Free agency was supposed to be the headline act of March in the NFL calendar.
But then a blockbuster Russell Wilson trade, the end (for now) of the Aaron Rodgers saga and the small matter of the unretirement of Tom Brady happened in a whirlwind week for the league.
As such, many of the moves that are reported when the NFL's negotiating window opens may seem insignificant compared to the events of the last seven days.
However, the right acquisition on the open market can have a substantial impact for teams looking to contend for the Lombardi Trophy.
Just look at the Cincinnati Bengals, who were in touching distance of winning the title for the first time thanks in part to the defensive efforts of two free agent signings in edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie.
With the salary cap increasing to $208.2million, the first time in league history it has been over $200m, plenty of teams will be ready to loosen the purse strings.
Yet free agency is often not about making the big splash move, it is more a matter of finding the right fit between player and team.
Using advanced metrics, Stats Perform looks at six of the best potential fits for this year's free agency cycle.
J.C. Jackson to New York Jets
Jackson is in for a monster payday after the New England Patriots elected not to place the franchise tag on a cornerback coming off a second-team All-Pro season.
Though they are clearly not ready to contend in 2022, the Jets present the perfect marriage of positional need and cap space, of which they have the second-most in the NFL.
Only four teams allowed more yards per pass play than the Jets (7.11) last season, with the secondary a long-standing problem for New York.
Over the past three seasons, no player in the NFL has record more interceptions than Jackson's 22. His closest challenger is Xavien Howard (16).
Jackson finished 2021 having allowed a big play on 18.9 per cent of his targets, the eighth-best rate among corners with at least 50 targets.
Pairing him with a corner in Bryce Hall who had the best combined open percentage (14.61) across man and zone coverage of any player at his position in the NFL last season (min. 100 coverage matchups) would go a long way to shoring up the Jets' defensive backfield.
Terron Armstead to Cincinnati Bengals
It almost makes too much sense. The Bengals are in obvious need of help on the offensive line and will have the seventh-most cap space of any team in the NFL with which to acquire it, making Armstead an obvious fit.
Though injuries limited him to eight games for the Saints last season, Armstead remains one of the premier left tackles in the NFL.
Armstead's stunt-adjusted pass block win rate of 91.93 per cent was third among tackles with at least 100 pass protection one-on-ones in 2021.
That is exactly the kind of excellence in protection the Bengals need to ensure Joe Burrow can keep them in contention for Super Bowl titles in the coming years.
Tyrann Mathieu to Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers have been mentioned as a potential destination for several free agents, which is unsurprising given they are in the top half of the league in terms of cap space and have a premier quarterback on a rookie deal in Justin Herbert.
They have already shown a desire to be aggressive in striking a trade to pair edge rusher Khalil Mack with Joey Bosa on the defensive line, yet there is no doubt the secondary would also benefit from an infusion of experience and added quality.
Mathieu would bring just that if the Chargers were able to lure him from the division rival Kansas City Chiefs. With free safety Nasir Adderley having so far struggled to live up to his status as a second-round pick, Mathieu's arrival would allow the Chargers to rotate him and former first-round pick Derwin James, who each possess the versatility to play free and strong safety and one on one with wide receivers and tight ends in man coverage.
Last year, Mathieu finished ninth among defensive backs with at least 100 coverage matchups across man and zone with a combined open percentage allowed of 20.3.
With another three interceptions added to a career tally that now stands at 26, there is no doubt Mathieu still has the playmaking ability and coverage skills to be an asset to any defense.
Von Miller to Denver Broncos
Everybody loves a reunion, and this would be a quick one after the Broncos dealt Miller to the Los Angeles Rams last season, with the veteran edge rusher going on to win his second Super Bowl title.
And after the Broncos struck a stunning trade to acquire Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks, bringing back Miller to boost a defense that will be run by former Rams secondary coach Ejiro Evero would be an ideal next move to make for a team clearly eyeing an immediate run at a Lombardi.
Miller ranked fifth among edge rushers with a stunt-adjusted pass rush win rate of 43.4 per cent in 2021, with that ability to generate pressure highly valuable to a defense that was a disappointing 30th in win percentage last year.
The Broncos are set up to contend, and a return to Denver would potentially give Miller the chance to compete for further titles while ending his career where it started.
