Grades for all the latest NFL free agency signings and trades

These are 100 percent accurate short-term and long-term grades for every major move of the new league year.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: NFL free agency. We’ve already seen a few blockbuster moves unfold to kick off the new league year, which doesn’t begin until March 13. Antonio Brown was traded, not to the Bills but to the Raiders. The Ravens sent Joe Flacco to the Broncos, which gave the latter the space to trade Case Keenum to Washington. Those will all become official Wednesday.

The legal tampering period starts on March 11, so expect a few more free agent signings and trades to leak beforehand. As the rest roll in, we’ll be grading each move by two criteria: how good it is in the short term and in the long term.

Our grades will surely be 100 percent correct. After all, we are omnipotent and can predict the future here at SB Nation. Trust us with your free agency needs.

We’ll be updating this list with grades as we move throughout the offseason. The newest signings will be on the top of the page.

Lions sign: WR Danny Amendola

The Lions needed a reliable possession receiver behind Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay, and Amendola, who had 59 catches, 575 yards, and a 74.7 percent catch rate fits the bill. He’s also going to be 34 years old, averaged fewer than 10 yards per reception, and found the end zone only once in his lone year with Miami, so it’s not exactly an impact signing. After signing an entirely too expensive two-year, $12 million deal with the Dolphins he’s reunited with former assistant coach Matt Patricia for one year and up to $5.75 million. That’s still top 35 money for a player who might not be a top 75 receiver.

Short-term grade: B-
Long-term grade: C-

Rams re-sign: Edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr.

Fowler played the best football of his career after coming to LA from Jacksonville midway through the season. That was especially true in the playoffs, when he was instrumental to getting the Rams to the Super Bowl with his disruptive play. The Rams get a chance to see if Fowler can be that kind of force on a consistent basis, keeping him in LA on a one-year “prove it” deal.

Short-term grade: A
Long-term grade: A

Raiders re-sign: DT Johnathan Hankins

The 26-year-old Hankins was one of the rare reliable defensive players the Raiders had last season — and he didn’t join the team until Week 2. He started 14 games, totaling 36 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two fumble recoveries. The Raiders retained him on a two-year deal rather than let him test free agency.

Short-term grade: A-
Long-term grade: B+

Raiders trade: LG Kelechi Osemele, 2019 sixth-round pick
Jets trade: 2019 fifth-round pick

The Raiders have holes all over their roster. One position where they were mostly set was at guard. That’s no longer the case now that they sent former All-Pro guard Kelechi Osemele to the Jets. The Raiders saved $10.2 million in cap space, but they weren’t hurting in that department anyway.

Meanwhile, the Jets fill a position of need during a free agency year that’s light on guards. Osemele has dealt with injuries recently, but if he can stay healthy, he’s an undoubtedly an upgrade for their OL.

Short-term grade: C- for Raiders, A- for Jets
Long-term grade: C+ for Raiders, B for Jets

Steelers trade: WR Antonio Brown
Raiders trade: 2019 third-round pick, fifth-round pick

For the cost of $21.1 million in dead cap space this year, the Steelers got rid of one of the best receivers in the NFL (and their biggest headache). In return, they couldn’t even get a first-round pick.

The Raiders had the cap space to give Brown the raise he wanted, and he gives them a major offensive weapon they’ve been lacking. Oh, and they still have all three first-round picks this year.

Brown will turn 31 this summer and though he hasn’t shown signs of regressing, there’s no guarantee he’ll be the same dangerous player with Derek Carr throwing him the ball. The Steelers also feel optimistic about JuJu Smith-Schuster as their new No. 1 — a sentiment shared by Smith-Schuster himself.

Short-term grade: D- for Steelers, A for Raiders
Long-term grade: C+ for Steelers, B+ for Raiders

Chiefs sign: RB Carlos Hyde

A day after his release from the Jaguars, Hyde signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs to serve as a bruising complement to Damien Williams. Despite a down year split between Cleveland and Jacksonville, Hyde— who rushed for 938 yards and eight touchdowns in 2017 — could bounce back in Kansas City, thanks to the wide-open offense led by MVP Patrick Mahomes.

Short-term grade: B+
Long-term grade: B-

Dolphins sign: TE Dwayne Allen

The veteran Allen was released by the Patriots after two seasons (and just one touchdown). He quickly reunited with Brian Flores and Chad O’Shea in Miami on a two-year deal. There, he’ll have a role as a blocking tight end and mentor to second-year TE Mike Gesicki.

