2018 NFL Free Agency
Welcome back! With the NFL free agency just around the corner and the RSO and the site reopened, it is time to start watching who is a free agent or a potential cut candidate before the official offseason kicks off. There will be a few windows between now and March to either sell a player before he moves into a worse situation or buy a player before he joins a prolific offense. Here is a preview of each position’s key free agents as well as some player who could be cut before or during the offseason. Similar to last year I will be picking players that relocate to feature in the Free Agency Expectancy article series done throughout the offseason.
Quarterbacks
| QB FAs | QB Cuts |
| Drew Brees | Eli Manning |
| Kirk Cousins | Tyrod Taylor |
| Sam Bradford | Ryan Tannehill |
| Josh McCown | Mike Glennon |
| Case Keenum | |
| Teddy Bridgewater | |
| Blaine Gabbert | |
| Jay Cutler | |
| A.J. McCarron |
The fireworks have already started with regards to the quarterback market with Alex Smith being dealt to Washington which should signal the end of Kirk Cousins in the Capital. Without knowing whether or not Drew Brees is going to seriously test free agency we have to assume that Cousins will be the one who will receive the largest contract. We haven’t seen a healthy, young(ish), competent QB hit the market in years so it will interesting to see how teams will court him. There should only be a handful of teams that don’t take a serious look at their starter and wonder if Cousins could be better. For the rest of the available and possibly available QBs, it’s a mixed bag in terms of fantasy relevance. Not sure many will have an impact outside of 2QB league but we’ll see where they land.
Running Backs
| RB FAs | RB Cuts |
| Le’Veon Bell | DeMarco Murray |
| Carlos Hyde | Doug Martin |
| Jerrick McKinnon | Adrian Peterson |
| Dion Lewis | Chris Ivory |
| Isaiah Crowell | Mike Gillislee |
| Alfred Morris | |
| Eddie Lacy | |
| Jeremy Hill | |
| LeGarrette Blount | |
| Frank Gore | |
| Rex Burkhead | |
| Charles Sims | |
| Thomas Rawls – RFA | |
| Alex Collins – ERFA |
Much like last year, I don’t expect Le’Veon Bell to hit the market, whether it is another year on the franchise tag or Pittsburgh comes to a long-term deal with him. Carlos Hyde would likely have the most upside of any free agent but he does have a history of injuries. He could find himself in a similar situation as Latavius Murray was last year where a team signs him but transitions to a rookie later in the season. After those two it would be hard to trust any RB to be more than an RB3-4 on a week-to-week basis. With another incoming rookie class that is extremely talented and super deep at the position, it will be tough for anyone to feel confident acquiring these available players. At best some will be able to share the backfield with a rookie or one another veteran. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess.
Wide Receivers
| WR FAs | WR Cuts |
| Jarvis Landry | Jordy Nelson |
| Allen Robinson | Brandon Marshall |
| Danny Amendola | Randall Cobb |
| Paul Richardson | Dez Bryant |
| Marqise Lee | Emmanuel Sanders |
| Jordan Matthews | Allen Hurns |
| Sammy Watkins | Jeremy Maclin |
| Terrelle Pryor | |
| Donte Moncrief | |
| John Brown | |
| Mike Wallace | |
| Kendall Wright | |
| Jeff Janis | |
| Cameron Meredith – RFA | |
| Quincy Enunwa – RFA | |
| Tyrell Williams – RFA | |
| Willie Snead – RFA | |
| Brandon Coleman – RFA | |
| Josh Gordon – ERFA |
There are some big names available in the receiver market as well as some bigger names on the cut list which could make for savvy buy/sell opportunities between now and March. If Allen Robinson finds a new team with an efficient QB he will see his value spike back up to the mid WR1 conversation that it was a couple years ago. Same goes for Jarvis Landry who had good production in Miami with less than efficient offenses the last two seasons. If either or both Packers receivers are booted from Aaron Rodgers’ offense their value will crater. I would be selling both of them over the next three weeks before the trade value completely falls out from under them. Overall, this is the position group to watch throughout the offseason. Lots of moving pieces may create incredible value for a number of these players.
Tight Ends
| TE FAs | TE Cuts |
| Jimmy Graham | Julius Thomas |
| Austin Seferian-Jenkins | Eric Ebron |
| Tyler Eifert | Vance McDonald |
| Antonio Gates | C.J. Fiedorowicz |
| Benjamin Watson | |
| Trey Burton | |
| Cameron Brate – RFA |
Tight ends lag behind again as there are very few fantasy relevant options that will hit the open market and the ones that are available are extremely risky. Jimmy Graham started to be productive in Seattle last season with the offense needing to open up and carry their surprisingly weak defense. If he stays in Seattle he could be reconsidered in the top 3 conversation again for TE value. Until we know for sure his value is in flux. The rest of the group is either seriously flawed, injury prone or contemplating retirement which doesn’t bode well for fantasy value. Hopefully, the youth movement comes to blossom soon for this position otherwise it could be a wasteland if Gronk is serious about his retirement.
