Early Free Agency Wins and Losses (For SOME Teams)

There has been a lot of offseason moves in the past few weeks. While I will not be covering all of them, I have devised a few teams that I believe have gotten better because of their free agency moves, as well as a few teams that maybe didn’t do as much as they could’ve/should’ve. With that being said, let’s have a look.

Giants: The Giants are in a semi-tailspin after last season. Questions are peering through every crack and crevice of this franchise. The Giants needed a QB after releasing Daniel Jones last year. Whether they went free agency, draft, or maybe both, is still up for debate. They made two quick moves within 72 hours. The first, was signing Jameis Winston. Then, two days later, Russell Wilson was brought on to the team. Like I said, the jury is still out on whether the Giants go QB at some point in this draft, (I think they do), but securing two veteran QBs for a good price is a win for this team. They aren’t the future; they’re the bridge to the future. They already got better at the QB position and have made some other nice depth moves, so the Giants marginally got better.

Panthers: I have higher hopes for the Panthers this year. Everyone from North or South Carolina, I know it’s been a while, and those words may even feel like a mirage. But just hear me out. Carolina brought back star CB Jaycee Horn, signing him to a 4-year deal. They then went out and got Tershawn Wharton, Christian Rozeboom, and Rico Dowdle. All these guys got varying deals, but most importantly, all of them played extremely well last year. Wharton finished his season with KC and had the most tackles and sacks of his career. Rozeboom easily had his best season last year. And Dowdle is coming off more of a prominent role with the Cowboys. All great signings. The Panthers most certainly got better.

Bills: Buffalo is another team which I’ll always be impressed by, but I am very impressed with their off-season moves. They filled some holes. They added Joey Bosa and Michael Hoecht. Both are impact players. Bosa has trouble staying healthy, and Hoecht is going to get a 6-game suspension at the start of the season, but both can turn it on and wreck games. (I hope Bosa gets back to form, I know he was a disappointment in Los Angeles.) They also gave Josh Palmer a contract for 3 years, which is huge because I believed he was one of the better WRs in FA. Buffalo resigned Josh Allen, (duh), Greg Rousseau, and Khalil Shakir. They added to their WRs and got some more edge rushers, which was big after not re-signing Von Miller.

Cowboys: Let’s move onto teams that didn’t make great moves this off-season. Look no further than Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. They failed last off-season, and before the trade deadline last season. It appears they have learned nothing. Sorry to Cowboys fans, I’m not trying to bash your franchise, but Jerry Jones is killing your team. The Cowboys signed Kaiir Elam, Miles Sanders, and Paris Campbell. Now, these aren’t bad players, but with the issues this team has, I was hoping for a little more. Elam, who I loved coming out of college, has really struggled in his career. Sanders has been essentially a non-factor since the Eagles. And Paris Campbell will bolster the depth but isn’t a make-or-break-signing. They acquired Dante Fowler and Kenneth Murray, so those are two good adds, but not nearly enough for what this team needs. The Cowboys may not have gotten worse, but they did not get better.

Packers: After a massively disappointing finish to their season, the Packers are probably looking to have a much better season than last year. Adding good players is key to that. The Packers didn’t make many moves thus far, but they haven’t been great. They first signed Aaron Banks from the Niners, who is now the 6th highest paid guard in the league. According to PFF, Banks finished the season with a 60.5 rating. San Francisco had a rough OL last year too…Then, they signed Nate Hobbs. Hobbs is not a bad player, but it’s more of a question of what will happen to Jaire Alexander now, as trade rumors have been circulating. The Packers need to do a lot of inward thinking to right the wrongs of last year, but this year’s offseason put them a little bit further behind the 8-ball.