discussing some FAs: Cook to Raiders, Britt to Browns, Seattle's signings, etc.

from Barnwell grades the big free-agent deals

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/Barnwellx2017FAgrades/bill-barnwell-grades-big-2017-free-agent-deals-nfl

TE Jared Cook, Raiders

Grade: C+

If the reports are true, Cook was the Jody Reed of this year’s market, turning down an offer to stay in Green Bay in excess of the three-year, $21 million deal the Packers eventually gave Martellus Bennett. Instead, Cook has moved out West via a two-year, $12.2 million deal to stretch the field for the Raiders, with $5 million fully guaranteed in the first year.

In doing so, Cook leaves Green Bay, where the Packers had carved out a useful role for the oft-frustrating tight end. It might be tougher to pull that off in Oakland, given Cook’s ineffectiveness as a blocker. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Raiders shift their personnel any as part of this move; they might have been disappointed with Clive Walford last season, but useful blocking tight end Lee Smith will return from a broken leg, and the Raiders fell in love with jack-of-all-trades Jamize Olawale. They went with only two tight ends on 253 snaps last season, so Cook’s role may be limited to passing downs. Even so, we’re talking about a player who has dropped 4.9 percent of his passes over the last five years, which is 16th in the league among guys with 300 or more targets over that time frame. Cook can be useful for stretches at a time, but a breakout at age 30 seems unlikely.

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Eddie Lacy, Seahawks

Grade: C

After being linked to seemingly every veteran running back on the market, the Seahawks finally made their pick and brought in a back to compete with Thomas Rawls. It’s hard to say they got a bargain price. Seattle is guaranteeing Lacy $3 million on a one-year, $5.5-million deal, suggesting (unless the $2.5 million is purely incentives) it’s likely he’ll receive the $5.5 million for 2017. Given the total lack of movement in the free-agent market for backs and the presence of what is widely suggested to be a deep draft class at the position, it’s hard to believe the Seahawks had to pay this much to bring Lacy in. As is the case with Luke Joeckel, the Seahawks weren’t able to extract multiple years of team control as part of the deal. If Pete Carroll can revitalize Lacy’s career, Lacy will be able to leave in unrestricted free agency next offseason.

It’s been two years since Lacy was an effective regular running back; he was mediocre in 2015, averaging 4.1 yards per carry and finishing 35th in individual DVOA. He spent last offseason on a P90X-driven mission to get in shape and looked better in 2016, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, but went down after five games with a season-ending ankle injury. Reports out of Green Bay suggested Lacy lost weight in the spring but then put the weight he’d lost back on as the season started; it’s fair to wonder some of that $2.5 million in non-guaranteed money might be incentives surrounding Lacy’s weight. Ideally, Lacy will stay healthy and explosive while splitting carries with Rawls, whose own injury history during his short time in the NFL suggests the Central Michigan product might need a reduced role himself to stay on the field.

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ri/AP

Luke Joeckel, Seahawks

Grade: D

If Joeckel had been drafted by the Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, chances are that he would be hoping to catch on with a team for the league minimum after his rookie contract expired. Instead, because of his cachet as a player who was once drafted with the second overall pick in what looks in hindsight to be a brutally bad draft, Joeckel was able to extract $7 million in guarantees as part of a one-year, $8 million deal with the Seahawks.

Seattle is desperate for offensive line help, but Joeckel is a reclamation project at best. He was arguably the worst left tackle in football during his two years on the left side in Jacksonville, which led the Jags to give up on Joeckel by signing Kelvin Beachum and declining the former second overall pick’s fifth-year option. Joeckel bounced inside to left guard last year for three games (with a fourth back at left tackle) and wasn’t much better there before suffering a serious knee injury, tearing his ACL, MCL, and meniscus. Joeckel’s also missed time with a broken ankle and a concussion, having missed 25 of 64 games during his four years in the league.

