At least we have one sport sticking to schedule. The NFL free agency has been as exciting if not more than ever before. The greatest quarterback free agency period that has ever been was all it was billed up to be. 

For starters, the greatest quarterback of all time left the greatest dynasty of all time. Tom Brady has left the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady seems to be on the physical decline, but he still led the Patriots to  12-4 and a playoff berth last season. The Pats had a lack of good pass catchers last season, causing Brady to statistically have one of his worst years. In Tampa, he will have 1,000 yard receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin along with productive tight ends OJ Howard and Cameron Brate. These weapons, along with a top 10 offensive line was the perfect fit for Brady in his swan song seasons. 

Coach Bruce Arians is also a tremendous help. He has helped the careers of Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Carson Palmer. He even helped quarterback Jameis Winston throw 30 touchdowns last year. The only reason Jamies is not back on the Bucs is because he also threw 30 interceptions. As someone who is quite familiar with throwing interceptions, I feel for Jamies. He is going to be spectacular down the road but when a team gets the chance to acquire Tom Brady, you have to take it. 

In other free agency news, former New Orleans Saints backup Teddy Bridgewater signed with the rival Carolina Panthers. He did this in wake of Drew Brees signing a two year extension with the Saints. The Saints also signed safety Malcom Jenkins, who was drafted by the organization over a decade ago and made his way around the league until returning to the Saints. They also signed receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who has played in super bowls with the Steelers, Broncos, and 49ers. He is a good compliment to the dominance of Michael Thomas. 

A big sign and trade (where a team signs a player to a long term deal then trades them to another team) was  the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals that sent receiver Deandre Hopkins to the Cardinals for a second round pick and tailback David Johnson. Prolific receiver and noted Saints hater Stefon Diggs was traded from the Minnesota Vikings to the Buffalo Bills. Hopkins and Diggs will help the development of quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Josh Allen, respectively. Another move included Darius Slay to the Philadelphia Eagles from the Lions. Slay, a top 5 NFL corner, played his 4 years in college at Mississippi State. 

There were numerous other signings, but some star players still havent been signed. 2 former first overall picks, Jadeveon Clowney and Jameis Winston, have still not been signed. Both have had some lackluster statistical production but stats are not really Clowney’s game. He is the ultimate disrupter off the edge. Winston has had injuries to go along with his legendary 30/30 season. He even had LASIK surgery after the season, so hopefully he doesn’t have 30/30 vision anymore. 

The NFL has done a great job distracting us from the fact that we live in wild times right now. Next season should be one for the ages.