Cordarrelle Patterson to San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have a host of more important needs than a wide receiver-turned-running back, and given San Francisco possesses the gold standard in that regard in 'wide back' Deebo Samuel, signing Patterson would be a luxury move rather than a necessity.
Yet the thought of head coach Kyle Shanahan having both Samuel and Patterson to work with is an extremely enticing one.
Among running backs with at least 150 carries in the regular season, only James Conner (22.7) produced a higher percentage of big plays on targets in the passing game than Patterson (22.6).
Putting him with the play-caller who arguably does the best job of getting offensive players in space would be a match made in heaven.
Christian Kirk to Indianapolis Colts
It's not clear who will be playing quarterback for the Colts in 2022 following the Carson Wentz trade to the Washington Commanders, but that signal-caller will need receiving help beyond 2020 second-round pick Michael Pittman Jr.
With T.Y. Hilton on the downswing of his career and injuries preventing Parris Campbell from making any sort of discernible impact, the Colts are light on legitimate pass-catching weapons.
Kirk could stock the cupboard in that regard, giving Indianapolis a legitimate deep threat who fell 18 yards shy of 1,000 receiving last season and has 11 touchdowns over the past two campaigns.
He registered a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted, on 66.4 per cent of targets (the average for receivers with at least 100 targets was 62).
Among receivers to meet that target threshold, Kirk was fourth in the NFL in 2021 with a burn yards per target average of 13.2, with his ability to separate much needed by an offense that heads into the offseason in questionable shape.
Ireland will have to do without James Ryan and Ryan Baird in their crunch Six Nations showdown with Scotland on Saturday.
Ryan was unable to return to the field after he was floored by a dangerous tackle from Charlie Ewels only 82 seconds into Ireland's 32-15 win over England at Twickenham last weekend.
Ewels was shown a red card for clashing heads with Ryan, who failed a subsequent head injury assessment.
Lock Ryan will not be available when Andy Farrell's side do battle with Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on the final day of the tournament.
Fellow second row Baird also missed the encounter in Dublin due to a back injury, so Ross Molony and Joe McCarthy have been called up to train with the squad.
Second-placed Ireland are two points adrift of leaders France and must win to keep their hopes of winning the title alive, with Les Bleus facing England in Paris later in the day.
Lewis Hamilton has revealed he is set to change his name as he prepares for the 2022 Formula One season.
The seven-time F1 world champion will include his mother Carmen's maiden name, Larbalestier, in his name.
Hamilton's parents, Anthony and Carmen, separated when he was only two.
The 37-year-old is not sure when his new name will be confirmed, stating it is a work in progress ahead of the first race of the year in Bahrain this weekend.
"It would mean the world to my family [to win a record eighth F1 title]," the British driver said at the 2022 Dubai Expo.
"It would mean a lot to me knowing that, for example, I'm really proud of my family's name: Hamilton. Actually, none of you might know that my mum's [sur]name is Larbalestier.
"And I'm just about to put that in my name. Because I don't really fully understand the whole idea of why, when people get married, the woman loses her name. I really want her name to continue on with the Hamilton name."
Asked if he will have a different name in the first race of the season, he replied: "It will be soon. No, I don't know if it will be this weekend. But we're working on it."
Ralf Rangnick has no concerns over Cristiano Ronaldo's powers of recovery as Manchester United prepare to face Atletico Madrid three days on from his match-winning performance against Tottenham.
Having missed the Manchester derby due to a hip flexor injury, Ronaldo's hat-trick lifted United to a crucial 3-2 win at Old Trafford as they chase a place in the Premier League top four and Champions League football for next season.
Their attention now turns to this campaign's Champions League competition and the second leg of their last-16 tie with Atletico on Tuesday.
United drew 1-1 in the first leg in Madrid, and the emphasis is likely to be placed on Ronaldo to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo has netted 13 goals in his last 15 home games against Atletico across all competitions.
That figure includes a pair of hat-tricks in his four most recent such meetings with the Rojiblancos, both of which came in the Champions League.
He scored a hat-trick against Atletico in the 2017 semi-finals for Real Madrid and repeated the feat for Juventus in the round of 16 in 2019 as the Bianconeri completed a remarkable second-leg turnaround.
