We are a little more than a day and a half removed from the start of the new league year, but many deals and trades have already been completed across the NFL. Though we are still very early into the off-season and are waiting for many of these agreements to be finalized, there are already some teams and players who are clearly better (or worse) off than they were before free agency started.
Let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers of the early part of the NFL off-season.
📰 Table Of Contents
Winners
Caleb Williams
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles saw how many times his franchise quarterback was hit last year and decided to nip that issue in the bud early this off-season. Chicago has already brought in three new offensive linemen, either through trades or free agency, including a 2024 All-Pro in Joe Thuney.
The most important issue Chicago needed to tackle this off-season was the offensive line after Caleb Williams was sacked 68 times last year, which was tied for the third-most sacks ever taken by a quarterback in a single season. While I don’t think the Bears are done adding to their offensive line, they’ve already done an excellent job of making improvements in the trenches, which will help drastically reduce the number of hits Williams takes next season.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Bears brought in former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be their head coach, one of the most highly sought-after coaching candidates in years. After spending the first season of his career with Shane Waldron and Thomas Brown, Johnson will be a breath of fresh air for Williams.
New England Patriots
The Pats were one of the worst teams in the NFL last season. Their offensive and defensive statistics backed up this claim after New England finished with the 22nd-ranked scoring defense and the 30th-ranked scoring offense. They needed to make meaningful additions to both sides of the ball, and that’s exactly what they have done so far.
The Patriots added two studs along the defensive line by signing Milton Williams to a four-year contract and Harold Landry III to a three-year contract. That will help them improve their 32nd-ranked pass rush. New England also signed cornerback Carlton Davis to a three-year deal, which will bolster their 26th-ranked pass defense.
The Day 1s pic.twitter.com/Lirtm9H4xU
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) March 14, 2025
On the offensive side of the ball, they brought in Morgan Moses to protect franchise quarterback Drake Maye, who took the 13th-most sacks in the NFL last season. The Pats also ensured he would have more weapons to throw to by re-signing tight end Austin Hooper and reaching a deal with wideout Mack Hollins.
The most amazing part is that they still have a ton of cap space left, which I am sure they will continue to use.
Sam Darnold
After years of struggling and bouncing around from team to team, Sam Darnold is finally being paid like one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL after he signed a $100.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks. More importantly, this provides three years of stability for the former Minnesota Viking after playing for four different teams over the last five years.
Though he probably would have liked to return to Minnesota, he moves back West, where he will undoubtedly be much closer to family and friends. Plus, the offensive weapons that the Seahawks have are somewhat similar to those in Minnesota, so it won’t be too much of a downgrade for Darnold.
Either way, Sam Darnold got his bag. After averaging about $7.46 million in annual earnings during the first seven years of his career, Darnold will now make an average of $33.5 million over the next three seasons, a pay bump of roughly 449%.
Jayden Daniels
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels had one of the best rookie seasons we have ever seen from a quarterback. His immediate success will come with a lot of extra pressure to perform well next year. Thankfully for him, the Commanders have added and retained many key offensive players to help Daniels continue his ascension to stardom.
They re-signed numerous contributors, including running back Jeremy McNichols and tight ends John Bates and Zach Ertz, who combined for 738 receiving yards on 74 catches last season.
Washington also traded for a pair of former Pro Bowlers in offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Tunsil was elected to the Pro Bowl last season and is only 30 years old, so he has plenty of gas left in the tank. Though Deebo Samuel had a down year, he still was the 49ers’ third-best receiver with 51 catches for 670 yards. At the very least, he will be a welcomed addition to the screen-passing game.
It’ll be difficult for Jayden Daniels to have as much success next year as he did last year, but the moves the Commanders have made will make that task easier.
Losers
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals might be the biggest losers of the off-season so far. They’ve made no meaningful moves and will likely part ways with defensive end Trey Hendrickson while being forced to give wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins massive contracts.
For the last couple of years, the Bengals have said they want to re-sign wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase to a long-term contract. If they had signed Chase last off-season, they could’ve gotten away with paying him $33 million per year. Instead, they dragged their feet while the Cowboys signed CeeDee Lamb for $34 million per year, and the Vikings signed Justin Jefferson for $35 million per year. Since Chase wants to be paid like the best wideout in the NFL, his contract must now be at least $36 million annually. Basically, Cincy will have to pay him at least an extra $12 million over the next four years just to make him happy. Had they extended him last off-season, they could’ve saved themselves a lot of money.
Tee Higgins is another wideout that they’ll end up paying. The Bengals waited too long to re-sign him, too. Instead of maybe getting him under contract last season for roughly $22 million per year, they might need to up their offer to a little over $25 million per year just to pay him what he’s worth. If his deal is also for four years, that’s another $12 million that the Bengals will have to spend.
The craziest part of this debacle is that the Bengals are willing to let their star pass-rusher walk in order to sign their second-best wideout to a long-term deal. Elite pass-rushers are MUCH harder to find than good number-two wide receivers. Instead of retaining Hendrickson, who has 35 sacks over the last two years, they’re going to let him walk, a foolish decision for a team that was notoriously bad on defense last season.
Teams are willing to pay Trey Hendrickson the contract that he desires but have found Cincinnati’s current asking price to be “ridiculous,” as one GM told me.
The Bengals can adjust as the offseason progresses, but right now, teams aren’t willing to meet their terms. pic.twitter.com/xzaIllagVz
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 13, 2025
Oh, and let’s not forget that Cincy signed its average tight end to a three-year contract worth $8.5 million per season.
The Bengals look like they have no idea what they’re doing, and they’re going to have to pay their players even more money than originally expected because they keep putting off contract extensions. Cincy has screwed itself financially.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are much worse off today than they were a month ago.
In February, they had Geno Smith, DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Tyler Lockett. Now, they’re left with Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, and Jake Bobo. They essentially got worse at three of their most effective positions from last season.
Their signings and trades this off-season are focused on the future, but they sacrificed talent that was good enough to win now for a murky future that is neither terrible nor elite. That’s the worst position you can be in as an NFL team!
Just look at the New Orleans Saints, who have been in purgatory ever since Drew Brees retired. They’re somewhat competitive every year but never good enough to make the playoffs. This also means that they’re not bad enough to secure a top draft pick and select a top-flight quarterback or game-changing defender. This is the position I expect the Seahawks to be in next season.
Green Bay Packers
I don’t have a problem with the limited moves that the Green Bay Packers have made. Signing an offensive lineman and a new cornerback was necessary for them. My concern is that they have been outdone by their NFC North rivals, who have all taken huge swings this off-season.
The Chicago Bears have completely retooled their offensive line and will be much tougher to deal with. They also stole away veteran pass-rushers like Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo, who would’ve been great fits for the Packers.
The Detroit Lions made a big improvement at the cornerback spot by signing former Jets defensive back D.J. Reed, a move that hurt Green Bay, which is in desperate need of help at the cornerback position.
The Minnesota Vikings have been one of the biggest spenders in free agency this off-season. They’ve signed top free agents at the guard, center, and defensive tackle spots while retaining important contributors like Harrison Smith, Byron Murphy Jr., and Aaron Jones.
Green Bay’s moves aren’t bad, but they are compared to the rest of the NFC North.
