It was a wild first day of free agency and there were certainly teams that upgraded and others not so much. Let’s take a look at the winners and losers of the first day of 2016 NFL free agency.
Winners and Losers of 2016 NFL Free Agency Day 1.
Miami Dolphins: Loser
The Miami Dolphins were busy on the first day. They cut Brent Grimes,, saving $6.5 million in cap space, but after that move, there are a lot of question marks. They signed defensive end Mario Williams to a two-year $16 million contract, which isn’t an awful move, but it definitely isn’t a good one. Mario should not have been the first guy they looked at to strengthen their defensive line because of his age and inconsistent play. The Dolphins last move was even more perplexing. They traded with the Eagles, who want to eliminate pretty much anything and anybody that is Chip Kelly related, and received overpaid cornerback Byron Maxwell, often injured linebacker Kiko Alonso and moved back five spots in the first round of the draft. So now they are sitting with the 13th pick in the first round, obtained three question marks on defense, and lost their young studs entering their prime in Olivier Vernon and Lamar Miller. To set the record straight, Vernon is a penalty machine and got paid entirely too much. If that’s what he was demanding from the Dolphins, then kudos to them for letting him walk. But I get the feeling they could’ve signed him to less than what he got with the New York Giants.
Cincinnati Bengals: Winner
The Cincinnati Bengals did exactly what I thought they should do. They let cornerback Leon Hall and free safety Reggie Nelson walk. They also re-signed cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones and young safety George Iloka. Jones signed a three-year deal worth $20 million, and Iloka agreed to a five-year, $30 million contract. Iloka is young and entering his prime, and Jones is a veteran that can take some of the pressure off the Bengals young corners who will be getting their feet wet next year. Losing their second and third wide receivers in Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones hurts, but they were asking too much, and not of priority. It was a good day for the Bengals.
New York Jets: Loser
The New York Jets are in some trouble. They franchise tagged defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson last week to keep him off the market. But by doing that, they lost elite run stopper in Damon Harrison to the New York Giants, he’s getting paid $9 million a year, and it’s looking like quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to walk. The Jets can’t pay him what he wants and deserves based on the market because they tagged Wilkerson. The last move they made was signing running back Matt Forte from the Chicago Bears. That’s not a bad move. It’s like they’re getting Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell combined in one running back, and probably for less money than Ivory. But the Jets are losers after the first day.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Winner
The contracts that the Jacksonville Jaguars gave out weren’t the greatest, but they had plenty of money to spend, and still do, so it pretty much evens out. There’s a lot of love/hate with the deals they made, but it balances out to a positive for the Jaguars. They signed defensive end Malik Jackson to a $90 million contract, and added safety Tashaun Gipson to the defense as well. Both players are entering their primes, which the Jaguars are looking forward to. The deal that I hated was their signing of running back Chris Ivory. This deal made absolutely no sense. The Jaguars had one of the best offenses in the league last year. They didn’t need more firepower in the backfield. The only thing they needed on offense was to strengthen their offensive line. The Jaguars already have TJ Yeldon at running back, who was a rookie last year and played very well. Paying Ivory $6 million a year is a waste of money. That $6 million should’ve been used to help out their defense. All in all however, it was a good day for the Jaguars.
Cleveland Browns: Loser
What needs to be said? The Cleveland Browns continue to lose, lose and lose some more. When is the last time anything positive happened with this team? The Browns lost their starting center Alex Mack, top three right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, dynamic wide receiver Travis Benjamin, and safety Tashaun Gipson. Four starters skipped town, and didn’t even say good bye. And to make matters worse, quarterback Johnny Manziel is still holding a spot on the roster for some awful reason. The Browns might be the biggest loser of them all.
Oakland Raiders: Winners
My, how the tables have turned. The Oakland Raiders have been the laughingstock of the NFL for over a decade. After a major rebuilding project that took time and patience, general manager Reggie McKenzie has turned this team into a contender. Yes, the Raiders are an actual contending team. With the signings of offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele, linebacker Bruce Irvin, and now cornerback Sean Smith, the Raiders strengthen an offensive line that was already good, form a scary pass rushing duo of Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin, and fix the weakest position that they had last year. Now, still with plenty of money to spend, the Raiders can continue to close in on a deal with safety Eric Weddle, try and re-sign left tackle Donald Penn, and look ahead to the draft where they have gotten superstar franchise pieces in quarterback Derek Carr, Mack, and wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Houston Texans: Loser
The Houston Texans made some moves that definitely are meant to and should revamp that offense. The signed quarterback Brock Osweiler, running back Lamar Miller, and upgraded their guard position by replacing Brandon Brooks with Jeff Allen. But they lost their starting center and might not have the cap space to sign one of the two good centers (Steven Wisniewski and Manuel Ramirez) to replace him. But the biggest reason that the Texans are losers, is that any team that signs a career backup quarterback with seven career starts to a four-year, $72 million contract is a loser. The gamble may pay off. Maybe Brock is a star. But paying $18 million a year to a quarterback that got benched for a 39-year-old Peyton Manning is ridiculous.
