I’m a Carolina Panthers fan. Yes, my team is bad. So free agency is by far the most exciting time of the year, because for a few seconds I feel like we can win a Super Bowl. Too bad we’re not the only team getting new players.
This year’s off season has been nothing short of exciting and overwhelming. When players like Kurt Cousins, Keenan Allen, Brian Burns, Derrick Henry, Danielle Hunter and so many others are being moved around, how can you not be excited?
For starters, we had New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley going to the division rival Philadelphia Eagles. Giant fans don’t seem to be the only ones mad about this move because Barkley’s old teammates are sending him some hate on social media. I feel your pain New York, because the Panthers traded Brian Burns for what felt like a ham sandwich. This seems to be a common trend this year — so many big-name players are getting traded for absolutely nothing. The Burns trade wasn’t too bad compared to Justin Fields getting traded for a little piece of dirt. Even with such a bad trade, though, the Bears have had a pretty good offseason. Especially compared to some teams.
So, here are my losers and winners of this year’s offseason so far.
Losers:
Starting with the Chargers. We’re talking about a team who literally stripped their quarterback of all his weapons. Yes, Keenan Allen is getting old, but trading him for a fourth-round pick is crazy. And releasing Mike Williams is something I still can’t get my head around. Especially when, now, you’re left with a bunch of unproven wide receivers. The only hope for the Chargers is that this draft is a strong receiver class, and picking at no. five overall gives them a shot at a great new weapon for Justin Herbert.
Another loser of this free agency are my Carolina Panthers. Being let down is an understatement for how I feel about this team right now. The Panthers had two goals this offseason: to get draft capital and keep our good defense. They failed at both. First off, a team that is rebuilding needs a first-round pick, especially with such a good wide receiver class. So instead of trading their best player Brian Burns for two first round draft picks, which the Rams offered, they traded Burns for a second-round pick and a bag of chips to the Giants. Then to make matters worse, one of their upcoming linebackers (who played great last season) Frankie Luvu was signed by the Washington Commanders. All to say, I’ll be waiting a while before I can celebrate a good team again.
Arguably the biggest loser of this off season by far, though, are the Dallas Cowboys. Besides signing linebacker Eric Kendricks, this team has done absolutely nothing in free agency. That makes sense, given that they’re at the bottom of the NFL in salary cap space. But this raises a question: is it worth keeping Dak Prescott for one more year? Especially after losing Tony Pollard to the Tennessee Titans, you would think now might be a good time to just completely rebuild. With no movement in free agency, Cowboy fans can expect to be heartbroken for another season when the team underperforms in the playoffs.
Winners:
With so many big-name players being traded and released, though, there have not only been losers. There are huge winners so far this offseason, too. One such winner is the Houston Texans. Talk about a team who hit the jackpot with C.J. Stroud (who the Panthers passed up of course). The Texans were only a few players short of being a real AFC championship contender. With the pickups of Danielle Hunter, Denico Autry and Joe Mixon, this team is going to be good. Putting Mixon in the backfield to take some pressure off Stroud makes this offense more scary. Hunter, who had 16.5 sacks last season for the Vikings, is going to be deadly next to Will Anderson. For a team who probably needs to focus the most on defense, this is a huge pickup to get the defense in the right direction. They also resigned Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown, who are important targets for Stroud.
The Green Bay Packers are also winning the offseason. For a team that had an unexpected breakout season, it doesn’t surprise me they have gone aggressive this year. Picking up Josh Jacobs is a great step up from Aaron Jones, who was simply injured too much last season. Picking up Xavier McKinney will make an immediate impact on a young Packers defense. For me, he was the best safety in free agency and is exactly what the Packers were missing defensively. With a few good draft picks and another good season from Jordan Love, this team has a good chance at having another great season and reaching even greater heights.
This is just a sample. There are so many other signings and trades that have been made this offseason that will change the NFL. This next season will have a lot of new-looking teams and a lot of big-name players wearing new jerseys.
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