Winners and Losers of the First Month of NFL Free Agency

The first few weeks of NFL free agency are complete, with a plethora of trades and contracts done, and we can already see who’s headed in a positive direction and who’s on a downward spiral. 

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Here are the winners and losers thus far:

Tennessee Titans - Winners 

Entering free agency, the Titans had over $90 million in cap space, brought in an entirely new coaching staff, and it seems they are heading in the right direction. The Titans have brought in an overhaul of new talent. On defense, they splashed the most, signing defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers, who had ties to HC Robert Saleh in NY. Along with defensive backs Alontae Taylor to a 3 year $60 million deal and Cor’dale Flott to a three-year $45 million deal to reassure their defensive backfield. For the offense, Tennessee made a nice move signing WR Wan’Dale Robinson to a four-year $78 million deal to become Cam Ward's top receiving option. 

Indianapolis Colts - Losers

Whether it's bad contracts or not landing a big signing, things are not trending well for the Colts. Starting with the QB position, they handed Daniel Jones, who is coming off an Achilles' tear, a 2-year, $88 million deal with $60 million guaranteed, which is well above Jones's market value. They made Alec Pierce one of the highest-paid wide receivers with a four-year, $114 million contract, and he only had one 1,000-yard season. Indianapolis still has yet to sign a big difference maker, despite being one of the front-runners for Trey Hendrickson. They are also doing this all with no first-round pick.

Kansas City Chiefs Offense - Winners

Even though the Chiefs didn’t make many offensive moves, the quality of the players they brought in will be the difference-maker. When the Chiefs are coming off a year like last year, falling short of every expectation. The main problem stems from the offense, more specifically, the run game. The Chiefs were quick to fix that this offseason after signing Super Bowl MVP and best available running back on the market, Kenneth Walker III, to a 3-year $43 million deal. That move alone could see the Chiefs return to the top once again. Kansas City also brought back Travis Kelce, and still, at age 36, Kelce is a top-five tight end in the league. 

Jacksonville Jaguars - Losers

The Jaguars were coming off a phenomenal year in Cohen’s first season at the helm. They won eight straight to close out the regular season and fell just three points short against the Bills in the Wild Card, showing clear momentum. However, since the start of March, Jacksonville has done little to build on that success. In free agency, they lost Travis Etienne, who was coming off a nearly 1,400-yard season from scrimmage. The Jaguars also lost a key piece of their defense in linebacker Devin Lloyd, a Second-Team All-Pro who recorded five interceptions. Outside of a few re-signings, Jacksonville failed to make any impactful additions. Their most notable pickup was running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., who is coming off a 500-yard season. He is not enough to replace Etienne’s production, and as a result, the Jaguars have taken a step backward this offseason.

New York Jets - Winners

When a team is coming off a year as the Jets did, the front office on One Jets Drive should not be looking to add a single difference-maker; they should be looking for a roster overhaul, which they did. The Jets sought quantity over quality, and even with that idea, they still grabbed some quality players. The first big move was trading for free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is still a top 10 free safety in the league. They then added LB Demario Davis, signing him to a two-year $22 million deal, adding one of the best leaders in the league to the locker room. New York also inked deals with DT David Onyemeta, Pro-Bowler CB Nashon Wright, S Dane Belton, DE Joseph Ossai, and DE Kingsley Enagbare. They also traded for QB Geno Smith and traded for DT T’Vondre Sweat, who is going to be part of a phenomenal run-stopping duo with Harrison Philips. With the draft coming up, the Jets have four top 44 picks and seem nowhere near done this offseason. 

Miami Dolphins - Losers

As the offseason continued, it seemed like the Dolphins were going deeper and deeper into a rebuild, but are they really doing it the right way? The first big move they made was releasing Tua Tagovailoa; it seems like it was the move that had to have been made, but still, the potential Tagovailoa has is there, and it was seen in 2023 when he passed for over 4,600 yards. To replace him, the Dolphins signed a three-year, $67.5 million deal with $45 million guaranteed. Malik Willis showed flashes of being special in 2025 with the Packers, but it doesn’t it is certainly a huge gamble, especially for the Dolphins, starting a rebuild with a QB getting over 65 million that only has six career starts is a recipe for failure. Miami also traded Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos, another AFC team. When starting a rebuild, a team needs to add players that can produce down the road, and the Dolphins have yet to do that, other than Milik Willis. The Dolphins have signed everyone to one-year deals. Overall, the Dolphins did need to go into a rebuild, but things are already off to a wrong start in Miami.

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