# NFL free agency winners and losers: Bucs’ smarts to questions for Bengals

## Winner: Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings letting Sam Darnold walk was the headline-grabber, but they had more intel on him than any other franchise and were happy to turn the keys over to JJ McCarthy rather than bring back the former Jets quarterback on what would have been a manageable contract. It’s the team’s work elsewhere that’s most intriguing, though. The Vikings retained starting cornerback Byron Murphy and fortified both sides of the line of scrimmage with tasty, affordable signings. They brought in center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries from the Colts. The duo are one of the most switched-on, savvy interior tandems in the league. They never bust a protection and will give McCarthy a semblance of security during his first season as starter.

On defense, the Vikings added Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, two defensive linemen with some serious sizzle off the snap. Minnesota’s defense relied heavily on its scheme last season and lacked one-on-one game-wreckers up front. Injuries may mean Hargrave and Allen never return to their peaks, but if they’re even 80% of the players they were in their primes, it will constitute an upgrade for the Vikings.

The Vikings’ key free-agent additions have injury reservations – all of them have missed a chunk of time with serious ailments. But Minnesota are betting on clean health and a bounce back for their four new pieces. If even half of them stay healthy for a full season, the Vikings will have one of the best rosters in the league.

## Up in the air: Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks opted to trade quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders and replace him with Darnold in free agency. Given the desperation on the quarterback market, you could see a team talking themselves into handing a huge deal to Darnold, but on its face, his three-year, $105m contract is fine value. The Seahawks didn’t have to make a lofty investment, signing Darnold to a deal similar in structure to Baker Mayfield’s in Tampa. Effectively, it will shake out as a one-year contract with two option years. If Darnold maintains his run of good play from his time with the Vikings, the Seahawks will have a cost-effective, medium-term answer at quarterback. If Darnold falls back to earth, the franchise can move on in two seasons without harming their cap sheet.

Still, there are plenty of reservations. One of the Seahawks’ talking points in moving from Smith to Darnold was about getting younger at the position. And, sure, Darnold _is_ seven years younger than Smith. But Darnold is also … worse. Smith has proven to be one of the  over the past two seasons. He’s more accurate than Darnold. His decision-making is more consistent. Smith played behind a flaking offensive line last season and was the sole reason the Vikings remained competitive on offense.

Seattle also view Darnold as a stronger scheme fit with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak than Smith. That’s fair. Smith wants to play the point guard role from the shotgun; Darnold fits snugly in a run-oriented offense featuring a heavy dose of turn-the-back play-action. But that scheme can only sing if the ancillary pieces are strong.

Seattle’s interior offensive line remains a mess and will require more investment before the team can feel comfortable dropping Darnold back 25 times a game. Without improvements inside, the Seahawks risk exposing a quarterback who crumbles against pressure to one of the leakiest groups in the league.





Then there are the weapons. Darnold will go from working with one of the best playcallers in the  and throwing to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson, with a solid supporting run game, to … who knows? After trading DK Metcalf and releasing Tyler Lockett, the only reliable weapon on the Seahawks’ roster today is Jackson Smith-Njigba. It looks like they’ll go shopping in the bargain bin for veteran help, whether that’s Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs or Cooper Kupp. But none of those three would have cracked the top four in reliable targets during Darnold’s breakout with the Vikings.

There is plenty of work for the Seahawks to do in free agency and the draft to feel comfortable rolling out Darnold in week one, let alone banking on him replicating his performance in Minnesota. It feels like they’re stuck between tearing the roster down and rebuilding, and trying to win the NFC West behind a quarterback who has not yet proven he can elevate the talent around him.

## Winner: New England Patriots

It’s easy to scoff at the Patriots for chucking money around at any free agent willing to grab it. The golden rule of free agency is not to pay B+ players A+ money, and the Patriots fell into that trap. But here’s the thing: What was the alternative?

The Patriots were a disaster last season; the roster featured a rotating cast of mediocrity. Last season’s draft, outside quarterback Drake Maye, was poor. Without investment, they would enter next season as one of the three worst teams in the league.

Not investing heavily in free agency is what the smarty pants say to do. But cap space does not line up on third-and-eight. There are only so many seasons you can roll over cap room until you have to try to inject talent into a roster after whiffing on successive draft classes – it’s not on the Patriots that this was a particularly weak free-agent class.

New England were at least targeted with their free-agent splurge. The heavy money went to Milton Williams, the interior pass-rusher who dominated during the Eagles’ postseason run. The Patriots gave Williams a four-year, $104m deal to leave Philadelphia. How will Williams fair going from playing alongside Jalen Carter and logging just 50% of the snaps a game to being the main star? Who knows. But Williams being a legitimate blue-chip player is a bet worth taking. They also added veteran cornerback Carlton Davis, who, when healthy, will dovetail nicely with Christian Gonzalez, the most talented player on New England’s roster.

