This time of year, with training camps around the NFL in full swing, most rosters are more or less set in stone.
Sure, there might be the occasional camp controversy, positional battle to sort through, or warranted holdout (or “hold-in”). But, for the most part, teams know what kind of shape they’ll enter the 2022 season in.
Now, that said, no one has a perfect roster. In fact, many squads might still have a glaring hole or two that they can fill with a capable veteran. (Ask the Buccaneers and Julio Jones.) The initial wave and frenzy of this year’s NFL free agency is worlds, er, months away now. But plenty of good and capable players remain on the market, especially if any squad wants to fill in the gaps and start this fall on a better foot.
Here are the 10 best free agents still available as the NFL moves toward the 2022 preseason:
Chris Szagola/AP
Age: 40
Most recent team: Bears, 2021 (15 starts)
Stats (per Pro Football Focus): 853 snaps, six sacks allowed, three penalties
As an older tackle, it’s somewhat surprising Peters hasn’t hung up the pads yet. The former perennial All-Pro, Pro Bowler, and Super Bowl champion with the Eagles has nothing left to prove. He will probably walk into Canton someday to claim a bronze bust of his head.
But last year, around this time, the Bears famously called Peters while he was on a fishing boat. And while he was a far cry from the star tackle we were used to seeing, he was still a welcome addition to help out Justin Fields. A season later, the big man has not called it quits, recently telling Sirius XM NFL Radio that he’s “going to give one more run at it.”
Let’s make an endorsement of Peters succinct: There are a lot (a LOT) of lousy offensive tackles in the NFL. You could do far worse than an experienced player who can act as a road grader in the run game.
1. This angle is awesome
2. Justin Fields is awesome
3. The block Jason Peters throws on Fred Warner is awesomepic.twitter.com/2RuAe4KxKF— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) November 1, 2021
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 28
Most recent team: Lions, 2021 (seven starts)
Stats: 24 tackles, three quarterbacks hits, one tackle-for-loss, one forced fumble
Once upon a time, Flowers was a big ticket signing for Detroit’s former failed regime of Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia. A staple rotational defensive lineman for two Patriots’ Super Bowl championships, Flowers was supposed to blossom with a more prominent role in Allen Park.
For a time, it looked like that would happen. In his first season with the Lions in 2019, Flowers was a relative terror, amassing 21 quarterback hits and seven sacks in 15 starts. Unfortunately, respective knee and shoulder injuries would derail the rest of Flowers’ Detroit career as he appeared in just 14 games from 2020-2021.
It’s hard to project what Flowers has left in the tank at this stage. But if he’s finally fully recovered from his ailments — someone will add a solid and affordable piece to their defensive line.
#Lions DE Trey Flowers had 8 tackles (ties career high) and 6 QB pressures — including his first sack as a Lion against the #Eagles. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/YvE0zIaQzV
— Logan Lamorandier (@LLamorandier) September 24, 2019
Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 28
Most recent team: Dolphins, 2021 (Two games, zero starts)
Stats: Four receptions, 26 yards
The best way to describe Will Fuller, when healthy, is speed. He’s fast. Very fast. He might be one of football’s elite “take-the-top-off-the-defense” guys at his best. Let him sprint straight for 50 yards, throw the ball in his general vicinity, and chances are he’ll come under it for a big play.
Most yards per reception last season…
DJ Moore – 18.1
Will Fuller – 16.6
Jerry Jeudy – 16.5
Justin Jefferson – 15.9
DK Metcalf – 15.7
AJ Brown – 15.4
Calvin Ridley – 15.3
Corey Davis – 15.1
Julio Jones – 15.1
Darius Slayton – 14.9(min. 50 catches)
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) June 11, 2021
Ah, but there’s the vital caveat with Fuller — consistent availability.
Fuller has never played in more than 14 games in his six-year career. Due to knee injuries, a broken thumb, or even a performance-enhancing drug-related suspension, it’s often been a challenge for Fuller to stay on the field. That’s a problem in a league where health is at a premium and where the best players are regularly those who, you know, can actually play.
Since 2019, Fuller has played in only 13 whole football games. Think about all that’s changed and shifted in the NFL in that time. It boggles the mind merely considering it. But he’s still just 28, with plenty of tread left on the tires. If a contender needs a stretch-the-field type (and not much else) — Fuller might be their man.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Age: 28
Most recent team: Commanders, 2021 (13 starts)
Stats: 81 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, two quarterback hits
Remember Landon Collins? You know, Landon Collins, former three-time Pro Bowler and a First-Team All-Pro (2016)? Yes, that happened!
