Georgia Bulldogs news: D’Andre Swift and other former Bulldogs set to be free agents and more

NFL free agency begins with the official start of the new league year which is fast approaching. First, NFL teams will evaluate the draft class at the NFL combine this week, but before the draft, attention will turn to filling out rosters with NFL veterans. 

Several former Georgia Bulldogs will be hitting the open market and quite a few were key pieces on their team in 2023. However, none are expected to be franchise-tagged before the March 5 deadline. 

Last offseason, before the final year of his four-year rookie deal, the Detroit Lions traded D’Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles. Running behind Philadelphia’s elite offensive line, Swift finally managed to stay healthy and put together a career year with 1,029 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 229 attempts. 

Now, he’s set to hit the open market for the first time. While the running back market in the NFL is far from red-hot, Spotrac projected Swift’s market value to be $6.7 million per year which would be a considerable raise compared to his $8.7 million career earnings. 

Swift is joined by 12 other former Bulldogs who are set to hit free agency: 

• D’Andre Swift, RB
• Leonard Floyd, EDGE
• Justin Houston, EDGE
• Mecole Hardman, WR
• Isaiah McKenzie, WR
• Isaiah Wynn, OG
• Jake Fromm, QB
• Malik Herring, DE (restricted FA)
• Jonathan Ledbetter, DE
• Chris Conley, WR
• Charlie Woerner, TE
• John Jenkins, DT
• Lawrence Cager, TE

George men’s basketball falls to Auburn

On Saturday, Georgia men’s basketball hosted No. 14 Auburn, and behind 25 points from San Diego State transfer Chad Baker-Mazara, the Tigers ran away with a 97-76 win. For Georgia, Noah Thomasson led the way with 18 points while Silas Demary Jr. and Russel Tchewa each added 16. 

Auburn shot a staggering 53.8% from three on 26 attempts while Georgia only finished 3/14 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs are 15-12 overall and 5-9 in the SEC, good enough for 11th place in the conference. 

The Georgia men have just four games remaining on their schedule including a rematch with the Tigers to close out the regular season on March 9. The Bulldogs will tip it off again on Tuesday at LSU. 

Georgia women’s basketball knocks off Florida

Georgia women’s basketball had lost four straight heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Florida Gators. Javyn Nicholson, Georiga’s leading scorer for the year, finished with a game-high 26 points and the Bulldogs outrebounded the Gators 60-40 en route to a convincing 76-60 win. 

The win was just the third in SEC play for the Bulldogs this season and provided the team with a skosh of breathing room between them and the last-place Missouri Tigers at 2-11. The 13-15 (3-11) Dawgs will LSU on Thursday at Stegeman for their penultimate game of the regular season. 

More College Sports news

On Friday, a Tennessee judge ruled that the NCAA cannot enforce rules prohibiting athletes from negotiating and signing with donor-funded NIL collectives before enrolling in college. Essentially the ruling states that it is now legal for schools to use NIL in recruiting, which has been happening behind closed doors since the inception of the NIL era, and it's illegal for the NCAA to enforce any of its rules preventing such activities. 

This was a massive hit to the NCAA as a governing body and left the organization powerless to police its member schools. It was likely another step down the path of revenue-generating sports breaking away from their archaic ruler.