The NFL’s winners and losers (so far) in 2020 free agency

Free agency is officially underway, but many deals have been agreed to in principle and trades have been made. Winners? Losers?

LOSERS

Houston Texans

(Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

They traded away one of the game’s best wide receivers. They acquired a running back (with a big contract) and picks in return. They still lack a first round selection, and while they could theoretically move into the first round now given their two second round picks, what will they draft there? A wide receiver? Why not hold on to the one you have, rather than bank on the one that could be?

As for Johnson’s contract? He has a cap number of $20 million over the next two seasons.

The Texans made a few moves after the trade, such as acquiring Randall Cobb to bolster a weakened wide receiver room, and adding free safety Eric Murray and cornerback Vernon Hargreaves. But even those additions cannot outweigh the loss of Hopkins.

New England Patriots

(Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)

Does it, perhaps, feel like the rebuild is upon us?

Obviously the loss of the game’s greatest quarterback is a big deal. With Tom Brady moving to the NFC South, the Patriots now face a quarterback controversy for the first time since the week before Super Bowl XXXVI. Will they hand the keys to Jarrett Stidham? Acquire a veteran quarterback such as Cam Newton? Only time will tell, but we are told the Patriots have a plan.

But look at who else left town. Linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins. Safety Duron Harmon, in a trade with the Detroit Lions. Reserve offensive lineman Ted Karras. They placed the franchise tag on guard Joe Thuney and the expectations are that the Patriots will workout a long-term deal, but they could still trade him as well.

This roster is going to look very different come Week 1 of the 2020 season. Bill Belichick is also the greatest coach of all time, but he has his work cut out for him right now.

Detroit Lions

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We have seen this move before. A Belichick disciple strikes out on his own and tries to remake his new team in the mold of his former tutor’s. Brian Flores is doing that as well this season down in Miami, but where Flores has succeeded, Matt Patricia seems to have failed. Detroit acquired offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai, signing him to a reported five year, $45 million dollar contract. They gave Jamie Collins a three year, $30 million dollar contract. They signed Chase Daniel to be their backup, traded for Duron Harmon, and added Danny Shelton. In a vacuum, each of these signings makes sense, but when you put them all together, it seems like Patricia is simply bringing in former Patriots and taking fliers on other additions. It may pan out in the long run, but right now these moves taken together do not make a ton of sense.

Chicago Bears

(Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)

At some level, this move for Nick Foles makes sense. Foles has won a Super Bowl. He can run Matt Nagy’s offense, given his familiarity with Doug Pederson’s offense. He might be an upgrade over Mitchell Trubisky right now.

Then again, maybe not.

But the cost is a big question mark. The Chicago Bears used a fourth round compensatory pick to acquire Foles, which is fine, but they also acquire his contract. Foles is signed through the 2022 season, and has a cap number of $21,837,500 for this season. That is a lot of money for a veteran quarterback coming off of a broken collarbone that put him on the shelf for most of the 2019 campaign. now it is true, they needed competition for Mitchell Trubisky, but there were other options available. Cheaper options, such as Marcus Mariota or an Andy Dalton. They could have addressed the quarterback spot in the draft with their second round selection, as Jake Fromm would be a perfect fit for their offense. Now, they roll with Foles and Trubisky for the year ahead. This… well, this seems like a panic move.

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