After the first day of free agency, it's safe to say everybody needed to step back and take a breath. Huge contracts being divvied out, unexpected trades, long-time franchise stars finding new homes...a journalist's dream-- with mixed emotions across fan bases.
Now that we've got two days in the books, it's time to start talking about which teams and players are going to benefit the most (or the least) from all the scuttlebutt. Be sure to let us know what you think!
Winners
Daniel Jones: It's pretty clear that Jones isn't exactly a franchise quarterback at this point, but there were few better situations for him to find himself in than Indianapolis. His only current competition to start is the oft-injured Anthony Richardson, who can't even complete 50% of his passes when healthy. If Jones can click with Shane Steichen, it could be a really nice bridge for the Colts. And if not, he still managed to pull a $14 million dollar deal. Not bad for a New York castoff.
Sam Darnold: Speaking of which...even after finishing 2024 with as bad of a final two weeks as any QB could have, Darnold ended up earning himself some big money from Seattle. He's almost assured to be the starter up in the Pacific Northwest, at least for the foreseeable future, on a team that's loaded with draft capital and young talent. Jaxon Smith-Njigba isn't exactly Justin Jefferson, but the two should be able to quickly get on the same page as one another. Not sure he's substantially better than Geno, but he's younger and has more upside.
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| Photo: ESPN |
Brock Bowers: Speaking of Geno...Brock Bowers put up historic numbers for a rookie tight end last year with Aidan O'Connell, Gardner Minshew and Desmond Ridder throwing him the ball. While Smith isn't going to lead them to the Super Bowl, he'll surely be a more effective passer than those three. Big sophomore campaign incoming for Bowers, as the only reliable target currently in Las Vegas.
The Patriots' Defense: New England's D was not a good unit in 2024, allowing 24.5 points per game and a ton of yardage-- particularly on the ground. Their commitment to fix that has been evident early on, throwing a ton of cash at DT Milton Williams and linebacker Robert Spillane. But they upgraded their the pass D as well, bringing in Harold Landry to rush the quarterback and Carlton Davis to suit up opposite of Christian Gonzalez. Obviously not all free agent splurges work out, but they did a nice job of addressing some needs on the defensive side of the ball.
Tampa Bay: Would you rather have Chris Godwin for $66 million dollars or guys like Josh Palmer or Darius Slayton for $36? If you have to think about the answer, you don't know ball, regardless of if Godwin's coming off a major injury. Bucs have had an efficient, cost-effective free agency thus far.
Justin Fields: Not many quarterbacks would be thrilled about going to the perpetual dumpster fire that is the Jets, but this is a phenomenal opportunity for Fields to reassert himself as a legitimate quarterback in this league. If he can show any type of growth with this change of scenery, he could end up turning his career around yet.
Caleb Williams: Last offseason, Chicago went crazy loading up the roster with pass catchers for their #1 pick. It was borderline disastrous behind the sieve that was their offensive line. Ryan Poles took it upon himself to not make that same mistake again, trading for guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney while signing center Drew Dalman away from Atlanta. If Williams can't get it done behind this line, then we can begin to really sound the bust alarms.
Josh Allen: If you get a $330 million deal with $250 guaranteed, you're a winner. That's just how it works. Insane deal for a guy who hasn't made it to a Super Bowl yet; but as a Lamar Stan... I've got no room to talk.
Losers
The Bengals Defense: Tagging Tee Higgins for $26 million was already a questionable move for a cash-strapped Cincy team, but to then dish out another $25 mill at tight end Mike Gesicki was mind-boggling. Throw in the fact that they're actively shopping their best pass rusher in Trey Hendrickson and their path to an improved defense seems impossible this offseason.
Aaron Rodgers: Seems like A-Rod is going to end up in Pittsburgh, but almost by default at this point. For a man with an ego as big Rodgers', the lack of market has to sting. Mike Tomlin isn't going to be one to deal with his bullshit either, making this quite a sad limp out of an otherwise incredible career for the three-time MVP.
CJ Stroud: The Texans offensive line was historically bad last season, so naturally they helped their young, slumping QB by trading starters Laremy Tunsil and Kenyon Green away. Obviously those two weren't doing their part to protect Stroud, but Houston's only managed to ink Laken Tomlinson to try and repair the issue. If they don't draft, and hit, on a couple of O-line prospects, it could really set CJ's development back another year.
Cooper Kupp: The star receiver's been informed that he'll be released at the beginning of the league year if the Rams can't find a trade partner for him. Given the free agency timeline, that'll surely impact the contract Kupp could pull on the open market. It's an understandable strategy by LA, but not the way you want to treat one of the franchise's all-time great on the way out the door. Tough business out there.
The 49ers: San Francisco needed to free up money to fix their cap and pay Brock Purdy, but few thought the exodus would be so extensive. Gone are: Deebo Samuel, Javon Hargrave, Dre Greenlaw, Charvarius Ward, Talanoa Hufanga, Leonard Floyd, Kyle Juszczyk, plus many others. To make matters worse, Joey Bosa seemed to back out of a handshake deal with the team late last night, opting to sign with Buffalo. It'll be quite a feat by GM John Lynch if he can manage to rebuild this roster into anything close to a contender over the next few months. Don't hold your breath.
The Falcons: Atlanta's been the worst pass rushing unit over the last decade or so, and it just got worse with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett signing with Chicago. Even with Leonard Floyd entering the mix, expect opposing quarterbacks to average 4+ seconds in the pocket on virtually every drop back versus the Falcons next year.
The Saints: For a team that's perpetually in cap hell, with a million other holes to fill, you'd think a $51 million dollar deal for defensive end Chase Young wouldn't exactly be a prudent move. But the Saints are going to do what they do best, and in this case that means overpaying for a guy whose averaged just 4.4 sacks a year since going #2 overall in 2020. New Orleans is going to be hard to watch this year.
Joe Schoen: As many have seen on Hard Knocks, Joe Schoen just couldn't stomach giving Saquon Barkley the type of money Philadelphia gave him-- not for a running back! So instead, he essentially gave that equivalent contract to WR3 Darius Slayton this offseason... Just another sad, yet humorous, chapter in his nightmare tenure as general manager.
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@Choppinglines
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