The whirlwind of a start to the NFL’s 2021 offseason has begun to slow down after nearly a week of pure madness. Plenty of top talent is still available on the open market, but fans have begun to witness their favorite team’s plans in action now to build their roster up for next season and beyond. With said plans underway, each franchise’s recent transactions have painted a picture of the position groups they plan to improve in the trade market or free agency, as well as what they will wait to address until the NFL Draft is underway. Different teams are in different periods of their acquisition phase, yet it’s hard to ignore that certain front offices are looking better than others since the 2020 season has ended. Winners and losers of each offseason are eventually determined as the acquisitions they make play out.
Still, the future feels too far away, and us NFL fans and analysts are a lot more interested in stacking up each franchise’s roster situation up against one another after just a few days into the craziness. After having our desperate need for activity in the league filled, now it’s time to digest some of the information thrown at us and see which teams look better or seem worse on paper. Given that it’s so early into the process, certain decision-makers should be granted some relaxed expectations despite their solid start, while certain guys should be given the benefit of the doubt, being what season-to-season volatility brings into the picture. One team, however, has risen above the rest for the dubious title of the most questionable offseason already. And with all that said, let’s get right to the Bears, shall we?
LOSER – Chicago Bears
- Acquisitions: QB Andy Dalton, DL Angelo Blackson, CB Desmond Trufant
- Departures: QB Mitchell Trubisky, DL Akiem Hicks, DL Roy Robertson-Harris, CB Kyle Fuller, CB Buster Skrine
- Notable Pending Free Agents: WR Cordarrelle Patterson, OLB Barkevius Mingo, S Tashuan Gipson
Ever since the Bears seemingly picked up steam as a potential trade candidate for Russell Wilson, general manager Ryan Pace has had this franchise and its fan base in a downward spiral. The two starting defenders that were reportedly offered to Seattle in the package that was declined are now released for nothing. Kyle Fuller and Akiem Hicks will save the team a a fair amount of cap space, enough to allow them into the Kenny Golladay-sweepstakes. However, losing two standouts on defense in exchange for Golladay, Andy Dalton, and Desmond Trufant can’t be considered an even exchange of talent. Dalton is likely to be an upgrade over Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles, but how much of one? The former Bengal and Cowboy is likely going to have to lead a worse roster than the 2020 version, even if the offensive attack receives a couple upgrades.
WINNER – Washington Football Team
- Acquisitions: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, WR Curtis Samuel, CB William Jackson III, LB David Mayo
- Departures: CB Ronald Darby, LB Kevin Pierre-Louis, LB Thomas Davis
- Notable Pending Free Agents: QB Alex Smith, DE Ryan Kerrigan, OLB Ryan Anderson, CB Fabian Moreau
Martin Mayhew is off to a fantastic start in his first offseason with Washington. The first-time GM inherited a mediocre offensive roster, a solid defense, and a coach that helped develop the squad into a playoff unit that held its own against the Bucs despite starting their fourth quarterback of the season. Taylor Heinicke may or may not have flashed enough during the playoffs to be considered as a legitimate starting option, and Mayhew responded by signing one of the best bridge quarterbacks in the NFL to a deal. Instead of waiting out the Sam Darnold sweepstakes, Washington has a day-one starter who could either provide an Alex Smith-like boost to the offense or lead the huddle until the Football Team is confident in their other quarterback.
Mayhew and co. have improved their passing game on both offense and defense by picking up prized free agents Curtis Samuel and William Jackson. Both were among the top players at their respective positions and signed for under $15M per year, allowing for the franchise to carry more wiggle room into the offseason and potentially continue to improve their roster. The pass rush could use some help across from Chase Young, now that Ryan Kerrigan and Ryan Anderson’s tenures in D.C. are likely over, but have seemingly upgraded at each position that they’ve chosen to address.
