Cowboys Are Losers, Giants Are Winners: Winners & Losers of NFL Free Agency

While the NBA offseason tends to bring the drama and headlines, the NFL said hold my drink this year. From Saquon Barkley going from New York hero to a New York villain to the Ravens giving the reigning MVP Lamar Jackson a former MVP candidate in Derrick Henry, the NFL's negotiation period has been nothing short of entertaining. Many teams have struck big and many teams have struck out. Then there's the Dallas Cowboys who decided to not step up to the plate at all. In the case of the Eagles, the rich got richer while the Panthers likely dug themselves into a deeper hole. 

With the first two days of free agency over, we put together some winners and losers up until this point of free agency. There are still names out there available like Danielle Hunter and Calvin Ridley that can possibly swing the outlook of a team but most of the top free agent prospects have been scooped up. For the fans that will be riled up by their team's assessment, this is solely our opinion. 

Here are the winners and losers from the 2024 NFL free agency.

Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants were in a standoff the past couple seasons. Saquon has been vocal about the value of running back especially when he talked to us earlier this offseason. He made it clear that he was ready to walk away from the Giants if he didn't receive the contract he believed he deserved. The breakup was imminent but it's still hard to believe the Giants let him walk to their division rival. 

Now, Saquon will become the second highest paid running back in NFL history in terms of average-per-year salary and join a functioning offense for the first time in his career. Saquon will not have to shoulder an offense all by himself and his versatility in the passing game will make an elite Eagles offense that much harder to stop. 

Let's start off with the initial label of losers. This was less about losing Saquon Barkley and more about losing homegrown great talent because you wanted to overpay Daniel Jones. The split between Saquon and the Giants was predictable and quite frankly, probably the best decision for both but losing Xavier McKinney as well and replacing Saquon with Devin Singletary was certainly a choice. The Giants have too many holes to fill and what looked like a promising situation two years ago after a playoff win briefly turned into an imminent rebuilding situation. 

Then, the Brian Burns trade happened and the Giants suddenly had life. Acquiring one of the best pass rushers in the NFL to team up with Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence gives the Giants one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. The formula of stacking the defensive line was the foundation to the Giants winning their Super Bowls in 2008 and 2012. While the direction of the team is still hazy, the Giants now know where they have to improve to get back to being a playoff contender. The offense. The offense still needs a quarterback to go along with a No. 1 wide receiver but there's still time and opportunity to fill those holes. The Giants also strengthened their offensive line which has been an issue for the past decade. 

The market was already dry for Justin Fields but it got even worse after day one of free agency. There aren't many teams that will be willing to go out and trade for Fields to be their QB1. It seems like Caleb Williams to Chicago is a foregone conclusion in the draft and Chicago is running out of options to make a deal. The Broncos may be a possible destination but they don't have enough weapons to get the best out of Fields. It's probably best for Fields to be dealt prior to the draft but the Bears don't seem in a rush to make a deal as reported by NFL insider Ian Rapaport. 

The Cowboys watched the Eagles, Giants, and Commanders make significant moves and they stayed silent. The Dallas Cowboys were the only team in the NFL to not agree to a deal with one of their own free agents or one from the free agency pool during the first day. This comes off as hypocritical to Cowboys fans after Jerry Jones said he was "all in" for the 2024 season. They've been anything but all in and there are certainly changes to be made after an embarrassing exit to the Packers earlier this year. 

After losing Tony Pollard to the Titans, the Cowboys have a vacancy at running back. While people may see running backs as easily replaceable, there aren't many options available anymore for Dallas. Not to mention, this is one of the weaker drafts in terms of running back talent and depth. If going all in is running it back with the same roster then pray for Cowboys fans. 

Derrick Henry is certainly not the MVP candidate he once was but he's still very effective and arguably the best running back Lamar Jackson has ever played with in his time in Baltimore. Henry takes a lot of pressure off Lamar Jackson to create with his legs especially on the goal line. The move is low risk with high reward and now the Ravens can focus on adding another target for Lamar Jackson. They lost Patrick Queen but there was no way they could pay him with Roquan Smith still on the roster.  

Kirk Cousins admitted himself that he felt like he was on his way out the league before his famous "You Like That" moment. Eight years later, he's still going strong and just secured a BAG from the Atlanta Falcons even after suffering a torn achilles. Even off a serious injury, he's still a major upgrade for the Falcons but $100 million guaranteed for a quarterback turning 36 years old that is coming off an achilles tear is certainly an interesting choice. Only time will tell  f the Falcons made the right decision but regardless Kirk won. 

Pray for Bryce Young. This is not a functioning franchise. The Panthers denied two first round picks for Brian Burns in 2022 and now traded him for a second and fifth round pick. Sure, they weren't going to pay him that contract but you're not getting equal value in return. Then they topped that by spending over $150M on two guards that aren't exactly generational talents. Yes, Bryce Young needed protection but spending all that money on guards is certainly a choice. Reminder, the Panthers do not have a first round pick this year so they're very much looking at another year of mediocrity.