The hype of free agency has come and gone and now it’s time to look at what teams have gained and lost since March 17th and where they stand as they prepare for the upcoming draft. Let’s continue with the NFC North.
Chicago Bears
Key acquisitions: QB Andy Dalton, CB Desmond Trufant, DE Angelo Blackson, OLB Jeremiah Attaochu, LB Christian Jones, RB Damien Williams, OT Elijah Wilkinson, WR Marquise Goodwin
Re-signed: WR Allen Robinson (franchise), S Tashaun Gipson, DE Mario Edwards, K Cairo Santos, P Pat O’Donnell, S DeAndre Houston-Carson, CB Artie Burns
Departures: QB Mitchell Trubisky (Bills), CB Kyle Fuller (Broncos), DE Roy Robertson-Harris (Jaguars), CB Buster Skrine, WR Cordarelle Patterson (Falcons), G Rashaad Coward (Steelers), WR DeAndre Carter (Washington), NT John Jenkins (Dolphins)
Remaining free agents: OT Bobby Massie, S Sherrick McManis
Analysis: The Mitchell Trubisky experiment is finally over, he’s out of Chicago. It was an up and down journey the past four seasons, and it’s clear is was a failure. They’re now starting over, and have a temporary, and maybe permanent solution at the position. Andy Dalton signs on for one year in hopes of proving he can be a potential franchise quarterback. He was with the Bengals for nine seasons as their starter, and wasn’t ever a star, but was serviceable. He was let go after the team drafted Joe Burrow, and he signed on for a year with Dallas, and was the team’s starter for nine games in place of Dak Prescott, but missed some games himself. He’s only getting paid $10 million, with an extra $3 million in incentives, so it’s pretty low risk for the Bears. If he has a successful season in 2021, I can’t see why he wouldn’t sign an extension. He’s only 33, so he still has some good football years left in him. He’ll also have one of the best receivers in the game on his squad, with Allen Robinson receiving the franchise tag. They also brought in former Chiefs Super Bowl hero Damien Williams and veteran speedster Marquise Goodwin, both of whom opted out of 2020. They also signed Elijah Wilkinson, who has some starting experience with the Broncos, and he’s expected to compete for the right tackle job.
Moving on to the defense, the Bears signed and re-signed a bunch of guys. In the secondary they signed former Falcons first-rounder Desmond Trufant, who’s coming off a rough season with the Lions, and they brought back Tashaun Gipson, a 16-game starter for them last season, and Artie Burns, who missed the entire 2020 season with a torn ACL. He was expected to win a starting job, and he has a chance to again after the team parted with longtime starter Kyle Fuller and nickel Buster Skrine. In the front seven they signed old friend Christian Jones, who spent the last three seasons in Detroit, and pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu. They also brought back Mario Edwards and signed journeyman Angelo Blackson, who’s found footing the past few seasons with the Texans and Cardinals.
Conclusion: It wasn’t an overly flashy free agency, but I consider this a successful offseason so far for the Bears. The quarterback position will always be in question, but give Dalton a chance, he may surprise you, or stink, that’s just part of the Dalton experience. You also have to trust the offense, as it showed flashes last year, and you have to trust the run game. David Montgomery is a stud, use him more. You’ve got Tarik Cohen coming back and you just added Damien Williams, run the ball. The offensive line needs some work, but hopefully it can be finalized and addressed in the draft. The defense is not as good as it was in 2018, but it’s not half bad. You lost Kyle Fuller, but you’ve gotta rebuild and rely on younger guys to step up.
You’ve been a mediocre franchise over the last decade, have some hope that these moves can propel you forward. I’m personally not a fan of Matt Nagy, like at all, but maybe put some trust in them. Prove me wrong, I dare you.
Detroit Lions
Key acquisitions: QB Jared Goff, DT Michael Brockers, RB Jamaal Williams, CB Quinton Dunbar, LB Alex Anzalone, WR Breshad Perriman, K Randy Bullock, DE Charles Harris, WR Tyrell Williams, TE Josh Hill, QB Tim Boyle, WR Kalif Raymond, WR Damion Ratley, S Dean Marlowe
Departures: QB Matthew Stafford (Rams), WR Kenny Golladay (Giants), WR Marvin Jones (Jaguars), CB Desmond Trufant (Bears), CB Justin Coleman (Dolphins), K Matt Prater (Cardinals), DT Danny Shelton (Giants), S Duron Harmon (Falcons), RS Jamal Agnew (Jaguars), LB Reggie Ragland (Giants), S Miles Killebrew (Steelers), LB Christian Jones (Bears), TE Jesse James, QB Chase Daniel (Chargers), G Oday Aboushi (Chargers), CB Darryl Roberts (Washington)
Remaining free agents: WR Danny Amendola, DE Everson Griffen, RB Adrian Peterson
Analysis: What a crazy offseason for the Lions. After once again failing to do anything productive during the season, you fired your head coach Matt Patricia, and traded away your beloved franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford. I’ve felt bad for the guy. Often forgotten because he plays in Detroit, Stafford is such a good quarterback that had been under terrible coaching and front office, that no one cares about. He finally had enough, and got himself traded to the Los Angeles Rams. The haul the Lions got for him is ridiculous, two first-round picks, a third-round pick, oh, and a new franchise quarterback, Jared Goff. Are the Lions set for the next five years at the position? No, but they got a solid option. Goff had a rough start to his career, then had some really good seasons, got a massive contract extension, sucked, and now he’s in Detroit. The Rams had to give up so much just to get rid of him and his ridiculous contract. Now both players get fresh starts, one maybe not in the greatest scenario, but a fresh start indeed.
