NFL Free Agency Recap (3/23)-XFL was officially a success
The NFL free agency period continues to bring surprises to a sports world that is in a standstill. The big headline news in free agency since my last update was the signing of two of the XFL's top quarterbacks onto NFL squads. The Panthers snagged Philip (PJ) Walker for a two-year contract after an outstanding performance with the Houston Roughnecks while the Chiefs inked in former St. Louis BattleHawks quarterback Jordan Ta'amu for a one year deal. These signings can only signal one thing and that is that the XFL's inaugural season was a total success and the league may be the long-awaited stepping stone into the NFL that the Arena Football League once was (i.e. Kurt Warner).
Walker is expected to compete with 2019 third-round pick for the backup spot to Teddy Bridgewater. He also played at Temple for new Panthers' coach Matt Rhule. Walker led the XFL in passing with 1,338 yards and TD passes (15), while leading Houston to a 5-0 record.
In other news around the league, the Panthers traded quarterback Kyle Allen to the Redskins for a 2020 5th round pick. This move was likely made because new Washington coach Ron Rivera was a fan of Allen in Carolina. This could mean competition for Dwayne Haskin,s even though the sophomore didn't have a bad run in limited action last season.
The Patriots dynasty was already shattered with the signing of Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, and things only appear to be getting worse for the franchise as they moved to release the team's all-time leading scorer in veteran kicker Stephen Gostkowski, clearing up $3.48 million of cap space in the process.
The Redskins moved to release safety Montae Nicholson after he found himself into some off-the-field issues, although this did clear up $2.133 million in cap space for the team. Seattle added some much-needed help to their 27th ranked secondary as they traded a 2020 5th round pick to Washington for cornerback Quinton Dunbar. Dallas took a big loss to their offensive line when their starting center announced he was retiring from the NFL although they were able to re-sign backup center Joe Looney who saw action in all 16 games last season. Baltimore was able to resign a key piece of their secondary in cornerback JImmy Smith who inked a one year, six million dollar contract. Running back Dion Lewis signed with the Giants for one year while the Bears snagged linebacker Barkevious Mingo for a one year deal as well to wrap up Monday's action.
