NFC's Worst Free Agency Moves: Commanders make an odd decision at a key position and more
While Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs continue to dominate the AFC every year, the NFC is pretty consistently up for grabs. Most recently, the Philadelphia Eagles reached the mountain top, winning the NFC title and Super Bowl LIX in blowout fashion.Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni, and the Eagles are on top. And if you […]
While Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs continue to dominate the AFC every year, the NFC is pretty consistently up for grabs. Most recently, the Philadelphia Eagles reached the mountain top, winning the NFC title and Super Bowl LIX in blowout fashion.
Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni, and the Eagles are on top. And if you want to be next in line to wear the crown, you have to get better over the offseason. That starts with free agency. As every team scrambles to improve their roster, there will inevitably be some blunders. Overpays, bad trades, teams that don't do nearly enough.
With NFL free agency full underway, here's a look at at every that worst move made by every NFC team in 2025 thus far.
NFC North
Chicago Bears – Losing depth at WR
Keenan Allen is a free agent and the Bears have not yet brought in anybody to replace him. As of now, Chicago has DJ Moore and Rome Odunze…But after that, the wide receivers on the roster combined for 1 catch and 5 receiving yards on the 2024 season. Translation: They have absolutely no depth.
Every wide receiver that comes off the board, it feels like a missed opportunity for the Bears. They’ll probably grab at least one receiver in the draft, but I think some experience would be good for this room.
Green Bay Packers – No splash at WR
I really think Green Bay should have been more aggressive to make a splash at wide receiver and clear out the traffic jam they currently have at the position. Between Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, and Jayden Reed, the Packers don’t need a wide receiver, but they also don't have a true WR1.
This felt like the perfect landing spot for D.K. Metcalf…Or even Davante Adams. I would have liked to see a splash, but I don't have a serious issue with anything the Packers have done thus far.
Minnesota Vikings – Contract extension for Theo Jackson
The Vikings have spent a lot of money and made some really strong signings, but I can't get on board with the two-year, $12.6 million extension Minnesota gave to S Theo Jackson.
A little over $6 million per year is in the ballpark of what Eric Murray got from the Jaguars. It’s more than what Xavier Woods signed for in Tennessee…And then there’s Jackson, who played just 78 defensive snaps last season. That’s really bad value. After losing Cam Bynum, the Vikings could and should have done so much better.
Detroit Lions – Releasing Za'Darius Smith
I struggle to find a justification for the Lions releasing Za’Darius Smith. He was Top 10 in pressures, pressure percentage, and pressure percentage on third down last season. He recorded nine sacks and has not had health issues.
Where are you finding that kind of player for the $11 million or so that he was going to be owed? Now the Lions' need for a pass rusher is real and Brad Holmes had the guy in the building all along. This is a big miss.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys – Not doing more
The Cowboys should be more active than they have been. That’s the straight up truth. Expectations are high in Dallas, but somehow, the Cowboys have not signed a free agent for over $6 million per year since Greg Hardy in 2015. That was a decade ago and the salary cap has increased by $135 million since then.
Dallas is sitting on over $40 million of cap space, but somehow their most noteworthy deal thus far is Javonte Williams for $3 million? That’s inexcusable. Jourdan Lewis and Chauncey Golston left while Jerry Jones sits on his hands…That’s not going to solve any problems.
Philadelphia Eagles – C.J. Gardner-Johnson for Kenyon Green
Perhaps Jeff Stoutland has some magical fix for former first-round raft pick Kenyon Green, but trading away the heartbeat of your defense for a project interior offensive lineman is a tough sell.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson found magic in his two season in Philly (2022, 2024). He has 12 interceptions and 126 tackles in 28 games as an Eagle. Then of course, there are the intangibles like leadership, energy, and attitude, all of which he brought to the table. To ship off someone proven for the complete opposite is a big mistake.
Washington Commanders – Javon Kinlaw's deal hardly makes any sense
The Commanders released Jonathan Allen to save $16 million against the cap and then dished out $15 million per year to Javon Kinlaw. Yes, Kinlaw is a few years younger than Allen, but I think this is a downgrade in talent for a team that has Super Bowl hopes in 2025.
It’s not an egregious error, but I still think a full season of Jonathan Allen is more valuable than what the Commanders can expect to get from Kinlaw this year.
New York Giants – Darius Slayton's contract
Last offseason, the Giants refused to pay Saquon Barkley and let him go to the division rival Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $38 million contract. This offseason, the Giants gave a three-year, $36 million contract to wide receiver Darius Slayton…Whoops.
