By: Issac Tsymberov — Correspondent

This year’s NFL free agency officially began on March 17th. While teams are free to agree on trades or signings with free agents, these agreements can only become official on the 17th.

Some big-name trades and signings or re-signings have already been agreed upon. For example, Mark Ingram agreed to a 1 year, $3 million dollar contract with the Houston Texans, and JJ Watt agreed to sign with the Arizona Cardinals on a contract that is essentially $28 million over two years.

While freshman Savir Basil thought that the Cardinals signing JJ Watt was surprising, he thinks it will improve the Cardinals defensively and help them overall. “JJ Watt to the Cardinals was really surprising, but it’s definitely a great boost to the Cardinals defensively,” said Basil. 

Basil thought that Watt might sign with a bigger contender, but says that it makes sense that Watt is reuniting with DeAndre Hopkins in Arizona. “I thought he was going to go to a bigger contender, the Bills for example, but he will reunite with [DeAndre Hopkins] in Arizona. For the Cardinals, this does a lot [and] could get them to the playoffs, an improvement from just 8 wins last year,” added Basil.

DeAndre Hopkins was definitely happy after he found out he was reuniting with JJ Watt, tweeting “Life is good in Arizona! @JJWatt @AZCardinals.”

The reigning champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed to re-sign Lavonte David, one of the key defensive players during their Super Bowl run, to a two year, 25 million dollar contract. 

The Lions and the Rams agreed to exchange QBs with Matthew Stafford being shipped off to LA in exchange for Jared Goff, two future first round picks and a third rounder. 

Additionally, Dak Prescott agreed to re-sign with the Dallas Cowboys on a four year 160 million dollar contract, and Cam Newton agreed to re-sign with the Patriots on a one-year deal. 

Freshman Matthew Lally believes Cam Newton having an off-season with the Pats will lead to success. “Unlike last year, [Newton] will have an off-season with the Pats and if they can get some wide receivers I think that it could work out,” stated Lally.

Sophomore Adam Lessard disagrees with Lally. “Cam Newton was a huge mistake he did horribly and [is] only getting older,” said Lessard.

Lessard believes that Ryan Fitzpatrick and Alex Smith are both better options for the Patriots. “There are much better free agents like Fitzmagic and Alex Smith who would work better [for] us.” Lessard added.

While more free agents are agreeing to terms with teams each day, there are still many intriguing free agents left to be signed. Antonio Brown (Buccaneers) and Will Fuller V (Texans), are just two of the many talented wide receivers entering free agency this year. Ryan Fitzpatrick (Dolphins) is also an interesting QB who is becoming a free agent. On the defensive side of the ball, upcoming free agents include Shaq Barrett and Yannick Ngakoue.

Free-agency has intensified after the official March 17 start, and with the NFL draft starting on April 29, the offseason will continue to be eventful.

image from kiplinger.com