NFL Offensive Line Free Agency Grades

We're officially one week into free agency so let's look at the top free-agent offensive linemen that have signed new deals and discuss whether or not it was a good signing based on value, fit, and need. 


Tackles 

• Orlando Brown (Franchise Tag by Chiefs - 1 year/$16.6 million) Grade: A
  • The only thing that keeps this from being an A+ is the fact the two sides haven't agreed to a long-term deal yet, which I believe is coming. However, It is imperative for the Chiefs to keep a good o-line intact when their offensive success centers around a vertical passing attack. Brown isn't an elite tackle, but he is a good one, and given the scarcity of good tackles in the NFL, they will have to overpay to keep him, but it's worth it for this team. 
• Cam Robinson (Franchise Tag by Jaguars - 1 year/$16.6 million) Grade: C+
  • ​This is the second straight year the Jags have tagged Robinson. I don't love it, but I understand the move. On the one hand, Robinson still hasn't lived up to his potential and developed into a high-quality LT. On the other hand, you've got a potential franchise QB on a rookie deal, and Robinson is better than a lot of the potential free agents available to replace him. A one-year deal at just over $16 million isn't the end of the world on a team that had as much cap space as this one, but you'd think they've seen enough to decide whether to give him a long-term deal or let him go. Their draft plans may have also impacted this decision. Many mocks have recently projected that the Jags will draft a tackle with the first pick. However, with Robinson back in the fold for at least one more year, they may feel better about taking the best player available, which according to most, is one of the pass rushers (Hutchinson or Thibodeaux). 
• Joseph Noteboom (resigned by Rams - 3 years/$40 million) Grade: C
  • ​I'm giving this signing a C because there really is no way to appropriately access this signing until we see Noteboom play an entire season as the starter. Sure he looked good filling in a few games for Whitworth, but that hardly guarantees that he's worth over $13 million/year. Noteboom was the Rams third-round pick in 2018. He actually won the starting LG job at the start of the 2019 season but only played in 6 games before tearing his ACL. In 2020 he played the first 2 games of the season at LG before getting injured again. He was used as the backup LT for the remainder of that season. There is no doubt that Noteboom has been a serviceable player in his time at both guard and tackle. However, he looked his best this season in two starts and a total of 173 snaps. One has to wonder if this contract is a bit of an overreaction. On the other hand, if Noteboom delivers a full season at the level he played in 2021 at the most valuable o-line position in the NFL, the deal could end up being a bargain. We saw the Lions make a similar gamble on Halapoulivaaati Vaitai, who looked good as backup in Philly and then didn't live up to his contract as a full-time starter in Detroit. 
• La'el Collins (signed by Bengals - 3 years/$30 million) Grade: A+
  • ​This was a great signing by the Bengals. Collins was a late addition to free agency as the Cowboys recently released him after free agency started. He's the second-best tackle on the market behind Armstead, and the Bengals got him at $10 million/year. While LTs typically get more than RTs, Collins should still be making more than Robinson and Noteboom, given how well he's played when healthy. The RT position was weak for Cincy, yet they managed to snag a pro-bowl caliber one on the cheap. A+ signing.
• ​Morgan Moses (signed with Ravens - 3 years/$15 million) Grade: B+​
  • Moses best days may be behind him, but at $5 million/year he's a steal. He'll start at RT, and Ronnie Stanley should be back in the lineup at LT. This addition also frees up Patrick Mekari to move back inside at center and replace Bradley Bozeman, who left in free agency. 
• Tom Compton (signed with Broncos - 1 year/$2.2 million) Grade: B+​
  • Judging by this deal, teams probably credit Compton's good season to him being a cog in Shanahan's system. That and the perception that he's more of one-dimensional player that isn't great in pass pro. However, he was one of the best run-blockers in the NFL after he took over for Mike McGlinchey and helped the 49ers o-line stay on track on the way to an NFL championship appearance. He's not a pro-bowl player or anything, but $2 million seems like a steal. Even if he doesn't start the Broncos secured one of the better swing tackle option on the market. 
• Trent Brown (resigned by Patriots - terms undisclosed) Grade: N/A
  • I can't fully grade this signing until we get the terms, but this is a big signing for the Pats. They lost Karras in free agency and traded away Shaq Mason, so Michael Onwenu was a lock to move back to guard. That means they had no room to lose Brown. They have a young QB and one of the weaker skill player groups in the league. The strength of the offense and team in 2021 was their o-line, and with this re-signing it should remain strong in 2022. 

