NFL Analysis
3/13/25
8 min read
2025 NFL Free Agency: Biggest Winners, Losers of First Wave
The first wave of free agency is over and you can argue that it was over by early Tuesday morning. Most of the top 50 free agents were already taken off the board, and the best players available going into Day 2 were one-year rentals with age concerns or an injury history. Free agency used to be a week-long event. Now, it’s about 18 hours long.
But which teams and players did well for themselves in free agency? And who is stuck wondering where to find talent next? Here are the biggest winners and losers after the first wave of free agency:
Free Agency Biggest Winners, Losers
Winner: Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears were highly aggressive in the early stages of free agency, including making two trades (Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney before the week even started).
The Bears are the biggest winners of free agency because they had a clear plan and executed it. That plan was to get better in the trenches, and they certainly accomplished that.
The Bears added three quality starters on their interior offensive line, including Drew Dalman, who was the top center of the class. Thuney is a four-time Super Bowl champion who can play guard and tackle, while Jackson is a competent starter in the right scheme.
We will see how long it takes these players to gel with one another, but the fact that the Bears were so committed to spending this many resources on their offensive line is a good indicator that the front office knows what they are doing.
But the Bears addressed more than just the offensive line. They signed two impact defensive linemen (Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett) to help the pass rush improve in 2025. They still need more depth on the defensive line, but adding these two players should greatly improve the unit.
The Bears still have a lot more work to be done, but they’ve added five quality players to the trenches this offseason. And with a strong draft, Chicago could be highly competitive in Year 1 under Ben Johnson. The vibes are finally good again for the Bears.
Loser: San Francisco 49ers
It’s been a rough offseason for the San Francisco 49ers, but it’s not unexpected. After a few years of going all in to compete for a Super Bowl, the 49ers had to shed some bad contracts and let talented players leave in free agency. That included Dre Greenlaw and Talona Hufanga, fantastic starters who had missed too much time during the last few years.
They were also unable to keep two starting-caliber offensive linemen, Jaylon Moore and Aaron Banks, who signed big contracts elsewhere on Day 1 of free agency.
San Francisco was also forced to move from some important veterans, including Deebo Samuel (trade), Javon Hargrave, and Leonard Floyd, as they tried to rebuild the roster and get younger. However, their lack of activity in free agency is a clear sign of where they believe they are right now.
The 49ers are well-coached and still have some top-end talent at important positions. However, with a Brock Purdy contract extension looming, this is no longer a team that can afford an A+ roster around their young quarterback.
This will be the worst roster that they’ve had in years, but the hope is a strong draft class can help fill in the gaps. They’ll need to ace the draft if they want to get back into Super Bowl contention anytime soon.
Winner: Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are another team that had a clear plan going into the offseason. While it was always going to sting to let Sam Darnold walk for nothing, they more than made up for it with the rest of their signings. They locked up Byron Murphy to a contract extension, keeping their top cornerback on the roster.
They did the same with Aaron Jones, who was very solid in 2024 in Kevin O’Connell’s offense. Jones was signed as a free agent from the Packers last offseason and became one of the most reliable pieces on the offense. Those moves alone would have made them one of the big winners of free agency.
Minnesota added not one but two impact defensive tackles in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. While both are older players, they are significant upgrades compared to what it had on the roster last year. The Vikings also added Will Fries, arguably the best guard on the market, and signed Ryan Kelly, the second-best available center behind Dalman.
Fries and Kelly played next to each other in Indianapolis for years and will now do the same in Minnesota. The offensive line is intact, which will allow the Vikings to draft the best player available in every round of the draft.
The Vikings were already contenders going into the 2025 season, and now they are that much closer to competing for a Super Bowl in the NFC. With a young quarterback under center and a dynamic roster surrounding him, it's time to strike.
Loser: Dallas Cowboys
No one expected the Dallas Cowboys to be the big winners of free agency, and that’s okay.
Their most important signing this offseason was bringing back Osa Odighizuwa on a long-term contract extension just a few days before free agency. Dallas deserves some credit for getting that done before the new league year, especially after seeing what Milton Williams, Jonathan Allen, and Jarrett commanded on the open market.
However, the Cowboys' overall performance in free agency was poor again. The Cowboys are a draft-and-develop franchise, and they’ve been that way for the last decade. They have not signed an outside free agent on a deal worth more than $6.5 million per season since Greg Hardy in 2015. That was a decade ago, and the cap has since risen by more than $130 million dollars. It’s just not what they do.
But they shouldn’t be in the business of letting their own players walk, especially with the cap space that they do have right now. Jourdan Lewis and Chauncey Golston received modest deals in free agency, but Dallas didn’t match them. Both players were key starters for the Cowboys on defense, and their absence will create more holes for them to fill during the draft.
The Cowboys made a few low-end signings, like Javonte Williams and Robert Jones. However, those are hardly impact deals that will move the needle. With the Eagles and Commanders significantly ahead of them in the NFC East, Dallas failed to close the gap in the first few days of free agency.
In fact, that gap likely just got even wider after Dallas lost more talent on defense again this offseason.
Winner: Davante Adams, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Last season had to be difficult for Davante Adams. He started the year off in Las Vegas, playing with arguably the worst collection of quarterbacks in the NFL.
Adams sat out multiple games as he wanted to be traded, and it ultimately happened, landing with Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. Adams averaged 77 receiving yards per game with the Jets, but they went 2-8 in 10 games.
Adams was eventually released by the Jets, and he made it clear that he wanted to play on the West Coast with a good quarterback. He spoke it into existence, signing with the Los Angeles Rams and playing with Matthew Stafford.
Adams will be paired with Puka Nacua, a superstar No. 1 receiver who struggled to stay healthy during the 2024 seasons. Adams will be the clear-cut No. 2 in Los Angeles, but that suits his game at this stage of his career.
After being stuck in Las Vegas and New York during the past three seasons, Adams is finally back in a winning situation with a superstar coach, quarterback, and organization. It’s hard to think of a single player this offseason who is a bigger winner than Adams now that he is in the perfect situation to end his career.