Rangnick is unsure whether Ronaldo has another treble in his locker this time around, but is confident the 37-year-old will be ready to try to fire the Red Devils into the last eight.
He told a media conference on Monday: "I'm not worried that he has not been able to recover so far. He's always been a person who looks quite a lot after himself, his body, he exactly knows what to do so I'm not worried about that.
"If he can score another three goals we will see. It's not so easy to score three goals against this team at all. His overall performance was just good [against Tottenham], if not even very good, and this is obviously what we hope to get from him again tomorrow night.
"It's not only about Cristiano, it's about the whole team. We saw in the first half in Madrid what we shouldn't do, how we should not play, this was obviously a big topic for us yesterday and today when we spoke pre-match about tomorrow's game.
"We have to know what it takes and what it tactically takes and the rest is all about energy. We were the team on Saturday against Spurs who just wanted to win that game and that was obvious.
"Our supporters played a vital role; they realised how much we wanted to win that game and tomorrow it will be similar."
Bruno Fernandes was said to be in a race to be available to face Atletico after contracting COVID-19. However, Rangnick confirmed he trained on Monday after testing negative.
Left-back Luke Shaw is a "small question-mark" for the game but trained on Sunday and Monday.
Jack Willis has been included in England's squad for the first time in over a year for Saturday's Six Nations clash with France.
The flanker suffered a serious knee injury against Italy in February last year and only returned to action for Wasps last month.
With Tom Curry ruled out of the contest at Stade de France with a hamstring problem sustained in the 32-15 defeat to Ireland, Willis has a chance of featuring.
Kyle Sinckler was also part of the 34-player squad named by Eddie Jones on Monday and will follow return-to-play protocols after being concussed against Ireland.
England are out of contention for the Six Nations title ahead of their final match of this year's tournament after winning two and losing two of their first four games.
Opponents France are top of the standings as they seek a first title and first Grand Slam since 2010.
Ravichandran Ashwin made ICC World Test Championship history as India wrapped up a series win over Sri Lanka with victory inside three days in Bengaluru.
Sri Lanka resumed play on Monday on 28-1 with the mountainous task of chasing down a target of 447, having been bowled out for 109 in their first innings in the day-night Test.
Dimuth Karunaratne (107) did at least give the tourists something to cheer as the skipper recorded a 14th Test century.
Yet his efforts were in vain as Sri Lanka crumbled to 208 all out, Ashwin taking four wickets to become the first bowler in Test Championship history to 100 as India claimed a 238-run success.
Kusal Mendis (54) was the sole batsman to provide Karunaratne with anything resembling significant support.
However, any hope of Sri Lanka even surviving the day went with Mendis when his partnership with Karunaratne was ended on 97 after being stumped by Rishabh Pant off Ashwin.
Only one other Sri Lanka batter, Niroshan Dickwella (12), reached double figures in the innings, Ashwin fittingly taking the final wicket when Vishwa Fernando top-edged him to Mohammed Shami.
Captain Rohit Sharma said of Ashwin: "It was personally my feeling [that he is an all-time great].
"Whenever we give him the ball, he comes up with match-winning performances. He's got a lot of years left in him. We have lots of occasions to look forward to."
Another stellar series for Ashwin
Ashwin's landmark performance also saw him finish with the most wickets (12) in the short series, in which he also bowled the most maiden overs (16).
Sri Lanka sorry with the bat
Sri Lanka's second-innings performance marked the first time in the series they surpassed 200, summing up their dismal form with the bat.
Mitchell Starc struck three times as Australia put themselves in a great position to win the second Test against Pakistan on day three at the National Stadium.
Pat Cummins declared with the tourists 556-9 in Karachi on Monday, their third-highest total in Pakistan.
Starc took 3-29 and Mitchell Swepson claimed 2-32 as the hosts were skittled out for 148 in reply.
Captain Babar Azam top scored with 36 in a dismal effort from Pakistan with the bat and Australia were 81-1 at stumps, leading by a mammoth 489 runs and scenting a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after Cummins opted against enforcing the follow-on.
Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Starc with the second ball of the day, but Cummins and Swepson put on 51 in quick time for the last wicket.
Swepson ran Abdullah Shafique out to end an opening stand of 26 and Pakistan collapsed from 60-2, losing six wickets in the afternoon session.
