NFL Free Agency Day 1 Recap

 Before I begin, I highly doubt many people were watching the tanking Raptors take on the Washington Wizards, but I am a sicko and I was. I wanted to give a quick shout out to Jamal Shead who had a nasty put-back poster dunk last night, something I wasn't aware he was even capable of. Any time your 6 foot tall point guard rises up for a dunk it should be celebrated, so Lohensports will acknowledge. Also a quick shout out to Brampton legend AJ Lawson who had a career high 32 points last night. That's right, we're in the stage of the Raptors season where AJ Lawson is dropping 30, I can't wait for next year. ANYWAY, I wouldn't have even known that NFL free agency opened yesterday if it wasn't for the flurry of notifications I received. A lot of it was fun and exciting, and a lot of it related directly to my Steelers. I won't be able to break down every move but I wanted to hop on here today to go over a few of the big ones, or the ones that struck me the most. 

Sam Darnold to the Seahawks 

Mere minutes after I wrote that Sam Darnold is an option for the Steelers yesterday the Seahawks announced a deal with him to be their new starting QB. Darnold signed a 3 year $100.5m contract, pretty well deserved after the season he put together. It is interesting though that Seattle traded their best receiver right before signing a more established QB. Darnold played well in Minnesota don't get me wrong, but he also had Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, 2 of the best receivers in football. This screams of someone who's going to regress without the talent surrounding him, and for $33m per year that's a pretty big risk. Still, maybe I'm wrong and Darnold continues to rebound his career at this next stop. For the Steelers, I think Darnold would've been a fine fit, but I am not losing sleep over missing out on paying a QB with 1 good season under his belt $33m. Come back to this segment next year when Darnold is on his MVP campaign and call me an idiot. 

Justin Fields to the Jets

I was kind of sad about this one, I really thought Fields was going to be the starting QB in Pittsburgh next season. It was especially sad when I saw the contract was super reasonable. Fields signed a 2 year $40m deal in NY and will presumably be the Jets starting QB next season. Ultimately, Fields deserves a fair shot at a starting job. He lead the Steelers to a 4-2 record to start the season with Wilson injured and while he had his flaws, he definitely brings a dynamic element to the game with his legs. I don't know if Fields is a quality starting QB in the league, but a 2 year deal gives him the chance to prove it without long term risk for the Jets. For the Steelers, now I have no idea what they're going to do at QB, but my favorite option is now off the table. 

Najee Harris to the Chargers

I've gone back and fourth on Najee in my post game recaps. I want to be fair to him, he did have a couple of monster games last season that helped lead the Steelers to victory. Mostly though, I've always felt Najee is a mid running back. He's got great power, but he's one of the slowest running backs in the league and doesn't have the elite vision you'd hope for in a back taken in the first round. I've felt for the last 3 seasons that every time Jaylen Warren gets a shot in the backfield the Steelers offense hums a lot better. Warren was just resigned by the Steelers and is looking like he'll be the guy next season, which does excite me. With the Chargers, Najee gets to play under a hard nosed, run the football coach in Jim Harbaugh which should fit his running style well. Najee I hope you crush it with the Chargers, but I think it was time to move on for both sides. 

Darius Slay to the Steelers 

The Steelers thinnest position on defense was CB last season. Behind Joey Porter Jr was a rag tag group of prove it guys and rookies that were frequently targeted. It's always risky signing a soon to be 35 year old defensive back, but Darius Slay was at a time one of the best CBs in football. I don't think at his age that he's going to come in and be a lockdown guy opposite Joey Porter but he should provide stability to the group and hopefully be a good mentor to some of the young guys in the room. Upon just Googling now, apparently the deal is still not finalized so lets hope it gets done so this segment doesn't look silly. 

What Will the Steelers do at QB

Oh boy, the fans are not happy. I think it's pretty funny that basically any QB you suggest when the options were all available was met with hostility from the fan base. I can't disagree, Darnold had a great season but also played in a great system with the best receiver in football. Fields had success with the Steelers but showed signs that his decision making isn't where it needs to be and the injury risk for a run first QB is ever-present. Where does that leave us now? Russell Wilson is still available and maybe is the best option for the Steelers looking to bridge one more year. With DK Metcalf on the team there's one more threat for Russ' beautiful deep ball which should be fun. Fans won't be happy with that one because we've seen the ceiling of a Russell Wilson team at this stage of his career, but he's a good guy and not a terrible option. Aaron Rogers has also been floated and he's a guy I actually think will be fun. Off-field shenanigans aside, I still think Rogers today is a better QB than Russell Wilson, it just depends on if he can keep the lockeroom together, something he couldn't do with the Jets. There's also always the option to draft a QB, and I won't pretend like I know anything about any of the options in the draft. I think ultimately, the long term answer at QB likely isn't going to be found this offseason so we as fans should just sit back and enjoy the show with whoever it ends up being. 

That's that for today! Crazy how basically right after I published my article yesterday all the QBs I suggested got signed elsewhere, shows what I know. Player movement is always fun, the NBA has mastered fan engagement surrounding player movement to the point that it's gotten kind of annoying. More and more lately it seems like big deals are happening in the NFL that keep that fan engagement going, during the offseason I'm all for it. As always, go Steelers!