Every year fans of teams not in the playoff hunt (and some in it) peruse the upcoming free agent list with dreams of instant upgrades to positions of obvious desperation on their team. They circle names and dream of landing that team-changing guy that fixes everything. The vast majority of the time it just doesn’t happen. With the exception of a few, most teams aren’t run by complete morons. They see the same things you do and these players you’re desperate to have join your squad, they’re just as desperate to keep.
So here are 13 NFL free agents that aren’t going anywhere.
1. Von Miller, OLB, Denver Broncos
2015: 35 tackles, 11 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one pass defended
None of the stats listed above account for how dominant Miller has been in the playoffs. Miller played the Patriots in the AFC Championship like he was using cheat codes. He was Lawrence Taylor in Tecmo Bowl. He was completely unblockable and unstoppable. This is why John Elway drafted him and why no other team will ever get so much as a sniff of the farts Miller is so famous for expressing in the Broncos’ meeting rooms.
2. Brock Osweiler, QB, Denver Broncos
2015: 8 games played, 61.8 completion percentage, 1,967, 10 touchdowns, six interceptions
Osweiler will end up being a footnote in the final season of Peyton Manning’s NFL career, but it was Osweiler’s performance while Manning was sidelines that gave the Broncos home field advantage and cleared the path to the Super Bowl. Osweiler was fantastic as the Broncos’ starter and ultimately it was an injury that forced him to hand the ball back to Manning. It’s all worked out and with Manning retiring this offseason (and he will), the team will be Osweiler’s to run from here on out. But the Broncos are going to have to open up the checkbook to keep him.
3. Justin Tucker, K, Baltimore Raves
Stats: 33-of-40, 83.5 percent, 29-of-30 from 49 and under, 4-of-10 from 50+
The only people who don’t think a kicker is one of the five or six most important positions on your football team are people who don’t watch football. Tucker’s 82.5 percent field goal rate is misleading because all but one of his misses were from 50 yards or longer and his lone other miss was still in that 40-49-yard range. Tucker is a weapon and when nothing else worked for Baltimore this year, Tucker did and he, maybe more than anybody, was responsible for any win they got this season. The Ravens, in the AFC North no less, can’t afford to let any weapon as good as Tucker go.
4. Richie Incognito, OG, Buffalo Bills
Incognito had an inglorious end in Miami as part of the Jonathan Martin bullying scandal. It was the second “inglorious end” for Incognito after the St. Louis Rams cut him a few years before for being unable to control his temper during games. Sometimes guys don’t get the chance to recover from two wake up calls, but Incognito did, becoming the centerpiece of a Bills line that helped protect an inexperienced quarterback and open up holes for multiple running backs. The Bills need to add players on offense, not take them away and Incognito needs to build a home with a team and fanbase that wants him.
5. Josh Norman, CB, Carolina Panthers
2015: 56 tackles, three forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, four interceptions, two touchdowns
Norman, in his fourth season, is peaking at just the right time to cash in big. The Panthers are a loaded team on defense, but Norman is a special player that they won’t easily be replaced. Norman has showed up big in the playoffs as a veritable shutdown corner and in four total postseason games, he’s kept the other team’s best receiver on lock down as offensive coordinators and quarterbacks have been wary to test him. Norman will now get to perform on the biggest stage in the world when he makes his first Super Bowl appearance. If he stays with the Panthers, it might be the first of many.
Next: 6-13
