Written by Gregg Rosenthal at NFL.com
After an insane first day of free agency, things calmed down considerably around the NFL on Thursday. That gives a chance to take stock of what’s happened so far.
While it’s more fun to choose our favorite deals of free agency thus far, it should be easier to predict what deals won’t pan out. History tells us that the majority of first-day signings in free agency won’t be worth the money. So what were the seven shakiest deals thus far?
1-2. Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones: The former Bengals receivers are both nice players, but they benefited from a razor thin free-agent wide receiver market. Sanu, signed by the Atlanta Falcons, was essentially the fifth receiver in Cincinnati last year and did not quite measure up when he was asked to start while replacing Jones in 2014. He didn’t top 500 yards in any other season. Ultimately, he is a solid underneath receiver with flexibility that is getting paid like a top-level starter. His contract (five years for $32 million and $14 million guaranteed) positions him as a No. 2 wideout.
Jones has a much more complete skill set, and we’ve long believed in his talent. But he’s been in the league four seasons and has never topped 850 yards. He will make $13 million in 2016, and $27 million over the first three seasons. That’s No. 1 receiver money and it won’t help the expectations in Detroit that he was signed the day after Calvin Johnson retired.
It’s not a great sign that the Bengals didn’t make it a priority to bring the receivers back. But it also wasn’t that surprising; they were secondary pieces on the Bengals’ offense.
3. Janoris Jenkins, New York Giants cornerback: Jenkins is a solid starting cornerback that excels in man coverage and is undoubtedly a playmaker. But he also gives up big plays and doesn’t always have consistent effort as he admitted on Thursday. When Jenkins was asked what he can improve upon, he answered:
“Stop being lazy at the end of games.”
The money is just out of whack in Jenkins’ deal. With $62.5 million over five seasons, including $29.5 million guaranteed, Jenkins now ranks second among cornerbacks in guaranteed money. That’s ahead of guys like Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman. Jenkins has not made a Pro Bowl and the Ramschose to keep Trumaine Johnson over him. So essentially the Giants spent nearly $200 million on three players (Jenkins, Olivier Vernon and Damon Harrison) that weren’t even the top players at their position on their previous teams. General manager Jerry Reese knows that his dream team needs to start fast in 2016 or the natives will be restless in New York.
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