NFL Free Agency 2020: 10 Biggest Losers of March

The NFL calendar season begins in March. People often forget that, but it's a crucial time period for the sport, and the general managers in particular. Coupled with the NFL Draft in April, championship football teams are built in Spring. From there, they are developed in Summer, deployed and evaluated in Fall, and finalized as we head into Winter. Seasons cannot be won in the Spring, but they absolutely can be lost in it if things go disastrously. There's a long way to go before we talk about results of football games, but these 10 biggest losers have not had the most positive of beginnings in that Super Bowl formula above.

P.S. If you missed my NFL 10 Biggest Winners of March article, check it out!

1. Minnesota Vikings, Grade: F

Key Additions- DT Michael Pierce, S Anthony Harris (franchise tag), EDGE Anthony Zettel,

WR Tajae Sharpe, K Dan Bailey (re-signed), P Britton Colquitt (re-signed), 2020 1st

Key Losses- WR Stefon Diggs, EDGE Everson Griffen (*unsigned FA), DT Linval Joseph,

CB Trae Waynes, CB Xavier Rhodes, S Andrew Sendejo, CB Mackenzie Alexander,

EDGE Stephen Weatherly, WR Laquon Treadwell, G Josh Kline (cut)

Second Team All-Pro edge rusher Everson Griffen is still unsigned, but he already announced he will not be playing for Minnesota in 2020. Photo Credit: Star Tribune

This wouldn't be the worst off-season if the franchise that had it didn't have Super Bowl aspirations, but for Vikes fans this Spring has been a dagger to the heart. The championship window has pretty much closed, as a majority of their veteran defense (the strength of the recent playoff hopeful) has decided to leave Minnesota with Diggs (who requested a trade). I have to give the Vikings their credit, they got a haul of picks back for the wide receiver (50 times better than what the Texans received for Hopkins), but aside from that they have had one of the worst free agency periods I can remember. It started when offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski was stolen away by the Browns. Kirk Cousins will have to learn yet another new system in 2020. Then players starting signing elsewhere left and right, including almost the entire Vikings secondary besides safeties Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris. All those players above gone and only Michael Pierce brought in to replace them (a very good defensive tackle, but not enough). Not to mention Minnesota never seems to address their offensive line, which was decent run-blocking last season, but is still awful when protecting the passer. The draft will make or break the Vikings this season, since they don't have much money left to spend. If they catch a few busts like in recent years, this franchise is in trouble.

2. Houston Texans, Grade: D--

Key Additions- CB Bradley Roby (re-signed), RB David Johnson, DT Timmy Jernigan, 2020 2nd,

WR Randall Cobb, TE Darren Fells (re-signed), S Jaylen Watkins, K Ka'imi Fairbairn (re-signed)

Key Losses- WR DeAndre Hopkins, DT D.J. Reader, RB Carlos Hyde (*unsigned FA),

CB Jonathan Joseph (cut), RB Lamar Miller (*unsigned FA)

Bill O'Brien has certainly looked the fool this Spring, but can him and his butt-chin prove us all wrong? Photo Credit: Houston Chronicle

Overall if you look at their moves as a whole, they aren't horrible, but this grade comes down to two major screw ups by head coach/general manager Bill O'Brien. The first happened last season, but is affecting them now. The Texans traded for left tackle Laremy Tunsil in 2019, and they gave up a ton to do so. The idea was the right one, even if they gave up a lot of draft capital, Deshaun Watson desperately needed an anchor offensive lineman at the time. The mistake was that they made the trade without extending Tunsil long-term. He ended up having a career season in '19 you see, and now he's basically holding the Houston franchise at his mercy. They must extend him, but at what cost? The second error in judgement had to do with DeAndre Hopkins. At some point, a rift formed between him and O'Brien, and the latter decided that he was not willing to invest in Hopkins long-term. Now here's the mistake, the rest of the NFL knew it. So O'Brien decided to trade D-Hop at his lowest possible value and didn't even get close to a Diggs return (Hopkins is the better player too), or an Odell return, the Texans got a steamy hunk of garbage in the form of a bad David Johnson contract and a swap of draft picks. The third Texans screw up was something I touched on in the 10 Biggest Winners article, a mistake made by the franchise. People seem to forget that Deshaun Watson saved O'Brien's job this Winter, when he resurrected the Texans in the first round of the playoffs in a stunning comeback win over the Bills. One week later, the Chiefs mirrored the Texans and blew out Houston in comeback fashion. Somehow, the two week turn of events not only saved the coach's job, it promoted him to acting GM! This Texans team managed to bring back some key free agents, but as a whole they've gotten worse in March, downgrading at several positions.

