NFL Free Agency Contract Details

Here are some of the latest free agent signings and the contract details I could find.

		Team		(In Millions)
Name	Pos	Former	New	Years	Guar.	Total
Asante Samuel	CB	New England	Philadelphia	6	$ 20.00	$ 57.00
Drayton Florence	CB	San Diego	Jacksonville	6	$ 13.00	$ 36.00
Jacques Reeves	CB	Dallas	Houston	5	$ 8.00	$ 20.00
Randall Gay	CB	New England	New Orleans	4	$ 10.65	$ 17.80
Travis Fisher	CB	Detroit	Detroit	3		$ 9.00
Ricardo Colclough	CB	Cleveland	Carolina	2		$ 4.00
Michael Lehan	CB	Miami	Miami	4
Brian Kelly	CB	Tampa Bay	Detroit	3
Allen Rossum	CB/KR	Pittsburgh	San Francisco	1		$ 0.87
Justin Smith	DE	Cincinnati	San Francisco	6	$ 20.00	$ 45.00
Antwan Odam	DE	Tennessee	Cincinnati	5	$ 11.50	$ 29.50
Bobby McCray	DE	Jacksonville	New Orleans	5		$ 20.00
Chris Clemons	DE	Oakland	Philadelphia	5		$ 18.50
Jimmy Wilkerson	DE	Kansas City	Tampa Bay	2	$ 0.30	$ 3.00
Ebenezer Ekuban	DE	Denver	Denver	1		$ 1.20
Tyler Brayton	DE	Oakland	Carolina	2
Tommy Kelly	DT	Oakland	Oakland	7	$ 18.13	$ 50.50
Shaun Rogers	DT	Detroit	Cleveland	6	$ 20.00	$ 42.00
Corey Williams (trade)	DT	Green Bay	Cleveland	6	$ 16.30	$ 38.00
Kris Jenkins (trade)	DT	Carolina	NY Jets	5	$ 20.00	$ 35.00
Randy Starks	DT	Tennessee	Miami	5	$ 7.00	$ 21.00
Isaac Sopoaga	DT	San Francisco	San Francisco	5		$ 20.00
Brian Young	DT	New Orleans	New Orleans	3		$ 12.00
Jimmy Kennedy	DT	Chicago	Jacksonville	1		$ 0.71
Boomer Grigsby	FB	Kansas City	Miami	1
Josh Brown	K	Seattle	St Louis	5	$ 4.00	$ 14.20
Calvin Pace	LB	Arizona	NY Jets	6	$ 22.00	$ 42.00
Lance Briggs	LB	Chicago	Chicago	6	$ 12.00	$ 36.00
Travis LaBoy	LB	Tennessee	Arizona	5	$ 7.50	$ 22.00
Boss Bailey	LB	Detroit	Denver	5	$ 8.00	$ 17.50
Demorrio Williams	LB	Atlanta	Kansas City	5	$ 5.50	$ 16.00
Landon Johnson	LB	Cincinnati	Carolina	3	$ 3.00	$ 10.00
Niko Koutouvides	LB	Seattle	Denver	3		$ 7.50
Charlie Anderson	LB	Houston	Miami	3	$ 2.50	$ 7.50
Brendon Ayanbadejo	LB	Chicago	Baltimore	4	$ 1.90	$ 4.90
Kevin Bentley	LB	Seattle	Houston	3		$ 4.00
Zach Thomas	LB	Miami	Dallas	1	$ 1.00	$ 3.30
Leon Joe	LB	Buffalo	Tampa Bay	1		$ 0.65
Darryl Blackstock	LB	Arizona	Cincinnati	1	$ 0.04	$ 0.56
Derek Smith	LB	San Francisco	San Diego	2
Donttarious Thomas	LB	Minnesota	San Francisco	2
Jeff Faine	OC	New Orleans	Tampa Bay	6	$ 15.00	$ 37.50
Jacob Bell	OG	Tennessee	St Louis	6	$ 13.00	$ 36.00
Alan Faneca	OG	Pittsburgh	NY Jets	4	$ 23.00	$ 32.00
Justin Smiley	OG	San Francisco	Miami	5	$ 9.00	$ 25.00
Jake Scott	OG	Indianapolis	Tennessee	4	$ 6.00	$ 19.50
Maurice Williams	OG	Jacksonville	Jacksonville	4	$ 4.00	$ 16.00
Rex Hadnot	OG	Miami	Cleveland	2		$ 7.00
Keydrick Vincent	OG	Arizona	Carolina	2		$ 2.00
