Biggest Winners: Minnesota Vikings
Some tough decisions had to be made out in Minneapolis at the top of free agency. They had about a zillion impending free agents on both sides of the ball and had to choose whether they were going to commit to Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy-who is coming off a meniscus tear that cost him his entire rookie season- at QB moving forward. The guys that found themselves not being included in the Vikes long-term plans were Darnold and safety Cameron Bynum, which isn't completely shocking as they were the two impending free agents that were poised to get the most lucrative deals.
As tough as it was to cut ties with two key veteran pieces from their excellent 2024 team, the money that opened up from letting Darnold and Bynum walk away allowed the Vikings to add and retain more assets. They were able to bring back key contributors like #1 corner Byron Murphy, starting running back Aaron Jones and longtime team leader Harrison Smith, significantly upgrade the interior offensive line that got pummeled at the end of the season by replacing Ed Ingram and Garrett Bradbury with Will Fries and Ryan Kelly and add a pair of veteran bruisers to their interior defensive line in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Kudos to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for knowing what areas of the roster needed to be improved after a brutal ending to 2024 and doing what needed to be done to make these moves happen.
Honorable Mentions: Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders
Biggest Losers: Tennessee Titans
It's not exactly surprising that the Titans decided to take it relatively easy in free agency this year after last year's spending spree only drove them further into league's basement with a 3-14 finish that earned them the top pick in next month's draft. However, their use of the resources they did allocate to free agency this season is downright puzzling.
About the only understandable move they made was not bringing in a high-profile veteran QB. Sam Darnold landing with the Seahawks to reunite with Klint Kubiak was a foregone conclusion once Geno Smith got traded to the Raiders, Justin Fields is a dart throw that they probably can't afford to make with Brian Callahan on the hot seat after a terrible rookie season and none of the older guys available on the market (Jameis Winston, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers) or via trade (Kirk Cousins) make much sense for a team that seems much more ready to commit to a rebuild now than they were a year ago. They ended up settling for Brandon Allen as their new veteran backup, which makes sense since he was with Callahan with the Bengals for 3 seasons. Outside of that, their moves have been hard to justify.
Overpaying for somebody like Dan Moore Jr (more on that in a minute) is a move that reeks of desperation to find a LT after Ronnie Stanley and Alaric Jackson re-upped with the Ravens and Rams before the legal tampering period began. Kevin Zeitler is one of the best guards in the league, but he just turned 35, is on a 1-year deal and probably won't feel compelled to stick around once the Titans inevitably stink again this year. Xavier Woods is a journeyman safety coming off back-to-back terrible seasons with the Panthers. Failing to retain Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in favor of signing Van Jefferson and James Proche has made an already lackluster WR corps even weaker. Cody Barton is a merely average inside linebacker who is only marginally better than last year's starter Kenneth Murray-who they traded to the Cowboys at the start of free agency. And last but not least, rolling the dice on Dre'Mont Jones and Lorenzo Carter-who were two of the most inefficient pass-rushers in the league last season-at edge after cutting ties with Harold Landry is arguably gridiron malpractice at a position that has given the Titans a lot of trouble for years now. We'll obviously have to wait and see how the draft shakes out before completely dogpiling on him, but it's hard to have any confidence that new GM Mike Borgonzi is going to turn this thing around based on what he's done so far in Nashville.
Dishonorable Mentions: Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers
Best Individual Signing: Charvarius Ward to the Colts (3 years/$54 mil/$34.8 mil guaranteed)
You'll be hard pressed to find a better combination of need and value than this. Ward was one of the most reliable outside corners in football from 2019-23 and ended up getting less money on account of his well-documented down year in 2024 that was derailed by injuries and the tragic death of his infant daughter last October than projected #2 corners D.J. Reed and Carlton Davis did from the Lions and Patriots respectively. Given that he's firmly in his prime at age 29, don't be surprised if Ward returns to form in Indy and this deal ends up going down as a much-needed home run for embattled GM Chris Ballard.
Honorable Mentions: Jevon Holland to the Giants (3 years/$45.3 mil/$30 mil guaranteed), Zack Baun Returning to the Eagles (3 years/$51 mil/$34 mil guaranteed), DeMarcus Lawrence to the Seahawks (3 years/$32.49 mil/$18 mil guaranteed),
Worst Indvidual Signing: Dan Moore Jr. to the Titans (4 years/$82 mil/$50 mil guaranteed)
Dan Moore Jr. was destined to be the odd man out in the Steelers tackle rotation. They'd drafted Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu in back-to-back years, and he arguably held onto his starting LT job by default in 2024 after Fautanu dislocated his kneecap in Week 2 and ended up on season-ending IR. Don't feel too bad for Moore because his exit from Pittsburgh led to the Titans making him one of the highest paid tackles in the league. Moore's big payday begs an obvious but necessary question: How the hell did this happen? If Moore was truly worthy of getting such a huge deal, the Steelers would've never let him go. Left tackle is arguably the hardest position to fill in all of football outside of quarterback and teams aren't exactly in the business of letting the good ones leave-especially when they're 26 going on 27. As the decision to draft 2 tackles to potentially succeed him speaks to, Moore is about as average of a left tackle as there is in the league. Making him one of the highest paid players at the position is an absurd move that came to pass solely due to the comically thin LT market and the desperate measures teams will undergo to find somebody that they believe can fill this high leverage role. Braxton Jones' agent has to be salivating over this deal and dreaming of the potential $100+ mil payday he could fetch if he elects to leave the Bears next offseason.
Dishonorable Mentions: Milton Williams to the Patriots (4 years/$104 mil/$63 mil guaranteed), Aaron Banks to the Packers (4 years/$77 mil/$27 mil guaranteed), Tershawn Wharton to the Panthers (3 years/$45 mil/$30 mil guaranteed)
Best Player Still Available: Asante Samuel Jr., cornerback (2024 team: Los Angeles Chargers)
An injury-shortened 2024 and a reputation for being overaggressive in pursuit of INT's and completely uninterested in tackling has left Samuel Jr. with no real suitors during the first 2 weeks of free agency. As a nearly 26-year-old corner who is just 2 years removed from his best pro season, Samuel Jr. has an upside that's rare for a player hanging around the open market at this stage of the game-which makes him an ideal buy-low candidate for teams that are seeking a playmaking spark in the secondary.
Honorable Mentions: Amari Cooper, wide receiver, Julian Blackmon, safety, J.K. Dobbins, running back
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