Who won and lost NFL free agency? Our writers debate

The first week of free agency came and went, and it feels like we used to get treated to bigger fireworks in the past.

Maybe this was just a flatter cycle. Or perhaps NFL teams are way less inclined to let star players go, whether by outright free agency or trades. Whatever the case, the dust has fully settled on the major changes that rosters are going to see from 2025 to 2026 outside of the NFL draft, and we have thoughts on it all.

Will Maxx Crosby get traded?

RJ:

As our resident point of Dallas Cowboys fandom/pain/grief, it has been interesting to see how my fellow fans have reacted to the Crosby aftermath.

Many are upset that the Cowboys have yet to get back into this sweepstakes. I find it hard to call it a sweepstakes at this point, though. That we have gone almost a week without anybody jumping back in on Crosby suggests that this may not happen, right?

You can certainly argue that the reason waters are calm is because all of the boats were already out to sea, what with how teams spent on free agency assuming Maxx was off the market. I personally find it doubtful that he is going to get dealt at any point, and I think the Raiders may look back on how they spent believing they didn’t have him as a blessing in disguise. It may encourage teams in the future to approach things that same way, although obviously on purpose as opposed to by accident.

Michael:

I’m actually conflicted on what I believe will happen with Crosby. It feels like the Raiders will look to trade him because they just spent money on their defense in the name of building it in a post-Maxx era but now they don’t have those picks and Crosby is back. At the same time, general manager John Spytek could very well change his mind and go all in on the defense to make sure it’s as close to an elite unit to backup their rookie quarter (presumedly Fernando Mendoza).

Either way, I still predict the Raiders to be a bad team.

How boring is Geno back to the Jets?

Michael:

It COULD have been really cool if it happened during Geno’s resurgence while with the Seahawks, but the fact that it’s coming after a dismal season in Las Vegas leads me to believe he’s going to look no better than his first stint in New York.

It’s situations like this that lead me to truly believe that most quarterbacks aren’t all that bad, it’s just that the biggest underperformers based on expectations just keep landing in bad situations. Seattle was so good for Smith for a number of reasons, then he lands with perpetual dumpster fires in Las Vegas and now with the Jets.

But hey, maybe this is the price he has to pay for that late-career resurgence.

RJ:

A few years ago I found it absolutely captivating when the Carolina Panthers brought back Cam Newton. It was awesome to see Cam return, play for the Panthers, and reach the endzone once again.

Geno Smith returning to the Jets is… nothing like this. I don’t know how you even process this if you are a Jets fan. You have been through so much since Geno was first on the team and literally none of it was worthwhile.

Tough scene.

Who won free agency?

RJ:

You can consider these famous last words, but I sort of think that the Raiders may emerge from the overall offseason as a huge winner. They spent so liberally in free agency because they believed that Maxx Crosby was gone, that they had all that cap space, so on and so forth… and soon enough they will have the Heisman Trophy Winner leading them week in and week out.

Obviously the NFL draft is not free agency, but I think the Raiders may have been more shy if things hadn’t worked out the way that they did. It was like in cartoons when someone believed they had a safety net under them and did not the entire time as they walked across the treacherous path with ease. There is power in psychological freedom and I think the Raiders reached it.

Again… famous last words.

Michael:

I think an unsung winner of this free agency period has been the Carolina Panthers. They won their division in 2025 (yeah yeah 8-9 record and all) but they’ve got some pieces on both sides of the ball on which they’ve been able to build upon.

They brought out the Brinks truck for Jaelan Phillips, who got $30 million a year to be their top edge rusher. They then signed top free agent linebacker Devin Lloyd for $15 million per year. On offense, they return their run game, a developing Bryce Young, and the 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year in wideout Tet McMillan.

I think the Panthers will take another step forward in 2026 with a repeat of the division crown. That’s my bold call for this next season, as well.

Who lost free agency?

RJ:

Is it low-hanging fruit to go with the Ravens here?

Who knows what happened with Baltimore in the Maxx Crosby stuff. Even if we strip all of that away though, I don’t know that I feel like they are better if we look at their overall offseason from a macro perspective.

Baltimore has really lost the benefit of the doubt and now they have lost a lot of players who they did not exactly replace. Lamar Jackson can only do so much on his own and it seems like they are going to ask him to do even more.

Michael:

I’m also going to go with the Ravens here. Even with the signing of Trey Hendrickson, they allowed a lot of good players to walk and it sure feels like their offense is getting a weird reset that goes beyond simply having a new offensive coordinator. They lost both TE2 and TE3 and their starting center who was one of the best in the NFL. You don’t just overcome that easily. They’ll be a much better unit on defense under Jesse Minter, but I don’t see how Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry carry that offense on their own.

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