2019 NFL Free Agency Recap: Winners and Losers

The 2019 NFL league year started a week ago today, which means that the bulk of the big names on the open market have been snatched up and the time to throw out takes on these dozens of transactions is officially upon us. Below you'll find the teams and individuals that I believe won and lost this always fun period of the offseason as well as my pick for the best player still out there. Make sure you bookmark this page so you can pull it up 10 months from now and laugh manically at the plethora of bad takes that were pedaled.

Biggest Winners: Browns 
Coming off their best season in nearly 15 years, the Browns could've easily stayed pat and seen how their young talent developed under a largely overhauled coaching staff headed by the newly-promoted Freddie Kitchens. The always aggressive John Dorsey spat in the face of complacency by making a series of big splashes in pretty much no time at all. Dorsey brought in a star receiver (Odell Beckham Jr.), quietly great edge rusher (Oliver Vernon), versatile defensive lineman (Sheldon Richardson) and backup tight end who has flashed legit playmaking ability when called upon (Demeterius Harris) all in a matter of 72 hours. Of course there's the very real possibility that this franchise that has arguably suffered more than any other organization in the NFL since returning to the league in 1999 ends up tragically squandering all this talent, but for now this flurry of transactions only adds to the rapidly growing sense of optimism surrounding the Browns future prospects right now.
Honorable Mentions: Colts, Broncos, Titans

Biggest Losers: Giants
This actually doesn't have a lot to do with the Odell Beckham Jr trade. While I disagree with the decision to deal the 2x All-Pro 7 months after making him the highest paid wideout in the league, they netted multiple draft picks and a raw yet intriguing young talent in safety Jabril Peppers from the Browns-which is a respectable return for such a high-profile talent. My issue with the Giants offseason moves is that Dave Gettleman doesn't seems like he knows what the hell he wants this team to be. The subtraction of several cornerstone players (OBJ, Oliver Vernon, Landon Collins) that made it look like a rebuild attempt was imminent were quickly canceled out by the baffling addition of quality veteran starters including guard Kevin Zeitler, safety Antonie Bethea and wide receiver Golden Tate. This unnecessarily reckless game of gridiron limbo could get even messier if Gettleman's seemingly unwavering commitment to having the glorified mannequin formerly known as Eli Manning line up under center in 2019 proves to be something other than just a pre-draft smoke screen to put their longtime starting QB's mind at ease. By having a team that's too flawed to compete for a playoff spot yet too talented to be in contention for a very high draft pick, you're setting up your current coaching staff (as well as any quarterback you potentially bring in the draft) to fail, which in turn could result in heightening the toxic environment that has consumed East Rutherford since the infamous Boat Trip ahead of their last playoff game in 2016.
Dishonorable Mentions: Raiders, Packers, Ravens

Best Individual Acquisition: Browns acquire wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from the Giants for a 1st and 3rd round pick in the 2019 draft and safety Jabril Peppers 
Declaring a trade the best acquisition of free agency may be a little unfair, but when a move has potential ramifications this massive, I have to go against my standard operating procedure for these pieces. Adding a dynamic playmaking receiver that's on the cusp of entering his prime (he'll be 27 in November) to a young, upstart offense could prove to be the X-factor that elevates the Browns from a promising team on the rise to legit contenders in the AFC.  
Honorable Mentions: Panthers sign center Matt Paradis, Packers sign safety Adrian Amos, Broncos sign cornerback Bryce Callahan

Worst Individual Acquisition: Raiders sign tackle Trent Brown to a 4 year/ $66 mil deal ($36.2 mil guaranteed)
How do you help fix an offense with a jittery quarterback that sees ghosts every time someone from the opposing team breathes on him? Well, part of the brilliant Gruden braintrust's attempted solution to this problem was grossly overpaying a notoriously erratic player to come in and play left tackle. Forking over a ton of cash for a guy that only managed to be above average under the tutelage of virtuoso offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia in New England and has an extensive history of conditioning/weight/work ethic issues to play the most important position on the offensive line is the type of lapse in judgement that can make a bad team even worse while also planting the seeds for a lovely descent into cap hell.
Dishonorable Mentions: Packers sign outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith, Jaguars sign quarterback Nick Foles, Bears sign cornerback Buster Skrine