Jamar Nesbit	OG	New Orleans	New Orleans	3
Flozell Adams	OT	Dallas	Dallas	6	$ 15.00	$ 42.00
Damien Woody	OT	Detroit	NY Jets	5	$ 11.00	$ 25.50
Kwame Harris	OT	San Francisco	Oakland	3		$ 16.00
Ben Roethlisberger	QB	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	8	$ 36.00	$ 102.00
Derek Anderson	QB	Cleveland	Cleveland	3	$ 14.00	$ 24.00
Billy Volek	QB	San Diego	San Diego	3	$ 3.00	$ 9.00
Todd Collins	QB	Washington	Washington	3	$ 3.00	$ 9.00
Trent Green	QB	Miami	St Louis	3	$ 3.00	$ 8.90
Cleo Lemon	QB	Miami	Jacksonville	3	$ 2.95	$ 8.10
Josh McCown	QB	Oakland	Miami	2	$ 2.50	$ 6.50
Chris Redman	QB	Atlanta	Atlanta	2	$ 2.00	$ 5.00
Rex Grossman	QB	Chicago	Chicago	1	$ 1.50	$ 3.00
J.T. O'Sullivan	QB	Detroit	San Francisco	1		$ 0.65
Michael Turner	RB	San Diego	Atlanta	6	$ 15.00	$ 34.50
Jamal Lewis	RB	Cleveland	Cleveland	3	$ 7.00	$ 17.00
Julius Jones	RB	Dallas	Seattle	4	$ 4.00	$ 12.00
Warrick Dunn	RB	Atlanta	Tampa Bay	2	$ 2.00	$ 6.00
Mewelde Moore	RB	Minnesota	Pittsburgh	3	$ 1.35	$ 4.95
DeShaun Foster	RB	Carolina	San Francisco	2		$ 1.80
Tatum Bell	RB	Detroit	Detroit	1		$ 1.60
Maurice Hicks	RB	San Francisco	Minnesota	3
T.J. Duckett	RB	Detroit	Seattle	5
Jesse Chatman	RB	Miami	NY Jets	1
Gibril Wilson	S	NY Giants	Oakland	6	$ 16.00	$ 39.00
Madieu Williams	S	Cincinnati	Minnesota	6	$ 13.00	$ 33.75
Erik Coleman	S	NY Jets	Atlanta	4	$ 3.00	$ 10.00
Sammy Knight	S	Jacksonville	NY Giants	3	$ 1.25	$ 5.15
Dwight Smith	S	Minnesota	Detroit	2	$ 0.65	$ 5.00
Marquand Manuel	S	Carolina	Denver	3	$ 0.50	$ 4.50
Kalvin Pearson	S	Tampa Bay	Detroit	3	$ 1.10	$ 3.50
Yeremiah Bell	S	Miami	Miami	1		$ 1.40
Nick Sorenson	S	Cleveland	Cleveland	3
Michael Gaines	TE	Buffalo	Detroit	4	$ 3.00	$ 10.00
Ben Hartsock	TE	Tennessee	Atlanta	4	$ 2.25	$ 9.00
Alge Crumpler	TE	Atlanta	Tennessee	2	$ 1.00	$ 5.00
Sean Ryan	TE	NY Jets	Miami	1
Courtney Anderson	TE	Atlanta	Buffalo	2
Javon Walker	WR	Denver	Oakland	6	$ 16.00	$ 55.00
Bernard Berrian	WR	Chicago	Minnesota	6	$ 16.00	$ 42.00
Donte' Stallworth	WR	New England	Cleveland	7	$ 10.00	$ 35.00
Jerry Porter	WR	Oakland	Jacksonville	6	$ 10.00	$ 30.00
Randy Moss	WR	New England	New England	3	$ 12.00	$ 27.00
Andre' Davis	WR	Houston	Houston	4	$ 8.00	$ 16.00
Justin Gage	WR	Tennessee	Tennessee	4	$ 6.50	$ 14.00
Ernest Wilford	WR	Jacksonville	Miami	4	$ 6.00	$ 13.00
Keary Colbert	WR	Carolina	Denver	3	$ 2.50	$ 7.20
Isaac Bruce	WR	St Louis	San Francisco	2		$ 6.00
Jabar Gaffney	WR	New England	New England	1		$ 2.00
Devery Henderson	WR	New Orleans	New Orleans	1		$ 2.00
Muhsin Muhammad	WR	Chicago	Carolina	2
Marty Booker	WR	Miami	Chicago	2
David Patten	WR	New Orleans	New Orleans	2

