Jets, Eagles winners among biggest free agency spenders

Jason Fitzgerald

Jets, Eagles winners among biggest free agency spenders image

They say the Super Bowl isn't won in March, but that doesn't stop some teams from dreaming and spending big in free agency.

Here are the five biggest spenders for 2015. Will their March makeover lead to September success?

MORE: Free agency bargains, wallet-busters | Team-by-team signings, departures 

Buffalo Bills

The Bills haven’t made the playoffs since 1999, and without a first-round pick in this year's draft, they needed to focus on free agency to reverse the trend. New coach Rex Ryan favors an aggressive approach, anyway.

Buffalo rebuilt its entire offense with QB Matt Cassel, RB LeSean McCoy, TE Charles Clay, WR Percy Harvin and FB Jerome Felton. McCoy and Clay are risky signings, with McCoy set to earn more than $16 million over the next two seasons and Clay a position-record $24.5 million in the same time. 

The five players in total add $29.1 million per year to the payroll — 20 percent of the $140 million cap. The spending spree left Buffalo with less than $8 million in cap room and one of the three highest payrolls in 2016. But the Bills did not address offensive line, considered the weakest part of the roster and their probable Achilles heel next season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville over the last few years has been accumulating cap space and cautiously approaching free-agent negotiations. That practice is over — the Jags signed four players to contracts in excess of $6 million per year and likely overpaid for each.

TE Julius Thomas ($9.2 million) received help from his highlight reel packed with touchdowns. Versatile defensive lineman Jared Odrick earns $8.5 million a year, far more than some superior free-agent pass rushers. Jermey Parnell ($6.4M) and Davon House ($6.1M) turned small samples as starters into good money.

Jacksonville can afford the risks, as it still has the most cap space in the league (more than $31 million) and should again be among the league leaders in 2016. These six additions cost the team over $36 million a year.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders may have had the worst roster in football last season and, with over $60 million in cap space, were expected to be major players in free agency. But they didn't get close to landing any big names at impact positions.

Oakland instead focused on quantity to utilize its cap space. C Rodney Hudson ($8.9 million) and DT Dan Williams ($6.25 million) are both good building block-type signings.

The Raiders, in total, added eight players who are expected to contribute and $37.4 million per year in salary. Oakland maintained its no signing bonus policy to maintain roster flexibility and again project at the top of the NFL in cap space for 2016. If they fail to improve, expect the Raiders to (again) look for the big names next year.

Philadelphia Eagles

The lack of a playoff appearance last season was enough for the Eagles to go out and make major moves. Chip Kelly kicked off free agency with a big splash of a QB trade: Nick Foles for Sam Bradford. Foles was scheduled to earn just $1.54 million this year, and Bradford costs the team $12.99 million.

After committing to CB Byron Maxwell for more than $10 million per season, Philly stunned everybody and signed two big-name running backs, DeMarco Murray ($8 million) and Ryan Mathews ($3.7 million). Then the Eagles also revamped their defense with CB Walter Thurmond and LBs Brad Jones and Kiko Alonso.

MORE: Eagles own Bills in McCoy-Alonso trade 

The Eagles removed several players to offset the costs of these moves, and they remain in decent cap shape. With $40 million in new players at key positions, they should be able to make a deep playoff run in 2015.

New York Jets

Former general manager John Idzik hoarded cap space the last two seasons and never got an opportunity to use it. But new GM Mike Maccagnan had that chance and made the biggest free agency splash of all.

The familiar faces of Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie join corners Buster Skrine and Marcus Gilchrist to make up the most expensive secondary in the NFL — almost $34 million on four players. The Jets also added a starting receiver, a potential starting quarterback and a starting guard on offense.

The $50 million spent this March is the most in the league and should make up the team's core for the next two years, as they attempt to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010. The Jets likely won’t be able to swing for the fences again next year, making this draft's No. 6 overall pick critical.  

Jason Fitzgerald

Jason Fitzgerald is an NFL salary expert and contributor for Sporting News. Read more of his writing at OverTheCap.com and follow him on Twitter: @Jason_OTC.