The first week of NFL free agency still has a few days to go and already there have been some massive shifts in power across the National Football League. Some huge trades have come into play as well, helping make this first week of free agency more interesting than any in the last several. Let’s take a look at what players were the biggest winners and losers.
NFL Free Agency Winners
Demarco Murray
Murray gets paid to go to a system where he not carry the ball nearly as much as he was expected to at Dallas, but there are two other running backs in the system. This will help his durability and ensure that he lasts through the season. Is the Eagle OL as good as Dallas’? Not even close, but Chip Kelly’s offense should help keep defenses off balance, and he’ll likely improve the line via the draft
Ndamukong Suh
Suh gets his contract, the highest paid defensive player in the NFL and he goes to an up and coming team. He goes to a forgiving city, where the Hurricanes kept fans enthralled despite their hoodlum ways for years, until they stopped winning. And he gets to play in a division where there are zero mobile quarterbacks. I can hear Tom Brady’s tears on the referees’ shoulders already.
Jimmy Graham
Sure, he’s going to a team with a ‘run-first’ attitude, but with a weapon like that, the Seahawks would be fools not to try to get him the ball as much as possible. When the GM of your biggest rivals comments that the only thing they can do to stop him is to “find a 6-6 safety”, you know that you’ve made an impact. Of course, this is the team who had the best RB in the league, the ball on the three yard line, and passed (intercepted) the ball in the Super Bowl….
NFL Free Agency Losers
Brandon Marshall/Jay Cutler
– Marshall gets traded to that talent-suck of a club, the NY Jets. With no QB to throw to him, he’s destined to throw tantrums, get suspended, and likely won’t last a season before being released. Cutler will also throw tantrums and interceptions all season (likely more of the latter), now that the Bears have announced that they’re not going to trade him. I could probably add Alshawn Jeffries to this as well, given that he’s going to see a lot of double-coverage now, with Marshall removed from the mix.
Darelle Revis
Sure he’s getting paid, but why? To lose? The Jets don’t scare anyone with their defense, and adding Revis to the secondary only ensures that this Jets defense will be like previous years when Revis was still with them, sieve-like, except when throwing to his side. He gave up a chance to play for a Super Bowl, to get paid. I suppose that may make him a winner in some people’s eyes, but if your ultimate goal is to win championships, this is a horrible move for him.
Trent Richardson
Top five draft busts in history? Probably not quite, but top ten? I’d definitely argue that he belongs there. Released from the Colts after having successfully shown they wasted a first round draft pick to acquire him.
Let us know what you think of these latest NFL Free Agency changes – @redshirt_sports.