Day 1 of the NFL’s Free Agency Frenzy is in the books, as several of the NFL’s notable players “unofficially” agreed to contracts with a handful of teams around the league. Some teams walked away having upgraded their rosters significantly in just one day, while other teams have their work cut out for them heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the teams who are on opposite ends of the discussion: the winners & losers from the start of the NFL free agency period.
Winner: Chicago Bears
On the first day of free agency, the Chicago Bears made upgrades to both sides of the trenches by signing former Atlanta Falcons in C Drew Dalman and DT Grady Jarrett. Dalman was immediately amongst the first signings of the negotiating window, and he became the 2nd-highest paid center in the league on a three-year, $42M contract. Jarrett, meanwhile, was released by the Falcons organization at around 11 A.M. on Monday morning and he had already signed with the Bears by 4 P.M. the same day.
Combine the team’s aggressive approach in free agency with their pre-free agency trades for OGs Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, and it’s clear that new head coach Ben Johnson prioritizes upgrading the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Dalman, Jarrett, Thuney, and Jackson are all solid veteran starters that the team has paid handsomely in an effort to establish an identity along the lines of scrimmage.
Loser: Atlanta Falcons
Hamstrung by the Kirk Cousins contract, the Falcons were forced to watch as both Jarrett and Dalman left for the Windy City during the first day of NFL free agency. That hurts, especially as they then saw similar teams that have rookie QBs (Bears, Commanders, Patriots) take more aggressive approaches in the first wave of free agency by taking advantage of having their quarterbacks signed to cheap contracts.
Even with the cap space gained from Jarrett’s release, the team is more likely than not going to find themselves bargain shopping during the latter days of free agency. That’s a tough pill to swallow when the team needs include defensive end, defensive tackle, cornerback, and center amongst a bundle of other high priority positions.
Winner: New England Patriots
For two decades under Bill Belichick, the Patriots were one of the most uninspiring teams during the free agency period; however, since his departure, the organization has turned into one of the most active in the entire league over the past few years. The trend continued on this year, as the Patriots agreed to terms with the No. 3 (DL Milton Williams) and No. 10 (CB Carlton Davis) players who were featured on the NFL’s list of the Top 101 NFL free agents of 2025, amongst several other signings.
Who can forget Williams’ performance in Super Bowl LIX where he had two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in the Eagles lopsided victory over the Chiefs? Still just 26 years old, he may just now be coming into the prime of his stellar career. Davis, OT Morgan Moses, and DL Harold Landry were rewarded for their efforts as solid starters for their previous teams, which is what the Patriots desperately need.
Loser: Dallas Cowboys
After team owner Jerry Jones promised that the team was “all-in” last offseason and failing to deliver, the ‘Boys have taken a similar approach to their offseason in 2025. With all of their cap space tied up in the hefty contracts of QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb in addition to the pending mega contract extension for EDGE Micah Parsons, the team has very little wiggle room to sign other players that they need to compete with the Eagles and Commanders in the surprisingly competitive NFC East.
Their offseason so far has consisted of watching stalwart OL Zack Martin retire, re-signing DL Osa Odighizuwa and signing backup RB Javonte Williams on Monday. That’s just simply not going to cut it for a scuffling team that went 7-10 last season.
Winner: Washington Commanders
Credit the Commanders for realizing that their contention window is open after a surprising push to the NFC title game led by rookie QB Jayden Daniels last season. The team swung two massive trades in acquiring WR Deebo Samuel and OT Laremy Tunsil, in addition to picking up DL Javon Kinlaw on a modest three-year contract.
Upgrading the team’s defense should continue to be a priority, but it doesn’t appear that the team is fazed whatsoever by competing against the Eagles in their division. Of course, it certainly helps when all of your team’s financial resources can be put towards contending because your star rookie QB is signed to his cheap rookie deal.
Honorable mention: Seattle Seahawks
You can’t blame the team for trying I suppose after trading away QB Geno Smith and WR DK Metcalf in favor of signing QB Sam Darnold & re-signing their own players. That said, is Darnold really that much of an upgrade over Smith at a similar value? For a team that won 10 games last year, it’s hard to see a vision behind their moves.
The Sports Beacon 