Free agency started eight days ago. Already, most of the best available players are spoken for.
Our list of the 100 (plus a few) top free agents, as compiled by Charean Williams, has most of the players already signed with new teams, or tagged. By my count (which could be off because it’s early and I’m dumb), only 18 of 104 players are available to be signed by any team at any time.
The top available player is cornerback Xavien Howard. Others on the list are guard Connor Williams (who is dealing with the aftermath of a significant ACL injury), tackle Trent Brown, cornerback Steven Nelson, safety Justin Simmons, edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, cornerback Stephon Gilmore, safety Julian Blackmon, guard Dalton Risner, edge rusher Derek Barnett, receiver Tyler Boyd, receiver Mike Williams, edge rusher Randy Gregory, edge rusher Calais Campbell, receiver Josh Reynolds, quarterback Ryan Tannehill, tackle Mekhi Becton, and receiver Odell Beckham, Jr.
We’re squarely into the one-year deal phase of free agency. While it’s not impossible for a player to get a good payday for a single season (OBJ landed a one-year, $15 million fully-guaranteed plus incentives deal last year after the first few waves of free agency ended), most of the big money has been spent.
