The legal tampering period of free agency begins a week from today in the NFL. That is when teams will start making their strongest pitches to those players set to hit the open market they wish to sign. Money always speaks loudest during that time, but it isn’t the only factor.
Sometimes players have a fairly established value and with multiple teams putting out similar offers, other factors come into play in helping them decide.
One of those factors is demand. Simply put, the more teams vying for a given free agent, the more likely they are to get bigger money. And the more options the player has, the lower the percentage each of those teams has of landing them.
In that regard, Monday brought some potentially good news for the cornerback market. Josh Norman — who was cut this offseason and therefore could sign with a team at any time — is signing on with the Bills, according to ESPN’s Mike Garafolo.
Sources: #Bills have agreed to terms with CB Josh Norman to a one-year deal worth $6 million base value with incentives that can get him to $8 million. Norman reunites with Sean McDermott, his defensive coordinator all four seasons with the #Panthers.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 9, 2020
Norman agrees to a 1-year, $6 million deal. That’s is a pretty cheap contract, honestly. Especially when you figure the highest-paid cornerbacks in the league currently make around $15 million. Had Norman gotten a deal even in double digits, the 32-year-old would have set a bad precedent for what the market is about to do. As it stands, it shouldn’t affect the market much and perhaps even lowered it for some mid-tier and 30+ guys like, say Chris Harris III.
More importantly, it takes the Bills out of the market for a cornerback. They are set with Norman and Tre’Davious White at the two cornerback spots. One less team in the bidding for the top available free agent cornerbacks is good news for those teams still in the market.
One such team is the Raiders, who have second-year cornerback Trayvon Mullen on one side, and a big hole on the other. Daryl Worley was the starter there, but they appear ready to let him leave in free agency as they seek an upgrade. They will have a lot of options to choose from to get that upgrade, headed up by Byron Jones.
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