Free agency will kickoff in about an hour from now when the legal tampering window opens. Several teams around the NFL have already pulled off big moves, though. Some have done better than others. While one team overpaid a turnover-prone, mediocre-at-best quarterback, another one got a huge bargain by re-signing theirs to an unthinkably team-friendly deal. Another team traded up to No. 1 overall, while another got a massive haul of picks and talent in the bargain.
The Seahawks have to be considered among the league’s early pre-free agency winners. Let’s sort out all of the winners and losers so far.
Winner: Seattle Seahawks
We will find out if it’s still the case in a couple weeks, but right now it looks like Seattle got the best bargain in this free agent class by retaining Geno Smith for what they did. To recap, it’s called a three-year, $105 million deal – which would be a fair deal in a vaccuum. However, the details show it to be a far more team-friendly contract than those numbers suggest. Smith’s base salary is only $25 million per year and he only got $40 million fully guaranteed. The Seahawks also have an out after one year if they decide to draft their future franchise QB at No. 5 overall. It’s tough to think of a better contract short of outright insulting Geno’s value. Thanks to this deal Seattle is the clear biggest winner in March thus far.
Loser: New York Giants
If the Smith’s deal is the definition of a smart QB contract, the Daniel Jones deal with the Giants is the opposite. Somehow they agreed to pay him $160 million over four years, plus another $35 million in incentives. Any progress Jones displayed on the field last year can be directly attributed to Brian Daboll’s influence, so this show of faith is entirely unjustified. They could have probably signed someone like the underrated Taylor Heinicke – who’s not far off from Daniel Jones’ ability level – for less than 5% of what Jones will cost them – at least until he’s cut in 2025.
Winner: Miami Dolphins
Already a rising threat in the AFC, the Dolphins pulled off a classic highway robbery of a trade on Sunday afternoon with the Rams. They got cornerback Jalen Ramsey in exchange for only a third-round draft pick and tight end Hunter Long, he of one career catch and eight yards. Geno Smith’s position makes his contract a better overall value for the Seahawks. However, getting Ramsey at this price is a massive win for Miami.
Loser: Los Angeles Rams
The Rams mortgaged the farm, the car and their cats in the all-in rush to win a Super Bowl in 2021. Now the bill has come due and it’s extracting a heavy toll. Allowing Ramsey to leave for a pittance is a bad idea no matter what your cap and roster situation is, but it speaks to the level of emergency and dysfunction going on, here. LA’s fire-sale is likely not even close to over yet, either.
Winner: Chicago Bears
Lovie Smith had one last golden egg to give the Bears and their fanbase. By beating Chicago in Week 18 he gave them the No. 1 overall pick, which they’ve parlayed into a huge windfall of resources. In the trade down with Carolina they picked up two first-round picks and two second-round picks as well as the criminally-underrated D.J. Moore – finally giving Justin Fields the true WR1 he needed ahead of a thin free agent class at the position. Brilliant.
Winner: Carolina Panthers
Just because the Bears got more out of it doesn’t necessarily mean the Panthers lost, though. In this business finding a true franchise quarterback is priority No. 1 for any front office that doesn’t have one, and Carolina bad been floundering in this regard for way too long. Since Cam Newton’s shoulder injury mid-2018 they haven’t found an adequate replacement, trying and failing with Kyle Allen, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker and Baker Mayfield. Armed with the No. 1 pick they can now finally get their guy. Word on the street is that it’s C.J. Stroud from Ohio State.
