3 NFL teams already regretting letting players in new places walk

At the end of the day, football is a business. Sometimes teams will have to let go of players if they don't have the roster space of the money to keep them. This was a staple of the 2024 offseason, as a ton of different players changed teams this offseason.

But some of these players changed teams and instantly rewarded their new squads in NFL Week 1. It's hard to let a player go, but it's even harder to be regretful as that player goes to another team and thrives.

Which teams are already regretting letting some of their top talent leave for a new team?

3. The Miami Dolphins are already regretting letting LB Andrew Van Ginkel leave

The Miami Dolphins opted to let their linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel leave this offseason, where Van Ginkel landed with the Minnesota Vikings where he now starts at inside linebacker. There have been rumors in the past of Van Ginkel getting his spot taken in the starting lineup, but he quickly proved why he deserves to start in the Week 1 matchup with Daniel Jones and the New York Giants.

Van Ginkel did a little bit of everything in the game against the Giants. He made four tackles and had a sack. The linebacker added a pass defensed and two quarterback hits. But the highlight of his game came when he intercepted a Daniel Jones pass and took it back 10 yards for a Vikings touchdown.

He's a versatile player with a ton of talent. The Dolphins didn't want to pay him while the Vikings did. I bet that Miami is wishing they would have been a bit more aggressive in trying to get Van Ginkel back on their defense.

Miami's defense looked solid in Week 1, but they would have been even better if they still had Van Ginkel in the middle of their defense. One man's trash is another man's treasure though and Minnesota will take that every day of the week.

2. The Cincinnati Bengals are already regretting letting RB Joe Mixon leave

The Cincinnati Bengals had a loaded offense in 2023, whenever they were healthy. Of course, they have Joe Burrow, one of the better signal callers in the league, as the helm of everything. Beside Burrow in the backfield was Joe Mixon, a once controversial running back who had carved himself quite the career in Cincinnati. The Bengals also had a trio of wide receivers that could challenge any team in the league as the best pass-catching unit.

But as 2023 turned to 2024, Mixon and wideout Tyler Boyd ended up on different teams. Out of the two, it's quite obvious that the Bengals are missing the services of Joe Mixon.

In Week 1, the Bengals running back duo of Zack Moss and Chase Brown combined for 12 carries, 55 yards and a touchdown on the ground in Cincinnati's upset loss to the New England Patriots.

Meanwhile, in Houston, Mixon was the best player on a loaded Texans offense. The Houston Texans back ran the ball 30 times for 159 yards and a touchdown while also catching three passes in Houston's win.

Letting Mixon go was quite the questionable decision and it's already coming back to hurt the Bengals.

1. The New York Giants are already regretting letting RB Saquon Barkley leave

I mean, come on. Let's be honest for a minute. Did anybody imagine the New York Giants' decision to let Saquon Barkley walk in free agency was going to be a good one?

Barkley was the best player on a lackluster Giants offense. New York doesn't value running backs though, deciding to pay Daniel Jones $160 million while basically telling Barkley to kick rocks.

Barkley moved on with the Giants biggest rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, and it took just one week of football for the Giants to realize how horrible their decision was.

Meanwhile, Barkley had 24 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns in Philadelphia's thrilling win over Green Bay. He also made two catches, one of them being a very impressive touchdown grab.

For those of you counting at home, Barkley scored three touchdowns in Week 1 while Daniel Jones has thrown just two touchdown passes in the last two years. New York's run game suffered as well, recording 21 carries for 74 yards in the blowout loss to the Vikings.

Now, the Giants will be reminded of how bad their decision was twice a year when they have to play their former running back. Not a good look New York.