NFL Betting – Free Agency 2020

• NFL filling in the void for sports hiatus with new signings making headlines

• With each new signing, sportsbooks have adjusted their Super Bowl, Conference and Division odds

Thank goodness for the National Football League or there wouldn’t be much to talk about in the sports world. The league began its new year on March 18 and the action followed immediately after. Free agent signings, trades and roster manipulating shifted Super Bowl LV odds around. The biggest news came from Tampa where the Bucs inked Tom Brady to two-year deal, forcing plenty of movement in season ticket requests and the team’s Super Bowl odds. At +1403, the Bucs are currently the fifth-favorite on the board. Most of the top free agents were scooped up in the early part of free agency, but there are some big names still on the board.

Free Agents Signed

Signing six-time Super Bowl winner Brady is a bold move for the Bucs considering that he’s going to be 43 when the season starts in August. Since they didn’t reach the postseason in five years with Jameis Winston under center, it was time to move on from the former No. 1 overall pick. Winston put up decent numbers, but he never progressed to the role of a franchise quarterback. The Bucs now have that in Brady and their Super Bowl odds skyrocketed.

The Bucs haven’t reached the playoffs since the 2007 season and they haven’t won a playoff game since their Super Bowl victory after the ’02 campaign. Brady has been to the postseason every year since Tampa’s last appearance with five Super Bowl trips and three titles.

Another team in need of a quarterback was the Colts, who signed Philip Rivers to a one-year deal. Indy took a gut punch before the start of last season when Andrew Luck suddenly retired. Jacoby Brissett wasn’t the answer and the Colts are hoping Rivers has enough left for a playoff run. Indy’s Super Bowl odds climbed to +2450. Neither player is a long-term fix, but boy are they an upgrade.

We saw a number of players sign early in free agency, though none were as impactful as the two listed above. By the volume of their signings the Miami Dolphins came out ahead. They upgraded the defense with Byron Jones, Shaq Lawson and Kyle Van Noy and added a few pieces on the offensive side. The Fins will target a quarterback in the draft and they are a sleeper with current Super Bowl odds of +8000.

Free Agents Remaining

There are a few names remaining on the list and props are available for where Winston and Jadeveon Clowney will end up. We know that Winston’s career in Tampa Bay is done after the club inked Brady. How ironic would it be if the Patriots turned around and signed Winston to be their signal-caller? The Pats need a QB and Brian Hoyer isn’t the guy. Unless they tank the season and somehow milk a top pick for the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes next year.

Is Bill Belichick confident enough, or arrogant enough, to think he can coach Winston into fewer mistakes? Sure Winston led the NFL in passing yards and threw 30 touchdowns, but he also had 30 interceptions. There are other teams out there in need of quarterback help. The Jaguars gave up on Nick Foles after one injury-plagued season. Is Gardner Minshew ready to take over for good?

The Los Angeles Chargers are another team that could use some stability behind center. They had it in Rivers, who hadn’t missed a game since becoming the full-time starter. What about Pittsburgh? The Steelers have to be concerned about the health of Ben Roethlisberger. And Big Ben isn’t getting any younger.

It looks like the coronavirus is messing with NFL free agency. Not on a large scale but more on a case-by-case situation. The player impacted the most is Clowney, who has seen little interest through the first few days of free agency. There are reasons for that. First off he’s asking for a lot of money. Secondly it hasn’t been easy for teams to visit the former No. 1 overall pick with travel restrictions in place.

Teams aren’t going to invest that amount of green on a player they’re not sure is 100 percent. The one team that is well aware of Clowney’s health status is Seattle. Reportedly putting a nice deal on the table, the Seahawks are likely the front-runner to get one of the top edge rushers when healthy back on their defense. With current Super Bowl odds of +1861, the Seahawks could see that number go down if they were to ink Clowney.

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