Who Are the Top Players Available in NFL Free Agency
Who are the top players still available in NFL free agency?
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00:00NFL free agency went on as planned as the rest of the sports world has stopped.
00:05For more on that, I'm joined by the MMQB's Albert Breer.
00:08Albert, there are still some players available, though, in the free agent market.
00:11Who are the top players left?
00:12Well, I think you can start with two guys who are really brand-name players, and that's
00:17Gedevian Clowney, who spent last year with the Seahawks, of course, the longtime Texans
00:21pass rusher, and then Cam Newton, the Panthers quarterback.
00:25But there are some other names that you look at and say, wow, like two weeks into free
00:29agency, normally guys like this wouldn't be available.
00:32So you can go right down the list, look at a corner like Logan Ryan, who's been a long-term
00:37starter both in Tennessee and New England, has won Super Bowls before.
00:41You can look at Mike Daniels, the tag one for the Packers, the Lions last year.
00:46Everson Griffin, who was an All-Pro at one point with the Minnesota Vikings, he's out
00:50there right now, a little bit of an older player, but still productive.
00:53And then, of course, Jameis Winston.
00:55So you've got some big names that are out there now, and a big part of it, of course,
00:59is because the coronavirus has sort of curtailed what would be a major part of the second wave
01:04of free agency, when you'd be bringing guys in for visits, sitting them down, talking
01:08to them, and giving them physicals.
01:11When do you see the action picking back up with those big name players, like you mentioned,
01:15Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, et cetera?
01:17It's hard to say, Robin, because there are specific reasons why those guys are still
01:21out there.
01:22With a Cam Newton, it's, all right, well, if I'm going to bring him in, can I bring
01:26him in as a backup?
01:27It's hard to determine whether or not you'd be able to do that without talking to him
01:31first.
01:32He's been the centerpiece of every team he's been on for the last decade, the number one
01:35pick in the draft, the Heisman winner at Auburn.
01:37Is he comfortable coming in as a backup?
01:39Can you see him, maybe, as the 15th or 20th player on your roster?
01:43That's a difficult thing.
01:44And then you want to take a look at his right shoulder and his left foot.
01:47Those are problems, too.
01:48So how do you kind of solve all those problems without being able to actually bring the guy
01:52in?
01:53That's difficult.
01:54Cam's looking at a marketplace now where if he takes a little bit less, maybe somebody
01:57would take the chance.
01:58But getting paid at the level he's gotten paid at over the course of his career makes
02:03it a little more difficult.
02:04Genevieve Clowney, same sort of thing.
02:06He clashed with Bill O'Brien in Houston.
02:08He had the microfracture surgery earlier in his career.
02:12So you look at Clowney, if you're another team, at what point are you OK paying him?
02:17Is it at $15 million?
02:19Is it at $10 million?
02:20He came in thinking he was a $20 million-per-year player, but he really can't sell himself fully
02:25without being able to go and take a physical and sit down with a coach.
02:28And so in each of these cases, there's one or two reasons that are very difficult for
02:33the team to reconcile without bringing the guy in.
02:35And of course, that's hurting some of these guys.
02:37And I think for that reason, some of these guys are going to wind up signing one-year
02:41deals and saying to themselves, I'm going to bet on myself for one year, won't make
02:44as much money now, but maybe I can hit the market again in 2021 and make it up.
02:49Albert, appreciate your time as always.
02:51Thanks, Robin.