5 winners (the Bears) and 4 losers (the... Bears) from the first week of NFL free agency
The first week of free agency brought a flurry of signings, trades and releases that shook up the NFL landscape. The Denver Broncos officially swallowed $85 million in dead salary cap space just to get rid of Russell Wilson. The Philadelphia Eagles added Kenny Pickett, a first round pick in 2022, for what’s effectively a mid-draft pick swap. The Chicago Bears dealt Justin Fields, a first round pick in 2021, for what’s currently a sixth rounder.
And those are just the moves that affected the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback room.
More than a billion dollars worth of contract value was doled out in the first 24 hours alone. A dozen trades were completed — 13 if you expand the scope an extra day to cover the pre-free agency deal that made Mac Jones a Jacksonville Jaguar. The NFL changed considerably without as much as a single practice, almost six months before the first game of 2024 will be played.
Some teams came out ahead in these transactions. Others sat back and watched their competition get stronger with little to sell to their own fanbases. Let’s talk about the teams that finessed their way through the start of free agency the smoothest — and who is fading headed into the 2024 NFL Draft.