Free agency winners and losers: How 49ers struck gold
The NFL's free agent frenzy began this week as teams look to improve their roster for what they hope is a Super Bowl run in 2021.Bill Belichick got his platinum credit card and went on a spending spree, bolstering holes he has failed to fill via the draft in the past several years. While Emperor Belichick was plucking top free agents in New England, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went to work keeping their Super Bowl roster together as they eye a repeat run.The 49ers entered a critical offseason with a list of priorities and quickly checked almost every box, with nickelback K'Waun Williams being the only target who they have yet to secure.On the flip side, Jon Gruden continues to drive his flaming clown car around Las Vegas and the Raiders are no closer to putting together a true contender.While Gruden was busy dismantling his offensive line, the Seattle Seahawks have yet to patch things up with Russell Wilson, and Urban Meyer's first foray into NFL free agency should worry Trevor Lawrence.Here are the winners and losers from the opening of free agency.
Bruce Arians said the Bucs were going to bring everyone back for a repeat bid, and, so far, he wasn't lying.
Tampa Bay tagged Chris Godwin and brought back Lavonte David, Shaq Barrett, Rob Gronkowski and Jason Pierre-Paul.
The Bucs also are in talks to re-sign Ndamukong Suh and most expect them to retain Antonio Brown as well.
It's been a home-run free agency period for the defending champions who are indeed running it back.
You can give the Bears credit for retaining Allen Robinson, but it's clear he doesn't want to be there, and unless they plan on giving him a giant long-term deal and a competent quarterback they'll probably end up taking trade calls about him anyway.
But, of course, Chicago's big L came at the quarterback position. The Bears couldn't bring Mitchell Trubisky back, so they made a run at Russell Wilson. The Seahawks reportedly turned down a trade offer that included three first-round picks and two players, so the Bears signed Andy Dalton to a one-year deal giving us the Dalton-Nick Foles quarterback competition we all need.
General manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy's jobs are on the line this season, and unless they find a way to draft a young quarterback, they'll be putting all their eggs in the Dalton-Foles basket.
The Chiefs saw their bid to repeat as Super Bowl champions go up in flames due to a patchwork offensive line that allowed the Bucs to tee off on Patrick Mahomes.
So, like any competent organization, general manager Brent Veach went out and fixed the weakness.
The Chiefs gave top guard Joe Thuney a massive contract and signed the recently-unretired Kyle Long. Thuney can play everywhere along the line and Long was a Pro Bowl-caliber player when healthy.
Now, Kansas City can look to address its secondary or get Mahomes another weapon in the first round of the NFL draft.
The Jaguars entered free agency with a boatload of money and made a number of moves, but none that really stand out as long-term wins.
They signed cornerback Shaquil Griffin and safety Rayshawn Jenkins to help their putrid secondary, but I'd expect the Jags to be looking to get out of those deals in two years.
The only moves they made on offense was to tag offensive tackle Cam Robinson and sign Marvin Jones and Carlos Hyde. That's not a lot of help for presumptive No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence on the offensive side of the ball, which is what their focus should be.
The Football Team made the playoffs last season at 7-9 behind the combination of Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, Dwayne Haskins and Taylor Heinicke at quarterback.
Signing Ryan Fitzpatrick gives them an upgrade at the quarterback position, but they still need to find a long-term answer under center. That could come in the NFL draft, but at least they have a competent starter who can win games in the NFC East.
Washington's real wins, however, came in the signings of wide receiver Curtis Samuel and cornerback William Jackson. Samuel, who played under head coach Ron Rivera in Carolina, should excel in Washington's offensive system, and the Football Team got a top-tier corner in Jackson for CB2 money. Add in tagging guard Brandon Scherff and it's been a good period of the defending NFC Least champs.
The Bengals swapped out Carl Lawson and Williams Jackson for Trey Hendrickson and Mike Hilton, two inferior players at similar positions. They did sign defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi which is a solid move.
However, to this point, the Bengals haven't gotten Joe Burrow any help along the offensive line which is quite troubling. Veteran left tackle Riley Reiff reportedly is set to visit Cincinnati, but there will be other teams in play for the 32-year-old.
The Bengals also reportedly have offered wide receiver Kenny Golladay a one-year deal, but he is going to visit the New York Giants on Thursday.
