Answering Five Burning Questions From the First Week of Free Agency

H. Jackson Brown Jr. once said that we should not waste time waiting for inspiration; that inspiration would find us once we actually started doing whatever it was we were supposed to do.

With that spirit in mind, we’ve decided to stop waiting for Aaron Rodgers to sweat the Minnesota Vikings during his pensive beach walks, infuriating the NFL at large while simultaneously helping him bolster the contemplative persona he has made a cottage industry out of, to answer some lingering questions after the first week of free agency.

The upcoming quarterback derby will alter the eventual course of this offseason, but for now there are still some big thoughts to think. Here’s a handful that come to mind.

1. Which teams did this thing the right way? 

Having cap space is not always the flex one assumes it is. Unless you are the New Orleans Saints, the void of spendable dollars is already allocated to homegrown superstars selected via the draft. For general managers who are in a position where they require free agency in order to salvage some integral part of the roster, the team has either misallocated funds in the past, struggled to draft or has been too good for too long with not enough high draft picks to replenish the talent pool. 

I personally like when teams use free agency as a kind of emotional temperature setting for a new regime, much like Dan Quinn did a year ago with the Washington Commanders (more on Washington below). Teams can score huge wins in the margins by bringing in players on low-risk, short-term deals that benefit the team holistically as well as on the field. I would say this year’s version of the Commanders (for me) were the New England Patriots—as I wrote about in my Day 1 winners and losers piece. Mike Vrabel’s stamp is now on the Patriots, and he has established a clear direction. Sure, the Milton Williams deal was eye-catching at first, but it’s essentially a two-year pact worth about $50 million. If Williams doesn’t play Vrabel ball, he’ll be a rotational defensive lineman elsewhere in 2027. In that case in particular, New England had the financial clearance to take a risk on a player who has not had any major injury issues and has some positional flexibility (Williams can play both defensive end spots). As for Williams’s lack of snaps, it’s important to note that Philadelphia Eagles DC Vic Fangio played Williams the most during the biggest games of the year. His largest snap percentages were in the postseason. 

The Chicago Bears, similarly, are backing off a few years of higher-variance free-agency periods and fully committed to an offensive line. While the New York Jets of 2023 can attest to how precarious that venture can be—the Jets had to add three starters last offseason and got just 10 games out of Tyron Smith, but did get 17 games out of John Simpson and 14 out of Morgan Moses—it’s hard to imagine signing a center and two proven interior offensive linemen failing completely. I would like to see the Bears, like the Jets, chase those signings with a more robust investment in the line during the draft. 

The Los Angeles Rams are another team that impressed me, particularly in terms of value and added emotional intelligence. While Matthew Stafford is going to mourn the loss of someone such as Cooper Kupp, it’s important to remember that Puka Nacua had already been accepted into Stafford’s pantheon of receivers, who were intricately tied into the weekly game plan and understood most of his idiosyncrasies. Davante Adams, who, in terms of guaranteed dollars, is not making anywhere near a top wide receiver salary, is going to help fill the vacuum left behind by Kupp’s intelligence. Adams also has a different approach and level of athleticism, and presents a different threat to defenses that may have understood how to handle Kupp after so many years. 

Fields joined the Jets on a two-year deal, one of the many moves involving quarterbacks in the opening days of free agency. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

2. Did anyone win this quarterback carousel so far? 

I touched on this briefly in my column about the Jets signing Justin Fields. I think what free agency does more than anything is illustrate a kind of dividing line when it comes to organizational stature and competence, a set of actual plans versus a set of hopes. There are teams, such as the Eagles, that always seem to have some kind of sprawling plan that neatly fits into a bigger picture and buttresses itself against failure or underperformance. In regards to this year in particular, the Jets had Fields targeted—likely before the advent of the “legal” tampering period—and in the building at the very start of the new league year. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants—another pair of teams I wrote about—are stuck waiting on the notoriously mercurial Rodgers. Rodgers, at least in reading the latest tea leaves, seems incredibly interested in the opportunity to work with Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings, which leaves Pittsburgh holding absolutely no cards and a receiver in DK Metcalf who just arrived on a massive extension. Similarly confounding are the actions of the Giants, a team that may or may not have thought it had a chance to compete for Stafford against the draw of Southern California and the lure of Sean McVay as a play-caller. At this point, the franchise will be lucky to be holding a rose at the end of the—God help us—Russell Wilson selection ceremony. 

