2024 NFL free agency winners and losers from first 24 hours of tampering period
- RBs are getting PAID, for better or worse
- Vikings lost Kirk Cousins, but may still be winners
- Raiders are leveling up with QB plans taking shape
Loser: Dallas Cowboys
Live look at the Dallas Cowboys in free agency so far:
While the action has been coming around furiously so far, this team is just asleep at the wheel. Unfortunately, this is the expectation for the Cowboys at this point. Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones have become all too predictable every offseason, not even really waking up until we get into the second week of free agency.
Thus far, Dallas' only move has been to re-sign long snapper Trent Sieg. That's not moving the needle. And while the priorities for the organization may be locking down the likes of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb on expensive new contract extensions, this isn't a perfect roster, so seeing the appalling lack of activity is truly a bummer for every fan that won't do much to raise hopes after another playoff disappointment last year.
Winner: Green Bay Packers
Just a year ago, there would've been deserved questions about what the Green Bay Packers would do in forthcoming offseasons. There was a real chance that, with the transition to Jordan Love, that the franchise would be stuck in limbo. But after Love emerged as a viable franchise quarterback, the calculus changed.
The quantity of moves for the Packers hasn't been large, but the impact has been huge. Signing former Giants second-round pick, safety Xavier McKinney, to a four-year, $68 million is a luxury they can currently afford and a move that answers a huge question at safety, which was a sore spot on the defense last year and could've been worse with Darnell Savage's departure.
But then they also landed Josh Jacobs as well. While it's a four-year, $48 million deal in total, it's ostensibly a one-year deal with opt-outs with no penalty or guarantees beyond that. Though it does push Aaron Jones out the door, it ultimately gives the Packers a potential upgrade with a smaller cap hit and more flexibility moving forward.
At the end of all of this, the Packers have just one player, Preston Smith, who is over 28 years old on the roster going into the 2024 season. This is one of the youngest teams in the league, and a team that looks primed to be back in title contention for years to come, with this free agency class so far playing a big part in that.