NFL Free Agency 2021 Edition: Day One
After a month of no football being the main news of the day, the legal tampering of the NFL started today. The NFL loves to be center of attention and cover headlines so this last month has not been easy for football fans. With speculation about needs and wants for the draft which is coming up on April 29th, teams are now able to start signing veterans to their teams. Let’s take a look at the day one action!
The action started with the Ravens signing veteran guard Kevin Zeitler on a three year deal worth 22.5 million including 16 million dollars in guaranteed money. This is a huge signing for the Ravens who have many holes and the offensive line is among the top of their off-season priorities. Zeitler gives them an instant starter and a guy who is a proven veteran. Zeitler was drafted in the first round of 2012 to the Bengals where he played five seasons. Of those five seasons he started all but one game. Most recently he was on the Giants blocking for Saquan Barkley for the last two seasons. It will be interesting to see how the Ravens go about filling other needs for the team during free agency and into the draft.
The most active team by far has been the New England Patriots. Bill Bellicheck sat home last year for the playoffs, which is something he is not used to, and watched his former quarterback win a super bowl with another team. Bellicheck and company did not waste anytime in bolstering his lackluster team of last year. The team started off by resigning QB Cam Newton to a one year deal. Realizing he needed to add some weapons to throw to, the Patriots signed veteran tight end Jonnu Smith, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, to a four year deal worth 50 million dollars. Next, in a move Ravens fans did not want to see, Matthew Judon inked a four year deal worth 56 million. Throughout the rest of the day they added, Davon Godchaux, Jalen Mills, Nelson Algholor, and Kendrick Bourne worth a grand total of $194.5 million dollars. This is huge news being as the Patriots have spent less than $400 million dollars in the last ten years combined. Clearly Bellicheck didn’t like all the talk of him not being able to win without Brady so he went to work early.
In only the first day of Free Agency we saw many teams make moves to fill roster spots, while some teams are sitting back waiting to see where other pieces fall. With salary caps being down this year some teams are not going to be able to make big splashes in free agency. As a result this will make the draft much more valuable for teams to fill roster spots. Stay tuned as more blocks fall and teams look to get better leading into the 2021 season.
Peace and Blessings
johnnyonsports
