The Best and Worst Offseason Move by Each NFC Team

Free agency movement has slowed considerably, and while there are still some big names out there, it’s time to assess the moves from the early portion of the offseason.

Here is the best and the worst move by each team in the NFC thus far. Here is my AFC evaluation.

Dallas Cowboys

Best move: Signed DE Dante Fowler, Jr. to a one-year, $3 million deal

The Cowboys lost a lot of key pieces in free agency, but did find a potential gem in Fowler. He did not live up to expectations with Atlanta but has an 11.5-sack season on his resume when he was flanked by talented pass-rushers with the Rams. It could be the same scenario in Dallas for Fowler, who should see an uptick in his sack production.

Worst move: Traded WR Amari Cooper to the Browns for a fifth-round pick

Plenty of decisions to choose from here. The Cowboys cut right tackle La’el Collins and ended up losing edge rusher Randy Gregory to the Broncos after a re-signing was all but done. The move that takes the cake, though, is Cooper’s departure. He had a down season in 2021, but the track record is strong. After free agency, his salary looks like a bargain 

Philadelphia Eagles

Best move: Signed OLB Haason Reddick to a three-year, $45 million contract

Reddick has reached double-digit sacks in both seasons since moving to edge rusher, and has pure athleticism that can’t be taught. The Eagles get a guy who will be disruptive rushing the passer and didn’t pay a premium for him. Philadelphia’s team-building continues to impress.

Worst move: Didn’t land a premier wide receiver

The Eagles certainly tried to add a pass-catching threat to the fold, reportedly pushing for Calvin Ridley, Allen Robinson, Christian Kirk and others, but close only counts in horseshoes. Philadelphia made the playoffs a season ago and should be in the hunt for double-digit victories, but a prime target to go along with DeVonta Smith would have been a big addition, and it didn’t materialize. However, the draft should help cure that issue.

New York Giants

Best move: Signed G Mark Glowinski to a three-year, $18.3 million contract

The Giants didn’t make many major moves in free agency because of salary cap constraints, but the addition of Glowinski was a good one. He will slide in at guard and help protect Daniel Jones, who is heading into a make-it-or-break-it campaign at quarterback.

Worst move: Released S Logan Ryan 

The Giants got minimal savings on the salary cap with the release of a solid player. Ryan was snapped up by the Buccaneers and should help their defense. Regime changes often lead to cuts like this, but New York should have held onto Ryan, one of its better defensive players.

Washington Commanders

Best move: Signed G Andrew Norwell to a two-year, $10 million contract

The coaching staff has familiarity with Norwell from his time in Carolina, where he made an All-Pro team in 2017. This is a good price for a player who has dealt with injuries in recent years but certainly has talent.

Worst move: Traded a 2022 second-round pick, 2022 third-round pick and 2023 third-round pick for QB Carson Wentz and 2022 second-round pick

Wentz has not been an above average quarterback for years, and Washington’s impatience led to the much-panned acquisition. Wentz is not going to lift this team much higher than Taylor Heinecke pushed it a year ago, and yet it will cost draft capital and $28 million against the cap. Bad move.

Green Bay Packers

Best move: Signed DT Jarran Reed to a one-year, $3.3 million contract

The Packers helped fortify their defensive line with an underrated addition of Reed. While his sack numbers don’t jump off the page, Reed is a good player who should be able to contribute both against the run and in the pass-rushing department.

Worst move: Traded WR Davante Adams to the Raiders for 2022 first- and second-round picks

Aaron Rodgers may seem ageless, but at some point, his production is going to wane. The Packers’ championship window is now, and while keeping Adams would have forced some salary cap gymnastics, it was still the preferred scenario compared to trading away arguably the best wideout in the game. Rodgers is a maestro, but the road to a Super Bowl just got much harder.

