NFL Free Agency - The Surprises...So Far

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The new year has arrived at last for the NFL as Free Agency kicked off Tuesday afternoon, and man, this one started off with a bang. Some surprising trades, some epic deals and well, now that the dust has settled on some of the league's biggest storylines to date for the 2015 season, let's dive a little deeper into some of these moves. 

1. Chip Kelly is going hog wild with his newfound authority over the roster, and he is either a genius for it, or it will cost him his job.  I mean seriously, he has made some wild and crazy moves over the last few days, either dumping or trading away as many players as possible. I personally get nervous when any team gives a coach full roster control, and seeing a fire sale like this makes me worry for Philadelphia fans. I remember how it went for Denver fans when Mike Shanahan thought he was a defensive guru and well, it ended poorly in the mile high city. But of all the moves he has made, one in particular has me worried...

2. The Sam Bradford/Nick Foles trade is an instant win for St. Louis. I don't know what it is about the Rams coming out good in trades over the last few years, but they just unloaded an injury prone QB on the Eagles. Nick Foles has had his injuries as well, but nothing quite like Sam Bradford tearing the same ACL two years in a row. This is about as risky a gambit as it gets, especially since Philadelphia brought back Mark Sanchez, who did...okay in the starting lineup last year when Foles was out of commission. If Bradford goes down...again, it could certainly mean disaster for the Eagles.

3. Speaking of crazy trades, what the hell were the Seahawks thinking bringing Jimmy Graham to Seattle? Is he a great talent, heck yes. But they gave up their center and a fourth round pick when they are looking at losing some big time players on the defensive side of the ball. Clearly Graham fell out of favor in New Orleans with his contract battle and injury issues so I would say New Orleans unloaded a problem in their minds, but this is a move that to me...just didn't make sense.

4. The AFC East is about to become a far more interesting division this year, courtesy of the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. These are two teams that made worthwhile trades, upgrading their quarterback positions for sure and of course the Jets made a splash signing by bringing Revis Island home. This is all part of the plan to unseat the Patriots as Division Champions once again and I have to say kudos to both teams for making the right moves at the right time. 

5. The Dolphins made the biggest cash splash this week by inking Ndamukong Suh to the biggest defensive player contract in NFL history, shelling out $114 million dollars, $60 million of that fully guaranteed, in the hopes of having Suh completely transform their defense. But of course, that kind of eyebrow raising cash poses a few questions.  Will Suh continue to play at an incredibly high level or let his quality of play slide because he is now set for life financially. There's already character concerns with him, so Miami either brought home one of the greatest free agent signings ever, or broke the bank for a man who was out to get paid and could now care less about the game.  

6. I have to admit I was shocked to see so many players suddenly retire this week. Patrick Willis, an elite linebacker who has only recently begun to see injuries be an issue in his career said goodbye to the sport and the oft injured Jake Locker also hung up his cleats after only four short years in the league. It's great they get to walk away on their own terms, but at the same time, it's surprising to see them just say "enough is enough" and say goodbye to something they worked for for so long. But hey, if they're happier now without football more power to them, I've just never seen a rash of retirements like this at the start of the new year. 

---