Winner/Loser Free-Agency
Winners
Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons have a young, talented roster with a new head coach, Raheem Morris. Atlanta had an underwhelming year, finishing at 7-10. The Falcons have had a quarterback problem since Matt Ryan was traded in 2022. They finally pushed to pursue a quarterback and signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal, which was the biggest contract in free agency. Kirk Cousins is coming off an Achilles injury, which could backfire on the Falcons. The Falcons already have a great young roster with players like Bjan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts.
Chicago Bears: The Bears have gone all in on Caleb Williams by adding as much talent as possible for their new rookie quarterback. The first went and traded their former quarterback, Justin Fields, to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 6th-round pick. To start the free agency, they signed DeAndre Swift for three years for $24 million. Tight end Gerald Everett for two years for $12 million. They did make a splash in the trade market by trading for former La Chargers wide receiver Keenen Allen. The chargers had tons of cap space issues, and Allen wasn't wanting to take a pay cut. The Bears traded a 2024 4th-round pick. Paring him with star receiver DJ Moore, the Bears have completely changed their offensive weapons in two months.
Houston Texans: The Texans have had one phenomenal off-season. Within two seasons, they've managed to go from one of the worst rosters in the league to one of the best. The Texans managed to make two huge trades by getting running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Stephon Diggs. Two Pro Bowl-talented players were given to rookie of the year, CJ Stroud. Their biggest signing from the free agency side was getting defensive end Danielle Hunter for two years for $49 million. With Houston still having great draft capital from the previous Deshaun Watson trade and trade with the Vikings, they still get great talent. Be on the lookout for Houston to become one of the better young teams in the NFL.
Carolina Panthers
With the Carolina Panthers having a disaster of a season, they managed to have the worst record in the whole league and not have their own draft pick. Their free agency was huge, as they signed 13 new players, the biggest being their new interior guards, Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis. Robert Hunt got a massive 5-year, $100 million-dollar contract. Damien Lewis signed a four-year, 53 million-dollar deal, solidifying both positions. Carolina desperately needed to protect their second-year quarterback, Bryce Young. They did make two trades by getting rid of star defensive end Brian Burns to the New York Giants for a 2024 2nd-round and 5th-round pick. On the defensive side, they got some replacements for Brian Burns, like D.J. Wonnum and Jadavion Clowney. Both guys, coming off their best season last year, will look to help defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who just signed a new extension. They did get Bryce some help at receiver by trading for Diontae Johnson and a 2024 7th from the Pittsburgh Steelers for Donte Jackson and a 6th-round pick. Diontae isn't a huge name when it comes to wide receivers, but with the current state of the Panthers wide receiver room, anything is an upgrade.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh has gone all-in on finding another quarterback. With their defenses always being in the top 3 in the NFL, their offense has always been underwhelming. The Steelers went out and signed former Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson to a one-year deal. Russell Wilson has been very inconsistent the last few years, and one more troubling season for him could be the end. After this insurance policy, they also went out and traded for former Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields for a 2025 6th-round pick. Fields has shown great flashes, and he could easily compete against Wilson. The Steelers also went and got rid of Dionte Johnson and traded him for former Carolina Panther Donte Jackson. The biggest signing on the defensive side of the ball was linebacker Patrick Queen, who was one of the top linebackers in this free agency. Coming from the Baltimore Ravens, he stays in the division, creating some exciting storylines for the next NFL season.
Losers
Dallas Cowboys: The Dallas Cowboys have done near to nothing this off-season. The biggest signing of the off-season was Erik Kendricks, a linebacker from the LA Chargers. They only made four total resignals, making little to no upgrades at any position. It's sad to hear that new Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry wanted to come play for this team but was never offered a contract. a huge blow to a team that just lost Tony Pollard to the Tennessee Titans. Jerry Jones is known to not go big in free agency and commit heavily to the draft, but being able to try and get proven talent instead of risking these draft prospects could hurt or benefit them in the long run.
Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins had a lot of losses in free agency. In the first week of free agency, they managed to lose players like Christian Wilkins, Xavien Howard, Robert Hunt, and Andrew Van Ginkle. They still have great talent and managed to sign some good players like Kendall Fuller and Jordan Poyer. They are older stars, but can they make an impact?
Washington Commanders: The Commanders coming into the off-season had the highest salary cap, with almost 80 million dollars. They also make the most signings, with over 20 total. They used all of that money to get aging stars who might be on the way out. The biggest impact on the team is running back Austin Ekeler, who signed a two-year, 11 million-dollar deal. Linebackers Bobby Wagner, who signed a one-year contract for $8.5 million, and Frankie Luvu, who signed a three-year contract for $36 million, With them having the second pick in the draft, they needed all they could get. They did trade away their former starting quarterback, Sam Howell, to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2024 fourth- and sixth-round pick. They are looking to get a franchise quarterback in the draft. It's good for teams to have veteran players, but too many could make it difficult for this team to compete.
