6 Bargain-Bin NFL Free Agents Who Can Still Help NFL Teams in 2023
The initial waves of free agency may have come and gone, but there are still some serviceable veterans available on the open market.
Most of these players are on the wrong side of 30 and have dealt with injuries and other issues in recent years, but they still have something left in the tank to offer their next employer.
While they haven't found homes yet, these aging vets should end up signing before the 2023 NFL season kicks off. Roster holes are sure to appear due to injuries and other unforeseen events during the training camp grind.
Although they may not be in the primes of their career anymore, these six free agents have the potential to outperform the expectations that come with the projected modest contracts they are likely to sign at this point in the offseason.
Teddy Bridgewater, QB
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An NFL team wouldn't feel good about having Teddy Bridgewater as its starting quarterback at this point in his career, but the veteran has shown he's a capable backup who could take over in a pinch if called upon.
The 30-year-old did exactly that last year, stepping up for the Miami Dolphins after both Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson went down with injury. While he didn't win either of his two regular-season starts, he did complete a respectable 62 percent of his throws for 683 yards and four touchdowns on the year.
Injuries have been the unfortunate focus of Bridgewater's NFL story, including a devastating knee injury in 2016 that altered the course of his career, and continued to haunt him in 2022.
A concussion and hand injury cost him time and led to rookie Thompson becoming Miami's QB1 when Tagovailoa was out of the lineup. Regardless, Bridgewater showed he's still a capable game-manager when healthy following a middling 2021 campaign with the Denver Broncos in which he went 7-7 as a starter.
Bridgewater may not be taking his team to a Super Bowl, but he could hold the line if called upon as a second-stringer.
It's surprising that he's looking for a new deal right now, especially given the clear lack of proven signal-callers on the open market—Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan are some of the only other options and both fared far worse than Bridgewater in recent seasons—and the relatively cheap contract he would likely command.
Trey Flowers, Edge
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It wasn't too long ago that Trey Flowers was terrorizing opposing quarterbacks while helping the New England Patriots win championships.
The two-time Super Bowl winner established himself an integral part of New England's pass-rushing unit as a sophomore in 2016, going on to record 21 sacks over his final three years with the club.
While Flowers had some early success after following Matt Patricia—New England's former defensive coordinator who took the Detroit Lions head coaching job in 2019—to the Motor City on a sizable contract, he's been dealing with injuries that have severely limited his effectiveness in recent years. The edge-rusher was released by Detroit after he recorded a meager 3.5 sacks during the 2020-21 seasons.
Flowers caught on with the Miami Dolphins last year but only saw action in four games. He failed to record more than a single quarterback hit in those contests and eventually landed on the IR in mid-October, marking the third consecutive season he's had cut short. Despite these injury woes, he is still just 29 years old and may not be done in the NFL yet.
At his best, he is a relentless rusher who has a variety of moves in his arsenal. He's clearly capable of taking down signal-callers when he's at 100 percent and would be an ideal rotational piece for a slew of title contenders.
Given Flowers is unlikely to make anything more than the veteran's minimum on a one-year "prove-it" deal, there's little risk for any team willing to take a chance on his resurgence.
Kareem Hunt, RB
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Kareem Hunt quickly established himself as a feature back for the Kansas City Chiefs during his rookie campaign in 2017.
While off-field issues derailed his career shortly after it took off—footage of him physically assaulting a woman surfaced during his second year, leading to his release by the Chiefs and a lengthy suspension in 2019—he resurfaced with the Cleveland Browns as a quality change-of-pace option working behind star rusher Nick Chubb.
Hunt just finished up a four-season run with the organization and is now waiting for a team that will give him a third act in the NFL.
The 2017 Pro Bowler fared well for much of his tenure in Cleveland, at least when he was available. He participated in 32 games during his first three seasons, tallying 1,406 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground and adding 763 yards and six scores on 97 receptions in that span.
His final year with the club was a poor one, though, and Hunt demanded a trade midway through the campaign. While the Browns were open to dealing him, no suitors emerged. He ultimately stayed put, finishing 2022 with just 678 yards and four touchdowns from scrimmage on 158 touches.
