We're only a few days in, but for the most part, the biggest moves of NFL free agency have already happened. The major deals tend to go down during the legal tampering period, and in the first couple of days after the start of the new league year.
That's where we are right now, so this is as good a time as any to take stock of some of the most interesting transactions we've seen to date. We'll highlight a few of our favorites on the offensive side of the ball in the space below, then do the same for defense tomorrow.
QB Kirk Cousins and WR Darnell Mooney, Falcons
A lot of people in and around the NFL came into this offseason saying that the Falcons were a quarterback away from being a real contender. In the wake of the Cousins signing, we're going to find out if they were right. We know Cousins is a fit for offensive coordinator Zac Robinson's offense; it's the system he's played in for his entire professional career. We don't know what he'll look like coming back from a torn Achilles, which in the past had been seen as a devastating injury but from which more and more players of late have been able to cleanly come back. (Albeit at other positions.)
Signing Mooney, meanwhile, is a bet that the ecosystem in Chicago was so bad that it stifled what a talented player was able to do. His skill set makes for a strong conceptual fit alongside Drake London and Kyle Pitts among the pass-catching corps, giving Cousins a field-stretching weapon to open things up for the bigger, possession-receiver type of targets. If Mooney can be more than just a deep threat, he can add a different dimension to things than the Falcons were able to show over the past couple years.
QB Russell Wilson, Steelers
This is interesting mostly because the player in question is Russell Wilson. His fit in the offense run by new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is extremely questionable, and Pittsburgh has depleted his wide receiver corps by trading Diontae Johnson to the Panthers for cornerback Dane Jackson. But seeing whether Wilson can salvage the tail end of his career, and with one of the NFL's most iconic franchises, should be fascinating to watch.
It's hard to envision how the Steelers are going to put him in position to succeed given their roster deficiencies at the moment, but that's what the rest of the offseason is for. Smith remains a strong play-designer, if not a nurturer of young offensive talent, but several coaches have already tried and failed to get Wilson to play more inside the structure of a similar type of offense. Can he be the guy to make it happen? We're going to find out.
WR Calvin Ridley, RB Tony Pollard, C Lloyd Cushenberry, Titans
Let's set aside the fact that the Titans could have just paid A.J. Brown instead of moving mountains the way they did to acquire Ridley and, before him, DeAndre Hopkins. It was a different regime that made those former decisions. Ridley and Hopkins is a duo that fits extremely well together, with Hopkins a prototype X receiver that will allow Ridley to do what he does best on the opposite side. Giving a young quarterback in Will Levis a duo like that early in his career will allow for a clean evaluation over the next couple of years as the Titans decide whether he's the answer under center.
The Pollard and Cushenberry signings, meanwhile, give us an idea of what type of team the Titans want to be. Pollard is at his best when schemed into open space, and combined with Tyjae Spears, gives Tennessee two explosive backs -- if the renewed burst Pollard showed down the stretch of last season as he got further removed from the broken leg that ended his 2022 season carries over to his new home. Cushenberry is a center who is at his best as a pass protector, and should be able to help Levis with protections and also setting the middle of the pocket. It looks like the Titans under new head coach Brian Callahan want to spread defenses out and slash their way downfield with big plays, Bengals-style.
C Aaron Brewer, Dolphins
When we highlighted the top 25 offensive free agents available this offseason, here's what we wrote about Brewer: "He has experience at both center and guard, and he's proven himself to be a very good run-blocker in the middle of a zone scheme due to the way he can climb to the second level."
That's exactly the kind of offense he ended up in by signing with the Dolphins. Miami got great mileage last year out of using Connor Williams as a mobile center to key the run game, freeing Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane for big plays down the field. Brewer can fill the same kind for in Mike McDaniel's offense.
The running back carousel
- RB Saquon Barkley, Eagles
- RB Derrick Henry, Ravens
- RB Josh Jacobs, Packers
- RB Aaron Jones, Vikings
- RB D'Andre Swift, Bears
This game of musical chairs was fun, wasn't it?
Barkley in Philly is fascinating. The Eagles previously seemed content to take low-cost fliers at running back, but now have decided to splurge on a big-name player with an extensive injury history and a reputation that has exceeded his production in recent seasons. His lack of down-to-down consistency can be frustrating, but his ability to hit home runs and create something out of nothing could be of use for a team that is losing longtime center Jason Kelce to retirement and is thus likely to see its run game change dramatically anyway.
Henry is now 30 years old and has about a million miles on his odometer ... but he's now going to be working in the same backfield as Lamar Jackson, who gas supercharged the efficiency of pretty much every one of his running back teammates. We have seen throughout his career that all Henry needs is the slightest crease to take it to the house, and nobody creates wide creases for backs more than Jackson. Pair that duo with Keaton Mitchell, once he returns from his torn ACL, and the Ravens will be able to rip off big gains on the ground in a wide variety of ways.
The Packers' decision-making at running back is ... interesting. Jacobs is younger than Jones, but Jones appears to be the better player in pretty much every area -- and especially in the passing game. Jacobs has topped 4.1 yards per carry just once in the last four years, and by pairing him with A.J. Dillon, the Packers are committing to a very specific kind of back alongside Jordan Love. Jones, meanwhile, should form a fascinating duo with Ty Chandler in Minnesota, and you know he's going to want to go off against his former team.
Swift parlayed a few strong games early in the season into a big contract from the Bears, who already have Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson in the backfield. Might one of those guys be on the way out the door? If Chicago can get Swift to follow blocks consistently, it'll be the first team to do so; but if the Bears just lean into Swift's abilities as a pass-catcher, that could also be a big help to whichever quarterback they select with the No. 1 overall pick.