I’d forgive you if you forgot about Collins’ general place in the NFL because once he left the Giants for the Commanders in 2019, he faded into relative obscurity. (The way most players who play in D.C. do.)
As someone who’s more of a hybrid box safety, Collins probably isn’t much of a fit for a pass-happy NFL that would be more than happy to exploit his coverage deficiencies. But in that hybrid box role, he could theoretically boost some of the sorry secondaries around the league with some general competence.
Just, you know, don’t ask him to backpedal too much or too far.
Landon Collins: First player in NFL History to have 100+ solo tackles, 2+ sacks, 5+ INTs & 12+ Passes Defended in a season. pic.twitter.com/4bh0R6nqas
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 3, 2017
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Age: 30
Most recent team: Chiefs, 2021 (15 starts)
Stats: 80 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, two quarterback hits, one interception
I understand that off-ball linebackers are less valued nowadays but Hitchens still sitting available is confusing. He’s by no means a superstar and shouldn’t be seen as such. But he did play a significant defensive role for an offensively-oriented squad in the Chiefs that featured in four straight AFC title games.
In other words, while Patrick Mahomes launched quick laser after laser, Hitchens was one of the few on the other side of the ball, ensuring all those points Kansas City scored were enough. It sounds like an easy job, in theory, but it assuredly is not!
The off-ball linebacker who can play the run and cover is a dying, extremely rare breed in today’s game. Hitchens won’t stick with athletic tight ends but will fill his run-stop assignments almost without fail. He’ll do it all with a little bit of an edge.
This Anthony Hitchens block after the interception 😳 pic.twitter.com/j8FoXzMPAk
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) December 6, 2021
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 31
Most recent team: Colts, 2021 (15 starts)
Stats (per Pro Football Focus): 874 snaps, eight penalties, seven sacks allowed
A former No. 1 overall pick in 2013, Fisher has never quite lived up to that lofty status. Even still, the nine-year veteran has carved out a respectable career as a starter. Most folks would take two Pro Bowls, an entrenched status on a playoff contender, and a Super Bowl if they had the option. If not for a torn Achilles in 2021, he’s likely still with his original team, the Chiefs.
At 31, while struggling in his lone year with the Colts, Fisher has more juice left than many of his peers — even those on this list. I don’t know that I’d trust him again on an island against some of the league’s premier pass rushers, but he’s proven capable of holding his own before. Now two years removed from that disastrous Achilles injury, I’d expect Fisher to return to form sooner rather than later.
🥞 of the day from Eric Fisher in the AFC divisional round. A) He makes sure to get enough depth to not get caught on the down block
B) Runs full speed and has the proper aiming point
C) Doesn’t take the bait when the defender attempts to go inside, knowing where the run is going pic.twitter.com/t5DSnWj1eJ— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) April 1, 2020
Fisher’s a stopgap starter with the potential to fill in for another year or two, depending on the respective team’s situation. Tackles like him aren’t usually available in August.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 35
Most recent team: Buccaneers, 2021 (17 starts)
Stats: 27 tackles, 13 quarterback hits, seven tackles-for-loss, six sacks
In his mid-30s, Suh is no longer the world-wrecker titan up front that he was for most of his prolific career. But not all of that is simply because he’s lost a step. Despite playing just 63 percent of Tampa Bay’s defensive snaps last year — by far the lowest of his career — Suh found a way to make big plays in the backfield more often than not. He maximized his opportunities:
Ndamukong Suh forced a fumble to give the Bucs the ball
Video: @NFL pic.twitter.com/hGm4ntFgKl
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) January 23, 2022
You probably won’t start Suh if you’re a current defensive coordinator. But, crucially, you will make him a sizable part of your overall front-line rotation. And when the time comes, the 2010s All-Decade Team member should make your decision to play him look prudent.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 36
Most recent team: Seahawks, 2021 (17 starts)
Stats (per Pro Football Focus): 964 snaps, eight sacks allowed, five penalties
Brown might be a little on the older side at 36, but he’s still one of his era’s best (and more underrated) book-ends. After giving the Texans a st