Biggest winners and losers from Day 1 of Free Agency
I thought it would be fun to talk about the biggest winners and biggest losers of the NFL after Day 1 of Free Agency. There were some major trades, and I thought it would be fun to talk about the moves that were made and talk football with my followers.
Biggest Winners
The Fans – With all the negativity going on around the world it was great to have something to look forward too. I did not get off my computer once yesterday because I was reading about football. Man how I missed hearing about the NFL. The Fans won big time yesterday.
Arizona Cardinals – To me the Arizona Cardinals shocked the world when they traded David Johnson and a 2nd round pick to the Houston Texans to land WR DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins is a true #1 and gives Kyler Murray a huge weapon. This was the biggest winner from yesterday’s trades.
Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens were burnt in the playoffs by Derrick Henry and the first thing they did in free agency was to make sure their defensive line was stout and players would not tear them up. They went out and traded for Calais Campbell, then signed Michael Brockers. The Ravens are not going to be bullied anymore, and this could make them contenders.
Cleveland Browns – The Browns did a great job early by adding some help for Baker Mayfield. They landed the top free agent tight end in Austin Hooper, then followed that up by signing an offensive tackle in Jack Conklin. Add in they found a back up to Baker in Case Keenum and the Browns hit a home run in day one.
Miami Dolphins – Dolphins were the biggest spenders on Monday, and it would not be right if I didn’t include them. I was hating pretty hard being a Buffalo Bills fan but they did a good job. The Dolphins signed offensive guard Ereck Flowers, defensive end Shaq Lawson, CB Byron Jones and LB Kyle Van Noy. The Dolphins have tons of draft capital as well, they are looking to be on the up and up.
Amari Cooper – The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver was a huge winner yesterday. The man was blessed to be the subject of a bidding ware between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, that drove his price up to 5 years and worth 20 million per season hitting 100 million. This is a huge deal and he came away a big time winner.
Losers
The Fans – Yes, how can they be on the list twice? Well if you bought a ticket to attend the NFL Draft in Vegas you need to get your money back. The NFL officially canceled the public-events portion of the NFL Draft, which were expected to be held in Las Vegas. The Draft will still take place but if you were planning to attend the event, that will no longer happen.
Houston Texans – Sorry Texans fans, I am apologizing because this is why you do not hire your head coach to be your GM. Bill O’Brien should be fired after messing up this trade with DeAndre Holpkins. A top 3 wide receiver traded for a 2nd round pick and a running back that has been crushed and doomed by injuries. Add in the fact that they have to take on his salary too, and the Texans are the biggest losers from this trade.
Chicago Bears – They signed Jimmy Graham on the first day of free agency. That was not a bad move, the bad move is the team currently has 11 tight ends on their roster. Trey Burton, Dax Raymond, JP Holtz, Demetrius Harris, Jesper Horsted, Eric Saubert, Bradley Sowell, Darion Clark, Ben Braunecker, Adam Sheehan and Jimmy Graham. What are they going to do with all those tight ends?
New York Jets – The New York Jets had so many wants and they lost out on players like crazy. They were hoping to land Graham Glascow and he signed with the Broncos, they were in on Byron Jones and he went to the Dolphins. The Jets missed out on a bunch of players they were hoping to sign and had to settle for former Seahawks offensive lineman George Fant. Jets will do better in day 2, they have to!
New England Patriots – The Patriots do not have Tom Brady locked up, they have only really made one move in Free Agency, which was placing a Franchise Tag on Joe Thuney, and the Patriots on paper are not that scary. The AFC East is continuing to build their roster to take down the Patriots, and if the Patriots cannot make something happen with Brady, the downfall could happen very shortly.
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