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Sports Seriously
The NFL offseason continues on with the 2024 NFL Draft in the rear view and the first preseason game more than two months away. This week, many teams are starting organized team practice activities (OTAs) which is the first time many veterans are seeing the field since the end of last season.
Some of those veteran players are in new places this year. Longtime Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw passes to his new Atlanta Falcons teammates this week. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley‘s catching his first passes in a Tennessee Titans uniform. Former Miami Dolphins standout defensive lineman Christian Wilkins got his first reps with the Las Vegas Raiders.
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Despite a flurry of moves in the first week of free agency, there are still many talented veterans available on the market. Here are the best ones remaining – and where a good fit could be:
2024 NFL free agents: Best available players
Note: age provided is how old the player will be by the end of the 2024 season.
Simmons – a Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro player in 2023 – was one of many salary cap casualties in Denver this offseason. He’s made either the Pro Bowl or second-team All-Pro in each of the last five seasons. Simmons offers size (6 feet, 2 inches tall) and speed at the position and with sure tackling. He’d likely be best in a zone scheme at this point in his career.
Atlanta has a new coach in Raheem Morris and first-time NFL defensive coordinator in Jimmy Lake. Falcons safety Jessie Bates III was one of the best in the league last season. Simmons would be an upgrade at the safety spot opposite Bates. In a wide-open NFC South, a veteran with Simmons’ pedigree could help the Falcons reach their first division title since 2016.
It’s been four years since Gilmore won Defensive Player of the Year with the New England Patriots. He’s since played for the Carolina Panthers (2021), Indianapolis Colts (2022), and Cowboys (2023). He started all 17 games for Dallas last season and totaled 13 pass breakups and two interceptions.
He’d be an upgrade for most teams at the position but the Chargers would be intriguing. Los Angeles selected two corners, Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart, in the fifth round of the draft. In a division with Patrick Mahomes, extra help in coverage can’t hurt. Hart and Still could learn from one of the best in the process.
New Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz spent the last 25 years with the Baltimore Ravens, a team with a reputation for signing low-cost veterans late in the offseason (Jadeveon Clowney, Kyle Van Noy, etc.).
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Jackson had the best years of his career in 2021 and 2022 with the Giants before dropping off last season. His 57.6% completion percentage allowed was the second-highest of his career in a season with at least 10 starts, per Sports Info Solutions (SIS) data. He’s also missed a combined 14 games in the last three seasons.
Cornerback Terrion Arnold said the Raiders were interested in him during the draft. Las Vegas ended up drafting corners in the fourth (Decamerion Richardson) and seventh (M.J. Devonshire) rounds. Jackson could shore up the position even more in a division where they’ll face Justin Herbert and Mahomes twice a year. There’s also some familiarity; Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham coached Jackson in New York during his best season in 2021.
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Renfrow enjoyed a Pro Bowl year with the Raiders in 2021. Since then, he’s totaled just 585 yards and two touchdowns over the last two seasons. Was that decline more to do with him, a lack of opportunity with the Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers signings, or an issue with the system under former Raiders Josh McDaniels? It’s hard to say for sure.
But he’ll turn 29 in late December and has a 74.1% career catch percentage. Carolina put an emphasis on surrounding second-year quarterback Bryce Young with weapons this offseason through the draft and trades. Adding Renfrow to the mix could help him even more.
Williams was one of many salary cap casualties for the Dolphins this offseason. He missed significant time last year due to a torn ACL but, prior to that, allowed just one sack in nine games. He had one of the lower blown block percentages (1.9) of his career per SIS data.
Hjalte Froholdt played well at center in his first season as a starter but that shouldn’t stop the Cardinals from signing a potential upgrade. So long as he recovers well from injury, he’s a relatively young center to potentially pair with quarterback Kyler Murray for the long term.
Risner had one of the best pass block win rates in the league among interior linemen last year at 95.5% after starting the final 11 games for Minnesota. He was a four-year starter in Denver prior to that and SIS data shows he hasn’t dropped off much at all since his best season as a rookie in 2019.
New England starting guard Cole Strange will likely miss most of the season, per the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the Patriots could use a proven player on the interior with a pedigree for pass blocking.
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Thomas hasn’t played a full season since 2019 when he set the NFL single-season record for receptions (149) and led the league in yards (1,725). Since then, he’s played in just 20 games over four seasons as injuries are a major concern.
He missed time in 2020 with an ankle sprain, missed the entire 2021 season after a setback following ankle surgery, suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 3 in 2022, and missed the final seven weeks of 2023 following a knee injury.
If he’s healthy, this feels like a Cowboys type of signing: a big name at a position of need. He’d bolster the group behind star wideout CeeDee Lamb. Dallas would likely be an attractive place for Thomas as it’s one of the more talented teams in the NFC.
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Like Williams, Howard was another cap casualty in Miami. He made the Pro Bowl each year from 2020 to 2022 before a drop off last season. His 61.4% completion percentage allowed was the worst mark of his career, per SIS data, but he still put up a solid 12 pass breakups in 13 games played.
Houston’s made moves this offseason to show they’re not waiting to compete in the AFC. They signed top pass rusher Danielle Hunter, traded for Stefon Diggs, and traded for and later extended Joe Mixon. Derek Stingley Jr. is a promising young cornerback but Howard could be an upgrade on the other outside corner spot. At the very least he’d bring depth that could help in potential playoff games against top AFC quarterbacks.
