We’re almost a week into the NFL free agency period, and many teams have been prominent for one reason or another.

Here are some thoughts on a few of the moves.

*All salary info is courtesy of Spotrac.com

$.01--The best move of the first day, when by and large the pricing was wildly out of control, was when the Chicago Bears signed former Oakland Raiders DT Lamarr Houston. This was a great marriage of fit and opportunity, and it kicked off a strong week for the Bears.

The Chicago defense realistically needs to replace nine starters from a year ago within the next two offseasons. Signing the most effective interior pass rusher on the market to a five-year/$35 million deal, which will really be for no more than four years before a rework or release, is a savvy and cap-friendly move. Chicago’s defensive line was downright awful last season, and Houston immediately makes them much better.

Chicago also added former Detroit Lions DE Willie Young to help replace overpriced, overrated end Julius Peppers. While Young isn’t much of a finisher (just six sacks in four seasons), he is a good disruptor and progressed nicely against the run a year ago. He’s also an upgrade over 2012 first-round bust Shea McClellin, who still does not have a position. Bringing back corner Charles Tillman was a worthwhile gamble, too. While he very well may be done with age and injuries, it’s worth the shot to bring him back.

$.02--Rodger Saffold initially agreed to terms with the Raiders for an ungodly sum of $42.5M for five years, an astronomical figure for a slightly above-average offensive lineman. That harsh reality slapped them in the face the next day, when the team failed the former St. Louis Rams tackle on his physical exam. That voided the contract, but not the shame.

The Raiders are a complete train wreck. General Manager Reggie McKenzie has tried to clean up the anachronistic mess left behind by the senile final years of Al Davis, and he’s done a fine job of clearing cap room. But his choices are downright ponderous.

Instead of signing, or using a franchise tag on either the aforementioned Houston or stud offensive tackle Jared Veldheer, McKenzie let both walk despite having tens of millions in cap room. These are arguably the two best players on the team, and certainly are part of a positive future more than a wretched past.

But McKenzie let them both depart, instead choosing to shower an absurd amount on Saffold. The two recognizable free agents they did sign, Justin Tuck and LaMarr Woodley, are both declining veterans purposely let go by significantly better teams. This comes on the heels of a draft class where McKenzie risked the 12th overall pick on a CB who nearly died and couldn’t make it through his rookie season. His second round pick, Menelik Watson, barely even practiced and was considered a major reach by many. His fourth-round pick, quarterback Tyler Wilson, didn’t make it through the preseason before being cut despite a massive black hole at QB.

McKenzie needs Tuck and Woodley to both turn back the clock to 2009 and for every draft pick to not only stick, but make a significant impact. Otherwise, his era of mismanagement will end up being compared to the Ted Stepien-era Cleveland Cavaliers, arguably the biggest disaster in modern pro sports history (as well as unfortunately being the team of my youth). 

$.03--The Dallas Cowboys released defensive stalwart DeMarcus Ware, ending the potential Hall of Famer’s career in Dallas. Ware is the latest, and most prominent, victim of the salary cap hell that owner/GM/majordomo Jerry Jones has created for his franchise.

How badly will they miss Ware, even though he’s coming off injuries that have definitely slowed him down?

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Ladies and gentlemen, the Cowboys just had the worst defense in NFL history and they had to let go of the two best players on the defense in Ware and defensive tackle Jason Hatcher (a nice signing by the rival Ethnic Slurs).

Interestingly, Ware quickly resurfaced in Denver, where the Broncos are trying their best to emulate Jones’ willful obliteration of the salary cap. Take a look at what Denver has done in the last week:

- DeMarcus Ware, three years/$30M, $23M guaranteed

- Aqib Talib, six years/$57M, $26M guaranteed

- T.J. Ward, four years/$22.5M, $14M guaranteed

- Emmanuel Sanders, three years/$15M

The Broncos now have over $160M in salary committed to the 2015 season. While the cap is going to rocket upwards, John Elway is clearly spending to win now. It’s a smart strategy with Peyton Manning’s advancing age, but it could result in a Lakers-like cratering once Peyton hangs up his cleats. Broncos fans would happily accept that for another Super Bowl title or two in the meantime.

$.04--Speaking of Emmanuel Sanders, his agent is a despicable sleazebag.

That’s unusually harsh language, but I do not parse it without merit. Steve Weinberg is a complete embarrassment to the agent profession, a vocation already commonly associated on the level of private used-car dealers and Congress.

Weinberg initially negotiated a deal for Sanders with the Kansas City Chiefs, and they agreed in principle to terms. That should be the end of the story; once a deal is agreed to, the only remotely acceptable other course of action is to go back to the player’s original team (in Sanders’ case the Steelers) and give them a chance to match.

But Mr. Weinberg cares not for professionalism or ethics or common decency. After agreeing to a deal with the Chiefs, Weinberg then went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and tried to negotiate a deal for Sanders with the Bucs. He never hinted that he already had a deal in his pocket.

He wasn’t done. Weinberg also went to Kansas City’s rival, the Broncos, and agreed to terms with Denver as well. Apparently Denver’s offer was better, because that’s the deal that Sanders ultimately signed. In the process, he also blew off a scheduled visit with the 49ers, who could have desperately used Sanders’ skills. For the in-depth story, check out Ian Rapoport’s initial piece on NFL.com.

