Philadelphia Eagles sign NT Isaac Sopoaga

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Sopoaga barely played for the 49ers last season because they so infrequently were in their base 3-4 using a traditional nose tackle. He played 395 snaps in 19 games en route to the Super Bowl and he didn’t even play well in those snaps. Including post-season, only two defensive tackles graded out worse than him last season despite the limited playing time. On top of all that, he turns 32 in September. This 3 year, 12 million dollar deal with 5 million guaranteed suggests that the Eagles see Sopoaga as a starter and is that’s the case, they’re going to be disappointed.

Grade: C

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Miami Dolphins sign OLB Philip Wheeler

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This random signing of a linebacker by the Dolphins wasn’t as bad as the Dannell Ellerbe atrocity. Wheeler played pretty well last season, grading out as ProFootballFocus’ 7th rated 4-3 outside linebacker, but you have to remember where he was a year ago. Last off-season, he didn’t even get a million dollars on a 1 year deal from the Raiders because he was only seen as a two-down linebacker. What if he was just a one year wonder?

26 million over 5 years with 13 million guaranteed is a lot to gamble on that, especially since the Dolphins didn’t really need an outside linebacker. Kevin Burnett was 4th rated among 4-3 outside linebackers last year, even better than Wheeler and he’s more of a proven commodity. Wheeler is a couple of years younger, but Burnett would have been cheaper this season. The Dolphins only saved 7.2 million in cap space by cutting Karlos Dansby and Burnett and burned much more cash and future cap space by replacing them with Ellerbe and Wheeler. They did get younger in the linebacking corps, but I don’t think they got better and they certainly didn’t get cheaper or more proven.

Grade: D

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Philadelphia Eagles sign TE James Casey

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The Eagles already have Brent Celek, but James Casey isn’t a traditional tight end. He can play fullback and h-back as well and played 668 snaps in 18 games for the Texans last year even though they had both Owen Daniels and Garrett Graham. He caught 38 passes for 379 yards and 3 touchdowns on 48 targets, grading out above average as a pass catcher on ProFootballFocus, while holding his own as a blocker. He’ll probably be used in a similar role in Philadelphia, though I do like the fit with him and Chip Kelly a lot. 12 million over 3 years with 8 million guaranteed (with another 2.5 million available through incentives) might be a little much for him, but it’s a decent deal.

Grade: B

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Cincinnati Bengals re-sign DE Robert Geathers

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It’s not that 9.4 million over 3 years is unreasonable, for Robert Geathers, but the Bengals have 3 picks in the first 2 rounds and a ton of cap space. Geathers kind of sucks, so they should have taken this opportunity to find someone to replace him in the rotation with Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap. Geathers. Only 4 players graded out worse than him on ProFootballFocus among 4-3 ends as he had just 4 sacks, 4 hits, and 17 hurries on 399 pass rush snaps, through the post-season, a 6.3% rate, and he was only average against the run, even at 6-3 280. At the very least, they should give Carlos Dunlap more snaps than him in 2013.

Grade: C

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Minnesota Vikings re-sign OT Phil Loadholt

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Phil Loadholt is a top flight right tackle, ranking 8th among right tackles on ProFootballFocus last season. He’s graded out well above average in two straight seasons, but right tackles should not be able like left tackles because they don’t protect the blind side. Credit the Vikings for not overpaying Loadholt, with this 4 year, 25 million dollar deal with 7 million guaranteed. He’s a fierce run blocker, 4th among offensive tackles and 2nd among right tackles in that aspect last season, and he holds up in pass protection as well, with penalties (11) being his only weakness. Adrian Peterson has to be pretty happy about this re-signing.

Grade: B

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Kansas City Chiefs sign TE Anthony Fasano

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The Chiefs needed a #2 tight end with no depth behind Tony Moeaki, who is no sure thing, and Fasano, a solid blocker who can also contribute a little bit as a chain mover in the passing game, can serve in that role well. However, this is way too much money for a backup tight end. Fasano will get 16 million over the next 4 years with 4.5 million guaranteed. This is even worse than the 3 year, 9 million dollar deal the Chiefs gave Kevin Boss last off-season (he was cut one year into it) and almost as bad as the 5 year, 25 million dollar deal the Vikings gave John Carlson last off-season. For comparison, Martellus Bennett, a much better tight end and the new starter in Chicago, got just 20.4 million over 4 years, just 4.4 million more than Fasano.