LOSER – Las Vegas Raiders
- Acquisitions: RB Kenyan Drake, WR John Brown, C Nick Martin, DE Yannick Ngakoue, DL Solomon Thomas, DT Quinton Jefferson
- Departures: QB Marcus Mariota, WR Nelson Agholor, C Rodney Hudson, G Gabe Jackson, OT Trent Brown, DB Lamarcus Joyner
- Notable Pending Free Agents: OT Sam Young, CB Nevin Lawson
Mike Mayock almost cut Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson before a pair of NFC West teams through draft picks at them to trade them instead. While the return for the two interior offensive linemen was fine, a two pick swaps in the third-and-seventh rounds and a fifth-rounder straight-up, that is now three talented offensive lineman that won’t be protecting Derek Carr in 2021. Trent Brown was traded for scraps to the Patriots, given that the offensive lineman made the Pro Bowl with the team just a season before.
I was hesitant to put the Raiders here, as the Yannick Ngakoue deal was the envy of the NFL on the opening day of free agency and they did clear up a lot of cap space by moving Jackson and Richie Incognito, the latter of which was re-signed at a cheaper rate. However, the decision to blow up one of the top offensive lines in the league, who happens to block for one of the worst-responding quarterbacks in the NFL when faced with pressure, and take an additional $2-million additional cap hit in order to move Hudson ($15-million total up from what would’ve been $13-million if he was on the roster), the Raiders cannot be regarded highly overall for their offseason moves. The random 2-year, $14-million dollar contract to Kenyan Drake in the middle of the madness did nothing to settle the surprised reactions around the league.
WINNER – Arizona Cardinals
- Acquisitions: WR A.J. Green, C Rodney Hudson, DE J.J. Watt, K Matt Prater
- Departures: RB Kenyan Drake, DL Angelo Blackson, OLB Haason Reddick, CB Patrick Peterson
- Notable Pending Free Agents: WR Larry Fitzgerald, TE Dan Arnold, DT Corey Peters, LB De’Vondre Campbell, CB Dre Kirkpatrick, S Chris Banjo
The Cardinals haven’t made as many moves as the teams above, but have largely nailed their offseason process. Landing two veteran standouts in J.J. Watt and Rodney Hudson is even more impressive figuring that the team didn’t have much cap space to spend this year and didn’t lose a single draft pick in the Hudson trade, as the two pick-swaps that the Raiders received were both from Arizona. The defense will be losing some talent to make this happen, including homegrown talents in Patrick Peterson and Haason Reddick, but the overall leadership and contribution that these guys are bringing to this young team is beyond worth it. Kyler Murray will have not only a better offensive front, but also a big receiver that can come down with some 50/50-balls down the field when healthy. A.J. Green isn’t in no longer in his prime, but the former Bengal provides much-needed size to the Cardinals’ already-talented group of wideouts. It’s sad to think Larry Fitzgerald might not be back with the team in 2021, but Larry Legend has left his longtime franchise in good hands.
LOSER – Denver Broncos
Acquisitions: RB Mike Boone, CB Ronald Darby
Departures: RB Phillip Lindsay
Notable Pending Free Agents: G Elijah Wilkinson, OT Demar Dotson, DT Jurrell Casey, OLB Jeremiah Attaochu, CB A.J. Bouye, DB Kareem Jackson
Some teams with an abundance of cap space have been patient with their money despite the craziness that the past week has brought forth. The Broncos, meanwhile, have been downright absent. The signings of Ronald Darby and Mike Boone are the only two transactions that the team has made so far under new GM George Patton. Darby is a fine player, but missed 20 games between 2017 and 2019 before finally playing a full season in 2020. Meanwhile, Boone is known more for his preseason contributions than anything due to his limited play through his first three years and could potentially make a name for himself now that Phillip Lindsay and the Broncos have decided to part ways. With $35-million remaining in cap space, Denver is in no rush to compete with other franchises for in-demand talent or find a way to help Drew Lock, who struggled in an impressive fashion without Courtland Sutton to help him in year two.
