The 6 best NFL free agents still on the market (and their perfect fit)

The 2020 NFL free agent frenzy is over. Over the course of two weeks, hundreds of veterans signed new contracts.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t any big signings still to come.

The free agents still on the open market include Pro Bowl pass rushers, multiple-time Super Bowl winners, and three former No. 1 overall picks. Teams that may have missed out on the first two waves of free agency can still find the missing piece in their playoff or Super Bowl runs even now that March is in the rear view.

Why have these players remained unsigned while franchises were busy committing more than a billion dollars in contracts this spring? Each of the top six remaining free agents has his own reason(s). Let’s take a look — and see where their perfect fit is in 2020.

Top 100 rank: 5

Likely reason he’s still available: Compensation

Clowney wanted to be paid like an elite pass rusher when he’s merely a pretty good one. While he has an indelible impact in shrinking pockets, he’s never had double-digit sacks in a season. He’s only had two years, 2017 and 2018, when he finished in the NFL’s top 20 in quarterback hits. This, along with the injury history that marred his introduction to the league, has made teams reticent to hand him a $20 million+ annual salary that would compensate him like Khalil Mack, Aaron Donald, or DeForest Buckner.

Clowney’s true forte is in a less heralded but similarly important field. As Stephen White pointed out last fall, Clowney can absolutely destroy run-blocking tight ends and create chaos when tailbacks dare to bounce outside. That’s a valuable trait, but not one for which teams are willing to pay top dollar. He’s reportedly downgraded his asking price to $17 million annually, which should be more palatable for cash-strapped teams but still threatens to keep him in limbo a bit longer. Any return to Seattle was dampened by the Seahawks signing DE Benson Mayowa.

Best fit: Titans. Clowney was solid in Seattle’s 4-3 defense, but his biggest pass-rushing success came in his 3-4 days with the Texans. Tennessee runs a 3-4 and has a need at pass rusher. A return to the AFC South would make a whole bunch of offensive linemen unhappy.

Top 100 rank: 14

Likely reason he’s still available: Age (and Clowney’s status)

Griffen is a wrecking ball when it comes to crumpling pockets from the outside — a fact bolstered by his four Pro Bowl invitations in the past five seasons. Unfortunately, those were his sixth through 10th seasons in the NFL, leaving him on the wrong side of 30. While he was expected to return to Minnesota even after opting out of the final year of his contract, Griffen later announced a return wasn’t in the cards (possibly thanks to the Vikings’ overhanging salary cap crunch).

He’s still got plenty to offer a needy defense, as proven by his 2019 season (eight sacks, 24 QB hits). Unfortunately, the market for a 32-year-old defensive end has failed to heat up, even as similarly effective players like Robert Quinn and Dante Fowler Jr. signed expensive deals. At this point, Griffen will probably be the consolation prize for whichever rush-needy team fails to sign Clowney. That’s not a bad backup plan!

Best fit: Seahawks. Seattle — a team Griffen is reportedly interested in — gets a more productive pass rusher (for now) at a price they can more easily massage under the salary cap than Clowney.

Top 100 rank: 35

Likely reason he’s still available: Injury concerns

Newton reportedly has a clean bill of health after being released by Carolina this offseason. Unfortunately, he’s having trouble proving it; the travel restrictions attached to the coronavirus pandemic have made it effectively impossible for teams to conduct private workouts and have their doctors put the quarterback’s worked-over body through rigorous exams.

Last season, Newton played poorly in two games before a Lisfranc fracture ended his season. That overshadowed an above-average season in 2018 (14 games, a career-high 67.9 percent completion rate, and a 94.2 passer rating). Teams looking for a new starting quarterback, or a high-value backup who could press for starts, jumped on this year’s available passers while the Panthers hemmed and hawed about whether to keep, trade, or release Newton. Other teams in need of QB help may be content to wait for an inexpensive crop of passers in this year’s draft. That’s narrowed his list of suitors, and is another major reason Newton remains unsigned.

Best fit: Patriots. New England needs a quarterback. Even if Jarrett Stidham is the answer, he’ll likely need more seasoning before he can be thrust into a full-time role. Newton could be an effective bridge to the future — or, since he’ll only be 31 years old, a new era unto himself.

Top 100 rank: 40

Likely reason he’s still available: An uneven market for good, not great, cornerbacks

Ryan was hyper-productive in 2019, which makes sense since opposing QBs targeted him 104 times. His four interceptions were the most he’d had in three seasons with the Titans. His 113 tackles and 4.5 sacks were both NFL highs among cornerbacks.

That versatility and the experience of six playoff appearances (and two Super Bowl wins) in seven years has yet to pay off in 2020. While he signed a three-year, $30 million deal with Tennessee early in 2017, interest in Ryan has been limited in an offseason where less accomplished veterans like Trae Waynes and Desmond Trufant were handed eight-figure salaries.

That’s surprising, but Ryan may have been unlucky in the midst of a wash of low-value defensive back signings. As ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pointed out, this has been a rough offseason for most cornerbacks outside the upper-most tier. While other options like Darqueze Dennard, Trumaine Johnson, and Aqib Talib remain unsigned, Ryan looks like the best defensive back on the market. The Titans have reportedly been in touch about bringing him back.

Best fit: Lions. Ryan fills a position of need now that Darius Slay has been traded to Philadelphia, AND he’s a former Patriot. It’s surprising Matt Patricia didn’t sign him on the first day of free agency.

Top 100 rank: 52

Likely reason he’s still available: Because he’s Jameis Winston

Winston’s risk:reward ratio skews toward 2:1, but few quarterbacks have been as proficient in airing the ball out downfield and leading comebacks as the mercurial former Heisman winner. His 4.7 percent touchdown rate ranks 13th among active quarterbacks with at least 50 starts since he entered the league in 2015, ahead of passers like Carson Wentz and Jared Goff. His 11 game-winning drives are more than Ben Roethlisberger or Philip Rivers. Of course, that fire gets immediately extinguished by the 88 interceptions and 50 fumbles in his 72 games as a pro.

Factor in a tumultuous off-field history — one that led to a three-game suspension in 2018 — and the aforementioned influx of rookie quarterbacks, and you can see why Winston languished. Meanwhile, his 2015 draft mate, Marcus Mariota, signed a two-year, $17.6 million deal soon after the 2020 league year began.

Best fit: Jaguars. A boom-or-bust player who’s been mostly bust for a boom-or-bust franchise that’s been mostly bust. Jacksonville is set to tank its way through 2020, but adding Winston would give the team the veteran quarterback it currently lacks. It could also provide the Jags with an inside track toward finding a full-time starting quarterback should he finally (and, against most odds) fulfill his potential.

Top 100 rank: 59

Likely reason he’s still available: Age, injuries, and a loaded 2020 NFL Draft

There’s a market for 38-year-old tackles who can still play at a high level; Andrew Whitworth signed a three-year, $30 million deal to stay with the Rams early this offseason. Peters has been just as good at his peak, but recent returns haven’t been as encouraging. The massive blindside protector has been an average left tackle in recent years, recording a 2.6 percent blown block rate, per Sports Info Solutions.

That’s something a playoff team can work with, but teams are probably justified to be concerned about regression from a planet-sized blocker who has missed a dozen games the past three seasons. This year’s draft is stocked with big, athletic tackles who could be O-line cornerstones over the next decade. The lure of several years of potentially great blocking and development vs. one or two of so-so blocking and leadership is certainly cutting into Peters’ suitors.

Best fit: Eagles. Philadelphia can keep Peters in the offense he knows ... while either grooming 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard to be his replacement or drafting a possible successor this April.