2017 NFL Free Agency Recap

With 95% of the notable available players now under contract, the chaos of the 2017 NFL free agency period is all but officially over. Here's a brief look at who won and lost this year's round of football musical chairs.

Biggest Winners: New England Patriots
The defending Super Bowl champs abandoned their usually conservative approach to free agency by unexpectedly signing the best available corner (Stephon Gilmore) and trading for one of the league's best young receivers (Brandin Cooks) within the first 48 hours of the new league year. In addition to the those headline-grabbing moves, the Patriots were also able to bring back defensive leader Don'ta Hightower, bolster their defensive line depth with the addition of run-stuffing specialist Lawrence Guy and re-confirm their unwavering love of running backs with "sneaky quickness" by signing future fan favorite Rex Burkhead. Even with the seemingly inevitable departure of top corner Malcolm Butler on the horizon, the Patriots absurd haul still make them the clear winners of free agency.
Honorable Mentions: Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens

Biggest Losers: San Francisco 49ers
John Lynch's approach to free agency was every bit as misguided and insane as I figured it would be. The former player/broadcaster/next victim of Jed York's annual firing parade used his 70+ mil in cap space to lay down the groundwork for the 49ers latest failed rebuild by bringing in 2 of the 3 signal-callers (Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley) responsible for the Bears 3-win season in 2016, a former Super Bowl MVP that gets worse with each year he's in the league (Malcolm Smith) and a 31-year old receiver that needs complementary pieces around him to thrive (Pierre Garcon). At least Lynch made grit enthusiasts happy by making 2016 All-Pro Kyle Jusczyk the highest paid fullback in NFL history.  
Dishonorable Mentions: Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins

Best Individual Signing: T.J. Lang to the Detroit Lions (3 years/$29.5 mil/$19 mil guaranteed)
In a thin offensive line market that resulted in middling-to-bad players (Matt Kalil, Russell Okung, Riley Reiff) getting paid far more than they're worth, T.J. Lang proved to be a tremendous value signing. The highly underrated ex-Packers guard should provide a huge boost to a Lions squad that has had its fair share of interior line struggles over the past few years. 

Honorable Mentions: Chris Baker to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Alshon Jeffrey to the Philadelphia Eagles, Martellus Bennett to the Green Bay Packers

Worst Individual Signing: Matt Kalil to the Carolina Panthers (5 years/$55.5 mil/$24 mil guaranteed)
Offensive lineman have a tendency to get big bucks on the open market and there is perhaps no better example of this befuddling phenomenon than Matt Kalil's deal with the Panthers. The left tackle-who only appeared in 2 games in 2016 before suffering a season-ending hip injury-who was most responsible for getting Teddy Bridgewater murdered for the first 2 seasons of his professional career securing a long-term deal from a team that is usually stingy as hell in free agency is proof of just how far NFL front offices will go to try and quickly patch up holes at key positions. Unless the joy of playing alongside his brother Ryan can magically fix his pass-protection woes, this signing is likely going to result with Cam Newton being taken off the field in a body bag by the halfway mark of the season.
Dishonorable Mentions: Russell Okung to the Los Angeles Chargers, Robert Woods to the Los Angeles Rams, Mike Remmers to the Minnesota Vikings

Best Player Still on the Market: Adrian Peterson (running back)
The lack of suitors for Adrian Peterson over the first 7 days of free agency speaks volumes about how little running backs are valued in the modern NFL. While the concerns about his age and durability are 100% valid, I still believe that AP has the potential to be a potent addition to a contender's backfield rotation. 
Honorable Mentions: Dontari Poe (defensive tackle), Jonathan Hankins (defensive tackle), T.J. McDonald (safety)