NFL free agency winners & losers: Jets set with Aaron Rodgers; Raiders, Bears spend wisely; Bills, Dolphins a dud
The best move of the NFL offseason so far is the one that hasn’t officially happened yet. Aaron Rodgers confirmed that he intends to play quarterback for the Jets. It’s only a matter of time before she and the Packers come together and strike a deal.
Regardless of the compensation, the Jets had every reason to go all-in with a strong young team that was just a four-time NFL MVP QB away from going from the AFC’s fringe contenders to a legitimate AFC title contender. New York was the best place for Rodgers to continue playing outside of Green Bay.
Rodgers coming to the AFC East should also make the 2022 wildcard Dolphins and three-time reigning division champion Bills nervous as those teams aren’t well positioned to get better. On the plus side, teams like the Bears, Raiders and Falcons had good cash on their hands and all invested well to improve their rosters.
Here are Sporting News’ ratings for the most notable teams doing either well or poorly in the early offseason when NFL Free Agency and the trading period officially begins:
NFL FREE AGENCY 2023: Top 60 Player Ranking, Signing Tracking
2023 NFL Free Agency winners and losers
Winner: Aaron Rodgers and the Jets
Rodgers needed a Tom Brady-style change of scenery to leave his longtime first NFL team. The Jets hope to become the new Buccaneers and be in the short-term mix to win Super Bowls. The wedding is anything but a formality, according to Rodgers’ comments Wednesday.
Rodgers functioned more like a lame QB with the Packers than last season’s reigning two-time MVP. At 39, he can regain that Hall of Famer form with a strong young offensive line-up that’s also supported by an emerging dominant defense with a youthful front.
Rodgers would reunite with Nathaniel Hackett in a system he knows well. He should be given a healthier offensive line to support his efforts with wide receivers Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore and Allen Lazard, a target he knows well from Green Bay. The Jets will hope Breece Hall comes back healthy as an explosive backfield threat. Rodgers also benefits from two reliable tight ends in Tyler Conklin and CJ Uzomah.
Brett Favre also joined the Jets after the Packers, with mediocre results in 2008, before returning to the NFC to push the Vikings into the top contenders. It won’t be that or Russell Wilson with Hackett in Denver. This has all the makings of Brady in Tampa deja vu given the newfound strength of the Jets organization that Rodgers and the team is building for big things.
Winner: Chicago Bears
The Bears started with a bang, thanks to GM Ryan Poles’ successful descent from No. 1 to No. 9 in the draft, which also earned them top wide receiver DJ Moore for Justin Fields. Chicago has since made full use of its league-high salary cap space.
The Bears were also smart to improve the offensive line with former Titans guard Nate Davis and realize they didn’t need to run further back David Montgomery. You expect to land a top left tackle in the first round of the draft. Defensively, they added three powerful playmakers to their opening seven, including endman DeMarcus Walker and linebackers TJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds.
Losers: Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins forfeited their first-round pick in the draft, so finding a free hand is crucial. Offensively, they simply brought back the duo of Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. and added questionable contingency to Tua Tagovailoa in former Jets QB Mike White. Defensively, David Long is an OK addition to the linebacker corps, but her trade for Jalen Ramsey brings in a one-off great corner ready for a fade. The Jets are about to dislodge them, either directly in front of or directly behind the Bills.
NFL FREE AGENCY GRADES 2023: Analysis of all key signings and trades
Losers: Buffalo Bills
The Bills retained Jordan Poyer safety but lost a large part of their defense when Edmunds went to the Bears. They’ve only made one move on their offense, getting shaky former Cowboys guard Connor McGovern for left flank. Buffalo is feeling the impact of contracts with Josh Allen, Von Miller, Tre’Davious White and other key veteran pieces. But like the Dolphins, their limited open-market splash opens the door for both the Jets and Patriots to continue moving up the division.
Winner: Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders’ offense is better under Josh McDaniels, as veteran systems players Jimmy Garoppolo and Jakobi Meyers get sensible offers to become a new quarterback-wide-receiver duo, joining Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow. Derek Carr and Darren Waller had their heyday in another era. Expect the Raiders to be working more on the offensive line in the draft now.
There was no similar marquee for the defensive moves, but the team landed three bargain starters in linebacker Robert Spillane, cornerback Brandon Facyson and safety Marcus Epps. After a year, this team is more inheriting the image and philosophy of former Patriots duo McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.
