Thursday 15 March 2018 06:22, UK
The new NFL season officially got underway on Wednesday, and there was a flurry of confirmations by NFL teams of all of the trades and signings we expected to happen, as well as some new moves.
Just before the new year started at 8pm, offensive tackle Nate Solder agreed to sign a four-year deal with the New York Giants that could be worth up to $15.5m a season.
Cornerback Patrick Robinson returned to New Orleans, the team who drafted him, after winning a Super Bowl with Philadelphia in February, while important pieces for both the Eagles (linebacker Nigel Bradham) and New England Patriots (running back Rex Burkhead) were re-signed to long-term deals before hitting the free agent market.
There were also more big-name players released, with safety Tyrann Mathieu and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh the headliners - both are likely to have a host of visits lined up over the next few days.
Mathieu was heading into the third year of a six-year deal, but was deemed expendable in what looks like a rebuild in Arizona and along with Suh, could command a hefty sum on the market.
As expected when the clock did strike 8pm, we were treated to a host of official tweets from teams around the league confirming most of the biggest deals we saw coming.
On the trade front, the Cleveland Browns may have been the most active, bringing in Tyrod Taylor, Jarvis Landry, and Carlos Hyde, while shipping Danny Shelton to the New England Patriots.
The Los Angeles Rams weren't resting on their laurels this off-season, and they officially welcomed two star cornerbacks, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, in a joint press conference.
Around the league, quarterback voids were filled as Case Keenum signed with the Denver Broncos and Sam Bradford penned a deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
Washington will have Alex Smith as their starting quarterback in 2018, while after his departure from Kansas City, the Chiefs locked down a young receiver in Sammy Watkins on a three-year, $48m deal.
Arguably the top receiving option available was Allen Robinson, who joined a young Bears team with serious offensive potential. They surrounded their young quarterback Mitch Trubisky with Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton.
The annual signal caller merry go round was in full effect too - with the big names rubberstamping moves reported over the last couple of days it was time for Chase Daniel, Chad Henne, Mike Glennon, Trevor Siemian and Tom Savage to secure their status, at least for 2018.
Savage is leaving Houston for New Orleans, Glennon joins Sam Bradford in Arizona and Siemian heads to Minnesota as the backup to presumptive starter Kirk Cousins once that deal is confirmed - most likely on Thursday.
Daniel is poised to join Chicago, while Henne looks set to have his pick from Miami and Tennesse with visits lined up for the next couple of days.
Free agency may be in full flow but we will also have all three days live of the NFL Draft on @SkySportsNFL at the end of April
Neil Reynolds will host a preview show, a wrap show after day one and another wrap after the final day. Stay tuned to @SkySportsNFL for more details in the coming days