Beyond those pricey investments, the Patriots secured decent deals with players that the new coaching staff has worked with in previous spots. Is edge-rusher Harold Landry worth a three-year, $45m contract? No. But he is a solid player and a veteran leader who knows the Patriots’ staff and their scheme. Ditto for new linebacker Robert Spillane, who the Patriots signed to a three-year, $33m contract.

The Patriots _did_ resist the temptation to throw big money at their offensive line, despite needing reinforcements around Maye. Signing right tackle Morgan Moses to a three-year, $24m deal was the savviest bit of line business from any rebuilding team. Moses is a starter-caliber right tackle, something the Patriots have not had in years. They didn’t spend eye-watering money on the position but instead found a league-average starter to fill in a sinkhole.

New England are not traditionally big spenders in free agency. When they have spent in the past, it’s been a dud. But they have a quarterback on a rookie contract and had to acquire NFL-caliber talent to find out what they have in Maye.

## Loser: Cincinnati Bengals

Unlike other teams, the Bengals are waiting to ink extensions to their players before they can address their roster concerns. Cincinnati hit Tee Higgins with the franchise tag but will have to work out a long-term deal with the receiver. Higgins is likely to command a $30m salary. After Higgins, the Bengals need to work out a long-term deal with Ja’Marr Chase. You could hear the audible gulps leaking out of Ohio as Cincy watched Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett sign record-breaking extensions last week. The Bengals have already publicly committed to the fact that Chase will be the . Giving away such leverage without having a contract ready to sign is pretty serious negligence. Chase will now likely wait to see where the  falls this offseason before signing a deal, but any Chase extension will _probably_ require a $40m a year investment. Oh, and the Bengals are still unsure whether they will extend or trade their lone impactful defensive piece: Trey Hendrickson.

If the Bengals can find the pennies between the couch cushions to rework Hendrickson’s contract, he will also command a salary close to $30m a year. Piece it together, and the Bengals are looking at committing over 50% of the salary cap to four players: Joe Burrow, Chase, Higgins and Hendrickson.

And it’s not like the Bengals only need a bit of cosmetic surgery to wriggle their way into contention. They need a defensive overhaul and upgrades along their offensive line. To make the math work, they need to find cheap bargains who can play well above their contracts. Instead, Cincy committed new, costly deals to replacement level players: defensive linemen BJ Hill (three years, $33m) and tight end Mike Gesicki (three years, $25m).

Those two moves on their own are justifiable. The value is _fine._ But it’s tough to see how the Bengals can make the jigsaw pieces fit without losing one of their stars, most likely Hendrickson.

Burrow has been vocal about the Bengals’ spending, and more pointedly, about how they structure their contracts, comparing it to the Eagles’ ability to sustain their championship window with crafty cap mechanics. So far, the Bengals have not been able to sign their stars to long-term commitments and have struggled to plug obvious holes on their roster with cost-effective replacements.



Chris Godwin chose to stay with the Bucs despite offers from elsewhere. Photograph: Michael Conroy/AP

## Winner: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jason Licht is not a household name, but he may well be the best general manager in football. Licht was able to lock down Chris Godwin to a multi-year extension, getting the receiver to leave money on the table to return to Tampa. Godwin is a key part of the Bucs offense, and his return to Tampa over taking more money from the Patriots or Jaguars is a testament to the culture Licht has built.

Licht values retaining his players. He looks after his guys, and that loyalty has been rewarded with a cap-friendly deal for one of the most effective receivers in the league. Godwin is coming off a serious leg injury, and it would have been understandable if he took a bigger payday elsewhere. But Godwin taking a favorable deal allowed the Bucs to retain starting lineman Ben Bredeson and chase upgrades on the open market.

Licht also addressed Tampa’s biggest need, landing edge-rusher Haason Reddick on a one-year, $14m contract. After the debacle of Reddick’s misbegotten trade to the Jets, it would be easy to play down his impact. But Licht snagged Reddick to a team-friendly one-year contract that has plenty of upside. Reddick is not an every-down, impact player. But he brings plenty of juice off the edge, juice that Tampa have lacked for years. He may lollygag through a handful of plays a game, but he could be a double-digit sack presence off the edge.

## Loser: CJ Stroud

What the  have done the past month is commendable. Their offensive line was a disaster last season, from the coaching to the scheme to the individual players. They conceded a historic level of quick pressures, overall pressures and unblocked pressures. It was embarrassing.

Despite that, the Texans were able to eke out a playoff win, thanks to the excellence of Stroud. In that context, it would have been easy to roll the roster back and spout nonsense about ‘internal growth’ while trying to patch up the group through the draft. Instead, head coach DeMeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio decided to nuke the room. They fired their offensive coordinator and offensive line coach and spent the early free-agent period bailing on their starting line from 2024. They traded Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders for a bounty of picks and traded former first-rounder Kenyon Green to the Eagles in exchange for CJ Gardner-Johnson.

Admitting a group was well below the standard is one thing – Tunsil is a bigger name than he is an impactful player at this point in his career – but taking a chainsaw to a room is something else. But by flinging one group out, the Texans have put themselves in a bind, chasing a new starting group in a watered-down, _expensive_ offensive line market.
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