So, I would credit the Jets, Las Vegas Raiders and Seattle Seahawks in at least having a uniform decision that both benefits the roster in some way (the Raiders get competence; the Jets get upside; and the Seahawks get youth, salary relief and a better scheme fit) versus those teams that are now entering a far less savory situation in which they will undoubtedly overpay. Someone will wind up having to start Jameis Winston. 

As a kind of secondary winner, against all odds, I would list the Atlanta Falcons because the team is sitting on a massive chip that general manager Terry Fontenot can dangle after the draft. Imagine, for example, the Giants watching the Tennessee Titans take Cam Ward No. 1. On their roster sits … Tommy DeVito and Joe Flacco? Or, if Rodgers chooses the Vikings and the Giants land Russell Wilson, what would the Steelers do for Kirk Cousins in April instead of opting to start Mason Rudolph?

It’s also a good yearly practice to compliment the teams that recognize the value in a backup quarterback. Stunningly, even after Nick Foles won a Super Bowl, the position still seems to be one that teams believe can be manufactured instead of paid for at the highest premium. Jimmy Garoppolo at $11 million is a steal for the Rams. The Indianapolis Colts added Daniel Jones a year after having Flacco was similarly a move that at least takes away the unsavory proposition of starting a Nick Mullens–caliber player for a significant number of games.   

3. Did the Commanders do the right thing? 

Let’s talk about the Commanders in a little more detail. Shockingly, a truncated clip of something I said generated some frustration in a local market that assumes I either hate the franchise, haven’t examined it thoroughly enough or that I’m baiting people into getting upset. I can assure you that all three of these assertions are 100% true (kidding). 

When I talked about my concern with the Commanders’ offseason and a kind of “microwaving” of their process after making it to the NFC championship game, most people took issue with the examples I gave of similar processes gone wrong. Specifically, Mark Sanchez and the Jets.

While it’s true that Sanchez was helped immeasurably by the addition of LaDainian Tomlinson, the continued additions to maximize the team’s championship window—Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, Derrick Mason—absolutely torpedoed the club, and those who believe it had nothing to do with the deflation of the Rex Ryan era simply weren’t there to see it happen. 

So, how about some other examples that I think bolster my point? 

After Andrew Luck’s rookie season, the Colts felt a kind of pressure to improve the roster immediately and compete for a championship. They traded a first-round pick for Trent Richardson. 

After Baker Mayfield’s promising start, the Cleveland Browns traded for Odell Beckham Jr. to pair with Jarvis Landry (lest I remind you of this fun little controversy, which seems so lovingly harmless for the Browns in 2025). 

After Kyler Murray’s ascension, the Arizona Cardinals hammered the gas pedal and traded for DeAndre Hopkins, enjoying one Pro Bowl season before getting two incomplete seasons and a suspension for performance enhancing drug use. 

What about Trevor Lawrence? Our antennae were certainly up when the Jacksonville Jaguars paid a king’s ransom for Christian Kirk and aggressively swooped in on Evan Engram as well.

My point is that Deebo Samuel, who had the worst yards per route run total of his career in 2024 and has had a kind of mixed history when it comes to being a great teammate, at least deserves consideration before we throw up our hands and declare the Commanders an overwhelming winner of the offseason. The same can be said for Laremy Tunsil, who is great but was also available for a reason. NFL teams don’t just trade in-prime franchise left tackles while their young QBs are still on their rookie deals.  

On The MMQB Podcast, co-host Albert Breer posed a fair question in rebuttal: What would I do instead? And I think the answer is to try to grow this roster a little more organically. Cooper Kupp was so much more valuable to Stafford than anyone else. Ja’Marr Chase is infinitely more helpful to Joe Burrow than another wideout with the Cincinnati Bengals. Receivers who are prebaked into the system, its quirks and its intricacies, are far more likely to bail a quarterback out of a bad spot than a ringer brought in from an offense that was falling apart, especially a receiver who took a fair number of snaps at running back over the years. 

I have no problem bringing back Zach Ertz and Bobby Wagner, who were part of the reason the team was there in the first place. But why not empower them to cook and help mentor the new crop of drafted talent? I suppose the great sin here is doubting Quinn’s ability to keep everyone happy and committed. 

