NFL Free Agency Grades

The bulk of NFL free agency is behind us (first and second wave), so I thought it’s time to give Free Agency Grades for each NFL team. These moves all lead to the draft in May, which we’ll also give grades for after that’s done. Some teams addressed needs through the players they signed; others will wait and get younger at those spots through the draft. We’ve seen both plans work before. But today, let’s focus on each team’s moves as of now:

Arizona Cardinals

Huge props to the Cardinals for two moves in particular that really improved areas of need: The first was at tackle, where they signed Jared Veldheer to play. The second was at cornerback, where they signed Antonio Cromartie to play, opposite of Patrick Peterson. But, they had to let Dansby and Roberts walk, and didn’t address safety. Therefore, they need to add depth at LB, WR, and S through the draft.

GRADE: B+

Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta didn’t lose anyone of consequence, and did a lot to beef up their defensive front, which they needed to do. Bringing in Soliai and Jackson were very solid moves. Hester will be a wildcard for them this year. I’m eager to see who they draft, because they are sitting pretty in the sixth position.

GRADE: A-

Baltimore Ravens

I’m tough on the Ravens here because they did plenty of good, but I still didn’t love their offseason moves. Why? They got worse on defense by losing Jones, Graham, Ihedigbo, and McClain. That hurts their depth and losing Art Jones leaves a hole. They also got worse on the offensive line by losing Oher (the line wasn’t good to start with too). The only thing they did do was give Flacco more weapons. They retained Pitta and Jacoby, and added Steve Smith and Owen Daniels.

GRADE: C+

Buffalo Bills

Everyone is going to think the Bills had a bad offseason because they lost Jairus Byrd (and Carrington). But they actually made some good moves spending their money elsewhere.  Adding Chris Williams should help the offensive line, which they needed to do. And they added defensive contributors in Corey Graham, Brandon Spikes, and Keith Rivers. They also took a flyer on Jarius Wynn, which could be a good gamble.

GRADE: B-

Carolina Panthers

As you will see, I’m generally harder on good teams. That’s why I hated what Carolina did. This is an emerging squad that lacked one thing: playmaking weapons for Cam Newton. And instead of adding them, they lost them: Smith, LaFell, Ginn, and Hixon are all gone. That left nobody. They tried recovering with Cotchery and Avant, but that’s not good enough. If they don’t strike it rich in the draft, they’ll be in trouble.

GRADE: D

Chicago Bears

Call me biased (which I am), but Chicago did what it needed to this offseason. First, they kept the offense intact (notably by re-signing Cutler and Slauson). Second, they trimmed the fat (cut Peppers, Bennett, Bush, and others to save money, plus let the ineffective players walk). Third, they retained assets (kept Tillman, Ratliff, Collins, Britton, T. Jennings, Garza, Hayden, Williams, etc.). And fourth, they addressed their main need: DEFENSE (Houston, Young, Allen, Mundy, MD Jennings, Idonije, etc.)! Now in the draft they can take the best players available (on defense) to improve talent and depth there.

GRADE: A

Cincinnati Bengals

Nothing special on the Bengals’ front in free agency. They lost Michael Johnson and were quiet with everything else. Not ideal for an incomplete team!

GRADE: C-

Cleveland Browns

On the downside, they lost Ward and Jackson. But, they replaced them with Whitner and Dansby, so that should even out. They also set themselves up well for more success on offense by adding Ben Tate, plus great depth signings with Burleson and Hawkins. With two first round picks, Cleveland fans should be excited.

GRADE: B

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas needed to improve the defense in order to take a step forward, but instead they got worse. They arguably lost three of their best players in Hatcher, Ware, and Spencer (still unsigned). They did add Melton, but that’s too little, too late.

GRADE: D-

Denver Broncos

Many raved about what the Broncos did, and while I do like it, I don’t love it. Sure they improved the defense with Talib, Ward, and Ware, but Talib was overpaid and Ware is old. They also lost Beadles, Decker, DRC, Ayers, Moreno, Woodyard, Holliday, Phillips, and Bailey. That’s a lot of depth they suddenly don’t have. My point is that they are set up to win for a year, or maybe two, but they long-term future doesn’t look great.

GRADE: B-

Detroit Lions

The grade I gave is essentially based on the Golden Tate signing. They really needed another consistent receiver besides Megatron, and Tate will be one. This team is still talented on both sides of the ball, and they now need to capitalize. They did lose Willie Young, so they may need to draft an end in the draft, but they should be set up for a good season.

GRADE: B+

Green Bay Packers

The offseason for Green Bay was about keeping a lot of their own guys, and adding a productive player in Julius Peppers. If they can stay healthy, they should be a great team again in 2014. They only concern was losing James Jones and potentially Jermichael Finley.

GRADE: A-

Houston Texans

The Texans lost multiple pieces of the defense, which will hurt them, although Chris Clemons was a good signing. They switched backup RB’s with Andre Brown replacing Tate, but they lost Owen Daniels. Not great, but not terrible either.