A deeper look at the first week of NFL free agency

Since free agency began at midnight last Friday, the signings have come at a furious pace. Some teams, like Oakland, the New York Jets, and Miami, have been extremely active. Others, like New England, Indianapolis, and the New York Giants, have decided against being an active member in the free agency market.

This off season's Patriots?

Last off season, the New England Patriots were making the most of the free agency market, signing WR Donte' Stallworth, LB Adalius Thomas, and trading for WRs Wes Welker and Randy Moss.

This off season, the Cleveland Browns are trying to duplicate the Pats' strategy, hoping a Super Bowl appearance will reward their efforts. They gave out over $67 million in guaranteed money to five players. The Brown re-signed QB Derek Anderson and RB Jamal Lewis. They traded for DTs Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers. They also added receiving help in the form of WR Donte' Stallworth.

The trades for Williams (2nd round pick) and Rogers (3rd), along with last year's trade up to draft QB Brady Quinn, means the Browns will not have a pick in the top 100 of this year's draft. The addition of these two DTs addresses one of the Browns' biggest weaknesses last season. If either of the two make the Pro Bowl in '08, it will be well worth the draft picks.


Laying the foundation in Miami

The first major move in the Parcells era kicked off with the signing of 49ers guard Justin Smiley shortly after the free agency market opened. The Dolphins didn't slow down, signing DT Randy Starks and WR Ernest Wilford and trading for DT Jason Ferguson. Other signings, like QB Josh McCown and LB Charlie Anderson, were meant to add depth and rebuild a woeful special teams.

The Dolphins refused to overpay for any player, which led to former Arizona DE/LB Calvin Pace signing with the Jets. Parcells, Jeff Ireland, and new coach Tony Sporano know that this team needs more than what any one player brings to the table. The Dolphins will bring this strategy into the draft, looking to trade down and pick up draft picks where possible.

Stop the bleeding

The Pats re-signing of WRs Randy Moss and Jabar Gaffney was precluded by big losses in the secondary. CBs Asante Samuel and Randall Gay left for Philadelphia and New Orleans, respectively. DBs Eugene Wilson and Chad Scott are still unsigned. They did add CB Jason Webster from Buffalo, but expect the Pats to use the draft to build depth in the secondary and find an eventual replacement for Rodney Harrison.

Over-Pay as you go

The Oakland Raiders decided to be a player this off season. Their eagerness led them to overpay for questionable talent.

They started by re-signing their own DT Tom Kelly. Kelly only played in seven games last season, and his $50 million contract has more guaranteed money ($18M) than he has sacks in his career (13).

They handed Kwame Harris, the OT who was a bust for the 49ers, $16M over three years. Former Giants S Gibril Wilson received $16M in guaranteed money. No doubt the Raiders paid a "Super Bowl" premium (think Larry Brown and Dexter Jackson) for Wilson.

Then there is Javon Walker. The WR was cut by the division rival Denver Broncos, and eventually signed a massive contract with Oakland. Walker's deal is insane (6 years, $16M guaranteed, $55M total). Walker's contract includes the same amount of money in the first three years ($27M) as does Randy Moss. Moss signed a three year, $27M contract to remain with the Pats.

I'm not exactly sure what Oakland is doing. One thing is for certain, if these guys don't pan out, they will have a lot of "dead money" on the books in a few years.

Pass catchers in high demand

After New England rebuilt their receiving corps via free agency last season, more teams this season are following the trend. Walker got a big contract. Another winner was former Bears receiver Bernard Berrian. The Vikings gave him $16M guaranteed with $42M total over six years. Jerry Porter received $30M over six years from Jacksonville and Donte' Stallworth $35M over seven from Cleveland.

The big surprise is the lack of interest in Randy Moss and the relatively modest contract he ultimately signed with New England. Compared to the other contracts signed by inferior receivers, the decision to not franchise Moss led to New England re-signing their receiver at the infamous "Patriot discount."

Best free agent deals

1. QB Billy Volek re-signing with the Chargers (3 years, $9M).
Volek probably could have received more money elsewhere, and a chance to start. Instead he chose to stay in San Diego and back up Philip Rivers. The Chargers won out, as Volek is an extremely capable #2 who can keep the team winning if Rivers is injured.

2. RB Michael Turner signing with the Falcons (6 years, $34.5M).
I was surprised Turner didn't receive more money. The Falcons got a key offensive component at a good price. Turner and Jerious Norwood will make a great combo in Atlanta.

3. LB Lance Briggs re-signing with the Bears (6 years, $36M).
There was no market for Briggs, which is surprising. In the end, the Bears were the big winners. They were able to keep a key defensive player for the same amount of money they offered pre-free agency.

4. CB/KR Allen Rossum signing with the 49ers (1 year, $870K); DE Jimmy Wilkerson signing with the Bucs (2 years, $3M); DT Jimmy Kennedy signing with the Jaguars (1 year, $700K); OG Keydrick Vincent signing with the Panthers (2 years, $2M); S Yeremiah Bell re-signing with the Dolphins (1 year, $1.4M); RB DeShaun Foster signing with the 49ers (2 years, $1.8M).
These are the types of shrewd signings that build depth and improve special teams. It is almost guaranteed that at least one of these players will outplay their contract and be a big contributor for their respective teams.

Click here for a comprehensive list of NFL free agent signings and contract details.