NFC EAST
Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles addressed one of the biggest teams needs when they traded for Slay and signed Robey-Coleman. Really smart move considering their other biggest need is WR and the draft is chock full of em’. They also signed Javon Hargrave to a big 39 mil deal for a position I’m not sure was pressing. The Eagles are usually one move ahead so maybe he’ll be on the starting rotation and take over for Cox eventually. I like stacking the defensive line with players but he’s too expensive for that. Malik might be relegated to the least active role but he’s still a good player so the Hargrave deal seems not great. They lost some good players in Jason Peters, Malcolm Jenkins, and some less good ones in Vaitai and Agholor. Feels like this offseason so far the Eagles never really improved or got worse. The draft is really going to decide if this offseason was successful or not. Verdict: C
Dallas Cowboys: There were a lot of decisions to be made this offseason and they secured probably the most important 2 in Cooper and Dak. Losing Byron Jones is huge for this team though, it kinda puts a damper on the Dak and Cooper deals. Besides the big names the Cowboys also lost four starters Maliek Collins, Jeff Heath, Robert Quinn, and Randall Cobb. I get letting Quinn and Cobb since they got such good contracts so I won’t ding them too much for that. The Cowboys also signaled they were letting Heath go and signed a much superior safety in Clinton-Dix so this loss is really a gain. Same thing with Collins, the Cowboys brought in Gerald McCoy who is an improvement for sure even if he’s almost 33. So they really need to replace Cobb and Quinn who aren’t super necessary like Jones was to this org but still Cobb was way undervalued in DAL and Quinn had a career year. Dantari Poe is another vet lineman who can play but they haven’t signed anyone else to be the WR3 and they didn’t add another pass rusher yet. Overall I like the guys they kept to compete and the guys they brought in from FA especially because they are win now guys. It’s just tough to give them a good mark when they lost Byron Jones. Verdict: C
New York Giants: The Giants had a really good offseason. I’ve become much more welcoming to the Bradberry and Martinez deals. The Martinez deal isn’t worth nearly as much as I expected it to be and Bradberry is a way better player than I gave him credit for. They also only shedded bad contacts and bad players while adding better ones. I’m impressed even if they didn’t grab anyone in my top 50. I wish they went after a pass rushers but otherwise this is a good offseason. Verdict: B+
Washington Redskins: The Redskins lost some talent, where there was any, in Ereck Flowers Case Keenum and Josh Norman. But they really didn’t bring in anyone I’m too over the moon on. I like the flyer deal on Fuller but the rest are just depth or really deep sleeper players. This team is playing for the future so I like the direction of getting rid of older players and adding in new younger ones to help build a core. Not really pulled either way on this one but they better start using that cap next offseason. Verdict: C
NFC NORTH
Green Bay Packers: The worst thing the Packers did was let Bulaga go, the rest of the signings are kinda moot. Although they did let Jimmy Graham go and he someone ended up on the Bears which is a win in and of itself. They signed a linebacker to replace Blake Martinez but we’ll see if that ends up working out, I’m very skeptical. They should highly consider drafting an O-lineman because losing Bulaga and signing Rick Wagner doesn’t cut it for me. Verdict: C-
Chicago Bears: Might be my least favorite offseason of them all. The big deals they signed were Robert Quinn and Jimmy Graham. That should say enough but if you need more Quinn got way too much money for 5 years and Jimmy Graham strait up sucks now (I’d still rather have Super Bowl precision passer Trey Burton). They lost Clinton-Dix, Leonard Floyd, and Nick Kwiatkoski and only have $2,504,091 in cap space left. I’m not even going to bring up the draft capital situation. Verdict: D-
Minnesota Vikings: We shouldn’t mince words here the Vikings lost talented players. Linval Joseph, Mackensie Alexander, Andrew Sendejo, Trae Waynes Everson Griffen, and Stefon Diggs. As I’ve said before the Diggs trade is fairly even especially if the Vikings can grab a good receiver in the draft as they cut down on cap. But the rest of the departures will hurt. Their replacements are not up to task but at least Pierce is a good enough replacement for Joseph. They also signed Stephen Weatherly as a “big” addition but if you can tell me where he played before this I’ll give you a shoutout. Verdict: C-
Detroit Lions: Wow ok I didn’t even realize how much movement happened in Detroit this year. Their biggest signing I’m kinda out on, I just don’t think there is enough evidence to make me believe Halapoulivaati Vaitai is worth a 5 year 45 mil deal (although only 20 guaranteed). But they made other good signings even if it seems like they are just grabbing ex-Pats. Jamie Collins got a fair deal for 3 years, Desmond Trufant was a steal at 10 per year, and guys like Nick Williams and Danny Shelton are great additions to what’s become a good defensive line. But they lost a lot including two offensive lineman (Glasgow/Wagner), A'Shawn Robinson (DT), Rashaan Melvin (CB), J.D. McKissic (RB), Devon Kennard (LB). Lots of the turnover is not all bad though with the exception of Glasgow but to call this offseason a win would be silly considering the losses. Colins, Trufant and hopefully Vaitai make up for the players now gone and then some (just a little bit thensome tho since they lost a good offensive lineman). Verdict: C+
NFC SOUTH