Grade: D

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Chicago Bears sign TE Martellus Bennett

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Martellus Bennett might not have been as good of a receiver as Eli Manning made him look last year. Eli has made tight ends like Kevin Boss and Jake Ballard look better than they were before. However, he’s athletic and should still be able to produce as a receiver, even if he doesn’t match the 55 catches for 626 yards and 5 touchdowns he had last season. He’s also a phenomenal blocker and was overall ProFootballFocus’ 5th ranked tight end last season. He was even 10th rated in 2011 stuck behind Jason Witten, because of his blocking.

I thought, overall, he was a better available tight end than Jared Cook, who is unproven as a receiver and doesn’t block at all. Cook got a ridiculous 38.5 million over 5 years with 19 million guaranteed, while Bennett got just 20.4 million over 4 years with 5.215 million guaranteed, which is a much better deal. He’ll be infinitely better than incumbent starting tight end Kellen Davis and help out Jay Cutler a lot. This was definitely a need and the Bears filled it for a reasonable part with the best tight end on the market (other than Tony Gonzalez, who wasn’t leaving Atlanta).

Grade: A

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Tennessee Titans sign G Andy Levitre

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I have never liked the idea of giving a guard a lot of money, but the Titans desperately needed guard help and Levitre will instantly turn the left guard position into a position of major strength. Plus, Levitre got less money than Davin Joseph (7 years, 52.5 million with 19 million guaranteed), Carl Nicks (5 years, 47.5 million with 31 million guaranteed), and Jahri Evans (7 years, 56.7 million with 12 million guaranteed) over the last few off-seasons.

Levitre got 6 years, 46.8 million with 10.5 million guaranteed. He was ProFootballFocus’ 9th rated guard in 2012 and 6th rated guard in 2011 (despite making 4 of his 16 starts at left tackle) and deserves this type of contract when you compare it to other deals guards have gotten recently. This is a solid deal and it will definitely help Chris Johnson, who needs good blocking to succeed.

Grade: B

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Miami Dolphins sign WR Mike Wallace

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It always concerns me when a guy is obviously just chasing money. Wallace held out long into training camp last year rather than play out the final year of his rookie deal and, as a result, he had a poor year by his standards in 2012, with 64 catches for 836 yards and 8 touchdowns despite a career high in targets. He was 34th in the NFL in receiving yards and graded out noticeably below average on ProFootballFocus. It was obvious when he went into that holdout that a down year like that was a possibility, but he didn’t seem to care. He was part of the reason why the Steelers missed the playoffs.

And now he chases the money and goes to Miami, a team with a young quarterback that has made the playoffs just once in the last 11 seasons. It’s very possible he’ll just coast now that he has the money and he’s a one trick pony anyway. He’s got great speed, but he’s still not a good route runner and the NFL has caught on to him over the past 2 seasons. It’s very possible the 1257 yards he had in his breakout 2010 season will be his career best when his career is all said and done. The Dolphins overpaid, giving him 60 million over 5 years with 30 million guaranteed. The guaranteed money goes into his 3rd year, so this is at least a fully 3 year, 37 million dollar deal, unless they want to cut him after 2 years and 30 million.

Grade: C

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Cleveland Browns sign OLB Paul Kruger

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Paul Kruger was a very productive pass rusher down the stretch for the Ravens last year with 14 sacks, 14 hits, and 33 hurries in his final 12 games from week 10 on, but he didn’t really do anything until Terrell Suggs came back and had just 1 sack, 3 hits, and 10 hurries in his first 8 games. In his first 3 years in the league, he was just a rotational player at best, though he was very efficient on 373 snaps in 2011. He also doesn’t play the run well and played just 22 of 62 snaps in the Super Bowl as part of the game plan.

I don’t understand how someone that can barely be part of a game plan can get this much money, 41 million over 5 years with 20 million guaranteed. He’s not a primary pass rusher. He’s a secondary pass rusher and needs a good pass rusher opposite him. He doesn’t play the run. And he’s very inexperienced. I suppose it’s possible that he could continue his strong play from the 2nd half of 2012 into 2013 with the Browns and they needed a pass rusher, but they really overpaid.

Grade: C

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