GRADE: C

Indianapolis Colts

Losing Antoine Bethea and Donald Brown could hurt, but I love everything else about their free agent signings. Jackson and Jones will help the defense, and re-signing Vontae Davis was important. I also think that Hakeem Nicks could help Andrew Luck out on offense in a big way.

GRADE: B+

Jacksonville Jaguars

I’ll hand it to Jacksonville; they were fairly aggressive. They let MJD walk and spent their money on a lot of other players. Beadles, Babin, Bryant, Clemons, and Hood were all solid contracts. Toby Gerhart will be a nice fit for them at RB. And even though Chad Henne isn’t the guy for their future, he’s a nice quarterback to re-sign so they aren’t forced to go QB in the draft at #3.

GRADE: A

Kansas City Chiefs

I don’t give out many F’s, but what is there to like about what the Chiefs did. They lost players on offense and defense, and failed to sign anyone to replace those losses or help in other ways. They needed to keep the defense intact and improve the offense by adding weapons. They failed in all areas.

GRADE: F

Miami Dolphins

Miami again made a splash in free agency by signing Earl Mitchell and Branden Albert. Finnegan was a nice signing after they cut Dimitri Patterson too. They also moved on from the Martin/Incognito fiasco. Lastly, Moreno will be a productive RB for them.

GRADE: A-

Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota didn’t make a ton of noise and didn’t get in on many big players. They choose to invest in Everson Griffen instead of Jared Allen (whom they lost to the Bears), so I guess they are rebuilding fully.

GRADE: C

New England Patriots

You got to love what New England did. After they lost Talib, they regrouped by adding Revis and Browner. Wow. They re-signed Wilfork and Edelman too, which I thought were prudent moves. They didn’t give Brady any big name weapons, but LaFell could be an important signing. The only downside was losing Brandon Spikes, whom I thought was solid for them.

GRADE: A-

New Orleans Saints

They made a big move early by signing Jairus Byrd, along with franchising Jimmy Graham. Champ Bailey was another nice signing in my opinion. They did get worse on the offensive line however, so that’s now an area of need.

GRADE: B

New York Giants

Without any big names, the Giants had a solid offseason in terms of free agents. I liked them adding Brown, Jennings, DRC, Thurmond, Ayers, and Jerry. They had even more depth signings beyond that too, including the recent acquisition of Josh Freeman to back up Eli. Losing Mundy, Nicks, and Myers could hurt, but all are replaceable through the draft.

GRADE: A-

New York Jets

Let’s start with the obvious… they got some offensive firepower. Decker, Vick, and CJ2K (today) were solid signings for them. Parting with Sanchez was wise as well. They flip flopped some guys in and out at some other spots, but this offseason was a success because they addressed their needs on offense.

GRADE: A

Oakland Raiders

Ouch! They lost two of their most promising players (Houston and Veldheer), and with all of their money they brought in very few impact players. The ones they did add were old. And they had the whole Saffold debacle. Miserable…

GRADE: F

Philadelphia Eagles

They started out well re-signing Cooper and Maclin and trading for Darren Sproles. Then they cut ties with Desean Jackson and lost Geathers, Chung, and other role players. Suddenly, I’m seeing holes where I didn’t expect.

GRADE: C

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh lost a lot of their old core: Woodley, Clark, Cotchery, Sanders, etc. And none of the guys they brought in will likely make the same impact. Didn’t like what they did.

GRADE: D+

Saint Louis Rams

Their biggest move was that they kept Saffold, which will help them longterm on the offensive line. Adding Britt was a risk, but one worth taking. But they failed to address their secondary, and still could use more work on the offensive side of the ball.

GRADE: B-

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers really just re-signed their players. Donald Brown was the only significant signing, and he plays a position they already were solid at. But by keeping everyone, they didn’t get worse, I just don’t know if they’ll really improve.

GRADE: B+

San Francisco 49ers

They got better through the Bethae for Whitner tradeoff. But they lost CB’s which created a void. Guess we know what position they’ll target in first round.

GRADE: C

Seattle Seahawks

They lost a ton of defensive players (starters and guys off their deep bench), along with their best offensive weapon in Tate. They failed to bring in anyone who will really help them as well. They only reason they didn’t get an F is that they won the Michael Bennett sweepstakes.

GRADE: D

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Best offseason of any team. They adding Lovie Smith as a coach. Then, they saved money by cutting Revis. They used it to add Dietrich-Smith, Johnson, Verner, McCown, McDonald, Collins, Fletcher, Jenkins, Myers, Wright, etc. They improved at many areas and got good deals on most. They are sitting pretty.

GRADE: A+

Tennessee Titans

They made some underrated moves for sure (Woodyard, Phillips, Oher), but I hated them losing Verner and CJ2K. Levels out as average.

GRADE: C

Washington Redskins

They should be happy. Hatcher and Porter were nice signings, as was keeping Orakpo. But what made their offseason great was adding Jackson and Roberts at WR’s. That will really help RGIII.

GRADE: A

By: The Sports Guys