Babar fell to Swepson when he gave the spinner the charge and could only pick out Usman Khawaja in the deep as Pakistan crumbled to 118-9.
Nauman Ali (20 not out) and Afridi (19) produced a final-wicket stand of 30 before Swepson removed the left-arm paceman.
Hasan Ali saw the back of David Warner for only seven after Cummins elected to bat again, but the in-form Khawaja (35no) and Marnus Labuschagne (37no) combined for an unbroken partnership of 61 to extend Australia's huge lead.
Starc swings Australia into complete control
With Pakistan weary after so long in the field, Starc conjured up some swing to strengthen Australia's grip on the match.
The left-arm paceman had Azhar Ali caught by Cameron Green at second slip for only 14 and followed that up by trapping Fawad Alam leg before from the next delivery.
Starc also removed Sajid Khan, caught by wicketkeeper Alex Carey, as the tourists ripped through Pakistan.
Swepson makes his mark
Spinner Swepson had a long time to wait for his Test debut, having first been called up five years ago.
The tweaker made an unbeaten 15 in an unbroken final-wicket stand with Cummins of 51, before running Shafique out.
Swepson then made Babar his first Test scalp when the Pakistan captain was taken by Khawaja in the deep and finished the innings by snaring Afridi leg before wicket.
Russia have been replaced by Serbia in the Davis Cup and Australia in the Billie Jean King Cup, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has confirmed.
Russia, who won both competitions in 2021, have been suspended from competing in international team events following the country's invasion of Ukraine.
As the highest-ranked losing semi-finalist from last year, Serbia will take Russia's place in the Davis Cup Finals.
The wild card previously handed to Serbia will now go to one of the 12 nations knocked out in the qualifiers that took place earlier this month.
Likewise, as the highest-ranked side among the 2021 losing Billie Jean King Cup semi-finalists, Australia will replace Russia in that competition.
Australia were due to take part in April's qualifiers, but opponents Slovakia will now receive a bye and advance directly to the Finals.
Belarus have also been barred from competing in both events, meaning Belgium will receive a walkover in their qualifying match and advance to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Barcelona technical director Jordi Cruyff has said "we will see" about the future of Ousmane Dembele after the France international put in another impressive showing in the 4-0 home win against Osasuna on Sunday.
Dembele has been unable to agree an extension to his contract, which is due to expire at the end of this season, and spent a spell on the sidelines in January as the winger became an unpopular figure with fans at Camp Nou.
The 24-year-old did not secure a move away from Barca in the January transfer window, and head coach Xavi has slowly reintroduced him to a team in form.
Dembele registered two assists and made five key passes, the most of any Barca player, during the win against Osasuna.
Following the victory, which lifted the Blaugrana to third in LaLiga, Cruyff talked to SPORT about the former Borussia Dortmund man's future.
"The situation regarding Dembele's renewal is not easy. I think the most important thing is that he continues to help the team and the rest, we will see," Cruyff said.
"He has played a good game, like many players who end their contract with the future already done and others who are looking for a better contract. [It is important] that he continues helping the team to achieve the maximum objectives, and the rest we cannot control."
Dembele has five assists in his past four LaLiga appearances, as many as he managed in his previous 45 league games for the club.
Cruyff also had words of praise for Ferran Torres, who scored twice after coming in for criticism for missing a series of chances in previous games.
On the January arrival from Manchester City, Cruyff added: "There was more noise outside than inside... Nobody at the club had any doubts."
Eder Militao will miss Real Madrid's LaLiga's trip to Real Mallorca on Monday.
Madrid revealed on the morning of the game that Militao will play no part when Los Blancos go in search of a fifth consecutive win in all competitions.
The LaLiga leaders did not specify why the Brazil centre-back will not feature in the match.
"Militao is not available for Real Madrid's LaLiga matchday 28 game this evening at the Visit Mallorca Stadium," a Madrid statement said.
Carlo Ancelotti's side are riding on the crest of a wave after beating Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Madrid are seven points clear of Sevilla at the top of LaLiga ahead of their game in hand at Mallorca.
Martin Odegaard says "something special" is happening at Arsenal after they extended their winning run to five matches at the expense of Leicester City.