Best Player Still on the Market: Stephen Gostkowski, kicker
Gostkowski's availability at this juncture is an alarming reminder of how little value teams place on special teams. The 35-year old has consistently been among the best kickers in the league over the past decade and his reliability at a position (87.4 FG% for his career) where that precious intangible is becoming harder and harder to find would provide some much needed relief for any of the dozen or so kicking-challenged teams around the league.  
Honorable Mentions: Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle, Justin Houston, outside linebacker, Ezekiel Ansah, defensive end

2017 NFL Free Agency Recap

With 95% of the notable available players now under contract, the chaos of the 2017 NFL free agency period is all but officially over. Here's a brief look at who won and lost this year's round of football musical chairs.

Biggest Winners: New England Patriots
The defending Super Bowl champs abandoned their usually conservative approach to free agency by unexpectedly signing the best available corner (Stephon Gilmore) and trading for one of the league's best young receivers (Brandin Cooks) within the first 48 hours of the new league year. In addition to the those headline-grabbing moves, the Patriots were also able to bring back defensive leader Don'ta Hightower, bolster their defensive line depth with the addition of run-stuffing specialist Lawrence Guy and re-confirm their unwavering love of running backs with "sneaky quickness" by signing future fan favorite Rex Burkhead. Even with the seemingly inevitable departure of top corner Malcolm Butler on the horizon, the Patriots absurd haul still make them the clear winners of free agency.
Honorable Mentions: Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens

Biggest Losers: San Francisco 49ers
John Lynch's approach to free agency was every bit as misguided and insane as I figured it would be. The former player/broadcaster/next victim of Jed York's annual firing parade used his 70+ mil in cap space to lay down the groundwork for the 49ers latest failed rebuild by bringing in 2 of the 3 signal-callers (Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley) responsible for the Bears 3-win season in 2016, a former Super Bowl MVP that gets worse with each year he's in the league (Malcolm Smith) and a 31-year old receiver that needs complementary pieces around him to thrive (Pierre Garcon). At least Lynch made grit enthusiasts happy by making 2016 All-Pro Kyle Jusczyk the highest paid fullback in NFL history.  
Dishonorable Mentions: Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins

Best Individual Signing: T.J. Lang to the Detroit Lions (3 years/$29.5 mil/$19 mil guaranteed)
In a thin offensive line market that resulted in middling-to-bad players (Matt Kalil, Russell Okung, Riley Reiff) getting paid far more than they're worth, T.J. Lang proved to be a tremendous value signing. The highly underrated ex-Packers guard should provide a huge boost to a Lions squad that has had its fair share of interior line struggles over the past few years. 

Honorable Mentions: Chris Baker to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Alshon Jeffrey to the Philadelphia Eagles, Martellus Bennett to the Green Bay Packers

Worst Individual Signing: Matt Kalil to the Carolina Panthers (5 years/$55.5 mil/$24 mil guaranteed)
Offensive lineman have a tendency to get big bucks on the open market and there is perhaps no better example of this befuddling phenomenon than Matt Kalil's deal with the Panthers. The left tackle-who only appeared in 2 games in 2016 before suffering a season-ending hip injury-who was most responsible for getting Teddy Bridgewater murdered for the first 2 seasons of his professional career securing a long-term deal from a team that is usually stingy as hell in free agency is proof of just how far NFL front offices will go to try and quickly patch up holes at key positions. Unless the joy of playing alongside his brother Ryan can magically fix his pass-protection woes, this signing is likely going to result with Cam Newton being taken off the field in a body bag by the halfway mark of the season.
Dishonorable Mentions: Russell Okung to the Los Angeles Chargers, Robert Woods to the Los Angeles Rams, Mike Remmers to the Minnesota Vikings

Best Player Still on the Market: Adrian Peterson (running back)
The lack of suitors for Adrian Peterson over the first 7 days of free agency speaks volumes about how little running backs are valued in the modern NFL. While the concerns about his age and durability are 100% valid, I still believe that AP has the potential to be a potent addition to a contender's backfield rotation. 
Honorable Mentions: Dontari Poe (defensive tackle), Jonathan Hankins (defensive tackle), T.J. McDonald (safety)