NFL free agency began on March 15th with teams negotiating during the legal tampering period. Many teams made moves to improve and chase the Lombardi this year. I have gathered my winners and losers for Day 1. My big winner probably had the best start to the new league year by far.

Winners: New England Patriots signees

The Patriots surprised us all with their spending spree to start off the new league year. The 2 deals that stand out the most are TE Jonnu Smith’s 4 years/50 million dollar contract and OLB Matthew Judon’s 4 years/56 million dollar deal. They were also able to sign Jalen Mills(4yr/24 Million) and Nelson Agholor(2yr/26 Million). Smith’s deal has intrigued me the most as he is now one of the top paid tight ends in the NFL. Bill Belichick spent 146 million so far, to put that into perspective he has spent 360 million in free agency in the past 10 years. The new signees got paid and now time will tell if their production fits their price tag.

Losers: Packers future cap situation

Earlier in the week, the Green Bay Packers re-signed RB Aaron Jones to a 4 year/ 48 million dollar deal. He was the best free-agent running back but he will stay in the Packer’s offense for the next 4 years. This concerns me as the Packers will have to pay one of the top corners in the league in Jaire Alexander and the best WR in football last year, Devante Adams. They couldn't afford to pay All-pro center Corey Lindsley which is a major blow to their great offensive line. While this isn't an impossible task to overcome, it is one that can make improving the roster a lot harder.

Winners: Browns Secondary

The Browns’ biggest liability last year was their secondary. This was highlighted even more when Denzel Ward missed a stretch of games last year. John Johnson III signed a 3 year/33.7 million dollar contract with the Cleveland Browns today. Johnson had his best season last year, a huge part of the best defensive team in the league. The former 3rd round pick is great in coverage and in one of the best tacklers in his position. Johnson and second-round pick Grant Delpit will be key to improving the secondary.

Losers: Chiefs Offensive line improvements?

Due to the lowering of the salary cap this year, the chiefs cut starting OT Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. We witnessed for ourselves the importance of having great edge protectors in the Super Bowl. With them gone, the chiefs gave Joe Thuney a 5 year/80 million dollar deal. Thuney is a great Left Guard but he is way overpaid and is not what the chiefs should be addressing. If they can’t get any offensive tackle improvements will be seeing a lot more running from Patrick Mahomes.

Winner: Corey Linsley

Linsley became the highest-paid Center as the Los Angeles Chargers Signed him to a 5 year/ 62.5 million dollar deal. He was undoubtedly the best Center in the NFL the last year in the league as he was top 5 in both pass and run block win rate. The Chargers are in on protecting the offensive rookie of the year. The draft also gives them a great opportunity to keep building the offensive line.

Winner: Cam Newton

With Cam Newton returning to New England was a hot topic when it was announced with many fans claiming this move was setting them back. The Patriots made moves getting Cam new weapons to work within year 2. Jonnu Smith, Nelson Agholor, and Kendrick Bourne were brought in on day 1 of free agency, all 3 players are great after the catch by the way. The 15th overall pick is also in their hands and players like Jaylen Waddle and Kadarius Toney will most likely still be available.

The biggest winner on Day 1 was…

Tampa Keeping the Squad together

The Super Bowl champs had a couple of key players heading into free agency. LaVonte David, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, Shaq Barrett most notably. They kept all 4. Tampa restructured Tom Brady’s contract to make it more team-friendly last week. Chris Godwin stays due to the Franchise tag, Tampa will have to address giving him an exterior or not next offseason. Resigning LaVonte David was huge as they keep their defensive leader and they retain the best coverage Linebacker in the NFL. Shaq Barrett gets paid as his incredible Super bowl performance was key to containing Mahomes and the Cheifs offense. Gronk had 2 touchdowns in the big game and has amazing chemistry with Brady. The Buccs are set to repeat for the Lombardi this year.