New Orleans Saints: A good offseason for the short term for the Saints but losing Bridgewater hurts even though it was impossible for them to keep two quarterbacks like Teddy and Brees. The Peat extension was odd but they have a good offensive line so this is a pass from me. Now getting on to the players they lost Vonn Bell is the biggest issue but one that has been addressed. Eli Apple regressed last year but I’m surprised they gave up on him instead of signing him for what could have been peanuts. A.J. Klein also was lost but I don’t think tat matters nearly as much as Bell or Apple. Not too much lost since all the important pieces from the 13-3 team were kept intact. New faces include Malcolm Jenkins and Emmanuel Sanders which is more than enough star power to make up for the losses. Love the moves but I have a little bit of reservations regarding the Jenkins deal since its 4 years 32 mil and 16 guaranteed. Verdict: B+
Atlanta Falcons: A very busy offseason and some of it is good. Losing Hooper and Trufant is bad there is no beating around the bush here. Getting Hurst as a replacement is almost a stroke of genius if they didn’t have to give up so much to get him (with his contact almost expiring and his age). No such wheeling and dealing for Trufant’s replacement, maybe this can be addressed in the draft. But these were the two big players who left in FA. I love signing Fowler to a big deal to replace Vic Beasley even if it might be an overpay Fowler has been underrated his entire career. I also love the Gurley signing since he’s still being paid by the Rams this season. The Falcons get to upgrade from Freeman to Gurley for a year before (while not paying him a lot) they make long terms plans at the RB position. With that I even if they lost a really good CB but they improved at other positions enough to call this a successful offseason. Verdict: B-
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Despite the headlines the Buccs didn’t win the offseason but I like what they have done so far. Replacing the turnover machine Winston with Brady is such an upgrade on a up and coming team; especially with this defense. Letting Nassib go is unfortunate but not back breaking when they at least retained Suh. They also lost Perriman but honestly I don’t buy his career year. I wish they spent some more of their cap to make a push this year but at least they didn’t spend it on a LTD for Shaq Barrett. I can’t give them top marks for basically just bringing in Brady (at 45 or however old he is) but if the defense continues its upward trajectory this was a great offseason. I’m a little bit skeptical on the defense and the offensive line but this is will be a good year for Tampa. Verdict: B
Carolina Panthers: This is probably a small rebuild for Carolina but they got a great young quarterback on a good deal. One of the best signings at the most important positions. They let older players go like Mario Addison, Greg Olson and Gerald McCoy which is fine considering their situation but losing Bradberry is close to bad but he’s at least on the older side of his 20s. I like the Robbie Anderson signing in a vacuum but a two year deal on rebuilding teams is odd. I assume they want to make a quick turnaround while good rookies (mostly Moore) are on rookie deals and Teddy is under a manageable contract. A weird juxtaposition between losing older talent and bringing in a player on a short term deal. IDK how make good sense of it but I’m going with my gut on one of the best signings of the offseason and the shedding older talent. Verdict: B+
NFC WEST
San Francisco 49ers: Big moves in San Fran. They moved Bucker in a deal I’m liking more and more for the 49ers every day and signed Armstead to a LTD which I dislike more and more each day. They retained most of the important talent besides Bucker who is better in most ways than Armstead and obviously Emmanuel Sanders. The losses are important but at least they didn’t lose anyone else besides someone who they were going to have to sign to a long term deal and an older vet WR. It’s certainly not a good offseason since they only signed Joe Walker to a one year deal as their only acquisition in FA? So far I think that’s true. Verdict: C-
Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks so far have lost a lot of players, a good amount haven’t been signed yet either. Guys like C.J. Prosise, Marshawn Lynch, Jarran Reed, Josh Gordon, Mike Iupati, Ziggy Ansah, Jadeveon Clowney. They also lost to Quinton Jefferson, German Ifedi (I’m fine with losing him) to other teams. To replace them they signed Bruce Irving, Brandon Shell, and Cedric Ogbuehi. Makes me kinda want to vomit maybe? lol They also signed Greg Olson for 7 mil. This is a trash can of an offseason so far. I know the RBs aren’t a big deal and Gordon as well but they lost 22 players (as of today) which can’t be good for a team that made the playoffs last year. Verdict: D+
Los Angeles Rams: The Rams had a good amount of turnover. They lost Fowler and Littleton who are tough guys to replace. I like the Floyd signing but I wish it was a longer and cheaper deal. Gurley is gone but that was the right call even if his knees were not fucked up. That was a grabby headline for sure but Nickel Robey-Coleman will be an more impactful loss. While they did have a net loss of talent this offseason because of cap mismanagement they did their best to hold onto their most important players (besides Littleton). Andrew Whitworth was a an absolute must resign at almost any cost and they got the deal done at 10 per year. Love it. They ended up retaining Brockers which is a really positive turn of events and they also added A’Shawn Robinson making the D-line a force still. Overall they did their best but getting into cap hell was their own doing. They have bad linebackers, they lost good corners and their offensive line is still below average even after keeping Whitworth. Verdict: D+
Arizona Cardinals: This is an easy one, they probably won the offseason by taking advantage of the Texans. They dumped David Johnson (and his contract) and upgraded to a top 5 WR. Just getting rid of the Johnson contact would be a win but getting such an upgrade at WR; it’s unimaginable good. Who needs RBs, full stop. Besides losing David Johnson they lost a lot of ineffectual players like Pharoh Cooper, Damiere Byrd, and Rodney Gunter (he’s fine). But they signed Jordan Phillips, Devon Kennard, and Marcus Gilbert to help with a really bad defense (besides Gilbert obviously) on low grade contracts. I like almost everything they did this offseason especially letting bad players go. Verdict: A