Free agents still available at this point usually come with some baggage and plenty of questions. All the men on this list have been starters in the NFL, but a couple have issues that have to at least be touched upon before getting signed as a free agent.
But none of that is my job. I’m here to tell you who the four best defensive tackles are that are still jobless as of May 16, 2018.
Johnathan Hankins
2017: 44 tackles, two sacks, three passes defended
Hankins still wearing out his couch at this point in free agency is kind of a surprise. Unlike the other three men on this list, there is no red flags. In fact, just last offseason the Indianapolis Colts signed him to a three-year deal worth $27 million. They ate part of that when they cut him a couple of months ago.
Hankins has likely priced himself out of a job at this point, but as the preseason grows closer he’ll either lower his price or a team will decide they need his services at the cash number he’s asking. He’s a former second round pick who has played up to that level, first with the New York Giants and last year with the Colts. This will just be his sixth year in the league and he’s still in the prime of his career. He’s a block eater at 6-3 and 320 pounds and could really thrive in a 3-4 scheme.
Nick Fairley
2017: Did Not Play
Fairly brought his career back from the dead in stints with the then St. Louis Rams in 2015 and the New Orleans Saints in 2016. Still under contract with the Saints, the heart condition Fairley was diagnosed with before he was drafted flared up again and he sat out all of last season, unable to pass a physical. New Orleans cut him this offseason and he’s filed a grievance to get some of the money he’s owed. He still wants to play.
Fairley was a first round pick out of Auburn in 2011 and had his best season in 2016, racking up 43 tackles and 6.5 sacks for the Saints. It’s all about getting him cleared medically to play. And that just might not happen. If it does, then, hey a team lands a real star interior lineman at a reduced rate.
Sharrif Floyd
2017: Did Not Play
Like Fairley, there’s a chance Floyd will never actually take the field as an NFL player again. Unlike Fairley, Floyd’s life won’t be put at stake by playing, just his knee. Floyd was a first round pick for the Minnesota Vikings back in 2013 and started 24 games for them over his first three seasons. His last full year in the league, he had 34 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He played in one game in 2016 before suffering a torn meniscus.
That shouldn’t have ended his career, but the nerve damage he suffered during the surgery to repair it just might have. He never played a down in 2017 and the Vikings cut him. Like Fairley, Floyd still wants to play and if his Instagram is any indication, he has every intention of making that happen.
Frostee Rucker
2017: 30 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one pass defended
Rucker had a long career and the only way it’s going to continue is if the right team comes calling for his services. He started all 16 games in 2017 and is open to coming back for his 13th NFL season if it’s with the Arizona Cardinals, the team with which he’s spent the last five years.
According to ESPN, he’s not that interested in playing for anyone else, but could likely be wooed by a team contending for a Super Bowl.
