Not long ago, the NFL offseason kicked off with the start of the free agency. This is my favorite part of the NFL offseason, as some of you may know. You never know what’s going to happen. That’s why I need to share my thoughts on the two BIGGEST winners of free agency so far. Why only two? Simply because these two teams were clearly the biggest winners this free agency (so far), and I personally don’t think anyone is in the same boat as they are in terms of improving their teams.
New York Jets
The New York Jets started out the offseason with some excellent additions on both sides of the ball. They signed Le’Veon Bell at a relatively low price considering he was asking for much more from the Steelers. Bell was said to, at one point, have been asking for over $15 million per year. The Jets signed arguably the best running back in the NFL to a four-year, $52.5 million deal ($13.125M/yr AAV). That’s a pretty good deal for both sides considering Bell has the ability to completely change and improve the abilities of the offense. It’ll also
New York was also able to make one of the most underrated signings of the offseason in CJ Mosley. Mosley is only 26 years old and has an extremely bright future ahead of him. Last season, Mosley led the stellar Ravens defense in tackles with 105 and averages well over 100 tackles per season in his five seasons. The Jets were able to sign their defensive anchor for an AAV of $17 million over five years. These are both incredible signings by the Jets that, alone, have the ability to bring them to the contender status within the next two seasons.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns have made themselves a contender by completing a huge trade out of nowhere… again. Cleveland traded a 2019 first round pick, a 2019 third round pick, and Jabrill Peppers for Odell Beckham Jr., a man who’s been able to produce with Eli Manning at QB and, in my opinion, is a top-five WR in the NFL.
Cleveland was also able to trade for edge rusher Olivier Vernon, although they gave up a key offensive lineman in Kevin Zeitler.
They’ve done great things for their team this offseason by getting a high-upside edge rusher in Vernon and another superstar WR for Baker Mayfield. Also, let’s not forget about the cheap, low-risk, high-reward signing in Kareem Hunt for just one-year and $1.1 million. The best part of the deal is that none of the money is guaranteed and he has a game bonus for every game he plays. With Hunt suspended eight games, he won’t be getting much money. However, he’s shown to be