Fantasy Football 2022: Top 5 NFL Free Agent Wide Receivers
The NFL season just ended, but that doesn’t mean we’re finished talking about football. Truthfully, the NFL offseason can be one of the more exciting times in the sport with free agency, the Draft, and trades – not to mention the rumors and speculation swirling around these events. The legal tampering period for the NFL begins in a little under a month, on March 14, and the gold rush officially begins on March 16 – so we don’t have much time left before free agency hits.
There will be plenty of competition in the free agent wide receiver market this year, as the 2022 class is stacked. Several of these players are also coming off of injuries, making it unlikely that their current teams will franchise them or sign them to a long-term contract. Keep an eye on these five wide receiver free agents in the upcoming weeks.
Davante Adams is arguably the best receiver in the league, let alone in free agency. He has put up over 1,300 yards in back-to-back seasons, and that kind of talent deserves a payday. The Packers, however, are enormously over their cap space – and they have another problem in Aaron Rodgers' future in Green Bay. If the Packers have a snowball’s chance of keeping their MVP quarterback, they will use the franchise tag on Adams and work on freeing up cap space elsewhere to sign him to a long-term deal later. It’s also possible that Adams is franchised and then sent as a package deal with Rodgers in a trade. Finally, there is the possibility that Rodgers retires and Adams does become a free agent. In that case, the Raiders and a reunion with college quarterback Derek Carr could be in the cards. There are several factors in play here, and any of them could happen.
After playing on a franchise tag and suffering an ACL injury in 2021, it is unlikely that Chris Godwin re-signs in Tampa Bay this season on another one-year deal. He’s only 25 years old and has been a productive receiver the past three seasons, so teams will be interested in him even with the knee injury. Though the Bucs have indicated they would like to work out a long-term deal with Godwin but in the event they don’t, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville are all wide receiver-needy and have plenty of cap space to sign him.
For the first few weeks of the 2021 season, Mike Williams looked like the No. 1 receiver in Los Angeles. His production tapered off around the middle of the year, but he still put up career numbers – ending the season with over 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns. The Chargers are in a highly-competitive division in the AFC West and they’re going to need to keep their offensive weapons to take the title. Fortunately for them, they have the third-most cap space entering the 2022 season – so they could easily spend $18 million to franchise Williams while they work out a long-term deal. If they aren’t able to work out a deal and Williams does enter free agency, Miami, Las Vegas, and Chicago all look feasible.
Everyone thought that Allen Robinson was quarterback-proof, but it turns out that he wasn’t Matt Nagy-proof. Robinson had the worst season of his career, ending the year with a paltry 410 receiving yards and only one touchdown. To make matters worse, it would cost the Bears $22 million in cap space if they wanted to franchise tag him again this season – and there’s a slim chance they’re going to do that when they have glaring needs elsewhere. Robinson still has gas in the tank, so he could have a resurgence on another team. Cleveland, Detroit, and Indianapolis all seem like logical fits for Robinson’s talents and each team has the cap space to do it.
Before his ACL injury in the Super Bowl, Odell Beckham Jr. was garnering a lot of free agency buzz. There were hopes that he could stay in Los Angeles, but with Robert Woods coming back from his own ACL injury – along with the Rams’ cap space issues – it looks likely that Beckham will be elsewhere in 2022. He may not sign right away, as teams will need to assess how well his rehab goes, but he should get offers after the NFL Draft dust settles. Beckham’s injury history may drop his asking price, throwing some teams with lower cap space into the mix. The Patriots and Buccaneers are intriguing options.
RELATED LINKS
Looking for the rest of the top unsigned free agents? Check out the links below for what's been published already:
- Free Agent Quarterbacks
- Free Agent Running Backs
- Free Agent Wide Receivers
- Free Agent Tight Ends
- Free Agent Linebackers
Player News
Ravens released K Justin Tucker.
The writing was on the wall after the draft, where Baltimore drafted rookie kicker Tyler Loop as Tucker’s replacement. Tucker has spent most of the late season and offseason dealing with sexual misconduct allegations from massage therapists in Baltimore-area spas, and had by far the worst season of his career in 2024, making 73.3 percent of his 30 field-goal attempts. The Ravens stood by him throughout the process and framed moving on from him as a “football decision” in a statement, but it’s hard to believe they would have moved on from him if not for the allegations. Tucker will likely have to clear his name, as Brandon McManus did this past offseason, before he gets another NFL chance. The NFL’s investigation into Tucker’s behavior is, per CBS’ Jonathan Jones, still “under review.”
Cardinals signed TE Josiah Deguara, formerly of the Jaguars.
Deguara was a third-round pick of the Packers back in 2020 and spent last season with the Jaguars. The veteran tight end has a career receiving line of 50-450-2, with half of his receptions and receiving yards coming during the 2021 campaign. He appeared in three games as a backup last season and shouldn’t be considered a lock to make the 53-man roster.
The Athletic’s Ben Standig believes Brian Robinson could be a “possible or surprising” trade candidate this offseason.
Standig doesn’t seem to present the idea as something that’s sure to happen, but in a mailbag question aimed about recouping picks, he mentioned that Robinson and tackle Andrew Wylie were possible pieces that could be traded to recoup draft capital for 2026. “Meanwhile, two of Robinson’s coaches in Washington, Randy Jordan (Tennessee Titans) and Eric Bieniemy (Chicago Bears), head running back rooms with incomplete depth charts,” Standig notes. The Commanders haven’t really seemed sold on Robinson in flirting heavily with this year’s draft class at running back before taking Jacory Croskey-Merritt in the seventh tround, and it would make some sense to deal him before the season if they don’t intend to re-sign him.
Bills WR Elijah Moore said he would be interested in returning kicks this season.
For his career, Moore has returned two punts and one kickoff, but the former second-round pick said he “would love” to return more kicks next season. Moore signed a one-year deal with the Bills last week after spending the previous two seasons with the Browns. While he can provide solid depth to the Bills’ receiver room (61-539-1 in 2024), it goes without saying that Moore may need to find additional ways to contribute in 2025. Moore returned kicks as a freshman at Ole Miss in 2018, averaging a meager 18.5 yards per return. Under the new rules, it’s possible he could find more success in the role if he’s able to win the job in camp.
Rams signed WR Britain Covey to a one-year contract.
Covey has 11 receptions over the past two years for the Eagles, where he’s worked mainly as a returner before suffering a scapula injury that placed him on injured reserve after Week 3. He was practicing ahead of the Super Bowl but was not activated before the game. He’ll try to catch on as a depth piece with the Rams.
Rams and Matthew Stafford finalized a $44 million deal for the 2025 season.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report the deal. While we’ve known since February that a deal had been negotiated, the dollar amount had not yet been disclosed. It was reported in March that Stafford and the Rams will operate on a “year-to-year basis” for the remainder of their relationship, and for this year, he will receive a guaranteed $40 million in addition to another $4 million he has already received. Stafford will be 37 this season and is coming off a year in which he threw for 3,762-20-7 while completing 65.8 percent of his passes. While he’s far from being the elite passer we saw during the prime of his career, Stafford still ranked 15th amongst qualified QBs in EPA per play last season and was seventh in expected completion percent. Rapoport notes that if Stafford is on the Rams’ roster next season he would secure another $40 million for 2026.