3 best free agency contracts NFL teams handed out in the 2024 offseason

There was a ton of free agency moves made in the 2024 NFL Offseason, so let's try to sift through all of that and pick the three best moves.

NFL teams tend to overreact at times during the free agency period. Overpaying for players is common, and simply signing the wrong ones also happen. If done right, free agency can be used to push the team over the edge, and there were many teams who operated the 2024 free agency period quite well.

Let's dive into the three best free agency moves made this offseason.

3 best free agency contracts NFL teams handed out in the 2024 offseason
Mike Onwenu, OT, New England Patriots

Now yes, this was an in-house re-signing, but it was a logical move and outstanding decision by Patriots de-facto GM, Eliot Wolf. Mike Onwenu might be the best overall offensive lineman in the NFL, as he can play both guard and tackle at a high level, which is just not something that happens in the NFL anymore.

Onwenu seems to now be settled into the RT spot, and that makes the most sense. He is a better guard than tackle, but tackle is the more valuable position, so keeping the former Michigan Wolverine at tackle is what the Patriots should do for the long-term. Now yes, the team is still a mess, but they have their best player locked-down for the long-term.

GM Eliot Wolf still has a huge mess to clean up, but getting Mike Onwenu's contract done was a no-brainer.

Danielle Hunter, DE, Houston Texans

This was a great, all-in type of move by the Houston Texans, and pairing Danielle Hunter with Will Anderson Jr is going to be trouble for opposing offensive lines. In the 2023 NFL Season, Hunter racked up 16.5 sacks, 83 total tackles, a league-leading 23 tackles for loss, and 22 QB hits. It was, by all accounts, the best year of his career.

Danielle Hunter is now on the Houston Texans, a team with a more stout defensive front that what the Minnesota Vikings had in 2023, so Hunter might be able to even increase his output in the 2024 NFL Season.

With the Texans having an elite QB on a rookie contract, making moves like this is what they needed to do, and GM Nick Caserio hit a home-run this offseason, as they made some other major moves along the offense as well.

Tyron Smith, John Simpson, and Morgan Moses, New York Jets

Tyron Smith's contract has a base value of just $6.5 million. John Simpson signed for two years and $12 million. Morgan Moses was a trade, yes, but he's in the last year of a three-year, $15 million deal. The New York Jets somehow got one Hall of Fame OL, and two other plus starters for a combined per-year value of $17.5 million in 2024.

It's actually insane how well GM Joe Douglas navigated this offensive line situation. The Jets GM has come under a lot of fire, but if nothing else, his roster moves outside of QB have been great. Now yes, maybe the Jets OL just won't be as good as we think, but they now have the players to field a top OL in the entire NFL.

And this is a must for the protection of Aaron Rodgers, who will be returning from a torn Achilles.