If the Bengals land Golladay and Reiff, they'll be removed from the losers list. But as of now, they've done little to help out Burrow, which should be their main focus.
I waffled on this one because, yes, the Patriots overpaid for Day 1 free agents to plug holes at positions they have whiffed on in the draft. That's usually not a winning strategy.
But they got two talented tight ends in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, who will immediately improve their offense. Passing out of 12 personnel (one back and two tight ends) is very effective because it forces the defense into a run/pass conundrum. Since having two tight end sets are often run-oriented, defenses will choose to trot out their base defense instead of the nickel or dime they would use when facing 11 personnel. Getting to face another linebacker as opposed to another defensive back gives the offense a significant advantage in the passing game, especially with two talented pass-catching tight ends like Henry and Smith.
Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels want to have an offense that can create mismatches and put defenses in challenging positions. They've started to build such a unit with Henry and Smith. The additions of Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne at wide receiver also should help what has been a putrid skill group for two seasons.
Adding a Pro Bowl rusher in Matthew Judon also was a good get, and defensive end Henry Anderson should be a solid depth addition.
Now, about the quarterback spot.
After two seasons of having one of the NFL's most expensive offensive lines, the Raiders changed course, opting for a more cost-effective line in order to improve the rest of the roster.
Trent Brown is in New England. Gabe Jackson was sent to Seattle. And, the Raiders made the stunning move to trade Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson to the Arizona Cardinals.
It's been a clown car of an offseason as Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock continue to fly by the seat of their pants.
They signed edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue and defensive linemen Quinton Jefferson and Solomon Thomas. The Raiders also brought back Denzelle Good, Richie Incognito, Johnathan Hankins and Zay Jones, but lost Nelson Agholor who was one of Derek Carr's favorite targets last season.
They also haven't found a way to get Marcus Mariota's contract off the books and haven't improved their secondary, which, if you remember, was putrid last season.
These Raiders are a long way from true contention.
The J.J. Watt signing was splashy, but it's getting Hudson that has me put the Cardinals in the winner's circle here.
If Kyler Murray is going to take the next step, the Cardinals have to protect him and give him time to orchestrate from the pocket and not rely on his improvisational skills. Hudson is one of the best centers in football and should immediately improve the Cardinals' offensive line.
They also signed A.J. Green to a one-year contract, but the addition of Hudson puts the Cardinals on track to get over the hump and back to the playoffs in 2021.
Re-signing Leonard Williams was important given what they gave up to acquire him, but the Giants have done little to give Daniel Jones help on the offensive side of the ball.
The signing of Jon Ross and DeVontae Booker don't move the needle at all. If they can sign Kenny Golladay when he visits Thursday that will be a massive win, but for now the Giants have done little to improve their team.
The 49ers' main priority in the offseason was making sure Trent Williams didn't change zip codes. They made sure of that when they agreed to re-sign the star left tackle to a record-breaking six-year contract.
Bringing back Williams, along with the addition of center Alex Mack, gives the 49ers a solid offensive line that should be much better in pass protection than it was last season.
The 49ers also signed athletic edge rusher Samson Ebukam to give them more speed and explosiveness off the edge, and brought back cornerbacks Jason Verrett and Emmanuel Moseley to secure the cornerback spots.
Add in the re-signing of fullback Kyle Juszczyk, and the 49ers have checked almost every box, and have given themselves flexibility as they head toward the NFL draft.
Things aren't going great in the Pacific Northwest.
Russell Wilson might not have requested a trade, but anytime you have your agent send out a list of team you would be fine playing for, it's clear you'd like a change.
Of the four teams Wilson initially had on his list -- Raiders, Bears, Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints -- two no longer are viable options as the Cowboys signed Dak Prescott to a monster contract and the Saints seem content to ride with Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston in 2021.
The Bears reportedly made an offer and the Seahawks said thanks but no thanks. As for the Raiders, well that offensive line Wilson thought would keep him clean has been dismantled.
So, it appears he and the Seahawks might be stuck with each other this season.
Seattle has done little in free agency to change Wilson's mind. Acquiring Gabe Jackson from the Raiders is a nice boost to the interior line, but more help is required and missing out on Hudson was a tough blow.
Pete Carroll has to find a way to mend his relationship with Wilson and bolster the line in front of his star quarterback, or else things could fall apart quickly.