MORE: Review of Darren Waller’s trade between Giants, Raiders
Losers: Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles were poised to lose several veterans from their NFC championship team as Jalen Hurts faced a bankrupting contract. They drafted some future starters in Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean and Cam Jurgens last year. They still had to work hard to mitigate key losses.
Defensively, Javon Hargrave (49ers) went to a key rival, equalizing Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox returning for another season. At Linebacker, Edwards went to Chicago and Kyzir Whtie joined former coordinator Jonathan Gannon, giving Dean a big role as a sophomore.
The Eagles kept James Bradberry and are working to keep CJ Gardner-Johnson as well, but they couldn’t have enough for Darius Slay in secondary school. Offensively they could not hold both Jason Kelce and Isaac Semaulo. Philadelphia hopes to win it back in the conference, but it will be difficult as some key personnel will be lost while other competitors will win.
Winner: Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons stole new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen from Dirty South rivals Saints. Then they worked to steal his key players. Former Saints David Onyemata and Kaden Elliss are fine to bolster the front seven, but then the coup signed superstar safety Jessie Bates III from the Bengals.
Offensively, the focus was on keeping the right side of the line intact with guard Chris Lindstrom and attacking Kaleb McGary. Taylor Heinicke is also a sneaky good QB contingency for Desmond Ridder. Jonnu Smith adds a way to take away Kyle Pitt’s tight end blocking pressure.
Losers: New Orleans Saints
The Saints don’t just have Onyemata and Ellis. End Marcus Davenport (Vikings) and Tackle Shy Tutlte (Panthers) could not be signed from the defense either. The loss of young depth and talent hurts Dennis Allen. Getting Derek Carr in QB and keeping Michael Thomas is fine on offense, but this team is more stable than improved.
MORE: NFL Free Agency Tracker 2023: Live updates on news, rumours, signings and trades
Winner: Cleveland Browns
The Browns only made two moves, but they were literally gargantuan, stealing beefy defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (Vikings) and versatile endgame Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (Texans) in some necessary outputs to close Myles Garrett for new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz up front help.
Losers: Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals knew some losses were coming, like the Eagles, because they had to pay their QB Joe Burrow monster money over the long term. In addition to Bates, they also lost starting security Vonn Bell (Panthers). They also lost key complementary offensive plays in running back Samaje Perine (Broncos) and tight end Hayden Hurst (Panthers).
Winner: Detroit Lions
The Lions needed a more resilient workhorse-type back behind their strong offensive line, and former Bear David Montgomery is delivering that. They also made calculated moves to improve their secondary level beyond Jeff Okudah, adding key cover men Cameron Sutton (Steelers) and Emmanuel Moseley (49ers).
Losers: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
If you lose the GOAT and don’t have a Jordan Love fallback like the Packers did, you will be on this list. Who knows what they’ll get when Kyle Trask and Baker Mayfield go head-to-head in a new run-heavy offense? They also don’t help by reducing running back Leonard Fournette and left tackle Donovan Smith.
On the defensive end, while cornerback Jamel Dean and linebacker Lavonte David, half safety and the nickel back remain key issues.
NFL DRAFT 2023: SN’s Latest Mock | Top 125 large board
Winners: Offensive Linemen, Defensive Linemen, and Linebackers
Teams have spent a lot of money either keeping their top blockers intact or upgrading some for run blocking and pass protection (see the Broncos). Of course, anyone who could cram the barrel in or hust the passerby out was coveted for inflated deals, even more so for inside-sack artists (see Hargrave and New Seahawk Dre’Mont Jones). Off-the-ball active cover linebackers, who are very valuable in the new passing-crazed NFL, were also being paid heavily, and upfield players came into their own as well.
Losers: Running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends
The law of supply and demand has (again) done a lot of damage to these positions. The running back class in the draft is again top heavy and deep and there is a glut of similar veterans out there.
The rookie wideouts are still in abundance in every shape, size, speed and pace and Jakobi Meyers is still a limited grand prize. The tight ends, including top pick Dalton Schultz, battle it out with a pure elite group in the draft.
Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers added some ideal players for their defensive scheme in the venerable Patrick Peterson (Vikings) and linebacker Cole Holcomb (Commanders) after keeping Larry Ogunjobi up front. In terms of the offensive line, their changes began with former Jets guard Nate Herbig.
Losers: Baltimore Ravens
That could change if they make sure they can still keep Lamar Jackson. But it’s crazy to think they’re going to let the drama drag on for so long with an MVP QB they clearly want back, but on their own terms.