2019 NFL Free Agents: Top Rumors, Speculation and Predictions

As the final action of the 2018 NFL regular season takes place, more and more rumors about teams' offseason moves are emerging. 

For weeks—and months, in Le'Veon Bell's case—speculation has swirled around bigger names set to become free agents, but as the regular season ends, more names from all over the spectrum are added to the list. 

Just as acquiring a star free agent can instantly improve your team on paper, players who may fly under the radar have just as important a role in improving the team on the field. Take the Chicago Bears, who approached free agency last offseason brilliantly, adding many key contributors instead of offering a monster contract to one player. 

Below are two players whose futures are starting to come into question and could contribute on a winner in 2019.

Ziggy Ansah, DE, Detroit Lions 

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In his own words to the Detroit Free Press in October, the sixth-year defensive end "wouldn't wish (what I've gone through) upon nobody." What he's gone through is injury after injury. Since Detroit drafted Ansah out of BYU with a first-round pick in 2013, Ansah has only played two full seasons. 

He is currently playing on a franchise tag after Ansah and the Lions failed to agree on a long-term deal this summer. At the time in July, team president Rod Wood told WJR radio the following: 

"He's been banged up for two years. You watch the tape, and he’s still making plays when he’s hurt. What people don’t appreciate, he’s generally double-teamed and sometimes, two-and-a-half guys are blocking him on every play. And he still got 12 sacks last year.

“I think if we can get him healthy, and Matt (Patricia) has some interesting ways of scheming up pass rushing — the Patriots are always in the top 10 in sacks, generally without a premier pass rusher — I think put the two together we’ll have good things this year.”

Unfortunately, Ansah has appeared in just seven games due to a lingering shoulder injury this season.

Earlier this month, the Detroit Free Press's Dave Birkett tweeted about Ansah, "To reiterate, I'd be surprised if he plays for the Lions again."

In general, 2018 has been a disappointment for the Lions. Sitting at 5-10 heading into Week 17 action, Detroit will miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. Many have been clamoring over the future of quarterback Matthew Stafford in Detroit, but first-year head coach Matt Patricia has nixed that speculation.

The same cannot be said about Ansah, as Patricia—noted above by Birkett—declined to comment on the defensive end's future as a Lion.

Devin Smith, WR, Free Agent

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers needs help. While he needs more than wide receiver Devin Smith, the Packers reportedly working out the former second-round pick does acknowledge how depleted Green Bay is.

ESPN's Rob Demovsky reported that Smith worked out with Green Bay on Friday.

Smith was selected No. 37 overall by the New York Jets out of Ohio State in 2015. For his career, Smith has just 10 catches for 135 yards and one touchdown as he has suffered torn ACLs in back-to-back seasons. The 26-year-old played in 10 games in 2015 followed by four in 2016 before missing 2017 entirely. The Jets then waived Smith, where he was not claimed.

The wide receiver position is a problem for the Packers, and it's only about to become a bigger problem as Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison are both set to hit free agency in 2019. The working out of Smith, who has not yet signed a contract with Green Bay, seems to be the very beginnings of applying an overdue Band-Aid.