The Gunners regained fourth place in the Premier League by beating Brendan Rodgers' side 2-0 at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, courtesy of Thomas Partey's header and an Alexandre Lacazette penalty.
Arsenal are a point better off than fifth-placed Manchester United with three games in hand as they strive to secure a Champions League spot.
Norway midfielder Odegaard is excited by the progress the London club are making under Mikel Arteta.
He told TV2: "There is clearly something special going on here now. You feel it in the whole club.
"We are building something special. It's a group of players who like each other, and who enjoy playing football together.”
He added "It's fun to play on that team here. We are a group that knows each other well.
"We are getting better and better and the system is getting better and better. It's flowing very well now. It's fun to play.
"We understand each other better, and the team works very well. Then it's easier to look good for me too."
Germany head coach Hansi Flick is confident Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz can return just as strong after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The 18-year-old sustained the damage in Saturday's 1-0 Bundesliga loss to Cologne when twisting awkwardly on the turf 28 minutes into the contest.
Wirtz has earned four senior caps for Germany, having made his debut last September, but is now in a battle to be fit and ready for the World Cup in November.
The news is a big blow for Flick ahead of his first tournament in charge of Germany, but the ex-Bayern Munich boss has faith that Wirtz will make a full recovery.
"He is one of the greatest talents that German football has produced in recent years," Flick told the DFB's official website.
"That's why we were all shocked when we found out about his cruciate ligament rupture. I've already phoned him and tried to encourage him.
"He's still young, he'll come back at least as strong, I'm sure of it. He gets our full support.
"We wish him all the best and keep our fingers crossed that the healing process goes as optimally as possible."
Wirtz is considered to be one of the highest-rated young players in European football and has been linked with the likes of Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
With 10 goals and 14 assists, Wirtz has the most direct goal involvements among players under the age of 21 in 2021-22 across Europe's top five leagues.
The 19 big chances created by Wirtz is bettered only by Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Muller (both 20), Bruno Fernandes and Trent Alexander-Arnold (both 22).
Emma Raducanu knows she must "get stronger" after losing to Petra Martic in the third round of the Indian Wells Open.
Martic came from a set down to beat US Open champion Raducanu 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-5 on Sunday.
Teenager Raducanu has been troubled by a back injury and an issue with her hip.
The Brit says she was hampered at Indian Wells, but is confident she will be fit for the Miami Open next week.
"I think it's just part of not playing and having so much stop start and having five, six days to prepare for matches and then playing at that intensity,” she said.
"It was a tough one not being able to serve full out so I was having to work so hard just to hold.
"I've just got to get stronger. I've had it for the last few days, just a product of training hard and probably the last match was pretty intense too and it didn't settle down.
"When you are crossing your fingers to hold serve every time, it's tough. I couldn't really drive up and I was kind of struggling to turn and reach.
"The margins were so small. I should be good for Miami, for sure."
Barcelona head coach Xavi says Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is like "a gift from heaven" after the striker hit the ground running following his arrival from Arsenal.
The Gabon international was on target in Barca's 4-0 win over Osasuna on Sunday to make it six goals in nine appearances for the Catalan giants in all competitions.
That is two more goals than next-best Ferran Torres has managed among Barca players since Aubameyang's first outing on February 6 in a 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid.
He is averaging 0.96 goals per 90 minutes in all competitions for the LaLiga club, compared to 0.57 across his 15 games with Arsenal prior to officially swapping clubs last month.
And with Barca enjoying their best run of league form since April 2021, Xavi has been impressed by Aubameyang's contribution in front of goal so far.
"Aubameyang is a gift from heaven," Xavi said following his side's fourth successive LaLiga victory.
"He is a positive player who always enters the room in good condition and adapts very quickly to new environments.
"Aubameyang scores goals, creates opportunities, keeps moving. It's a privilege to lead him, he's an example for other players to follow."
Aubameyang's strike against Osasuna came after Ferran Torres had scored twice, one of those goals coming from the penalty spot, before Riqui Puig rounded off the scoring.
That was Puig's second goal for Barcelona, and a first on home soil, on what was just his third outing this calendar year.
"It's a big day for me," he told Barca TV. "It's one of the most important days of my life for scoring my first goal at the Camp Nou and I will celebrate it with my family and friends.
"The team has an idea that we didn't have before. We have some games that we have to win and we're really looking forward to them."
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