Wednesday Free Agency Recap: RB Market Takes Shape

RB CAROUSEL PICKS UP SPEED

There were five running back transactions of note Wednesday – three free agent signings, one re-signing and one cut. Miles Sanders, Jamaal Williams and James Robinson agreed to multi-year contracts with new teams, while Alexander Mattison re-signed with Minnesota on a two-year, $7 million contract. Meanwhile, Ezekiel Elliott will be looking for a new team after Dallas informed him of his release.

Sanders agreed to a four-year deal with Carolina, making him the presumptive starter on an offense that figures to feature a run-heavy mentality, especially in light of trading away DJ Moore. Efficiency and touchdown production will probably regress in the move from Philadelphia to Carolina, but Sanders' workload as a rushing specialist could be intact. Chuba Hubbard is presumably the favorite to pick up Carolina's passing down work.

Williams landed with the Saints on a three-year, $12 million deal, ensuring he play a central role in the New Orleans offense regardless of the status of Alvin Kamara. The blocking is not likely to be anywhere near as favorable as it was with Detroit, but with enough usage any running back can be useful in fantasy.

Robinson's deal was with New England, who agreed to a two-year deal worth up to $8 million contract with the former Jaguar and Jet. With Robinson in New England it's difficult to see Damien Harris re-signing. Robinson will need to hold off Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris for usage, but he should be able to if recovered from his Achilles and knee troubles.

Mattison re-signing with Minnesota might or might not indicate anything re: Dalvin Cook's standing with the team. The $3.5 million per year is a cheap enough figure that they could pay it even if Cook remains on the team. Then again, if they were to move Cook then signing Mattison would provide depth reassurance in short yardage and passing situations.

SMITH-SCHUSTER LANDS WITH WR-CURIOUS PATRIOTS

JuJu Smith-Schuster played on a one-year 'prove it' deal for the Chiefs last year and found a bit of a pay raise with the Patriots, who agreed to a three-year, $33 million contract with Smith-Schuster. The Patriots presumably will look to Smith-Schuster as the Jakobi Meyers replacement, primarily running from the slot and perhaps serving as the team's lead target. Nelson Agholor is also gone, leaving Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton as your potential starters, with Thornton doing a lot of distance running to clear room for the other two. Kendrick Bourne is also expected to make the roster, though with no wheels he might be a better fit as a swing backup/red-zone specialist than a starter on the boundary.

It's unclear if the Smith-Schuster signing changes anything, but the Patriots were also linked to DeAndre Hopkins, who the Cardinals are loosely expected to trade at some point. The Athletic's Jeff Howe reported that the Patriots had called the Cardinals about Hopkins and the Broncos about Jerry Jeudy.

MAYFIELD AND BRISSETT FIND POTENTIAL STARTING OPPORTUNITIES

Sam Howell and Kyle Trask went from presumed starters to potential backups as their teams respectively agreed to deals with Jacoby Brissett and Baker Mayfield. Both teams figure to hold open competitions, and there's a case to make for the veterans as favorites. While Brissett and Mayfield might be considered retreads at this point, they're still both more proven than their younger counterparts.

Howell might be more likely to hold off Brissett than Trask would Mayfield. Good as Brissett was for Cleveland during Deshaun Watson's suspension, he wasn't as successful of a quarterback in the ACC as Howell was, and Mayfield is probably the more imposing player between himself and Brissett.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports the Ravens were looking at both Mayfield and Brissett before they signed, which probably can't be read as especially encouraging for their standoff with Lamar Jackson.
 

GIANTS EYEING WIDE RECEIVERS

According to Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record, there is chatter that the Giants are interested in DJ Chark or/and Mecole Hardman. Perhaps the initial chatter was more in the form of 'The Giants are looking for a fast receiver' and it progressed to Chark and Hardman named as likely candidates for obvious reasons.

It's not clear whether the Giants are looking for a fast wideout specifically to replace Darius Slayton, who is also an unrestricted free agent. Slayton might be cheaper than both Chark and Hardman, but signing two of the three might be difficult with all of Isaiah Hodgins, Wan'Dale Robinson and Sterling Shepard already under contract.
 

BILLS OFFENSE ADDS DOWNFIELD SPEED WITH HARTY

Deonte Harty missed almost all of the 2022 season, but in the 2021 season he drew targets at a staggering rate while ranking high in both ADOT (10.1 yards) and YAC per catch (6.9 yards). After signing with the Bills he should line up in the same spots held by Isaiah McKenzie, Jamison Crowder and Cole Beasley, but he's a much more credible downfield threat than any of them were. While his 5-foot-6 frame is prohibitively small and likely will limit Harty's snap count, he could be quite productive on a per-snap basis and adds a meaningful downfield and YAC threat the Bills previously lacked.