Taking a flier on Joeckel would be one thing, but the Seahawks are paying Joeckel like he’s a solid guard, with his $8 million cap hit more than the rest of the Seattle offensive line combined ($7.5 million). The Seahawks clearly hope that offensive line coach Tom Cable will be able to turn around Joeckel, but even if he does, the Seahawks didn’t manage to get any future non-guaranteed years tacked onto the deal to reap future benefits if Joeckel succeeds. It’s hard to see a future where the Seahawks look back in a year and don’t feel like this was a waste of money and time.

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DT Nick Fairley, Saints

Grade: C

The Saints are taking more of a risk on Fairley than most teams are with their free-agent signings. You can understand why the Saints are desperate to try to find useful defenders, and outside of Cameron Jordan, Fairley was their best pass-rusher last year. The four-year, $28 million deal Fairley signed seems to drill down to something more like two years and $14 million in guarantees, which is reasonable. A $7 million average is totally understandable for a guy who delivered 6.5 sacks and 22 quarterback knockdowns last season.

The problem, of course, is that Fairley isn’t always that player. It appeared he was on the verge of finally breaking out with a six-sack, 19-knockdown season with the Lions in 2013, but Fairley had just one sack and five hits in eight games in 2014, and then registered only a half-sack with seven hits as a backup with the Rams in 2015. Last year was Fairley’s first 16-game season as a pro, and while nobody doubts his athleticism and upside, this seems like a classic case of paying for the outlier.

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WR Pierre Garcon, 49ers

Grade: C+

Garcon has outperformed expectations before. Washington paid what was considered to be an exorbitant sum at the time in giving Garcon five years and $42.5 million with $20.5 million guaranteed before the 2012 season. Garcon wasn’t always productive, but he mostly stayed healthy and played out the entire five-year deal. That almost never happens with second contracts. He averaged 75 catches for 910 yards over that time span, which is solid second-receiver stuff.

Former Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is bringing a number of his old players along with him to San Francisco, and while he’d like to add Kirk Cousins to that list, Garcon is the most impactful player of the bunch. His new deal is remarkably similar to his old one; the 49ers are giving Garcon five years and $47.5 million with $20 million guaranteed.

The 49ers probably are paying a premium for familiarity with Garcon and his run at the end of the season; Garcon reportedly requested a trade earlier in the 2016 season, which should suggest where he felt he stood on Washington’s depth chart. He also turns 31 in August, so the 49ers will likely be paying for his decline years. In reality, though, this is more likely to be a two-year, $23 million deal or a three-year, $29 million deal than it is the full five-year pact, which is reasonable enough. The only odd thing is seeing the 49ers keep Garcon’s cap hit at $6.4 million this year before it escalates to an average of $10.3 million over the remainder of the deal. If anything, it seems smarter to pay Garcon now, when the team is flush with cap room and cash.

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WR Kenny Britt, Browns

Grade: C+

What a strange career Britt has had. He has played on one team with a winning record, the 2011 Titans, in a season when he went down for the year after three games. His quarterbacks, in order of pass attempts thrown Britt’s way, do not make up a particularly proud list: Kerry Collins, Case Keenum, Jake Locker, Matt Hasselbeck, Vince Young, Nick Foles, Jared Goff, Shaun Hill, Austin Davis, Ryan Fitzpatrick and even Rusty Smith have shared a huddle with Britt during his eight-year pro career.

Britt has been modestly productive over that stretch, even given the quarterback issues, and he has managed to stay relatively healthy in recent years after struggling with injuries earlier in his career. After missing 23 games over four seasons between 2010 and 2013, Britt missed just one contest during his three seasons with the Rams. He’s probably better than the public perceives him to be.

The problem for this deal with the Browns, though, is that they just invested four draft picks at wide receiver in last year’s draft, including a first-rounder on Corey Coleman. Cleveland is not necessarily beholden to any of those guys, and most of them were late-round picks, but if Britt and Coleman are occupying two spots in the lineup, it’s hard to see the Browns re-signing Terrelle Pryor. Pryor, a former quarterback, wasn’t franchise-tagged by the team, and in his first full season as a wideout, he was more productive than Britt has ever been. Pryor is also nearly a full year younger than Britt. It would be a downgrade to swap Britt for Pryor.

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