Guards 

• Brandon Schreff (signed with Jaguars - 3 years/$49.5 million) Grade: B+
  • This is a good signing, and in terms of talent, they upgraded at guard, going from Norwell to Schreff. However, if you give me the choice of having Schreff at $16.5 million/year or Norwell at $5 million/year, I'd take Norwell all day. ​It's hard to say a team could've had another player for cheaper because a player may have simply been willing to play for one specific team on a discounted rate or had no interest in playing or continuing to play for your team. But the drastic price difference in a player that is leaving this team for the player that replaced him keeps this deal from being an A for me. Schreff is better than Norwell but not $11 million/year better. 
• Laken Tomlinson (Signed with Jets - 3 years/$40 million) Grade: B-
  • ​The Jets got a good player at decent market value, so I definitely can't call this a bad signing. However, the Jets have one of the worst secondaries in the NFL, practically no playmakers on offense, and need more talent at edge rusher. Paying $13 million/year for a guard when o-line looks like it may be one of the few strengths of the team in 2022 doesn't seem like the best allocation of resources to me. I didn't think RG was a huge need given that they are set at the other four o-line spots, but RG certainly was the weak-link spot upfront for the Jets in 2021, and they addressed it with this signing. With the return of Beckton, potential growth of Vera-Tucker, plus Fant and McGovern coming off career years, the Jets adding a guy that was a top-15 guard in the NFL last season puts them in a position to potentially have a top-10 o-line next season. 
• James Daniels (Signed with Steelers - 3 years/$26.5 million) Grade: A
  • Addressing a key need position at good market value will get you an A from me every time, and that is exactly what the Steelers did with this signing. The Steelers had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. Daniels walks through the door and is immediately the best player on the o-line for this team. He's an above-average starter with the potential to be a little better at his best. 
• Alex Cappa (Signed with Bengals - 4 years/$35 million) Grade: A
  • If you watched any of the Bengals playoff games, you heard multiple mentions from the announces about how the Bengals o-line was a weakness of their team. Quite frankly, any quality offensive lineman they sign and don't drastically overpay deserves an A grade. Cappa was one of the top guards on the market, and they got him on a deal that didn't break the bank. A quality starting guard for less than $9 million/year is a great signing for a team whose primary concern this offseason was improving the o-line. 
• Austin Corbett (Signed with Panthers - 3 years/$26.2 million) Grade: A
  • ​Another team with a horrific o-line that needed to grab one of the the top o-line free agents and did. Say what you want about Sam Darnold, but he didn't have much of a chance trying to throw behind the Panthers o-line last season. They had problems in a lot of places, but the guard position was the most problematic. Corbett is an above-average starter and an instant upgrade over the likes of John Miller, Michael Jordan, Dennis Daley, and Trent Scott. 
• Connor Williams (Signed with Dolphins - 2 years/$14 million) Grade: A-
  • ​This was a very underrated signing in my opinion. Connor Williams has his flaws, no debating that. But even with the penalties, he's turned into a good player. Getting a guard that finished top 3 at his position in pressures allowed at only $7 million/year who can also help you in the run-game is good value. The only small issue I have with the Dolphins is that this is the only o-lineman signing they've made so far despite having the worst offensive line in the NFL. They've got plenty of cap space and a great location so it makes me wonder why they weren't able to land one of the better guards. 
• Mark Glowinski (Signed with Giants - 3 years/$18.3 million) Grade: D
  • ​I'm not a fan of this signing at all. Unless the Giants know something we don't about Glowinski playing hurt in 2021 this is more of what we've seen in the past from the Giants. They continue to sign offensive lineman in free agency that used to be good but were coming off down seasons when they got them (see Nate Solder). Glowinski is coming off a bad season, and if you want to justify giving him $6 million/year based on past seasons that's fine if it's a one-year prove it deal. However, the structure of this contract is one where his cap hit is only $3 million, and a lot of the rest is pushed into the last two years. Again, that'd be fine if the guaranteed money was really low, but in this case, they guaranteed him over $11 million. The year two cap hit on this deal is 7 million, and it would cost them $8 million just to cut him next year. That pretty much means regardless of whether he has a bounce backs season or not, they are stuck with him for at least two seasons. The only reason I can't give this an F is because Glowinksi is still better than every guard they currently have, so they at least made an effort to upgrade a major weakness of the roster. 
• Andrew Norwell (Signed with Commanders - 2 years/$10 million) Grade: A+
  • I don't know how the Commanders got Norwell to sign such a team-friendly deal, but hats off to them. $5 million/year for the second-best guard in a strong guard market is great value. Norwell isn't playing at the level he once was, but typically a player who's only 30 with a first-team all-pro on their resume would command a larger contract. There aren't even any injury issues either. He's coming off a season in which he played all 17 games, over 1,000 snaps, and was nearly top-10 in pressures allowed among guards. Yet, the commanders got him for less than what Connor Williams and Mark Glowinski got for crying out loud. In terms of pure value, this may have been the best free agent signing of the offseason. 

