Free agency feedback: Cowboys wisely opt not to overspend

The National Football League’s 2024 free agent market had its soft opening Monday and, although almost no sales are final until Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET, what an eventful day.

With few exceptions, most of the big names have signaled their future intentions, namely soonto-be Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins, who’s once again proven to be perhaps the league’s foremost businessman. And while notable players like DE Danielle Hunter, LT Tyron Smith, WR Calvin Ridley and RB Derrick Henry remain available, it’s possible the most prominent moves yet to materialize occur as trades.

Regardless, enough has already transpired to anoint initial free agent winners and losers:

WINNERS Kirk Cousins

The last time he played for non-guaranteed NFL money was 2015, the final year of his rookie deal in Washington. Now “KFC” is leaving the Minnesota Vikings for the Atlanta Falcons after taking a four-year, $180 million offer – though with $100 million guaranteed, per reports, Cousins’ run of fully in-the-bank cash will apparently come to an end. Argue amongst yourselves as to whether he’s one of the league’s top-10 passers, but he’s certainly an upgrade for an ATL squad that has gone 7-10 the past three seasons with bottom-10 play behind center. TE Kyle Pitts, WR Drake London and RB Bijan Robinson should all push to be Pro Bowlers for a team that almost certainly becomes the prohibitive favorite in the NFC South.

Defensive tackles

The interior disruptors continue to cement their position as a premium one in the NFL – perhaps the most valuable (literally), quarterback notwithstanding. The Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones (five years, $158.75 million), Las Vegas Raiders’ Christian Wilkins (four years, $110 million) and Baltimore Ravens’ Justin Madubuike (four years, $98 million) have all moved into Aaron Donald’s financial neighborhood in recent days, And the Seattle Seahawks’ Leonard Williams (three years, $64.5 million) ain’t exactly slumming it after re-signing Monday night.

Dallas Cowboys

Say what? Yes, they’ve essentially sat on the FA sideline while RB Tony Pollard, C Tyler Biadasz and DE Dorance Armstrong are moving on with longtime Smith, the longtime stalwart on the blind side, apparently set to follow. But is that worse than overspending for aging or largely interchangeable pieces? Let’s allow “America’s Team” to get MVP runner-up Dak Prescott’s contract in order and see what happens afterward.

Philadelphia Eagles

How best to offset the retirement of longtime team pillars Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox? One seemingly good approach would be to extend G Landon Dickerson and sign pass rusher Bryce Huff and RB Saquon Barkley. A team that finished the 2023 season so poorly looks set up for a nice rebound in 2024 – maybe more so if EVP/GM Howie Roseman offloads either

OLB Haason Reddick or DE Josh Sweat with Huff about to enter the fold. Huff’s three-year, $51.1 million deal will be the richest ever for an undrafted free agent who didn’t play quarterback.

Russell Wilson

He’s landed with a perennial playoff-caliber squad in Pittsburgh and will almost surely be the Steelers’ QB1 in 2024. Wilson probably couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome given what he’s faced in recent months.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

If nothing else, they held serve – re-signing QB Baker Mayfield, WR Mike Evans and K Chase McLaughlin after previously franchising All-Pro FS Antoine Winfield Jr. Maybe it’s enough to get the Bucs a fifth consecutive playoff appearance and fourth straight NFC South crown. However it does feel like they have a lower ceiling than their division Cousins, the quarterback-upgraded Falcons.

Jordan Love

The new leader of the Pack guided the league’s youngest team in 2023 to the divisional round of the playoffs in his first year as QB1. Monday, Love’s Green Bay Packers got younger yet maybe even better while moving on from veteran LT David Bakhtiari, G Jon Runyan Jr., S Darnell Savage and RB Aaron Jones – all aging and/ or eminently replaceable players – while adding bruising RB Josh Jacobs, the league’s 2022 rushing champion, and versatile S Xavier McKinney. Seems like the runway to again be a perennial division contender is only getting longer.

LOSERS Justin Fields

The Bears’ incumbent quarterback is still waiting for GM Ryan Poles, who’s expected to take former USC QB Caleb Williams atop the 2024 draft, to “do right” by him even while jobs in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh fill up. Certainly worth wondering if Fields will have to wait for another team to get burned by an injury, or if he just gets stuck in Chicago indefinitely.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Anteing up for Fields rather than settling for Wilson really seemed like it would have been the superior, long-term play. Denver Broncos They’re still out $85 million simply to not have Wilson in their locker room. And they still have no bona fide QB1 going into next season (but that No. 12 draft pick sure appears to be the likely acquisition route).

New York Giants

Whether it’s Daniel Jones or a rookie at quarterback next season, where are the weapons following Barkley’s departure? The acquisition of OLB Brian Burns is nice, but the five-year, $150 million investment – less a second-round pick – makes GM Joe Schoen’s offensive strategy even more curious. Maybe the plan comes into focus at draft time, but for now…?

Miami Dolphins

A lot more talent has been departing (Wilkins, Hunt, OLB Andrew Van Ginkel, CB Xavien Howard, LB Jerome Baker, DE Emmanuel Ogbah) than arriving (LBs Jordyn Brooks, Anthony Walker Jr., S Brandon Jones, TE Jonnu Smith). That’s the price of the hefty extension that appears headed for QB Tua Tagovailoa… though legitimate questions if he’s set up to do more with less.

Justin Jefferson

Pass rushers Jonathan Greenard and Van Ginkel are nice pickups who, at best, offset the departures of OLBs Hunter and D.J. Wonnum for the Vikes. But they don’t explain who will be throwing to Jefferson, arguably the league’s most dangerous receiver and one who’s awaiting a long-term extension as he heads into the fifth-year option of his rookie contract. Minnesota is scheduled to pick 11th in Round 1 of the draft and may now have to get aggressive, not only to settle the quarterback position but to sell Jefferson on the future.

Jacksonville Jaguars

They spent on WR Gabe Davis, WR/KR Devin Duvernay, C Mitch Morse and Savage while swinging a deal for new QB2 Mac Jones. But the NFL mandates a spending floor to the salary cap… yet it doesn’t feel like they’re notably better in a division where the Houston Texans took a quantum leap in 2023?

‘Washington Cowboys’

They spent on Armstrong and Biadasz, who follow new HC Dan Quinn from Dallas to the Commanders and weaken a division rival, while also adding RB Austin Ekeler and LB Frankie Luvu. But the NFL mandates a spending floor to the salary cap… yet it doesn’t feel like they’re notably better despite having more spending power than any other team entering free agency. (Though, heck, maybe Quinn, GM Adam Peters and the rest of a new regime should be credited for some level of prudence that’s generally been foreign in these parts for the past quarter-century.)

Running backs

Barkley hauled in a three-year, $37.8 million contract with $26 million guaranteed – good money for the position but hardly an earth-shattering windfall given it’s comparable to what Davis earned as a WR2. The Packers awarded Jacobs, franchised in 2023 like Barkley, $48 million over four years. Yet those two did significantly better than Ekeler, Pollard, D’Andre Swift (Bears) or Devin Singletary (Giants), all 1,000-yard backs in 2023 who forge ahead with deals averaging fewer than eight figures. Meanwhile, Aaron Jones is currently out of work entirely, while twotime rushing king Derrick Henry bides his time. (USA Today/TNS)