more weapons alongside Calvin Johnson, but it sounds as though they may have overpaid. In a market that still includes players such as Hakeem Nicks and Eric Decker, it's surprising to see Tate get the money he did.
In four seasons, Tate has not eclipsed 1,000 yards, or even 900. He came close in 2013, with 898 receiving yards, but he never developed into the big threat the Seattle Seahawks envisioned. He's going to make an average of $6.2 million per year over five years, and that's a lot of money to pay a receiver who could still go either way.
NFL Free Agency
The Carolina Panthers and Steve Smith are going through a messy divorce, though obviously not among the messiest we've seen in the NFL (look under Freeman, Josh). Still, Smith has been a huge part of that franchise for some time and to see his potential release or trade go down in this way is a little bit disconcerting.
It all started when general manager Dave Gettleman wasn’t sure about Smith’s future with the team and referred to it as though it had already ended. Smith then came out and said he had no idea why Gettleman was speaking in such a way. On Wednesday, Smith’s agent said that he will not be playing for the Panthers next season. He said that some transaction “is going to take place” at some point, whether that be a release or trade. Smith was set to make $7 million next season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as mentioned above, were forced to release cornerback Darrelle Revis on Wednesday. The Bucs were trying to trade Revis for many reasons, including his enormous hit to the salary cap and the fact that he’s not a perfect fit for Lovie Smith’s defense.
This is a big whiff for the Buccaneers. They cut him in time to turn the third-round pick that they would be sending to the New York Jets into a fourth rounder, but they spent an awful lot of money on him and didn't have anything to show for it. That's a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick down the drain and the Buccaneers lose out of one of the best players in football.
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