Asante Samuel, Isaac Bruce, Kris Jenkins and Jonathan Vilma were just a few of the big-name players to change teams on a busy first day of the NFL's free-agent period.

The Philadelphia Eagles made the biggest splash Friday by signing Samuel, the former Patriots cornerback who tied for the league lead in interceptions with 10 last season.

Samuel will be paid a reported $57 million over six years with $20 million of it guaranteed, comparable to the $80 million that cornerback Nate Clements got for eight years from San Francisco last year.

"We regarded Asante as the No. 1 available free agent in the NFL," Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said.

Samuel was protected last season as the Patriots' franchise player, but was allowed to go this year. He was one of the defensive keys last season to New England's run to 18-0 before its Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.

The Giants lost two key defensive players from their championship team: linebacker Kawika Mitchell and safety Gibril Wilson.

Mitchell signed with Buffalo after having a career season in his only year with the Giants. He finished with 3Z\x sacks and an interception returned for a touchdown and had two more sacks in the playoffs, including one in the Super Bowl. Oakland signed the playmaking Wilson to a $39 million, six-year deal.

Bruce agreed to a two-year deal with San Francisco, a day after St. Louis released one of the most prolific receivers in NFL history.

An NFL source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the contract hadn't been signed yet, said Bruce chose to stay in the NFC West with the 49ers after 14 seasons with the Rams. The deal is worth $6 million.

Bruce will be reunited with 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who ran the Rams' offense during the team's two most recent trips to the Super Bowl.

The New York Jets were particularly busy, acquiring Jenkins from Carolina and dealing Vilma to New Orleans. They also re-signed defensive tackle Sione Pouha to a three-year deal and fullback Stacy Tutt to an exclusive-rights contract.

New York also appeared to be one of the front-runners to sign Steelers Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca.

Vilma, who missed the final nine games of last season with a knee injury, had 118 tackles as a rookie after being the No. 12 overall draft pick in 2004. The linebacker led the NFL the following season with 187 tackles and made the Pro Bowl. That changed in 2006, when the Jets switched defenses and Vilma had just 116 tackles.

He played in seven games last season before injuring his knee and had 39 tackles.

In another major trade, Detroit traded Shaun Rogers to Cleveland instead of dealing the defensive tackle to Cincinnati, a person familiar with the moves told The Associated Press.

The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Lions and Browns weren't commenting on the trade, said Detroit acquired cornerback Leigh Bodden and a third-round pick from Cleveland after the deal with Cincinnati fell through.

Meanwhile, two quarterbacks stayed put: Cleveland's Derek Anderson and Washington's Todd Collins.

Anderson, who came off the bench after the first game to lead Cleveland to a 10-6 record, signed a multiyear contract hours after he became a restricted free agent.

Also, former Steelers kick returner Allen Rossum signed with San Francisco, his fifth NFL team.