After a manic first few days of free agency, like always, things tend to slow down toward the end of the first week. There are still a few big names on the board, but it’s likely that negotiations aren’t as frantic and deals will be announced less frequently. After all, less teams will be negotiating for certain players now they’ve gone in different directions.
Darius Slay: Re-signed with the Eagles (2 years, $42M, $23M guaranteed)
Just a few days ago it seemed like the Eagles would be moving on from Darius Slay. First, he requested a trade as he and the front office couldn’t agree on an extension. Then the Eagles re-signed James Bradberry to an extension. That felt like it made it a lot harder to re-sign Slay and it was reported that the Eagles would be releasing the Pro Bowl corner. After some back and forth on social media, things went quiet for a day. But Howie Roseman always gets his guy.
Late on Thursday night, against all odds, the Eagles and Slay agreed on a two-year extension that gives the former All-Pro cornerback $23M in guaranteed money and makes him the highest-paid defensive back in the NFL. It’s a lot of money, but it’s money well-earned. Slay and Bradberry were the league’s best cornerback duo in 2022 and retaining them both was key when you take into account how many key pieces the Eagles have already lost this offseason.
Graham Glasgow: Signed with the Lions (1 year, worth up to $4.5M)
Every so often, the NFL comes full circle. This probably registers on the smaller side of the spectrum, but it could be a big move for the Lions. Graham Glasgow was the team’s third-round pick in 2016 and impressed in four seasons with the team before joining the Denver Broncos in 2020. Three years later and Glasgow is back ready to help strengthen the last remaining weak spot on the Lions offensive line.
The offensive line was one of the better units in the league last year, but the right guard position was a sore spot. Halapoulivaati Vatai was ruled out before the start of the season and everyone from recently departed Evan Brown to Logan Stenberg filled in at some point or another, but the result was largely the same.
Hopefully, Glasgow can alleviate the concerns at the right guard spot and provide a much-needed veteran presence for an ever-improving Lions team. He’s proven that he can play just as well at centre as he can at guard and allowed just 47 total pressures during his three years with the Broncos.
Darius Slayton: Re-signed with the Giants (2 years, $12M)
The most important bit of news to come from Thursday in the NFL, is that the Slay vs Slayton rivalry in the NFC East isn’t going anywhere. The Eagles re-signed Slay later on in the day, but before that, the Giants and Slayton agreed on a new 2-year, $12M to keep the wide receiver with Big Blue.
Slayton has been a consistent presence with the Giants since he was drafted in the 5th round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He’s predominantly a deep threat receiver and his 16 yards per reception in 2022 was the 9th-highest in the NFL. He has a specific role and he excels at it, plus he’s still only 26 years old, so there’s reason to believe Slayton can continue to improve. Most of all, Daniel Jones needs weapons he can trust, so there’s something to be said for continuity at the receiver position in one way or another. Even if it’s clear that the Giants still need to upgrade at the position.
Parris Campbell: Signed with the Giants (1 year, $3M)
Parris Campbell to the New York Giants is still something worth talking about even on a 1-year deal. After a tough first three seasons in the NFL, Campbell had a breakout campaign with the Colts in 2022, setting career-highs in targets, catches, yards, touchdowns – pretty much everything across the board was better. Why?
Well, because he was fully healthy for the first time in his career. Coming into 2022, Campbell had never played more than 7 games in a season. Despite his obvious talent, it only came in short bursts. Fans were often left wanting more as the speedy WR spent more time on the sidelines than he did on the field.
Hopefully, 2022 isn’t an outlier, because Campbell looked excellent. He’s got burner speed, great hands – his 4.5 drop percentage is one of the better marks in the league – and he’s shifty enough to make guys miss in the open field. This is a prove-it deal if there ever was, but Campbell is another potential weapon for Daniel Jones
Brandin Cooks: Cowboys acquire WR for a 5th & 6th rounder
The Cowboys and Texans initially had conversations surrounding a potential Cooks deal prior to last year’s trade deadline but nothing ever materialized.
Now, with Dallas in win-now mode, the teams were able to come to terms to send the speedy WR across the state in exchange for a pair of late round picks. Cooks’ $18M salary is guaranteed for 2023, so there’s talks that Houston could absorb some of that cost as part of the deal, though nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
With the departure of Amari Cooper, and an injury to Michael Gallup, Dallas was noticeably thin at wide receiver last year beyond Ceedee Lamb. Jerry Jones and co. clearly weren’t ready to run it back with the same WR group they did in 2022, and will happily add the speed element that Cooks brings to the table to an already talented offense.
For Cooks’ part, this is welcome news as he publicly voiced his displeasure with being part of a rebuild project in Houston. That being said, the soon to be 30 year old has now been traded 4 times in his career, and is no sure thing to suit up for every game over the course of a season as he’s dealt with a variety of minor injuries over the years.
In 2022 the 5’10” speedster posted 57 catches for 699yds and 3 TDs for a lowly Texans aerial attack. Both Dallas and Cooks are hoping that a change of scenery is all that’s required to get him back to his former Biletnikoff winning ways.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @tvalentinesport
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Great post! The offseason moves can really shape a team’s success for the upcoming season. With Darius Slay’s extension and Graham Glasgow’s return to his former team, do you think the Eagles and Lions’ defensive and offensive line units will improve significantly?
David Brock
Phillylocalsupport.com
Slay was a major get for Philly to reunite arguably the best CB duo in the league, while Glasgow is a good veteran depth addition which will hopefully solidify things along the line in Detroit. Although it was a long shot to begin with given the cap constraints, the Eagles clearly have a lot of faith in Jordan Davis by letting Hargrave walk. Where things get interesting is seeing what both teams do at the draft as there will be some extremely talented OL/DL players available at 6 and 10 overall. Whether they choose to add to the trenches or address other areas remains to be seen, but if they wanted to do, they could get a blue chip prospect for sure.