The NFL’s All-Free Agent Team
Dustin Baker
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NFL Free Agents
Pretend for the day one of the most populous cities in the United States without an NFL team was awarded a franchise in 2022. Such cities include San Antonio, San Jose, Columbus, El Paso, and Oklahoma City.
If there was no expansion draft [for some reason], this is the roster the hypothetical general manager could construct as of May 24 via free agency.
QB – Cam Newton
Newton’s days as a bonafide starter are kaput in the NFL, but he’ll make a serviceable QB2 somewhere — if he’d accept such a gig.
RB – Peyton Barber
Barber is suddenly a journeyman running back, spending time with Buccaneers, Commanders, and Raiders. He’s 27.
WR – Julio Jones
Either Julio Jones had a quiet 2021 and is poised for a resurgence — or he’s nearing the end of the road.
WR – Odell Beckham
Whichever team signs on the dotted line for Beckham will receive a damn good football player ready for a playoff push. But he won’t be healed from injury until October or November.
WR – Will Fuller
Fuller will be signed before too long, but he never remains healthy, so teams aren’t flocking to his free-agent doorstep.
TE – Rob Gronkowski
We had to tap Gronkowski for this spot, and he’ll just re-sign with Tampa Bay this summer.
LT – Riley Reiff
Reiff’s team reached the Super Bowl in February without him. Bummer.
LG – Ereck Flowers
Not great; not bad. Flowers is a decent guard who should sign with a team this summer.
C – JC Tretter
The two-month-long mystery about Tretter’s strange free agency revolves around health.
RG – Billy Price
Price, 27, started 15 games for the Giants in 2021. He was a 1st-Round pick in 2018.
RT – Daryl Williams
Wiliams fired up a solid 67.5 score from Pro Football Focus in 2021.
EDGE – Carl Nassib
Nassib, 29, will land on his feet as a situational pass rusher in 2022.
DT – Akiem Hicks
A Viking killer, Minnesota should sign Hicks just so he doesn’t play somewhere else.
NT – Linval Joseph
Joseph is old, has a sweet Vikings tattoo on his body, and is a free agent. At this age, he should chase rings.
DT – Ndamukong Suh
This Super Bowl champion hasn’t missed a football game since 2011.
EDGE – Carlos Dunlap
Dunlap is a two-time Pro Bowler who, like Nassib, will sign with a team as a situational pass rusher.
LB – Anthony Barr
Vikings fans thought Anthony Barr would be a relatively hot commodity in free agency. He wasn’t. Barr has been linked in the rumor mill to the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys.
LB – Joe Schobert
Schobert had a down year in 2021, but he’s a tackling machine otherwise.
CB – Joe Haden
Haden, like many free agents on this list, is getting old. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler around the same age as Patrick Peterson.
CB – Xavier Rhodes
Rhodes stunk during the season finale of his Vikings career, but he was revitalized in Indianapolis, to an extent. He isn’t quite done.
FS – Landon Collins
Collins was a tyrant during his first four seasons with the New York Giants but never really took off in Washington — at least at an All-Pro or Pro Bow level.
SS – Tashaun Gipson
Safety availability in free agency is arid at the moment, and Gipson makes the cut here almost by default.
Kicker – Michael Badgley
Badgley was a part of the snakebitten special teams culture with the Chargers. He’ll be the first guy signed when another team’s kicker infuriates its general manager.
Punter – Michael Palardy
Obligatory anonymous punter commentary.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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