The 5 NFL free agents who should be happiest about their new teams

The NFL’s free agency carousel put some of the league’s top players on significantly better sidelines.

For the NFL’s top players, free agency isn’t just about getting paid — it’s about finding the right fit. While some players took big money to spearhead rebuilding efforts or play for a team run by Dan Snyder, several others found the proper intersection between perfect situation and their peak market value.

Kirk Cousins, for example, had his share of suitors offering similarly large contracts, but ultimately rode with the Vikings one season after Minnesota’s trip to football’s final four. Adrian Clayborn parlayed a career year with one winning team, the Falcons, into a $12 million deal with another winner, the Patriots. Sam Bradford got to remain an unquestioned starter while throwing to a future Hall of Famer in Larry Fitzgerald when he accepted a one-year, $20 million deal in Arizona.

But some of these moves are better fits than others. Here are the five players with the most to gain from their changes of scenery.

Kirk Cousins, from Washington to the Vikings

Everything about Cousins’ move to the Great White North is an upgrade, from his receiving corps to his blockers to his defense and even his new home stadium. He goes from throwing passes to Jamison Crowder, Josh Doctson, and a 34-year-old Vernon Davis to a big three of All-Pro Adam Thielen, playoff hero Stefon Diggs, and Pro Bowler Kyle Rudolph. After playing behind an offensive line that allowed him to be sacked on 7 percent of his dropbacks, he’ll play for blockers who allowed sacks just 4 percent of the time.

The Vikings’ defense will help bail him out on days where he can’t jump-start his offense. In his last three years in Washington, Cousins was 2-12 in games where his team scored less than 19 points. Last season, Case Keenum went 2-2 in those contests. Cousins is going to have everything he needs to thrive on his new team with none of the baggage that comes from playing under Washington’s management. The only downside? If he fails, he’s got no one to blame.

Jimmy Graham, from the Seahawks to the Packers

Graham’s situation went from good to great as he upgraded his quarterback from Pro Bowler Russell Wilson to former MVP Aaron Rodgers. While he was no longer the field-stretching demon he was before a torn patellar tendon robbed him of his top-end speed, he’s a mismatch machine in the red zone. The 6’7 Graham has 16 touchdown catches the past two seasons, including 10 last fall.

He moves to the Packers, who are:

a) restocking their receiving corps, meaning there will be plenty of times where they’ll have to lean on Graham;
b) have gotten five receiving touchdowns from their tight ends the past two seasons.

Green Bay will be grading Graham on a curve, as well. The team has spent big on free agent tight ends each of the previous two offseasons only to get underwhelming returns from Jared Cook and Martellus Bennett. An average season from Graham will look like a godsend in Wisconsin.

Malcolm Butler, from the Patriots to the Titans

Butler has been nothing but professional about his departure from the Patriots, but he can’t be unhappy about finally getting the big contract he deserves after four years as an underpaid piece of the New England defense. He moves from a franchise that worked throughout the 2017 offseason to trade him and then benched him in Super Bowl 52 to a playoff team in position to threaten the Pats’ iron grip atop the AFC this season and beyond.

He’ll be counted on to provide star-level play in 2018 after getting more than $30 million in guarantees from the Titans. He’s done so in the past, but 2017 marked a regression as the Patriots’ defense struggled to slow opponents’ passing games (31st in yards allowed). He’s in position to rebound from that down year, but the Titans’ secondary has enough talent to help mask the issues that marred his season if he can’t.

Former teammate Logan Ryan played roughly as well as he had in New England and gives the team a versatile piece to spread around in coverage. Adoree Jackson, the 2017 first-round pick, should provide an adequate counterweight on the other sideline. Safety Kevin Byard is a high-yield center fielder (eight interceptions last season) who can provide tremendous support over the top. All three should provide a system that helps facilitate Butler’s rise back to the top tier of NFL cornerbacks.

Weston Richburg, from the Giants to the 49ers

The Giants just wrapped up one of the worst seasons in franchise history and are facing a lengthy rebuild with major questions at quarterback as Eli Manning politely recedes into his late 30s. The 49ers, on the other hand, are in position to declare their rebuild a success thanks to the addition of Jimmy Garoppolo, a 26-year-old quarterback who has never lost a start and who turned the 1-10 Niners into a 6-10 team when given the reins last season.

Adding Richburg was a major step in the right direction for San Francisco, which is now tasked with giving its budding quarterback all the tools he needs to thrive. Garoppolo’s 2.75 seconds per pass ranked 11th in the league in 2017, and that stands to improve with the former Giant clearing room at the top of the pocket. Richburg may not be a big name, but he escaped a worst-case scenario in the Meadowlands for a potential rocketship in Santa Clara.

Demario Davis, from the Jets to the Saints

Davis was quietly one of the league’s most useful middle linebackers last fall, an impact largely lost on the league since he was stuck on a grim Jets roster. The year before that, he was a productive linebacker on a grim Browns roster. He had the best season of his career in 2017, recording a career-high five sacks and 135 tackles as a block-clearing run stopper on the second level.

He’s grown in pass coverage the last two seasons as well, rounding out his game from one-dimensional thumper to three-down presence. He even had Pro Football Focus’s top performance at linebacker for all of 2017 after shutting down the Dolphins in Week 3. That led the Saints and their newfound defensive focus to come calling in the offseason.

Davis took a $2.7 million pay cut in order to fulfill his trade from Cleveland to New York last season, making just $1 million in the process. He turned that into an opportunity to sign a three-year, $24 million deal with a playoff team this offseason. That’s a pretty big upgrade.