This is not that hard, but NFL general managers routinely make it such. We are two days into the legal tampering period ahead of NFL free agency. Teams with money to spend like the New England Patriots are doing so, while others with little to no cap scape must wait for the first and second waves of free agency to pass before it is their turn to dive head first into the bottom of the bargain barrel.
What people tend to forget is NFL free agency is different than in other sports. In a hard salary capped league, teams are essentially trying to build rosters up with bits and pieces they find at a garage sale. This is because the best players on the best teams hardly ever hit free agency. Proactive-minded general managers always work diligently to get their best players extensions.
So with that in mind, there are a handful of moves that will become official at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 12 that were not good ideas at the time. Some of these moves I hated will end up working out. Others I cannot stop talking about will blow up in my face. This is the nature of the beast this time of year. It is why it is more important than ever to build a great team through the draft first.
Here are the five series of moves I firmly believe teams made GOB Bluth huge mistakes in doing.
5. Seattle Seahawks overpaying for one-year wonder quarterback Sam Darnold
You can call me a Sam Darnold hater, I really do not care. When he was coming out of USC back in 2018, I thought there was no way he could bust. Well, he almost did. If not for having everything set up for him on a silver platter with the Minnesota Vikings this past season, what would we define him as? This is why I cannot get behind the Seattle Seahawks paying $100 million to sign him this spring.
He may have a connection with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, but Seattle does not have DK Metcalf to throw the ball to anymore. He plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the Seahawks opted to get younger with Darnold after trading away Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle may have painted itself into a corner in trying to pay a good, but not great quarterback premium money.
I may be so wrong here, but I would have much rather seen him go to a team like the Steelers instead.
4. Tennessee Titans massively reaching to add Dan Moore to their offensive line
When you pay somebody I have never heard of a ton of money, I doubt it is going to work out for you. The Tennessee Titans decided to give former Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Dan Moore a four-year deal worth $82 million. I hope that money you just gave Moore helps you sleep at night because I would be utterly terrified to play there if I was Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders or another quarterback.
I understand that Moore competed in the same division as Titans head coach Brian Callahan when he was on Zac Taylor's Cincinnati Bengals staff, but this is an ungodly amount of money to pay just a guy. Moore could end up being the best offensive lineman to play for the Titans since Bruce Matthews for all I know. I just do not think he is going to hold a candle to what even Taylor Lewan did in his prime...
The Titans are not going to be the least bit good, but I do not want their rookie quarterback mangled.
3. Atlanta Falcons letting Drew Dalman and Grady Jarrett walk to the Chicago Bears
We have come full circle. The Atlanta Bears have become the Chicago Falcons. Let's just say I am not having a good time watching my Atlanta Falcons do whatever it is they do in the early part of free agency. This team did not have a ton of cap space to begin with, but seeing both Drew Dalman and Grady Jarrett leave for the Chicago Bears in the same day has me feeling a certain way. Great job!
Jarrett spent a decade playing for his hometown team. He may be on the decline, but he should have finished his career in Atlanta. Dalman was thought to be overpriced, but Atlanta could have afforded what Chicago paid him. The Falcons missed the playoffs last year for a few reasons. Whether it be defensive line play, quarterback issues or poor coaching, Atlanta is not helping Michael Penix Jr. here.
Chicago is not quite a playoff team yet, but Terry Fontenot sure wants the Bears to be over Atlanta.
2. Houston Texans trading Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders
The Houston Texans' gas mask may be defective. Why on god's green earth would you trade Laremy Tunsil to another fringe Super Bowl contender in the Washington Commanders right before free agency starts? I understand that Tunsil did not initially play for the Texans, but who are you going to have protect your most important asset's blind side now in C.J. Stroud? I do not understand this at all!
Houston is the only franchise in the NFL that has never played in its conference championship. To be fair, this is the youngest franchise in the league coming up on its 23rd birthday. For Washington, this move signifies the Commanders' intentions of going all-in this season. They have the young star quarterback in Jayden Daniels, one who is a year behind Stroud in terms of being paid handsomely.
The Texans will only go as far as Stroud will take them, but this trade certainly is playing with fire.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers not taking Justin Fields' time with the team seriously
I am so incredibly done with the Mike Tomlin era of Pittsburgh Steelers football. Because of his elite ability to win nine games a year, the man can do no wrong in Western Pennsylvania. Well, his franchise may have made a decision it may not be able to come back from. They had Justin Fields on the last year of his rookie contract. Instead of empowering him, they enabled Russell Wilson, and he walked.
Fields willingly left Pittsburgh, a team that never finishes below .500, for a team in the New York Jets that has not made the playoffs since 2010. If I did the math right, that would put Fields in something like fifth grade growing up in Cobb County, Georgia. Pittsburgh did not take what it traded for in Fields seriously last season and may get burned for it. Will it be Wilson or Aaron Rodgers next season? Oof...
When I like the Jets' offseason plans more than what your team did, you have major issues at hand.