Teams across the NFL make waves in free agent pool

It hasn't been a secret for many years that free agency -- which marks the official beginning of every NFL business year -- usually turns out to be more of a circus than anything else. With everything from players signing big extensions to blockbuster trades and new signings being orchestrated by owners at an often blistering pace, it can be pretty hard to keep up.

As always, there have been some big moves that will make major waves in the league in the coming year, but there have also been a few confusing moves that have serious potential to go down as some of the biggest free agent blunders in recent memory.

At the top of that list, in my mind, was the trade of Anquan Boldin from the Baltimore Ravens to the San Francisco 49ers. The simple fact that the defending Super Bowl champions would trade such a solid player to a team that was on the cusp last year and nearly completed a monumental comeback to steal that Super Bowl title didn't make sense to me from the start -- and then I learned the terms of the trade.

Boldin wasn't traded for another key player who could help the Ravens stay on top, but instead, he was dealt for a sixth-round draft pick. I get it that the Ravens wanted to create some salary cap space, but there are far better and smarter ways to do it than that.

On top of the loss of Boldin, Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger each signed contracts with teams other than Baltimore. Granted, there are other players around the league in the two positions vacated by Ellerbe and Kruger who are probably better, but it still seems to me that Baltimore should have at least tried a little harder to keep them around since both players were valuable assets during last year's Super Bowl run.

Another team that made some questionable moves was the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts did get some big acquisitions to help their struggling offensive line, but I have to question paying an unproven linebacker in Erik Walden $4 million a year and giving unproven cornerback Greg Toler $5 million.

Don't get me wrong, the Colts did make some good decisions in the early days of free agency -- signing Gosder Cherilus and Donald Thomas -- but it's just not a good idea to shell out that much money on guesses.

Probably the biggest winner in the early days of free agency was the Miami Dolphins. That was the team with which Ellerbe signed and the Dolphins also picked up an elite wide receiver in Mike Wallace, while working out a deal to hang on to Chris Clemons.

The Chicago Bears weren't far behind with their acquisition of Jermon Bushrod, who will undoubtedly beef up another of the league's worst offensive lines in a big way. Martellus Bennett should give Bears quarterback Jay Cutler a much better opportunity to take advantage of that improved offensive line since the Bears signed him away from the New York Giants.

Big defensive moves have already been made during this free agency period by the Cleveland Browns as well. Kruger will give the Browns a much-needed outside pass rush from his spot at defensive end and defensive tackle Desmond Bryant should give Cleveland a little bit of extra size to supplement Kruger's speed on the edge.

All that aside, let's bring the conversation a little closer to home. The Kansas City Chiefs haven't put themselves anywhere near the top or the bottom of the free agent pool, but have been among the most active teams out there so far.

It probably wasn't the best idea to cut Kevin Boss and Steve Breaston, but the Chiefs have bigger things to worry about than receivers and have made up for those slips in other areas, the biggest of which was quarterback. The Chiefs filled that hole before free agency even began when they agreed to a deal that brought in former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.

Smith lost his starting job to Colin Kaepernick last year after suffering a concussion and said when it became clear that his former team saw him as expendable that Kansas City was his first choice. In exchange for Smith, the 49ers get the Chiefs' second-round draft pick this year and a conditional, mid-round pick next year.

In addition to that move, the Chiefs have signed former New Orleans Saints backup and University of Missouri star Chase Daniel to a three-year, $10 million contract to be Smith's backup. I think the Chiefs and new general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid could have picked a better place to start rebuilding the team, but hey, Daniel is a solid backup and a true student of the game, so it can't hurt.

On top of those acquisitions, the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Brandon Albert, picked up tight end Anthony Fasano from Miami and added cornerbacks Dunta Robinson and Sean Smith. Losing Glenn Dorsey is going to hurt the defense, but I see a lot of steps being taken to move things in the right direction in Kansas City.

The St. Louis Rams, on the other hand, haven't been quite so fortunate. With Danny Amendola going to New England, the Rams need a lot of help at wide receiver and really haven't made any noise yet in an effort to get it.

Rams head coach Jeff Fisher has a lot of work to do, especially since the news broke Thursday afternoon that Steven Jackson is headed to the Atlanta Falcons, but all hope isn't lost. The Rams and everyone else in the NFL are likely far from finished this offseason, so NFL fans should keep a watchful eye on the league in the coming months.

There's no telling what could happen between now and the beginning of the season in September. The draft is always full of surprises, just like free agency, so expect to continue to see things changing right up until the last minute.

Stay close, football fans. The next few months could be very interesting.