Minnesota Vikings

Best move: Signed edge rusher Z’Darius Smith to a three-year, $42 million contract

The actual contract is even more of a bargain than this, and it could be a serious steal for Minnesota. Smith had some great years with the Packers and will now join Danielle Hunter as a pair of serious pass-rushing presences. The Vikings need have an above average defense this season to compete for the NFC North title, and Smith helps with that goal.

Worst move: Signed QB Kirk Cousins to a one-year, $35 million extension

Cousins has solid enough numbers, but he has never helped elevate a team to contending status. The Vikings have a new coach and GM but the regime decided against a teardown this offseason. Minnesota should be good in 2022, but it’s hard to see a legitimate Super Bowl push coming. By extending Cousins, the Vikings remain in NFL purgatory.

Chicago Bears

Best move: Traded OLB Khalil Mack for second- and sixth-round picks

The Bears are not going to be a contender this year or next, so there wasn’t much reason to keep Mack on the roster. While the return was not overwhelming, Chicago now has more bites at the apple in the draft and shed some major salary. The Bears’ new regime has taken the opposite approach of Minnesota and is clearly going to rebuild, which was the prudent choice.

Worst move: Allowed G James Daniels to sign with the Steelers

Daniels is only 24 years old, so a long-term deal would have made sense for the rebuild timeline. It also would have given young quarterback Justin Fields a nice measure of protection, as Daniels is a solid player. Instead, he left for Pittsburgh on a reasonable three-year, $26.5 million contract.

Detroit Lions

Best move: Signed WR D.J. Chark to a one-year, $10 million contract

The Lions were cautious in free agency, which made sense given their status as an NFL also-ran. But once the bargains were to be had, they made a move. Chark has upside, and seeing as how the wide receiver market is taking off, Detroit did well to sign him to a team-friendly deal. The Lions are trying to improve incrementally, and a signing like this will help that push.

Worst move: Didn’t land a cornerback

The Detroit secondary is questionable, and taking a flier on a cover man or two would have been a worthy gamble. This is a minor quibble, as the Lions took the right approach to free agency.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Best move: Re-Signed WR Chris Godwin on a three-year, $60 million deal

Godwin may be coming off injury, but he’s proven to be one of the more electric players in the NFL. The Bucs were smart to lock him up at a rate that looks extremely reasonable following the explosion of the wide receiver market. 

Worst move: Signed RB Leonard Fournette to a three-year, $21 million contract

The Bucs picked up Fournette for nothing at one point, and should have stuck to that strategy at running back. Tampa would have found someone more than willing to take a discount to play with this offense, but instead paid Fournette a premium to return.

New Orleans Saints

Best move: Signed QB Jameis Winston to a two-year, $28 million contract

The Saints got a good deal for Winston, who played well for the team last season before tearing his ACL. New Orleans is in a bit of a transition period this year after the departure of coach Sean Payton, but still has enough pieces to be competitive. Winston has the natural ability to keep New Orleans in games, as this team should be a playoff contender.

Worst move: Lost T Terron Armstead to the Dolphins

Armstead didn’t end up signing a huge deal, and New Orleans would have been well-served to bring him back. It would have been an uphill battle because of the salary cap constraints, but the Saints have kicked the can down the road this long, and they could have done it again to keep a star player at a pivotal position.

Atlanta Falcons

Best move: Signed CB Casey Hayward to a two-year, $11 million contract

Even though Hayward is on the back-end of his career, this was a nice value deal. Getting him for a second year is nice in case the team is somehow able to turn things around quickly and be competitive in 2023. The duo of Hayward and A.J. Terrell at cornerback is solid.

Worst move: Traded QB Matt Ryan to the Colts for a 2022 third-round pick

In a vacuum, trading Ryan wasn’t a bad decision, because the rebuild needed to start sometime, and better to take the huge dead cap hit now than delay the inevitable. However, Atlanta tried to get Deshaun Watson and failed, then had to deal Ryan because things got so messy. The Falcons probably could have gotten a better return in a different scenario, and ended up damaging a relationship with one of their most high-profile players ever.