Smith is eyeing a extension after his trade to from the Seahawks to the Raiders. / Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

4. Did NFL teams just tell us what they think of the quarterbacks in the draft? 

The Browns (who have the No. 2 pick) traded for Kenny Pickett and reportedly promised him the ability to compete for the starting job in Week 1, which, presumably, they would not do if they planned on drafting a quarterback (possibly, but imagine the optics of drafting a Deshaun Watson successor only to have that player lose out to Pickett in the preseason!). 

The Giants (No. 3 pick) have been in on seemingly every free agent quarterback to date, associated with Wilson, Rodgers, Stafford and Garoppolo.

The Raiders (No. 6 pick) traded for Geno Smith who will, in theory, need some kind of market-correcting extension. 

The Jets (No. 7 pick) immediately signed Justin Fields to a two-year deal.

The Saints (No. 9) have, for now, shown no intention of moving on from Derek Carr. 

While all this can still be true alongside the desire to draft and develop a quarterback, the urgency to cling to established veterans and the heightened quarterback market—in the top three of positional spending after a major dip year in free agency allocated dollars in 2024—prove out what seems to be the prevailing thought behind the scenes: Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and the rest of the lot will need some time to develop. That is, if Sanders is your No. 2, which I am not sure he is on every team’s board. 

We have not even gotten to the point where Atlanta could introduce Cousins to the open market, in addition to another team that may have a fringe-starter-type backup or Mendoza-line starter whom they might be interested in parting ways with after the draft.  

Imagine the change in posture had the draft classes of 2024 and ’25 been reversed. Last year, there was a capable-seeming flavor for everyone, with six quarterbacks taken in the first round and almost all of them displaying some degree of competence over the course of their first season as starters. If that crew was entering the league now? The Giants may have made a change at head coach. The Rams may have been more cavalier about getting Stafford at their price. The Raiders may not have traded for Smith. The Saints could have conjured a market for Carr or moved on outright. Instead, we’re seeing behavior consistent with a fear of what the youth market offers. And that may be the case moving forward in the NIL era, where quarterbacks have more options at their disposal to earn money and attain seasoning before jumping into the draft pool. 

While this may seem like a disaster, I’ll offer one silver lining: This draft seems uniquely stockpiled with quarterback helpers. I’m not saying the Eagles were a quarterback-less offense this year, but because of Jalen Hurts’s intelligence and the team’s investment in ancillary pieces (powered by a monstrous offensive line), they were able to seriously scale back the amount of hero ball Hurts had to play. With a slew of factor backs and tight ends who could aid in the intermediate passing game, we might see more teams trying to succeed with less on the shoulders of their passers—be it by choice or not.

5. Can we put away our pitchforks and intellectually talk ourselves into the Cowboys as a 2026 contender?

Notice I said 2026. And I want to stop myself from sounding like someone who believes Jerry Jones is playing Stratego while the rest of us are playing checkers. We followed up Jones’s laughable ignore-Derrick Henry-but-still-insist-he’s-all-in season with a 2025 offseason in which respected pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence said he could never win a Super Bowl there. It’s safe to say this team is in need of some narrative assistance. 

But I do wonder how we would feel about a perpetually underperforming team that fails to break through the glass ceiling (but in possession of some really top-level transcendent talent they have to pay) finally gutting its population of 30-plus-year-olds—you know, the type that may have contributed largely to this narrative of cynicism—and replacing them with flier-type players who can either provide future upside or help net more picks down the line. Meanwhile, that same team comes out toward the top of the compensatory selection awarding process this year alongside the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins (above the notorious comp-monster San Francisco 49ers) and is already trending toward another nine- or 10-selection draft next year as well. 

If we could remove the carnival barking owner from the situation, would this offseason arrive on our radar as at least somewhat smart, intriguing or, at the very least, worth the attempt? I think it’s important to remove our animus from time to time and try to understand what’s happening on the micro level. Jerry Jones can be cheap, aloof, perpetually guilty of missing his windows with both an undrafted quarterback (Tony Romo) and fourth-round pick (Dak Prescott), and obnoxious in his insistence that he is none of these things, but layering the roster with cost-controlled talent and generating extra compensatory pick selections is something we’ve widely praised other franchises for in the past (and has paid dividends). If there is one aspect of the Cowboys’ organization that at least seems somewhat functional, it’s the scouting department. Empowering them over the course of two years to fix the team doesn’t feel ridiculous. 

Now, is Brian Schottenheimer the coach to develop all that young talent? That’s an argument for another day.