We’re now through the first three days of NFL free agency, with the legal tampering period in the rearview mirror and the new league year officially in swing. We’ve been breaking things down from every conceivable angle all week here at CBSSports.com, and we’ll continue to do so as long as the 32 teams continue making efforts to upgrade their rosters.
Day 3 of free agency was obviously not quite as busy as either Day 1 or Day 2, but there were still plenty of notable deals. Most of the contracts handed out were of the shorter variety, which makes sense because most of the big money gets handed out in the opening hours of the player-acquisition period. Still, one- and two-year contracts for mid-tier free agents can make a major impact, so we’re going to dig in on some of those today.
Here are our free agency grades for some of the most notable contracts handed out on Day 3.
Minnesota got Hargrave on a two-year, $30 million deal that contains $19 million in guarantees. This comes after the Vikings had already brought in Jonathan Allen on a three-year deal. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has put his team’s cap space to good use as he has begun filling out the roster. The defense needed an infusion of talent along the defensive front and got it with the two big signings. Hargrave should thrive in Brian Flores’ system. And it’s a short-term, affordable contract.
Grade: A
We pinpointed the Broncos as a good fit for Engram when mapping out potential landing spots, so this makes sense. He does his best work in the underneath areas of the field, so he should make for a good fit in Sean Payton’s short-pass-heavy attack. Bo Nix will probably fire him a lot of passes. The question is whether he’ll be able to turn those passes into more significant gains than he has over the past few years. Engram has gotten a ton of volume, but not been all that efficient with it. The fit is interesting, but the results may not match the expectations. Still, for two years and $23 million, it’s pretty good value.
Grade: B
Slay only got a one-year deal, so it can’t be all that damaging. Counting on a 34-year-old cornerback to be one of your top perimeter options is dicey, though — even if Slay can still play starter-quality snaps. He didn’t have his best season in 2024, but he was good enough to be a starter on one of the NFL’s best defenses. I wonder how he’ll fare as the guy who gets attacked most often, though, when playing across from Joey Porter Jr.
Grade: B-
The fits here make a certain degree of sense. Lawrence had a couple of great seasons while playing for then-Cowboys defensive line coach and now-Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde. He’s a terrific two-way edge defender when healthy. But he’s 32 years old and coming off a Lisfranc injury, which makes a three-year, $42 million deal a significant risk. MVS is basically just a field-stretcher who has never been all that efficient, even if he popped up for a few games last year in New Orleans. He theoretically replaces some of what DK Metcalf brought to the table, but there is still a massive need at wide receiver even after this signing.
Grade: C+
The Titans desperately needed to upgrade their offensive line this offseason, and they’ve done it in the first few days of free agency. They basically needed an entirely new right side of the line, and Zeitler completes that after they signed Dan Moore to play left tackle and presumably push J.C. Latham across to the right tackle spot. Zeitler is getting up there in age but has shown very little drop-off in his play, and for one year and $9 million, this is a nice signing.
Grade: A
Onwuzurike was one of the few Lions defenders that stayed healthy for most of last season, and he played well in the middle of the defensive line. He got up to a career high 61% of the defensive snaps, finished the year with 20 run stops (per Pro Football Focus) and and his 11.7% pressure rate, via Tru Media, was actually higher than that of Alim McNeill, his partner on the inside. On a one-year, $5.5 million contract, he’s a steal.
Grade: A
Collins finished the 2024 season with only 8 combined sacks, tackles for loss, pass breakups, forced fumbles and interceptions. That’s what Tru Media deems “havoc” plays, and his havoc rate of 1.2% ranked 215th out of 277 players who rushed the passer at least 100 times last season. Playing next to Myles Garrett could help, but he was just playing next to Nick Bosa. On a two-year, $20 million contract, the Browns probably overpaid a bit.
Grade: C+
Ogunjobi has been in decline for a while. He dropped all the way down to just 1.5 sacks, 7 quarterback hits and 5 tackles for loss this past season in Pittsburgh as he saw his snap rate drop to its lowest point since his rookie season. The Bills only gave him a one-year contract, but it seems unlikely that they end up getting a lot out of Ogunjobi next year.
Grade: C-
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Author: Jared Dubin
March 12, 2025 | 8:40 pm
