Monday Free Agency Recap: QB Dominoes Falling, Ekeler Wants Out

This article is part of our NFL Free Agency series.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Aaron Rodgers was the main story Monday as the NFL's legal tampering period kicked off at 12:00 ET. Depending on which reporter you ask, he's either definitely headed to the Jets or probably going to the Jets.

Trey Wingo says it's a done deal, while Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport are resentful that Wingo got to break the news have different scoops. Either way, nearly everyone seems to agree that Rodgers wants to play for the Jets and now needs to wait for the trade to be worked out. So maybe it's not 100 percent, but our projections are updated to account for the likelihood of Rodgers being QB1 in New York while Jordan Love takes over as QB1 in Green Bay.

The other big fantasy news from Monday also entailed the ever-revolving offseason QB carousel, with Jimmy Garoppolo reaching an agreement to join the Raiders shortly after Jarrett Stidham's departure for Denver was announced. From a fantasy standpoint, Stidham might be the biggest loser from Day 1, as there was some thought he'd have a shot to compete for the starting job if he stuck around in Vegas. Instead, he'll be the backup to Russell Wilson in Denver, having no shot at the Week 1 starting job unless his 34-year-old teammate succumbs to an injury before the start of the season.

Sam Darnold is also resigned to the ranks of backup QBs after agreeing to a one-year deal with San Francisco, though in his case the outcome was all but locked in when the Panthers acquired the No. 1 pick last week. Maybe he could've found an outside shot at a starting job somewhere like Atlanta, but probably not.

Monday was a shockingly quiet day in terms of the other offensive skill positions, with backup tight end Josh Oliver being the only big-money(ish) signing among the RBs, WRs or TEs. The Patriots are trading TE Jonnu Smith to the Falcons, but even that probably only matters in terms of how it might impact other players, namely Kyle Pitts in Atlanta and Hunter Henry back in New England.

We did at least see some big names on the move at other positions, with most of the money handed out Monday going to offensive linemen or defensive front seven players. Below is a quick list of the big signings announced Monday. Keep in mind that the salary figures reported initially are often nonsense/exaggerated... but nonetheless interesting to see, and they at least give us some idea of what a guy signed for.

Monday Contract Agreements

QB Jimmy Garoppolo (three years, $72.75 million)

 QB Jarrett Stidham ( two years, $10 million)

 QB Sam Darnold (one year)

 QB Mike White (two years, "up to $16 million")

 QB Case Keenum (two years, $6.5 million)

RB Matt Breida (re-signing)

RB Craig Reynolds (re-signing)

TE Josh Oliver (three years, $21 million)

TE Jonnu Smith (trade)

OT Jawaan Taylor (four years, $80 million)

OT Andrew Wylie (three years, $24 million)

OT Andre Dillard (three years)

OT Mike McGlinchey (five years, $87.5 million)

G Ben Powers (four years, $52 million)

G Connor McGovern (three years, $23 million)

 G Nate Davis (three years)

 C Ethan Pocic (three years, $18 million)

 DE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (three years, $19 million)

 DE Zach Allen (three years, $48 million)

 DT Javon Hargrave (four years, $80 million)

 DT Daron Payne (re-signing, four years - $90 million)

DT Shy Tuttle (three years, $19.5 million)

DT David Onyemata (three years, $37.5 million)

LB Tremaine Edmunds (four years, $72 million)

LB Quincy Williams (re-signing, three years - $18 million)

LB T.J. Edwards (three years, $19.5 million)

 LB Germaine Pratt (re-signing, three years - $21 million)

 LB Bobby Okereke (four years, $40 million)

 LB David Long (two years, $11 million)

CB Cameron Sutton (three years, $33 million)

CB Jamel Dean (four years, $52 million)

CB Patrick Peterson (two years, $14 million)

CB Jonathan Jones (re-signing, two years - $19 million)

S Vonn Bell

S Jessie Bates (four years, $64 million)

S Marcus Epps (two years, $12 million)

Rumors, Restructures & Extensions

Closing Notes

• I don't understand the market for inside linebackers. It seems like you can get a good one for about $6 million per year or a great one for about $18-20 million, with not much in between. The Bears are at the center of all this, having signed guys in both categories Monday... after trading away Roquan Smith a few months prior. Smith got the biggest contract of the bunch, and rightfully so, but I'd much rather have someone like Edwards or David Long or Germaine Pratt and all the extra cap space. It's probably a matter of Edwards/Pratt being bargains more so than Smith/Edmunds being overpaid, to be fair.
• I think the Chargers end up giving Ekeler a raise rather than trading him. He's more valuable to them than he would be to another team, and he's badly underpaid. Also, their other RBs stink.
• The Chiefs should've just paid Orlando Brown what he wants rather than forking over $80 million for Jawaan Taylor. The former was an elite right tackle and has since become an elite left tackle. The latter is a good-but-not-great right tackle who has played fewer than 100 career snaps on the blindside. Unless Brown is asking for something like $30 million, I'd find somewhere else to pinch pennies.
• The Broncos are throwing an awful lot of money at players who are good but not great.