NFL Free Agents 2017: Examing Rumors Surrounding Top Players

The 2017 NFL combine is officially over. This means it's time for the football world to turn its collective head and fully focus on the next stage of the offseason—free agency.

While the new league year and free agency don't officially kick off until 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 9, teams are allowed to contact the representatives of pending free agents much sooner. They can actually do so at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 7.

This means that the free-agent guessing game is about to begin. Let's pretend for a minute that no illegal tampering goes on during the scouting combine and focus on the "legal tampering" period that begins on Tuesday.

As of now, we have nothing more than rumors to go on when it comes to this year's edition of free agency. These rumors are what we're going to focus on here. Let's take a look at the latest stories surrounding some of the top players in this year's free-agent pool.

Latest Buzz

Are the Steelers Interested in Terrelle Pryor?

While the Cleveland Browns are widely regarded as a punchline in the NFL world, the franchise did manage something quite impressive this past season. The Browns gave former quarterback Terrelle Pryor a chance to be a starting NFL wide receiver, and Pryor delivered.

Not only did Pryor show that he can be a competent wideout, he showed that he can be a productive one. The Ohio State product started on the outside for the Browns and racked up more than 1,000 receiving yards in his first year at the position.

The Browns chose not to place the franchise tag on their new homegrown product, and Pryor is now set to become a free agent. Nothing would feel more "Browns" than to see him sign with a division rival in the offseason.

According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, this could be a possibility:

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Terrelle Pryor is drawing interest from his hometown Steelers, the Giants, 49ers, Titans and Eagles as the free agency two-day negotiating window opens on Tuesday at noon, league sources told cleveland.com. There are likely other teams that will express interest too. The Steelers are Pryor's hometown team, but they showed no interest in signing him last year after the Browns cut him and he was out of football for most of 2016.

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Very few teams showed interest in Pryor after he decided to make the transition to wide receiver. Head coach Hue Jackson and the Browns committed to the transformation, though, and Pryor proved he could be an offensive asset.

Now that Pryor is set to hit the open market, it shouldn't be surprising to see other teams wanting to take advantage of Cleveland's gamble. Seeing the Pittsburgh Steelers listed as an interested team, however, does raise some eyebrows.

Let's forget for a second that the Steelers, according to Spotrac, are only expected to carry just over $11 million in cap space into free agency. The idea that the Steelers want to—and might be able to—steal one of the best players away from the franchise they've bullied since Cleveland's reintroduction to the league is headline material.

Alas, it seems that headline material is all that this rumor is destined to be. According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers don't actually have any interest in chasing Pryor on the open market:

As good as Pryor might end up being at receiver, it makes sense that the Steelers aren't willing to mortgage their cap space to continue the experiment.

So while the tough-luck Browns may still lose Pryor in free agency. Their dedicated fans can take comfort in the fact that they probably won't lose him to their longtime rivals to the east.

Torrey Smith Is Available

While the Steelers might not actually be interested in signing Pryor, they might still be able to snag another former division rival.

According to former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver and current NFL Network analyst Steve Smith Sr., the San Francisco 49ers are set to part ways with wideout Torrey Smith:

Steelers fans might remember that Smith was a second-round pick of the Ravens back in 2011. He helped the Ravens win a Super Bowl after the 2012 season, two years before Steve Smith joined Baltimore.

Steve and Torrey played one season together before the younger Smith left to join the 49ers. After two years, 53 receptions and 930 yards, it appears San Francisco is ready to let Torrey seek greener pastures.

Torrey Smith, widely regarded as a deep threat, saw his production take a major dip in 2016. He went from a 20.1 yards-per-catch average the year before—and a 17.0 career average—to producing just 13.4 yards per catch in 2016. However, it is worth noting that the 49ers juggled quarterbacks and were rated 29th in passing by Pro Football Focus last season.

If there is a team in place that believes it can take advantage of Smith's speed, he could become a hot bargain option on the free-agent market. Given the arm strength of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, it wouldn't be a shock to see Pittsburgh give him a chance.

Mike Glennon Is About to Get Paid

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon last started an NFL game during the 2014 season. He has 18 pro starts under his belt to go with a career passer rating of 84.6.

Few fans are probably clamoring for Glennon to be their team's new starting quarterback. Yet, it appears that there are a number of teams willing to pay to make it so. According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, at least two teams—the New York Jets and the Chicago Bears—are interested in landing Glennon in free agency:

The Jets clearly have their issues at quarterback, and the Bears could have a vacancy if the team decides to move on from Jay Cutler and his hefty contract.

Cutler is set to make $12.5 million in base salary this year.

Regardless of the situations the Jets and the Bears are in, it seems a little silly for any team to be fawning over Glennon. This isn't to say that he can't be a good quarterback, only that he's a relatively unproven one. The guy has gone 5-13 as a starter.

Yet, it isn't crazy to think that Glennon could get a fat contract in free agency given the football world we live in. Brock Osweiler got a four-year, $72 million deal last offseason after making seven NFL starts.

So it really isn't wild to buy into the idea when Yahoo NFL writer Charles Robinson suggests that Glennon could land a contract that pays him up to $15 million per season:

There are a few things going for Glennon this offseason. The first that the upcoming draft class isn't expected to be full of quarterbacks who are ready to start this year. The second is that teams like the Jets and the Bears could get into a bidding war over his services.

The big thing, though—and why teams might bid big for him—is the fact that Glennon has a limited body of work. Teams are much more likely to value Glennon for his potential rather than his proven ability.

This could all realistically lead to Glennon getting a more unbelievable contract that the one Osweiler snagged last offseason.