13 NFL free agency predictions on Cowboys, Patriots, Bears, and Lamar Jackson

We thought that things would not get wild in the National Football League until next week.

But we were wrong.

NFL free agency is set to begin on Monday, with the league’s “legal tampering period” running from 12:00 p.m. Eastern Monday until the official beginning of the 2023 league year, which starts at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. However, that did not stop the first major domino from falling, as news broke late Friday afternoon that the Chicago Bears had agreed to trade the first-overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers, in exchange for a package of picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore.

Let the chaos begin.

Over the coming days, we will get a much clearer picture of where all 32 teams stand ahead of the next big event on the NFL calendar, the 2023 NFL Draft.

To that end, here are thirteen predictions for the upcoming free agency period.

Las Vegas Raiders sign Jimmy Garoppolo

In recent weeks, thanks to the departure of Derek Carr for the NFC South, it has become clear that the Raiders are going in a new direction at the quarterback position. Given the fact that the Raiders are picking seventh in the first round later this spring, they have been linked to a number of different rookie quarterbacks. As of this moment at NFL Mock Draft Database, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis is the consensus pick for the Raiders.

That may ultimately be the path the Raiders take, but they might also want a veteran hedge in place, or at least a more established quarterback to being the 2023 season under center. Jimmy Garoppolo might be the perfect option. He has experience under Josh McDaniels, and has shown in the past the ability to step into the lineup in short order and keep the offense moving.

We knew that there were a few different teams that were interested in moving up to the first-overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, with the hopes of finding their next quarterback. The Indianapolis Colts were one popular option, and even the Houston Texans moving up a spot could have made such a jump.

Instead, it is the Carolina Panthers who now hold the top pick in the upcoming draft, which gives them their choice of quarterbacks in this draft class.

However, one question remains.

Who will that rookie be throwing to?

With the inclusion of wide receiver D.J. Moore in the deal, the Panthers now have a need at wide receiver. They can help to fill that need by adding Jakobi Meyers, perhaps the top option in this free agent class of receivers. Meyers can operate out of the slot as well as along the boundary, and his background as a quarterback himself gives him great feel for finding open spots in coverage. He will be a great asset for whichever rookie quarterback is throwing him the ball in the fall.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers sign Jacoby Brissett

With the retirement of Tom Brady, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a massive hole at the quarterback position. It is not a hole that can be filled overnight, particularly when a first-ballot Hall of Fame player retires, but there is another reason the Buccaneers need to address the quarterback position in free agency.

At the moment, Kyle Trask is the only quarterback on the roster.

Head coach Todd Bowles met with the media at the NFL Scouting Combine last week in Indianapolis, and had this to say about Trask, and the team’s quarterback situation:

“[Trask] doesn’t preclude you from anything,” Bowles said in Indianapolis. “It’s going to be a competition at every spot – that’s going to be every year.
“As long as [I’ve] been a coach, there’s going to be competition. We’ll look at everybody. We’ll try to take the best players available. We’ll see who can help us, who can try to help us, but Kyle will compete. He’s the only one on the roster right now.”

Veteran Jacoby Brissett makes a great deal of sense for Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers are likely out of range for one of the top quarterbacks in the draft, and Brissett has been a solid backup/spot-starter his entire NFL career. He would give the team another option should Trask not seize the starting job, and frankly there is a chance that Brissett could win the job in training camp.

New England Patriots sign Julian Love

NFC Divisional Playoffs - New York Giants v Philadelphia Eagles

Among the traits that Bill Belichick values, versatility is at or near the top of the list. Especially when it comes to the safety position. Belichick loves to have defenders at the position who can play in the box, in the slot, as linebackers, and in deep safety roles.

With Devin McCourty announcing his retirement on Friday, adding to the safety group should be high on New England’s to-do list this offseason. Julian Love seems like the prototypical Belichick safety. Last season for the New York Giants Love aligned all over the field, and was used in a variety of roles. According to charting data from Pro Football Focus, Love was used in the slot on 154 snaps, as a boundary corner on 37 snaps, in the box on 271 snaps, and as a deep safety on 494 snaps.