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Cornerback is one of the most complex positions to address in free agency. Usually, CB play is extremely volatile, and players fall off a cliff concerningly fast after six, seven years in the NFL. So there's little prime left after the rookie contract.
Last year, for example, the Tennessee Titans traded a third-round pick and gave L'Jarius Sneed a four-year, $76 million contract after he had been franchise tagged by the Kansas City Chiefs. In his first season with the Titans, he had an awful 36.3 PFF grade, a career low by far.
That's why the top of the cornerback market is so risky in this free agent group. Charvarius Ward is 29, Carlton Davis and DJ Reed are 28, Rasul Douglas and Kendall Fuller are 30.
Based on production, potential, and age, the best value of the class is New Orleans Saints' Paulson Adebo.
When Paulson Adebo did THIS.
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 3, 2023
HBD, 2️⃣9️⃣
https://t.co/KlYFEtUtwd pic.twitter.com/8c4zshdAQ0
Adebo is a worthy option
Paulson Adebo has been one of the most unique players at his position in recent years. At his peak, he's played at a Pro Bowl level for New Orleans. At other times, he's been a liability due to penalties. There seemed to be very little in between for the cornerback. A great characteristic is that he had a knack for somehow coming up with an interception in clutch moments for the Saints.
Adebo is coming off a serious leg injury, a broken femur, so there's plenty of risk involved for whoever targets him in free agency. But the defensive back is 25, and his upside is real.
Last year, Adebo allowed a 67.0 passer rating when targeted, which was impressive and a career low. He had seven pass breakups and three interceptions. Notably, he generated two pressures as a blitzer and had a 91.5 pass rush grade according to PFF.
Yeah Paulson Adebo can play for my team any day. pic.twitter.com/IdlaK85Y3d
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) February 20, 2025
Money matters
The risk for cornerbacks in free agency is that it's still a premium position. Even if the top of the market isn't close to what edge is, for example, teams frequently pay a lot of money to top guys—and usually regret the decision later.
In Adebo's case, Spotrac has his market projection at a team-friendly price. A two-year, $22.2 million deal ($11.1 million in yearly average) would be a fair compensation.
Maybe someone is willing to give him a little bit more than that, but any type of contract would have to include incentives to protect the team against new injuries.
According to Adebo himself, he expects to be ready to go by training camp. The cornerback played only seven games in 2024, but that's a freaky injury, more than a lingering issue. It was the first season of his career in which he played fewer than 13 games. Even so, a short-term deal may make the most sense as he tries to prove he can return at full strength.
Cornerback is a premium position, and usually top players don't even hit the market. Paulson Adebo, a former third-round pick, might bring some risk and some question marks, but he would be a solid option for needy teams in a position so hard to fill.
More must-reads:
- Steelers reporter shares big claim about how Aaron Rodgers has looked in training camp
- Bears GM speaks out after superstar goes down with injury
- The 'NFL all-time touchdown receptions leaders' quiz
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Phillies star confronted MLB commissioner in team clubhouse
Throughout the season, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred visits all 30 team clubhouses in an attempt to strengthen his relationship with the players. But when Manfred visited the Philadelphia Phillies last week, he did anything but strengthen his relations, at least not with Phillies star Bryce Harper. As reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan, Harper wasn't a fan of a conversation that seemed to be heading toward the possibility of implementing a salary cap in the game. Harper stood nose to nose with Manfred, telling him, "If you want to speak about that, you can get the [expletive] out of our clubhouse." Passan's report says that Manfred reportedly responded that he was "not going to get the [expletive] out of here." Manfred's main source of argument comes from his view that it's an important issue to discuss and has a direct impact on the game of baseball. Nick Castellanos, who's been known to have a fiery side of personality himself, helped to mediate the situation by saying, "I have more questions" to Manfred. Because the meeting continued, things settled down, and eventually, Manfred and Harper shook hands. Though Harper did not answer phone calls from Manfred the next day. "It was pretty intense, definitely passionate. Both of 'em. The commissioner giving it back to Bryce and Bryce giving it back to the commissioner. That's Harp. He's been doing this since he was 15-years-old," Castellanos told ESPN. Both Harper and Manfred declined to comment to ESPN on the matter. Manfred is certainly in a difficult spot with players themselves against a salary cap, as well as the MLB Players Association, which is adamantly against it. But some team owners are for it, most notably Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein, who purchased the club in August 2024. It's certainly worth noting that the 1994 players' strike was a result of the league's effort to move to a salary-cap system. That is the worst-case scenario for MLB. And it seems to stress out Manfred. "Rob seems to be in a pretty desperate place on how important it is to get this salary cap," Castellanos added in his comments to ESPN, "because he's floating the word lockout two years in advance of our collective bargaining agreement [expiration]. That's nothing to throw around. That's the same thing as me in a marriage saying, 'I think divorce is a possibility. It's probably going to happen.' You don't just say those things." It's also important to note that Harper is a client of baseball super agent Scott Boras, and Castellanos is a former Boras client who now represents himself. Boras is known for bargaining for a ton of money for his clients, so that may provide one explanation of many for why Harper would be so against the discussion. It seems the only thing all parties can agree on is that no one wants a work stoppage in Major League Baseball. But that might just be where the agreements end.
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Cowboys make questionable move amid Micah Parsons stalemate
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