Free agency has come and gone, and now the NFL focus shifts to the 2014 Draft. But before we get there, let’s have a look back at four teams that came away as either winners or losers in NFL free agency.
Winners
Chicago Bears
It’s true that Jared Allen is 32 years old, but he’s still a very productive player, and the Chicago Bears not only plucked Allen away from another team; they got him from a division rival in the NFC North. Removing Allen from the Vikings has a lot of value even if Allen underperforms this coming season with the Bears. Chicago has unquestionably helped itself even before the season has begun. The Bears also added Lamarr Houston to improve their defensive line even more. Chicago has a much more respectable defense thanks to the additions it has managed to make in the process of free agency. The Bears have taken definite steps forward as they try to make the playoffs, something they couldn’t do last season.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints play in a division with some talented quarterbacks, especially Matt Ryan of Atlanta and Cam Newton of Carolina. They know that they will have to be better in the secondary, and as a result, they have obtained Jairus Byrd, a safety who had previously played with the Buffalo Bills. Getting Byrd in the secondary should benefit New Orleans a great deal. This was one of the better pickups in the offseason for a New Orleans team whose secondary became very thin in last year’s playoffs. Without Keenan Lewis, the team’s best cornerback, the safeties were lost in a wild card game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints had to get stronger in the middle third of the field near the hashmarks, and they’ve done that with Byrd. They addressed one of the central flaws with their defense and their whole roster as well.
Losers
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys lost DeMarcus Ware to the Denver Broncos in the NFL free agency bonanza. Ware was such a threatening pass rusher, one who changed the way in which offensive lines and offensive coordinators approached the game. Ware commanded fear and apprehension from opponents, and that’s the kind of player anyone should want on his team… and not with somebody else. Denver got a new pass rushing supplement, while Dallas is left to pick up the pieces. Expect Dallas to go after a pass rusher in the upcoming draft, but don’t think that the Cowboys will easily be able to find a replacement for Ware.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns lost safety T.J. Ward to the Denver Broncos. Many people around the NFL think that while the addition of Ware was big for Denver, the ability to bring Ward into the fold is even more valuable. This makes the loss of Ward even more damaging for a Cleveland team that could not have afforded to take any steps back in the offseason. The Browns have to maintain forward momentum, and this loss of Ward to another AFC team really complicates their offseason plans. Cleveland just doesn’t have much of a margin for error, and seeing Ward depart for another team is precisely what will make that margin even smaller. It might eliminate such a margin altogether.
