The NFL offseason decided it didn't have any intention of waiting until the start of the legal tampering period Monday (noon ET) to kick into high gear. With a flood of trades, contract extensions, re-signings and additions of players who had been cap casualties, free agency seems like it's showing up late to the party.
A few of the biggest names have already moved before the free agent market even opens, including offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley, wide receivers DK Metcalf and Davante Adams and linebackers Zack Baun, Nick Bolton and Jamien Sherwood.
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What has already happened can tell us a lot about the free agent moves to come. Let's go through the most prominent moves from the weekend and figure out whether they'll live up to expectations. It's easy to be optimistic about adding (or retaining) star players and heartbroken about losing them in the middle of March. I'll try to get a handle on how these decisions actually break down and what they'll mean for 2025 and beyond.
Jump to a section:
Is DK Metcalf really worth this massive extension?
Is there really a winner in the Geno Smith trade?
Why did the Bills rip up Josh Allen's contract?
Will Davante Adams be a star for the Rams?
Myles Garrett's extension will have ripples
The biggest takeaway of the past two weeks
DK Metcalf goes to Pittsburgh
I'll start with the big trade from Sunday night. Just four days after his trade request went public, Metcalf's time with the Seahawks came to a sudden end. I'll get to the other move the franchise made in a moment, but in the matter of a week, Metcalf went from being a cornerstone in Seattle to the new top receiver in Pittsburgh.
The price is about what I projected in the article I wrote about a potential Metcalf trade last week. The Steelers sent the No. 52 pick in April's draft to the Seahawks as the focal point of the deal. The teams will also swap sixth- and seventh-round picks. There's some vagueness about which picks are involved, given that the Steelers have several conditional pick swaps in those rounds. In all, the Seahawks should end up landing draft capital amounting to a pick in the late-40s.