The worst value deals of NFL free agency in 2019
The free agency phase of the NFL offseason has now settled. Which teams made the biggest mistakes ahead of 2019?
Free agency in the National Football League can be incredibly bittersweet as a fan of any team. Some deals seem great on the surface, and others look like irreparable mistakes.
In this piece, we analyze some of the worst signings of the 2019 free agency period. Some factors to be considered are: player skill level, age, total guarantees of the contract, years on the contract, and annual average salary. In the near future, we will also take a look at the best perceived deals of the offseason.
Obviously, just because a deal is placed on this list does not mean that the contract will be viewed negatively a few years from now. These are merely projections based on the facts available to all of us.
Now, without further ado, eight of the worst contracts handed out this March were…
Trent Brown, OT, Oakland Raiders – 4 years, $66.8M, $36.8M guaranteed
Part of the reason this deal ranks so poorly for me is the desperation that came with it. The contract was reportedly agreed to within the first 10 minutes of the legal tampering period of free agency. Beyond that, Trent Brown is now the highest-paid offensive tackle in football at $16.7M per year.
Brown earned a 71.0 overall grade this past season under Pro Football Focus’ grading system, good enough to make him the 32nd-ranked offensive tackle overall (in other words, just above average).
Another major factor in play here is the fact that Brown had the luxury in New England of playing in front of a quarterback such as Tom Brady. In the Patriots offensive system, we routinely see Brady getting the ball out of his hands in under two to three seconds in an efficient manner. He has a way of making almost any offensive lineman look better than they truly are.
The bottom line: the Raiders, on the heels of two apparently not-so-great offensive tackle draft choices including 2018 first-round choice Kolton Miller, showed serious desperation with the signing of Brown.