Short-term grade: B
Long-term grade: C+

Eagles trade: DE Michael Bennett, 2020 seventh-round pick
Patriots trade: 2020 fifth-round pick

Bennett was terrific in his first (and only) season with the Eagles, tallying 30 QB hits, 15 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and two forced fumbles. He’s also 33 and wanted a raise, and the Eagles couldn’t really afford to give him one. So they traded him ... to the Patriots. Those fools.

The Patriots had a hole to fill at pass rusher with Trey Flowers set to hit free agency, and when it comes to trades, they’re pretty much the perfect student who gets an automatic A.

Short-term grade: B- for Eagles, A for Patriots
Longterm grade: B for Eagles, A for Patriots

Rams sign: S Eric Weddle

The win-win for the Rams is that Weddle is both cheaper and, frankly, better than impending free agent Lamarcus Joyner. At least, he has been.

The danger is that Weddle is now 34 and about to begin his 13th season in the NFL. There’s a very real risk that Weddle’s play is about to fall off a cliff, leaving the Rams with a washed player in the secondary with an average salary of just over $5 million.

Weddle hasn’t shown signs of slowing, though, so the Rams are taking a worthwhile risk.

Short-term grade: A
Long-term grade: B

Steelers trade: OT Marcus Gilbert
Cardinals trade: 2019 sixth-round pick

Arizona might have found its starting right tackle for the 2019 season. When he’s healthy, Marcus Gilbert is one of the elite offensive tackles in the game. The problem is that he’s struggled a lot with injuries over the past two years.

Gilbert has played in only 12 games over the last two seasons as he’s dealt with knee and ankle injuries. The Steelers probably felt that it was time for a fresh set of legs on the offensive line and just wanted to see what they could get for Gilbert.

This is a nice trade for the Cardinals. It’s a low-risk, high-reward move for a team that had an utterly abysmal offensive line a season ago. If it doesn’t work out, then no harm.

Short-term grade: B for Steelers, A for Cardinals
Long-term grade: B for both

Giants trade: Edge rusher Olivier Vernon
Browns trade: RG Kevin Zeitler

New York trims some payroll by offloading the costly Vernon, sparing him from Year 3 of its rolling rebuild. The Giants also get a powerful veteran interior lineman who will help stabilize one of the league’s least consistent units. Zeitler will help keep Eli Manning upright in what may be his final season. More importantly, he’ll clear space for Saquon Barkley to thrive.

Meanwhile, the Browns’ defense gets a bit scarier by adding a player with 22 sacks in his last 37 games. Vernon will provide a powerful edge counterpunch across from Myles Garrett, giving Cleveland yet another weapon in a developing core. Trading Zeitler and his eight-figure salary makes sense with 2018 second-round pick Austin Corbett waiting in the wings, and the cost to swap in Vernon only came out to roughly $4 million more for a team that’s absolutely loaded with cap space.

Short-term grade: A for both
Long-term grade: A for Giants, B for Browns

Ravens trade: QB Joe Flacco
Broncos trade: 2019 fourth-round pick

John Elway got his latest tall passer, landing on 6’6 former Super Bowl MVP Flacco in his never-ending quest to find Peyton Manning’s successor. In the process, he managed to pick up a veteran quarterback somehow worse than the one he already had on the roster.

Flacco will hopefully be a functional starter for the Broncos, but this trade really feels like a lateral move for them considering Flacco’s recent history. Trading away a fourth-round pick for what he’s produced over the last few years seems a bit silly. Denver is still pretty far away from competing with the Chargers and Chiefs on offense.

Luckily, they don’t owe Flacco any guaranteed money so it won’t hinder their cap if they decide to move on from him next year.

Short-term grade: A for the Ravens, D for the Broncos
Long-term grade: A for the Ravens, C for the Broncos

Broncos trade: QB Case Keenum, 2020 seventh-round pick
Washington trades: 2020 sixth-round pick

OK.

Short-term grade: C for both
Long-term grade: B for both

Buccaneers re-sign: LT Donovan Smith

Tampa Bay locks down some stability at the most important part of its offensive line by retaining Smith, who made all 64 starts for the club at left tackle the past four years.

Short-term grade: B
Long-term grade: B+