New York Giants: Winners
The New York Giants had a busy day. Their defense was one of the worst in the league last year, and with over $60 million in cap space this offseason, the Giants set out to fix that. They started by signing cornerback Janoris Jenkins who many regarded as the best at his position on the market. His deal is worth $12.5 million per year. Then, they stole a powerful run stopper in Damon Harrison from across the state with a $9.25 million per year deal. Finally, they capped off the wild day by signing defensive end Olivier Vernon for $17 million a year. That makes Vernon the second-highest paid player. He’s also guaranteed $52.5 million of the $85 million he signed for. These contracts are bad, but for the Giants, the motive seems to be win now, while quarterback Eli Manning can still play with the best of them. In the next three or four years, use these expensive pieces to get another championship, and then enter salary cap hell, because that’s what it’s going to be when the Giants start to feel the repercussions of these lucrative deals that they made.
Indianapolis Colts: Losers
Everyone else in their division, if all goes well with their new players, got better, and the Colts didn’t do anything. No new protection for Andrew Luck. No new defensive players to give the Colts a respectable defense. And to make matters worse, they lost starting safety Dwight Lowery.
Chicago Bears: Winners
The Chicago Bears had a good first day of free agency. They signed right tackle Bobby Massie, which will most likely bring Kyle Long back to the guard position, where he excels. They also re-signed cornerback Tracy Porter who led the team with 22 pass breakups. But the biggest acquisition they made, and one of the best deals of the day, was acquiring middle linebacker Danny Trevathan on a four-year, $28 million contract. In my opinion, Trevathan was the best Denver Broncos free agent available after they tagged Von Miller. Trevathan is a fast, play-making every down linebacker that will anchor that Bears defense for the next four years. Reunited with head coach John Fox, the Bears are getting the best middle linebacker on their team since Brian Urlacher retired.
Denver Broncos: Losers
No need to debate this one. The Denver Broncos lost two defenders in their starting lineup, middle linebacker Danny Trevathan and defensive lineman Malik Jackson. Not only that, Peyton Manning retired on Monday, and his backup Brock Osweiler turned down the Broncos minuscule offer of $40 million over three years and bolted for the Texans. This leaves the team with Trevor Siemian as the only quarterback on the roster. To add insult to injury, star linebacker Von Miller was franchise tagged and is looking to get re-signed. With the massive contract that Oliver Vernon signed, Von Miller is looking at that and getting excited for the amount of money he will be getting. It was a tough day for the Broncos, and it might get worse, with starters like linebacker Brandon Marshall and guard Evan Mathis still looking for new deals.
Philaelphia Eagles: Winners
For the second straight year, the Eagles were very active on the first day of free agency. They made a trade with the Miami Dolphins, dumping the contracts of cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso as well as moving up five picks in the first round. That’s a nice win right there. Also, they cleared the DeMarco Murray contract off the books by trading him to the Titans and swapping fourth round picks. The Eagles also made two big signings by giving guard Brandon Brooks a $40 million deal and stealing safety Rodney McLeod from the Los Angeles Rams.
Philaelphia Eagles: Losers
What in the world are the Eagles thinking? The Eagles re-signed quarterback Sam Bradford to a two-year $36 million contract last week, $18 million per year for a guy that has only played a total of 21 games in the last three seasons. Then, yesterday, new head coach Doug Pederson, who is most likely the reason for this deal, brings in backup quarterback Chase Daniel from the Kansas City Chiefs with a three-year, $21 million contract. That’s $7 million for a quarterback with two career starts in six seasons. Having two overpaid quarterbacks is not a good idea. The Eagles take a big L for this situation.
Minnesota Vikings: Winners
The Vikings are another winner in the NFC North. They’re top three offseason priorities were getting another safety to play with Harrison Smith, strengthening their offensive line, and getting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater some weapons to throw to. They didn’t get the best options out there, but they did sign some good players in guard Alex Boone and safety Michael Griffin. Both players will improve this team, and they weren’t expensive.
Other Winners: Steelers, Falcons, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs
Other Losers: Rams, 49ers, Packers
