NFL Free Agency Grades: AFC North
Baltimore Ravens | Grade: B-
Admittedly, I would’ve liked to see the Ravens get a bit more aggressive on the wide receiver market in going after someone like Kenny Golladay or Curtis Samuel. However, they’re getting good value with Sammy Watkins, even if he’s a bit risky given his injury history. More importantly, signing Kevin Zeitler was a low-key brilliant move for a team whose interior offensive line felt the pain of Marshal Yanda’s retirement all throughout last year.
Cincinnati Bengals | Grade: C+
On one hand, what the Bengals added in free agency is pretty solid. Riley Reiff is an upgrade for a veteran tackle while Mike Hilton, Trey Hendrickson, Larry Ogunjobi and Chidobe Awuzie should all help build a defensive foundation. Unfortuantely, many of their moves really felt like simply plugging holes made by departures and not necessarily upgrading in any substantial way. For a team that has been short on wins of late, that’s not the ideal direction for a free agency period.
Cleveland Browns | Grade: A+
After coming on strong at the end of last season and in the playoffs, the Browns are clearly trying to capitalize on that and made a handful of critical signings that should work beautifully to plug holes in the defense with safety John Johnson III and cornerback Troy Hill. Throw in adding Malik Jackson in the defensive line while retaining wide receiver Rashard Higgins and Cleveland is primed for a big postseason run now that their drought is officially over.
Pittsburgh Steelers | Grade: C-
Even with losing the likes of Bud Dupree, Matt Feiler and Mike Hilton, I wouldn’t have been too low on the Steelers’ offseason as they retained some solid role players in Cam Sutton and Chris Wormley to try and position themselves for one last run. But re-signing JuJu Smith-Schuster seems misguided. This team has far more problems than a slot receiver that can’t carry an offense and, even on a short-term contract, I’m penalizing pittsburgh for being the ones to dole out the deal.