The Underrated Signings of the NFL’s March Madness

The NFL new year is, season after season, one of the wildest time periods in all of sports.

During the middle of the first full week of March each year, one of the craziest and maddest events kicks off and with it, the transaction wire gets lit up like a Christmas tree.

While entirely too much stock goes into this early portion of the new year, there are plenty of deals that fly under the radar that pay dividends for the teams and players involved.

None of these signings can be deemed a success or failure until the season and contract is played out but a few of this year’s deals that weren’t as highly publicized already look promising for both sides.

Kyle Juszczyk FB — San Francisco 49ers (4 yrs/$21 million)

Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch and the Niners certainly came out swinging thus far in free agency. They made multiple big signings to bolster the roster and add solid role players to start rebuilding with. None were better than the addition of the league’s top fullback though.

Calling Juszczyk just a fullback though is really a disservice to the jack-of-all-trades type player that he is. With the Ravens, the utility back acted as a fullback, half back, H-back, tight end and receiver — in short, everywhere. With the creative offense Shanahan is sure to put together, Juszczyk should prove to be a massive asset in the Bay moving forward.

Captain Munnerlyn CB — Carolina Panthers (4 yrs/$17 million)

The Panthers’ disastrous 6–10 season proved they needed to shake up the status quo a bit and add some role players in free agency. Unlike previous years, they did just that and brought back a familiar face at a crucial position of need in Munnerlyn.

The nickelback spent his early years in Carolina as a late round pick before heading to Minnesota where he further established himself as one of the league’s top slot corners. A reunion seemed imminent with Munnerlyn once again hitting the market and the Panthers roster need and amount of cap room to spare. The deal in itself is a nice get for Carolina but Munnerlyn’s experience, leadership, and skills, alongside promising young corners James Bradberry and Daryl Worley are an even sweeter addition.

Lance Kendricks TE — Green Bay Packers (N/A)

Aaron Rodgers made it abundantly clear that he needed more playmakers after last season’s end. While the addition of Martellus Bennet at tight end is not to be understated, signing another pass catching threat like Kendricks is even bigger.

The Milwaukee native heads to Green Bay after an underwhelming six-year stint with the Rams where he was never able to establish himself as a play maker. Kendricks will now get to work with the best in the business, and with Bennett and Jordy Nelson to draw some attention away, he could wind up being quite the threat. By adding Bennett, they replaced Jared Cook. By signing Kendricks, they added even more to Rodgers’ arsenal.

Jabaal Sheard DE/OLB — Indianapolis Colts (3 yrs/$25.5 million)

Indianapolis needs help on both sides of the ball at pretty much every level and haven’t had a pass rush since Andrew Luck came into the league, even after trying for years to get one. Rookie GM Chris Ballard seems up to the challenge though, as evidenced by his addition of veteran sack artist Sheard.

Through six seasons with Cleveland and New England, Sheard has seen his ups and downs but hasn’t lacked success with 36 career sacks. He’ll be asked to step in with a few other pass rushing additions immediately and provide a boost for a defense that badly needs it and looking at his price tag and potential output, should do so nicely for the Colts.

Kenny Britt WR — Cleveland Browns (4 yrs/$32.5 million)

The rebuild is on in Cleveland. In the past two seasons we’ve seen their strategy and, to this point, it looks rather promising. Signing key building blocks and role players along with collecting draft capital is the name of the game. With their current roster, signing a veteran wideout like Britt looks like a solid move.

The Browns need as many play makers as they could get and, even though they let Terrelle Pryor walk, Britt might actually be a better option. He’s only 28 and has the size, speed and skill set to be a dynamic weapon. He also fits the same receiver spot that Pryor occupied and does so with much more experience. Britt isn’t an elite wide receiver but he still has plenty of strong years ahead of him. If his time with the Rams showed anything, it was that he has the stuff to live up to his potential, especially under Hue Jackson.

Kendall Wright WR — Chicago Bears (1 yr/$4 million)

It appears as though the Bears have officially entered rebuilding mode and now find themselves collecting assets for the future. Unfortunately for them, the loss of Alshon Jeffrey left a gaping hole at wide receiver that they’ve attempted to fill with a few low-risk, high-reward players like Kendall Wright.

Wright showed both ends of the spectrum while with Tennessee both starring and getting benched. He’s still young enough though that a short-term, low money contract like the one Chicago gave him could wind up paying large dividends. Wright won’t have anyone to take attention away from him in the receiving corps, and how Mike Glennon works out is yet to be seen. However, this seems like a move that the Bears could find themselves very pleased about.

*All contract info via Spotrac.com