WINNER – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Retained: WR Chris Godwin, TE Rob Gronkowski, DE Shaquil Barrett, DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches, LB Lavonte David
Departures: C A.Q. Shipley, S Andrew Adams
Notable Pending Free Agents: RB Leonard Fournette, WR Antonio Brown, DT Ndamukong Suh,
The Buccaneers aren’t here for who they acquired, but rather the players that they retained despite a trick cap situation. Between Lavonte David, Shaq Barrett, and Chris Godwin all becoming free agents this offseason, it seemed extremely unlikely that the reigning Super Bowl champs could retain all of three of them. And then, they did. Godwin was tagged, while David made out okay in an extremely dry market for free agent linebackers. One day before free agency, Barrett was snagged from the market as well and signed to a four-year deal.
That would be impressive alone, but then Jason Licht and Tom Brady found a way to agree to a contract extension that while increasing his pay, still made extra room in the cap for his franchise to spend and re-sign another contributor during the Bucs’ Super Bowl run and Brady’s former teammate, Rob Gronkowski. Even one of their departures from the roster, A.Q. Shipley, remains with the team as a coach after retiring. Bravo.
Honorary Mentions:
WINNERS:
- Cleveland Browns
- New England Patriots
- Pittsburgh Steelers
The Browns have put together a nice group of defensive additions throughout the free agent frenzy, signing John Johnson and Troy Hill from the Rams to quickly put together a fearsome secondary alongside Denzel Ward. Anthony Walker Jr. has been a solid starter for a talented Indianapolis defense over the past three years, yet somehow the Browns managed to sign the former Colt to what translates to be a 1-year, “prove it” deal at a position of need for Cleveland.
Bill Belichick’s aggressive spending spree this offseason differs from his usually-casual approach to free agency. Not all of those contracts look great on paper. In fact, three signings the Patriots made made my list of early head-scratching moves. However, he’s signing these players in a smaller market than we’ve seen over the past few seasons, and more importantly, one significantly smaller than we’ll likely ever see again. This roster has been rebuilt in short-time with very few long-term repercussions. The acquisitions of Trent Brown and Ted Karras mitigate the losses of Joe Thuney and Marcus Cannon along the offensive line, and free agent center David Andrews was contained.
Like the Buccaneers, the Steelers deserve praise for retaining their free agent talent to the best of their ability. Despite the limited cap space that the team has found itself with, they re-signed JuJu Smith-Schuster, as well as rising cornerback Cam Sutton. The hits taken at offensive line are costly, as Matt Feiler and Alejandro Villanueva are gone as well as the recently-retired Maurkice Pouncey, but that’s the only hard-to-replace position that they’ve taken a step back at throughout the roster.
LOSERS:
- Atlanta Falcons
- New York Jets
In an offseason where the Buccaneers and Saints have done some impressive cap gymnastics to retain their playoff-caliber squads for at least another year, the Falcons are doing the same maneuvering in order to secure any sort of money to work with. Despite restructuring the contracts of Matt Ryan, Dante Fowler, Jake Matthews, and even Tyeler Davison, the team remains in a position where they have to wait out the most active portion of free agency. With one of the worst rosters in the NFL last year, the Falcons’ previous general manager, Thomas Dimitroff, left them in a situation that promises to make this roster even worse in 2021 before Terry Fontenot was given a chance.
The Jets, like the Broncos, have plenty of spending money remaining and many holes to be filled throughout their roster. In a year where other teams have struggled to open up cap room, these two cash-rich teams remain talent-poor. Spending the money unwisely, however, would have been worse and would have likely seen New York take Denver’s spot in the “losers” section. The Jets made a couple quality signings, namely Carl Lawson and Corey Davis, but have seemingly lost out on more, including some much-needed offensive line help. Even Davis’ signing looks less exciting as well with the now-dry receiver market forcing similarly talented players like JuJu Smith-Schuster to sign for cheaper than Davis did. Overall, the Jets have been a mixed bag during what should be a make-or-break offseason for the franchise. Then again, Joe Douglas is just a quality-offensive lineman and defensive back away from having an entirely different light shining on him for his offseason work.
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