Carolina Panthers

Best move: Re-Signed CB Donte Jackson to three-year, $35.2 million contract

Jackson has been up and down at times in his career, but is only 26 and is an ascending talent. Carolina inked him to a reasonable deal, and the secondary for the Panthers should be a strength for the foreseeable future.

Worst move: Inactivity at quarterback

The Panthers surely tried to find a signal-caller upgrade this offseason but seem to have struck out. Carolina still has Sam Darnold on the roster, and at this point, he may be the starter in 2022. That’s… not good.

Los Angeles Rams

Best move: Signed WR Allen Robinson to a three-year, $46.5 million deal

The Rams likely would have re-signed Odell Beckham Jr. if he didn’t tear his ACL in the Super Bowl, but pivoted to Robinson instead. It was clear how potent the Los Angeles offense was with Beckham and Cooper Kupp together on the field, so it was smart to find another elite receiver for 2022. 

Worst move: Lost CB Darious Williams to the Jaguars

The Rams lost some big-time talent this offseason, highlighted by Von Miller’s departure to the Bills and Andrew Whitworth’s retirement. Los Angeles didn’t have much hope of keeping either of them, but could have tried to retain Williams, an underrated cornerback who did a nice job the past two seasons.

San Francisco 49ers

Best move: Signed CB Charvarius Ward to a three-year, $45 million contract

The 49ers weren’t particularly active in free agency, but their big splash was a solid play. Ward has allowed a passer rating of 81.1 when targeted in his career and still may have some improvement left in his game. The 49ers remain ultra-talented on defense and Ward should help rectify one of their biggest weaknesses.

Worst move: Didn’t trade Jimmy Garoppolo

Shoulder surgery has no doubt clouded the situation, but the 49ers could have been more aggressive in dealing their quarterback. Now most teams are happy with their current situations, and there is no easy answer for San Francisco.

Arizona Cardinals

Best move: Re-signed TE Maxx Williams on a one-year, $1.1 million deal

Williams is still recovering from a gruesome knee injury, so it’s unknown when he will be fully healthy, but the upside on this low-cost deal is intriguing. The Cardinals overpaid for veteran tight end Zach Ertz, but by getting Williams at a discount, the position group holds intrigue heading into 2022. One of the Cardinals’ best offensive stretches of the Kliff Kingsbury era came when two tight ends were on the field in 2019, and the Ertz-Williams combo brings promise.

Worst move: Re-signed RB James Conner to a three-year, $21 million contract

Conner had big touchdown production in 2020, but it seems like the Cardinals paid for that outlier campaign. His yards-per-carry and rushing yardage over expectation numbers were pedestrian, as Chase Edmonds was the more explosive running back for the team a season ago. Conner is good in pass protection and in short yardage, but that’s a lot of money to pay a guy who isn’t dynamic in the open field, and who can’t run a substantial route tree.

Seattle Seahawks

Best move: Re-signed RB Rashaad Penny to a one-year, $5.8 million deal

Penny did not make a huge impact with Seattle until the end of his fourth season, but what an ending it was. He finished the year with 119 carries for 749 yards and six touchdowns, averaging a sparkling 6.3 yards per carry. Penny has a lot of talent but needs to be more consistent. Running backs are usually paid too much in free agency, but this was a solid short-term stab by Seattle.

Worst move: Traded QB Russell Wilson and a fourth-round pick to the Broncos for QB Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant, DL Shelby Harris, two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a fifth-round pick

The Seahawks’ ownership could have sided with Russell Wilson in his tussle with coach Pete Carroll. The team would have continued to be a playoff contender for multiple more seasons, but instead, Carroll won the tug-of-war, and now Seattle is rebuilding. The return was not enough for such a great quarterback and the Seahawks have no path to an adequate replacement at such a crucial position. Seattle also had an honorable mention worst move by signing tight end Will Dissly to a contract that was much too rich.