With Chubb still under contract and Jerome Ford ready to assume a bigger role in Year 2, Hunt was a luxury the organization could not afford to keep this offseason, especially with Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com reporting that the Browns felt Hunt's speed has been "slipping."
While no team has come to terms with Hunt yet, he should find a role as a cheap, dependable veteran who can contribute both as a rusher out of the backfield and surehanded pass-catcher.
John Johnson III, S
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John Johnson III was one of the top defensive backs available when he hit free agency in 2021. The safety was coming off an impressive four-year run starting for an elite Los Angeles Rams defense and parlayed that into a pricy three-year deal with the Cleveland Browns.
Johnson wound up being a poor fit with the Browns, though, which led to his early release following two seasons with the club.
While he may not have been a match in Cleveland's secondary—that much is clear when reviewing his PFF grade, which dropped from an excellent 85.6 in his final Rams season down to a middling 62.8 last year—he could still be a solid contributor in the right system. Still just 27 years old, the Boston College product's best years may yet be ahead of him.
Even if Johnson can't return to his Los Angeles form, he should still find a home on an NFL roster as a playmaking safety who has notched 12 interceptions over 86 career games. He's capable in both coverage—allowing a completion rate of just 55.1 percent when targeted last year—and as a tackler, evidenced by his 512 tackles in six seasons.
Any team in need of a safety upgrade would be wise to roll the dice on Johnson bouncing back in 2023.
Taylor Lewan, OT
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Taylor Lewan was a cornerstone of the Tennessee Titans offensive line for nearly a decade. After starting 100 of the 105 games he suited up for since being drafted No. 14 overall in 2014, his tenure with the organization came to an end following an injury-plagued 2022 campaign.
The cash-strapped Titans parted ways with the 31-year-old not only to shed a significant amount of salary off the books but also to get healthier at left tackle after the veteran missed 30 of a possible 50 regular-season contests since the start of the 2020 campaign.
According to an Associated Press report (via ESPN), Lewan is currently suing Dr. James Andrews for medical malpractice. The tackle is alleging that a 2020 procedure on his right ACL left "severe and permanent" damage. He tore the same ACL early in the 2022 campaign, which ultimately led his release in February after he failed a physical.
Lewan's knee may not be the same as it once was, but he does seem to have some interest in continuing his NFL career. While he's ruled out playing for another AFC South team, he did mention several Super Bowl contenders—such as the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles—as potential landing spots. There's even a chance he returns to Tennessee, albeit on a contract vastly reduced from the record-setting five-year, $80 million extension he signed in 2018.
Retirement may also be an option for Lewan, but he's been effective when on the field. He earned a commendable 70.9 PFF grade after allowing four sacks and taking four penalties on 846 offensive snaps in 2021, a year in which he played 13 games after recovering from his first ACL tear.
That kind of production would be well worth taking a chance on, especially for a contending team that doesn't feel great about its tackle options heading into 2023.
Dalton Risner, OG
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Dependable offensive linemen can be hard to find at any point in the offseason, especially this close to training camp.
That's why it's so shocking that Dalton Risner is still available right now, especially coming off such a respectable season with the Denver Broncos—he was on the field for 967 offensive snaps according to PFF, allowing three sacks and getting flagged for just one penalty—before hitting the open market.
The 27-year-old doesn't seem to have a shortage of suitors, though. According to Mike Klis of 9News.com, there were as many seven teams that have "serious interest" in coming to terms with the Risner as of last month. The guard is reportedly trying to find the best fit before deciding which to sign with. Spotrac estimates his market value to be just shy of $10 million annually, which is still a cheap price for an offensive lineman of his caliber.
Risner was a second-round pick in 2019 following a decorated career at Kansas State. While the 2018 first-team All-American hasn't been as prolific in the NFL, he's earned a PFF grade of 61.1 or higher in all four of his professional campaigns. His best work arguably came in 2020, when he logged 999 offensive snaps while conceding zero sacks and completely avoiding being penalized. The 6'5", 312 pound guard started every game he was active for, missing just four total contests in his first four NFL seasons.
With a severe lack of quality offensive lineman still available, Risner will be a fantastic pickup for whichever team ends up getting his signature.
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