Slayton is, at best, a low-end WR2 in the NFL and that’s probably being a little bit generous at this stage in his career. It was not long ago that there was a legitimate question about whether not he would even crack New York’s 53-man roster. His 573 receiving yards in 2024 wasn’t bad, but Slayton also had seven drops and only 39 catches.
In a world where Demarcus Robinson is getting $9.5 million over two years, you can’t give Darius Slayton $36 million over three years and tell me it’s a good move.
NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Haason Reddick is a huge risk that could easily backfire
Reddick's situation in New York was a blend of his own stubbornness and the Jets'. Regardless, he played at third-string level once he returned after his seven-game holdout.
He finished the year with just 1.0 sack and a barely-above-average 10.7% pressure rate. Per Pro Football Focus, the Bucs' 2024 stable of edge rushers all finished with a higher win rate against true pass sets than Reddick.
Sure, he logged 50.5 sacks over the previous four years, but he's gotten older since then and didn't do anything in 10 games, last year. It's impossible for me to buy in, here, especially when including his $14 million price tag.
Atlanta Falcons – Signing Kirk Cousins still haunts the team
Honestly, it's hard to label any of the Falcons' 2025 moves bad at this point. It's fair to argue they don't have the operating room to take bad swings thanks to last year's Cousins deal, however. He has a $40 million cap hit that includes a $27.5 million base salary and if the Falcons label him a post-June 1 cut they'll create exactly zero room in cap space.
So, yea. The Falcons are still paying for their decision to sign a 36-year-old quarterback coming off an Achilles injury that's only been "pretty good" throughout the course of his career. Ouch.
Carolina Panthers – Dan Morgan found his rebound in Tershawn Wharton and it's a stretch
It looked like the Panthers were on the verge of signing Milton Williams just to watch him bolt for the Patriots. So, Carolina pivoted to former Chiefs defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton.
He's certainly a step down from Milton and the Panthers also paid him way too much money. $15 million per year that includes $30 million guaranteed is paying Wharton way too much money for such an uncertain future. His best year consists of 6.5 sacks on a career-high 62% of defensive snaps in 2024. Playing next to Chris Jones clearly helped and while he'll have Derrick Brown in Carolina – he's no Jones.
New Orleans Saints – The same 'ol, same 'ol is getting, well, old
I'd be in pure apathy mode if I were a Saints fan, at this point. They continue to kick the can down the road, which has clearly limited their ability to compete over the last couple of years. They force themselves into re-signing average players in order to push the credit card bill further down the road or they have to bring in lower-cost free agents that don't elevate the team.
It's so old at this point and it's only going to keep getting worse the longer they do this, and that looks to be the case for the foreseeable future.
NFC West
Seattle Seahawks – Demarcus Lawrence is an odd signing that could easily have minimal impact
It was getting pretty tough to pin down the Seahawks "worst" decision, because they really hadn't made one until the Lawrence signing. $14 million per year with $18 million guaranteed is simply too much for a guy who turns 33 in a couple of months and is coming off a season-ending injury that limited him to four games in 2024. Throw in the fact his sack numbers have declined each of the past three seasons and well, it's easy to see why this is at the bottom of the Seahawks' free agency totem pole.
Los Angeles Rams – Tutu Atwell getting $10 million is the ultimate sign of faith and belief from the Rams
Because he totally did not warrant that kind of pay day. It's obvious the Rams love his speed, otherwise this wouldn't be happening. And even then, it shouldn't be. He's never recorded more than 42 receptions or 562 receiving yards in a single season and he has four career touchdowns to his name. The Rams are clearly expecting big things from him in 2025 and it'll be interesting to see if he lives up to expectations.
San Francisco 49ers – Kyle Juszczyk's release highlights a slew of departures
He may be getting long in the tooth, but he's still effective and a weapon in Kyle Shanahan's offense. This was a bit of a surprise, even if he was asked to take a pay cut last year and smoke was swirling around his potential departure, this year. Either way, another team will gladly pick him up and take advantage of his unique talents.
Arizona Cardinals – They dropped the ball with Darius Slay
Slay would've been an immediate upgrade over Sean Murphy Bunting Jr. since he knows Jonathan Gannon's system, where he earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods. He's coming off a down year in which he failed to log an interception since his rookie year, but opposing quarterbacks averaged just an 81.9 rating when targeting him in coverage and he got his hands on 13 different balls. The dude can still play and the Cardinals whiffed on a chance to get him.
