Winners & Losers From Day 1 Of Free Agency

The flurry of activity that always starts when the legal tampering period opens is starting to wind down for the evening. I’m sure a few more deals will trickle in over the next few hours, but now is a good time to take a look at what happened today and identify some winners and losers from the day’s signings.

We saw a ton of activity over the weekend in the form of trades and resignings, and that continued into today. Big-money deals were signed by some surprising names, plenty of teams made moves, and there’s a lot to break down.

Some teams haven’t done much yet, others have more work to do, and there are plenty of free agents — including some of the top free agents on the market — who have yet to find their landing spots. Lots more is yet to come, and I’ll be back tomorrow night to break down everything that happens in the interim. For now, let’s jump into today’s activity:

Winner: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs got their work done early, with their two major deals coming in just after the tampering window opened. Re-signing star WR Chris Godwin was huge, as he was expected to have a major market despite his season-ending injury. Keeping him in Tampa Bay was crucial to keep this offense humming, as he really is the perfect complement to Mike Evans on the outside and he’s developed quite the connection with QB Baker Mayfield. Three years and $66 million not only locks Godwin down for the future but also comes in at a price tag lower than many thought he’d command.

Not only that, the Bucs also addressed their biggest need: pass rush. They chose to bring in one of the top pass rushers on the market in ED Haason Reddick. After forcing a trade from the Eagles last offseason due to unmet contract demands, Reddick landed with the Jets but ran into the same problem, ultimately choosing to sit out half the season. An adjusted deal was eventually reached, but Reddick was too far behind to catch up and failed to make a significant impact. Now Tampa Bay hopes a year removed from his contract woes will reinvigorate Reddick and get him back to the monster pass rusher he was in 2023. A one-year deal makes sense in this context and $14 million is reasonable given Reddick’s potential upside. 

Loser: Houston Texans

What are the Texans doing? Houston struggled mightily to protect QB C.J. Stroud in 2024, with the interior of the offensive line a particular concern. Instead of shoring up a position of weakness, they willingly traded away their best offensive lineman, sending LT Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders in exchange for a bunch of picks (a third and seventh this year and a second and fourth in 2026 for Tunsil and a 2025 fourth).

Tunsil was one of the best players on the team and one of the best tackles in the league. The Chiefs and Titans both overpaid for far less proven tackles than Tunsil today, and now Houston is shipping him off without a clear replacement in sight. Sending Tunsil to Washington doesn’t make this team better, not when Stroud is still on a rookie contract and the team should be doing everything they can to win now before that bill comes due. It’s an odd choice for a team that was supposed to contend for a Super Bowl in 2025.

Winner: Patriots’ Defense

Entering the offseason, we would’ve expected the Patriots’ offense to receive most of the attention. They had the worst offensive line and receiving corps in the league last year, putting the defense in a rough spot each week. Despite this, they went all-in on defense on Day 1 of free agency. The headliner is DT Milton Williams, as the Patriots beat out the Panthers for his services and signed him to a four-year, $104 million contract that puts him among the highest-paid players at his position.

It’s a risk given Williams spent most of his career in Philadelphia as a rotational player and only became a star in 2024. Still, if there was one position on New England’s defense that needed attention, it was interior defensive line. Christian Barmore is a stud, but he missed most of last season with blood clot issues. His health is in question going forward, and beyond him, the depth chart gets thin quickly.

New England also signed CB Carlton Davis III to a big-money deal (three years, $60 million) to be their No. 2 corner across from Christian Gonzalez, and they added LB Robert Spillane and DT Khyiris Tonga to round out the depth chart as well. You can argue they overpaid for Williams and Davis, and those deals might age poorly. But by giving this kind of attention to the defense in free agency, they can fully turn their attention towards the offensive side of the ball in the draft.

The Patriots didn’t neglect the offense completely, inking RT Morgan Moses to shore up one tackle spot and kick OL Michael Onwenu back inside to guard. The offensive line still needs way more help than that, though, and they’ve done nothing to address their receiving room. There’s a long way to go for this squad, but they’ve made some investments early that will allow them to prioritize their top assets into getting young players with upside who can grow with QB Drake Maye.

Loser: Seahawks GM John Schneider

Voluntarily opting into a rebuild is an odd choice. Seattle made waves over the weekend, surprising many by trading QB Geno Smith to the Raiders for a rather paltry return. This, in turn, led to star WR D.K. Metcalf requesting a trade himself, and the Steelers swapped their second-round pick for him just yesterday. Both players were angling for new deals that paid them significantly more money and Schneider was clearly hesitant to sign those extensions.

