Free agency continues to breeze along with several player signing one-year, prove-it deals. Dontari Poe (Atlanta Falcons), Bennie Logan (Kansas City Chiefs) and Luke Joeckel (Seattle Seahawks), for instance, all signed one-year, $8 million deals with the hope of playing well in 2017 and cashing in with a long-term deal in 2018.
But as we keep finding out each year, even the long-term deals can be looked at as prove-it deals. Last year, Russell Okung (Denver Broncos) and Kelvin Beachum (New York Jets) signed five-year contracts that were really one-year deals because all of the guaranteed money was paid in the first year. These contracts gave teams the chance to pick up four-year options. Instead, Okung and Beachum did not have their options exercised and they hit the market again this offseason.
This year's free-agency period was different because the 2013 draft class feeding it was bad. That meant a backup quarterback landed a contract worthy of a starter, and several older players got long-term deals.
Here are the players who signed multiyear deals in March but could be one-and-done candidates next offseason:
Mike Glennon, QB, Chicago Bears
Contract: Three years, $45 million with $18.5 million guaranteed
The Bears surprised some people by signing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' backup to a big-money deal, but the contract is similar to what Nick Foles received in an extension with the then-St. Louis Rams in 2015. Chicago is paying Glennon $16 million to be the starter this season, and the Bears guaranteed only $2.5 million of next year's base salary. His signing bonus was only $3 million, so the Bears would have a $4.5 million cap hit if he doesn't play well and they let him go next year. Chicago, which owns the No. 3 pick, could still take a quarterback of the future in April's draft.