Centers 

• Ryan Jensen (resigned with Buccaneers - 3 years/$39 million) Grade: A-
  • ​Jensen is a really good player, but $13 million/year is a tad over market value for him in my opinion. He's now the 2nd highest-paid center, and I wouldn't rank him as a top 3 center in the NFL. However, with the sudden retirement of Ali Marpet and the loss of Cappa, the Bucs couldn't afford to lose a third player from their o-line. Also considering Brady is on perhaps the most team-friendly contract in the NFL, a slight overpay for a really good center isn't that big of deal. 
• Ben Jones (resigned with Titans - 2 years/$14 million) Grade: C
  • Ben Jones is coming off a poor pass-blocking season. However, interior guys that run-block well can still get paid in the NFL despite pass pro struggles. The Titans are also a run-first team whose offense centers around the RB and utilizing play-action. The guaranteed money is also low enough where the Titans can get of this deal and save almost $4 million next season if Jones doesn't play well. Therefore I'd say it's not a great deal, but not a bad one either. 
• Brian Allen (resigned with Rams - 3 years/$18 million) Grade: A
  • ​Allen had his struggles in pass pro, but he's the second-best center on the market and thrives specifically in the Rams system. While pass-blocking isn't his strength, he got better down the stretch in that area, and he's one of the better zone-blocking players in the league. He's a home run for them at only $6 million/year. 
• Ted Karras (signed with Bengals - 3 years/$18 million) Grade: B
  • ​Karras was able to start due to injury for the Pats last season, but he played so well he never relinquished the job. Him having the best season of his career at age 28 in a contract year is a bit concerning and would leave me skeptical of giving him the three-year deal the Bengals gave him. But as we discussed in both the Tackle and guard sections of this post, the Bengals needed a lot of help on the o-line, and Karras is an upgrade over Trey Hopkins, who the team released after signing Karras. 
• Bradley Bozeman (signed with Panthers - 1 year/$2.8 million) Grade: A+
  • ​This deal is right there with the Norwell signing in terms of being a steal. Bozeman isn't the player Norwell is, but getting a guy that was a top-15 center last season for less than $3 million is definitely a steal. ​ 

Best Available Free Agents
​T. Terron Armstead, Duane Brown, Eric Fisher, Bryan Bulaga, Marcus Cannon 
G. Quinton Spain, Erek Flowers, Trai Turner, Darryl Williams, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif 
C. JC Tretter, Brett Jones, Matt Paradis, Trey Hopkins