When Smith was traded, reports circulated the Seahawks were targeting Vikings QB Sam Darnold to be his replacement — an odd choice at first glance, given Darnold was the top quarterback on the market and was expected to command a similar price tag to the one Smith reportedly requested in an extension.

Signing Darnold wasn’t supposed to be a cost-saving move, and yet he signed for $33 million APY, much less than Smith was asking for. If you needed to win a game tomorrow, most people would likely take Smith over Darnold. But Darnold is younger and evidently cheaper, and he put together a great season for the Vikings last year.

Seattle still has major issues: their interior offensive line remains one of the worst in the NFL, they have no receivers to speak of outside of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and there are still question marks on this defense. There’s a real chance all these moves blow up in their faces, and they have a longer way to go to reach contention than they did just a few days ago. Schneider still has an uphill battle to prove dealing Smith and Metcalf were smart choices, and relying on Darnold to right this team is a risky bet.

Winner: Bears QB Caleb Williams

Chicago could still use another receiver to round out this passing attack, but their offense is light-years improved already, thanks to some judicious moves from GM Ryan Poles. In the days leading up to free agency, Poles traded for Gs Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney from the Rams and Chiefs, respectively. Poles tripled down on his offensive line investments by signing C Drew Dalman in the opening hours of free agency, completing the interior overhaul in Chicago. The Bears’ interior offensive line was a major weakness last season, so these upgrades were paramount to improving as a team.

The goal was to improve the blocking in front of Williams, who struggled through his rookie season, falling short of the lofty expectations for the No. 1 pick. He still has all the talent in the world, but the near-constant pressure was too much to overcome as he attempted to adjust to the speed of NFL defenses. His protection got a massive upgrade and Williams should have an easier time operating in 2025.

Loser: San Francisco 49ers

This is less about what the 49ers did, but rather what they didn’t do. After an aging, injured roster let them down in 2024, the 49ers lost several key contributors today. 49ers S Talanoa Hufanga, G Aaron Banks, CB Charvarius Ward, RB Elijah Mitchell, OT Jaylon Moore and LB Dre Greenlaw all signed elsewhere, leaving the 49ers with more questions than answers.

On top of all that, QB Brock Purdy is still due for an extension, making it much harder to build an elite roster when he’s on a market deal instead of his seventh-round pick salary. It’s understandable that a roster reset of some sort is in order, but the path forward for San Francisco is unclear. They already traded away WR Deebo Samuel, and rumors continue to swirl that WR Brandon Aiyuk will be on the move. The options to replenish this roster quickly are dwindling.

Winner: Colts GM Chris Ballard

The Colts were under a lot of heat to close last season. After a pair of no-show performances at the Broncos and Giants that eliminated them from postseason contention, former Colt and current ESPN analyst Pat McAfee ripped into the team, citing his own sources in the building to point to major culture and accountability issues. Several team captains gave interviews that essentially confirmed McAfee’s reporting.

After the season, owner Jim Irsay brought back Ballard and HC Shane Steichen with a public vote of confidence. Ballard himself has not been a popular name in Indianapolis in recent years, as his stubbornness combined with a lack of team success has led to fan resentment. It was clear that he needed to win in 2025 or he would be out of a job.

Ballard has been one of the most widely-respected GMs in the league, with his scouting prowess in particular among the league’s best. He staunchly believes in building through the draft, re-signing his own players and avoiding bloated free agent deals. This hesitancy to sign external free agents has been a point of frustration with fans for years. Ballard acknowledged after the season he didn’t do enough to make the team better and the lack of new blood in the locker room led to some of the culture issues. He indicated while he wouldn’t be foolish, he would be more aggressive to bring in roster upgrades, but fans were understandably skeptical if he’d follow through.

Well, let doubt linger no longer. The Colts were one of the more active teams on Day 1 of free agency, first signing S Camryn Bynum to a four-year, $60 million dollar deal before locking up Ward from the 49ers to a three-year, $60 million deal. Safety and cornerback were Indy’s top two needs on paper, and Ballard made sure to sign upgrades in free agency to address these areas of concern.

I have my own questions surrounding both of these players, but the Colts have a definitively better roster with them on it. Ballard is showing some urgency in a prove-it year for his career, but true to form, he’s not handicapping Indy’s cap to get it done, either.