As part of that fresh start, the Lions also hired a new head coach. Dan Campbell, who was the Saints tight ends coach in 2020, is a fiery motivational leader, who brings energy to the most boring franchise in football. To assist in the fresh start, the team had to make a ton of wholesale changes, releasing a lot of guys and signing brand new ones, all across the roster.
On offense, they obviously swapped out Stafford for Goff, but they made some massive subtractions from the receiving group. They left their top two receivers, Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones, walk, and they replaced them with Breshad Perriman, Tyrell Williams, Kalif Raymond and Damion Ratley. Absolutely perfect replacements. Perriman is a former first-rounder who’s done nothing but bounce around the league and putting up solid numbers for two games every season and spends the rest of the time hurt and being unproductive. Williams missed last season with injury while with the Raiders, and severely underperformed his lone healthy season after signing a four-year deal. Raymond and Ratley are journeyman nobodies, no disrespect, but they’re not difference makers.
One thing you’re gonna have to rely on is the run game, something that’s fairly new to the Lions. D’Andre Swift shined late last season as a rookie, so you’ve got a top guy there, and you have Kerryon Johnson, a solid running back in his own right. Now you’ve added to that group in former division rival Jamaal Williams. Williams has been a great player when he’s been called upon, serving as the Robin to Aaron Jones’ Batman. Jones got paid in Green Bay, so Williams had to head 300 miles southeast to find a new home. It’s unclear how much he’s gonna be used, but this is actually a decent backfield.
Moving over to the defense, the Lions brought in a couple solid guys in Michael Brockers, who hilariously ripped Goff after he was traded out of LA, now they’re teammates again, that’s not awkward at all. They also brought in Alex Anzalone, who’s had familiarity with Campbell in New Orleans and has been a starting linebacker most of his career. They also brought in former Dolphins first-round bust Charles Harris at pass rush, and former Seahawks and Redskins starting CB Quinton Dunbar. All these additions don’t really offset all the guys they cut and let walk. They lost five of their top eight defensive backs, including their snap leader Duron Harmon, a starting linebacker, their starting nose tackle, their top special teamer, oh yeah and their franchise kicker, can’t forget about Matt Prater. They did sign Randy Bullock, but who cares.
Conclusion: This franchise is a disaster. They’re at least trying to fix it, but you wasted over a decade of Stafford in his prime. Pathetic excuse for a franchise.
Green Bay Packers
Key acquisitions: no one
Re-signed: RB Aaron Jones, CB Kevin King, TE Marcedes Lewis, S Will Redmond
Departures: C Corey Linsley (Chargers), RB Jamaal Williams (Lions), LB Christian Kirksey (Texans), G Lane Taylor (Texans), OT Rick Wagner, DT Montravius Adams (Patriots), QB Tim Boyle (Lions)
Remaining free agents: DT Damon Harrison
Analysis: What a bad offseason for the reigning division champs. It started off great with the Aaron Jones four-year extension, but they just decided that was enough. They just sat back and watched all these big time free agents sign elsewhere when they have so many needs on their roster. They just watched their old center become the highest-paid in the league elsewhere, and let go of two former offensive line starters. Because they paid Jones, they had to let his partner in crime, Jamaal Williams, walk, and he signed with the division rival Lions. This was pretty much expected after extending Jones and drafting A.J. Dillon last year.
Good news for Packers fans they did re-sign one other starter…Kevin King. You may remember him as the guy who gave up two touchdowns and had a massive penalty in this past NFC Championship game. And unfortunately for him, that’s all he’s gonna be remembered for, is this game. Before that, he had been a solid corner, but missed a lot of time with injuries. He’s back on a one-year deal, hoping to prove he’s better than his performance that game, which couldn’t have been much worse.