Weinberg was barred and decertified back in 2003 for some shady dealings with his clients’ funds. Sanders is his vehicle back into the game, but he drove that off a cliff with a trunk full of TNT. NFL teams operate on a certain level of trust and good faith in negotiations. No team in its right mind will ever consider dealing with Weinberg again. Granted some teams (hello Oakland and Dallas!) are not of sound mind, but given the very public hullabaloo over what happened here it’s hard to see Weinberg having any future as a NFL agent. I hope the $900K commission check was worth it for Weinberg to napalm any bridge back into the NFL’s good graces. Beware football karma with Sanders too, Denver fans…

$.05--Quick analysis on deals I liked and deals which I did not like…

The dislikes:

--Tight end Dennis Pitta staying in Baltimore for five years, $32M. The next-best TE on the market, Brandon Pettigrew, re-signed in Detroit for half of that on one less year…and the Lions overpaid for him.

--Offensive tackle Branden Albert fills a major hole in Miami, but at 5 yr/$46M he’s the sixth-highest paid tackle in the league. You’d have a hard time finding anyone who ranks him as a top-15 tackle.

--Denver paid a fortune for Aqib Talib, a talented but troubled corner who hasn’t played more than 13 games in a season since 2009. High risk/reward.

--Jacksonville paid guard Zane Beadles, the weak link on Denver’s line, for $30 million over five seasons. I understand struggling franchises need to overpay to lure free agents, but that’s ridiculous money to go from lousy to merely not good at a position.

--Green Bay showed its desperation for filling gaping holes on the defense by showering Julius Peppers with the same contract Ware got: three years and $30 million. Ware is two years younger and generated more QB hits and hurries while playing the exact same position in the same base defense as Peppers, and he did so with a bad leg. Now the Packers are going to ask him to play a new position (3-4 OLB), where his aging legs will be more relied upon, not less. They also overpaid to keep CB Sam Shields, who would not have received four years and $39 million on the open market. By way of comparison, Brent Grimes is a better player and he got $7M less from the equally desperate Dolphins.

--Indianapolis had a pair of awful signings on the first day. While defensive end Arthur Jones (from Baltimore) and corner Vontae Davis (a re-signed player) are quality players, the Colts lavished ridiculous sums of money upon them. Jones got five-year, $33 million deal for producing 8.5 sacks in four seasons playing inside Terrell Suggs. Davis, who is indeed one of the better cover men in the league, got the same deal Shields did at four years and $39 million. Davis is a better player--he was Pro Football Focus’ 3rd ranked corner, Shields was 52nd in 2013--but he’s battled injuries and inconsistencies throughout his career. Colts GM Ryan Grigson continues to make ponderous decisions with player acquisitions.

The likes:

--New England landing Darrelle Revis for one year and $12 million after he was dumped by Tampa Bay, which had no use for the best corner east of Seattle. It’s a “prove it” deal that gives the Patriots control over Revis Island for the next two years, as they can franchise tag him. Revis is perennially demanding new contracts, so putting him on a one-year deal places the full emphasis on him to prove he deserves it. Brilliant move by the Patriots. They overpaid for fellow corner Brandon Browner, however.

--The Eagles landed safety Malcolm Jenkins for three years and $15.5 million, a great move for Philly. He’s a perfect fit for what they needed, a rangy coverage safety with ball skills and playoff experience. He came at almost half the rate six years and $54 million that the Saints paid Jairus Byrd to replace him in New Orleans. I like Byrd a lot, but that’s pretty steep in comparison.

--Tampa Bay replaced Revis with former Titan Alterraun Verner on a four-year, $25.5 million deal. He’s a definitively better player than Shields or Grimes, both of whom got millions more. He’s not Revis, but that’s not what new coach Lovie Smith wanted for some reason.

--Cleveland replaced ILB D’Qwell Jackson, who went to the Colts for a fairly reasonable (for them) four years and $22 million, with Karlos Dansby at a rate of four seasons at $24 million. While Jackson is a good player and his presence will be missed in the locker room, Dansby is a much better schematic fit and has more sacks, turnovers forced and passes defended over the same time frame as Jackson. The Browns also fared well in importing RB Ben Tate from Houston for two years and $7.5 million. He’s the back they drafted Trent Richardson to be…if he can stay healthy.

--Detroit paid a premium to get former Seahawks WR Golden Tate at a five-year, $31 million deal, but given some other prudent moves (Darryl Tapp, Joique Bell, Vaughn Martin and the impending budget-friendly deal with safety James Ihedigbo) it works. They filled their biggest need with the best available fit and didn’t kill a limited budget to do so.

--Houston smartly kept young tight end Garrett Graham in the fold while jettisoning aging Owen Daniels. Their new QB--I still strongly believe it will be Blake Bortles with the #1 pick--will need a reliable tight end that can work the seams and make catches in traffic. Graham does that well enough that three-year, $11.25 million deal might seem cheap next offseason.

--Arizona lured away Jared Veldheer from Oakland to fill their longstanding chasm at left tackle. He’s healthy once again and his five-year, $35 million deal is a fair market rate for a 26-year-old pass blocking specialist.