NFL Free Agency 2022: Allen Robinson to Rams; La'el Collins, Cole Beasley Waived

It's been 24 hours since the official start of the 2022 NFL league year and the opening of the free agency period. 

On Wednesday, we saw a handful of juicy signings, from Chandler Jones' three-year, $51 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders to Von Miller's massive six-year, $120 million deal with the Buffalo Bills (which, as Spotrac pointed out, practically is more like a three-year, $53 million deal).  

Thursday morning didn't bring quite the same splashiness, likely because the deals announced Wednesday had actually been in the works since the legal tampering period opened on Monday. 

But the action began to pick up Thursday afternoon, when one of the biggest free agents on the board, wide receiver Allen Robinson, inked a new deal with the Los Angeles Rams, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. 

The new league year is young, and there are plenty of big-name free agents who have yet to sign their new contracts—from wideouts Jarvis Landry and Julio Jones to inside linebacker Bobby Wagner and outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith, whom the Packers cut to get under the salary cap and who won't be signing with the Baltimore Ravens after all. 

Let's take a look at the moves that have happened so far Thursday and preview the activity to come in the next few days as the free-agency shuffle continues. 

Thursday NFL Moves

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After a slow start, Thursday entered the chat with the Los Angeles Rams' signing of Allen Robinson to a three-year, $46.5 million deal with $30.7 million fully guaranteed, as Pelissero reported. 

With the move, the Rams signaled to the rest of the league that they're not licking their wounds after losing Miller to the Bills and intend to remain contenders for the foreseeable future. 

A lot of the free agency news on Thursday revolved around who didn't sign—or who got cut. 

The Buffalo Bills, as many expected, parted ways with Cole Beasley. The controversial wideout was set to count $6.1 million against the Bills' cap, and with the big-money Miller signing, Buffalo needed all the cap space it could get. 

Another notable departure was that of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joe Schobert, who arrived in Pittsburgh last season via the Jacksonville Jaguars and posted 112 tackles. 

Though it was reported Wednesday that Za'Darius Smith would not remain on the market long and would sign with the Baltimore Ravens, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that he won't, in fact, sign that contract. Smith, for now, remains available. 

Elsewhere in the league, offensive lineman La'el Collins hit the market as the Dallas Cowboys announced his release, per Pelissero and Rapoport. The starting right tackle has had a rough go of it the last two seasons, missing the entire 2020 season because of injury and serving a five-game suspension in 2021. 

One of the biggest stories of the day wasn't related to free agency but to Deshaun Watson's future. After a grand jury did not indict the quarterback on allegations of sexual misconduct, teams have apparently decided it's open season on the signal-caller.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero (h/t NOLA News' Amie Just), three teams remain in the running for Watson—the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers. 

The Cleveland Browns, who had previously been a possible landing spot for Watson, are now off the list. That creates an awkward situation for their current signal-caller, Baker Mayfield, who tweeted a cryptic note about his uncertain future when the Browns were reportedly in the running for Watson.

It's a potentially messy situation, and it will be interesting to see how it resolves. 

In a bit of intra-division rivalry, the Green Bay Packers, who cut punter Corey Bojorquez on Wednesday, signed former Chicago Bears punter Pat O'Donnell to a two-year, $4 million contract, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky. 

Remaining Big-Name Free Agents

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With Chandler Jones, Von Miller and Allen Robinson off the board, the remaining ranking of free agents shifts around a bit. But there are still plenty of big-name players looking for their new home. 

Here is a list of the top unrestricted free agents who remain available as of 4 p.m. ET Thursday:

WR Julio Jones

ILB Bobby Wagner

OLB Za'Darius Smith

LT Nate Solder

WR Jarvis Landry

DE Dante Fowler Jr.

FS Tyrann Mathieu

FS Landon Collins

LT Terron Armstead

CB Stephon Gilmore

Salary figures and free-agent status via Spotrac.