Conclusion: The Packers are barely over the cap, which led to letting guys walk and not signing anyone. It must be so frustrating as a Packers fan to see teams work to get better and improve their roster, meanwhile their team just can’t do anything. I’m not a cap wizard, but there definitely could have been moves and restructures to be able to sign someone, anyone. Your biggest need right now is wide receiver and offensive line. You failed to acquire one at the trade deadline last year, and in a free agency that featured so back big time wide receivers, you signed none of them. Similar thing can be said for the offensive line, which dealt with a lot of injuries last year. Now Corey Linsley is in Los Angeles, which causes some reshuffling from center to the right side. They have to address both these positions early in the draft, or else Packers fans are gonna riot. It seems like this front office and ownership is doing everything in their power to piss off Aaron Rodgers, and that’s not good for business. Who knows how long you’re going to have Rodgers, but you better savor every moment and put all your chips on the table to win another championship. You were so close last year. Be a semi-decent front office and assess your team and it’s needs and address them, common sense.
Minnesota Vikings
Key acquisitions: CB Patrick Peterson, DT Dalvin Tomlinson, CB Mackensie Alexander, S Xavier Woods, C Mason Cole, LB Nick Vigil, DE Stephen Weatherly
Re-signed: RB Ameer Abdullah, G Dakota Dozier
Departures: TE Kyle Rudolph (Giants), S Anthony Harris (Eagles), OT Riley Reiff (Bengals), K Dan Bailey, DE Ifeadi Odenigbo (Giants), DE Shamar Stephen (Broncos), RB Mike Boone (Broncos), LB Eric Wilson (Eagles), DT Jaleel Johnson (Texans)
Remaining free agents: C Brett Jones
Analysis: I would classify the Vikings offseason so far as a mix of everything. You got a couple big signings, nothing super massive, some solid depth pieces, a mid-level trade, and the departure of several veterans and starters. You can basically check all the boxes that are seen in a given offseason when looking at the Vikings moves.
The first big move was signing former Cardinals All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson. The 30-year-old has had a steady decline in his play the past few seasons, and he’s hoping to get back to old form. In his 10 seasons with the Cardinals, he’s been one of the most decorated CBs in NFL history, being named to eight Pro Bowls and being a three-time first-team All-Pro. He’s not in his prime anymore, but he provides a veteran presence in a new-look Vikings secondary that features a lot of young guys. Harrison Smith is still the leader, but having another longtime vet to pair with helps when you have guys like Cameron Dantzler, Jeff Gladney, and Mike Hughes all on rookie deals. They also brought back Mackensie Alexander, their former draft pick who spent 2020 with the Bengals, and they signed former Cowboys starting free safety Xavier Woods. All three of these new guys will be starters, with Peterson a starting CB, Alexander in the slot, and Woods at free safety, replacing Anthony Harris, who signed with the Eagles.
The other big signing on defense was former Giants starting nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, who gets $22 million over two years. Tomlinson has been a stud for the Giants defensive line the past four years, and he’ll pair up with Michael Pierce, who’s returning after opting out of 2020. Nick Vigil also signs on for one year, and he’s expected to compete for a starting job after not getting playing time in his one year with the Chargers despite being a full-time starter with the Bengals. He helps fill the void lost by Eric Wilson, who signed with the Eagles.
The Viking also had to say goodbye to a couple offensive starters. Tight end Kyle Rudolph was released after 10 productive seasons in Minnesota. It seemed like his job had been in jeopardy ever since the team drafted Irv Smith Jr., but the two formed a nice duo for two seasons, but it’s Smith’s job moving forward. They also said goodbye to left tackle Riley Reiff, who was also released in a cap savings move. I feel like he was bound to be released ever since he signed a big contract with them back in 2017. His release creates a massive void at left tackle, and it’s a position that needs to be during or after the draft, because they have nothing in house. The did acquire Mason Cole in a trade with the Cardinals, but he’s in the interior.
Conclusion: Every year I go into the Vikings season with high expectations, but they always fall just short. I believe they made the right moves in free agency so far, now it’s time to look forward to the draft. I can’t see them not addressing the offensive line early, as it’s been rough the past few seasons. Picking 14th, they won’t get the top guy without trading up, but there’s several first-round-graded guys who would be perfect for them. Once they get the o-line fixed, it’s off to the races.
This division is another tough one, and it’s gonna be hard to compete with the Packers, but they’re vulnerable. I don’t expect much from the Lions, but I think the Bears could surprise. If all goes well for the Vikings, the offense and all the talent it has clicks, they’ll be unstoppable. The defense isn’t what it used to be, but it’s got potential. This is probably the most unpredictable division in football, and I look forward to the chaos.
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