With it being just over a month since the Seattle Seahawks triumphed over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, and just before the 2026 NFL draft, NFL free agency is where everyone’s attention has been. There has been a lot of movement and interesting headlines as teams have made moves in the hope of doing what Seattle did in 2025. Let’s take a look at free agency’s winners and losers.
My three winners:
Baltimore Ravens – the Ravens’ biggest move was signing star defensive end Trey Hendrickson to bolster the defense. Even though they missed out on Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby due to a failed physical which made the trade fall through, the Ravens kept two first-round picks that would have gone to Las Vegas. While the addition of Hendrickson, formerly of the division rival Bengals, helps the Ravens’ defense a lot, they suffered big losses on the offensive side of the ball with tight end Isaiah Likely and offensive lineman Tyler Linderbaum departing.
Miami Dolphins – sometimes a loss can be good, which is the case in Miami as the Dolphins look to enter full rebuild mode with the departure of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. With his departure, the team signed former third-round pick Malik Willis to be the team’s new QB1, which got a little harder after the team traded wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos for a first-round pick. This clears up cap space and gains draft capital, which is a good start to a successful rebuild. It puts the Dolphins in a better spot than they’ve been in years, even if success might not come overnight.
New York Giants – This may be a little biased, but in the number three spot, I’m choosing my New York Giants as they made some big moves to improve. They started with a new coach, John Harbaugh, who brought some luggage with him in tight end Isaiah Likely, punter Jordan Stout, safety A’Darius Washington, and throwback fullback Patrick Ricard, all from his former team. He also brought in two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds from Chicago, wide receiver Darnell Mooney from the Falcons, and cornerback Greg Newsom from Jacksonville.
My three losers:
Dallas Cowboys – they are losers in my opinion, as they have made minimal moves so far, which is a bad call for a team that did not have regular season success. After a blockbuster trade during the season that saw them move on from linebacker Micah Parsons by sending him to the Green Bay Packers, you wouldn’t expect their biggest free agent signing to be from the Packers, but it was. The Cowboys signed edge rusher Rashan Gary in what was a decent move, but it makes you wonder why they would go from one of the best players in the league at the position to an older edge rusher.
Arizona Cardinals – they got rid of former first overall pick, quarterback Kyler Murray and replaced him with Gardner Minshew. They seem to have no real plan in sight and many roster holes. The Cardinals may just be setting themselves up for failure and intend to be a punching bag in the NFC West.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – there are a lot of question marks when talking about the Buccaneers. This offseason, they lost cornerback Jamal Dean, running back Rashad White, and one of the greatest players to ever put on a Tampa Bay uniform in wide receiver Mike Evans. Add this to some offensive line depth they lost, and the Bucs look to be knocking on the front door of a rebuild.