3. New England Patriots, Grade: D--

Key Additions- S Devin McCourty (re-signed), G Joe Thuney (franchise tag deal), DT Beau Allen,

S Adrian Phillips, EDGE Brandon Copeland, WR Damiere Byrd, S Cody Davis, QB Brian Hoyer

Key Losses- QB Tom Brady, LB Kyle VanNoy, DT Danny Shelton, LB Jamie Collins, S Duron Harmon,

WR Phillip Dorsett, S Nate Ebner, C Ted Karras, LB Elandon Roberts, TE Ben Watson (retired),

K Stephen Gostkowski (cut), K Nick Folk (*unsigned FA)

Not all of those names were "key losses," I know, but I wanted to show the sheer girth of loss the Pats suffered this Spring. Most of this loss came at the hands of former Patriots coaches, including Brian Flores in Miami, Matt Patricia in Detroit, and Joe Judge in New York who all stole away New England role players of old. The Pats did re-sign a few irreplaceable cogs however, including McCourty, Thuney, and special teams expert Matthew Slater, who are all a huge part of that winning formula in Foxborough. I liked the value signings of Allen and Phillips, two players I feel Belichick can immediately turn into stars with untapped potential. The glaring problems are the obvious ones, (one) the Pats are in a cap nightmare ranked worst in the NFL right now and have very few offensive weapons to speak of, (two) the starting quarterback is an unknown right now. Whether it's Jarrett Stidham, a draft pick, Brian Hoyer, or a free agent like Cam Newton (unlikely due to the Pats aforementioned lack of money), we are all anxious to see who replaces Tom Brady. Not only that, we are anxious to see if Belichick can win without the Hall of Fame quarterback. I'd be remiss to say that the Pats Dynasty is done, I'll believe it when I see it, but things definitely haven't been this uncertain for New England fans in a long, long time.

4. Los Angeles Rams, Grade: D

Key Additions- T Andrew Whitworth (re-signed), C Austin Blythe (re-signed), EDGE Leonard Floyd, DL Michael Brockers (re-signed), DT A'Shawn Robinson

Key Losses- LB Cory Littleton, EDGE Dante Fowler, CB Nickell Robey-Coleman, K Greg Zuerlein,

RB Todd Gurley (cut), EDGE Clay Mathews (cut)

The Rams showed everyone how cold the NFL industry can be when they cut Todd Gurley two seasons after he won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Photo Credit: Kevin Terrell

The Rams March was a bit baffling. They took a monstrous cap hit when they released Gurley (more than they would have taken if they kept him), just so they didn't have to pay him his 10.5 million dollar roster bonus. Now I know 10.5 mill is a boatload of money to the average person, including myself, but to an NFL franchise that is chump change. It wasn't 10.5 in cap space, which is super important in football, it was 10.5 out of the Rams pocket. It's almost like they released him out of spite, or because the owner didn't want to part with the cash. Whatever the reason, you cannot argue to me that it was smart. Do I think Gurley will be dynamic in 2020? No, but there is a small chance he produces in some shape or form. If he's not on your team, that small chance becomes zero. So now the Rams (who are currently in the negative for cap space) are wasting 17.25 cap on a running back who plays for the Falcons, in a year where they already traded their first round pick for Jalen Ramsey, who they have yet to extend long-term because they can't afford it. Remember my point in my last article about football rosters being more successful when they balance their cap, rather than spend it on a few players. Well the Rams are the perfect example of unbalanced cap gone horribly wrong. They did all they could just to retain Whitworth and Blythe, and replace Fowler, but they didn't even have enough space for their kicker. Lack of available resources stack the odds against Los Angeles making the playoffs in a tough NFC in 2020.

5. Carolina Panthers, Grade: D

Key Additions- QB Teddy Bridgewater, WR Robby Anderson, T Russell Okung, LB Tahir Whitehead, S Tre Boston (re-signed), WR Seth Roberts, EDGE Stephen Weatherly, TE Seth DeValve,

DT Zach Kerr, QB P.J. Walker, K Joey Slye (re-signed)

Key Losses- LB Luke Kuechly (retired), CB James Bradberry, G Trai Turner, EDGE Mario Addison,

DL Gerald McCoy, DT Dontari Poe, DT Vernon Butler, G Greg Van Roten, OL Daryl Williams,

CB Ross Cockrell (*unsigned FA), WR Jarius Wright (*unsigned FA), QB Cam Newton (cut),

QB Kyle Allen, WR Chris Hogan (*unsigned FA), S Eric Reid (cut), Greg Olsen (cut)

Luke Kuechly was a true legend of the sport, it was an honor to watch him play the game. Photo Credit: nsj online

No two teams had more turnover this year than the Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers. Both had new coaches takeover, ones that consider themselves to be team builders, and Matt Rhule has wasted no time building his version of the Panthers. In what will surely end up being a season of restructure in Carolina, they have lost notably more talent than they have gained so far. Most of these veterans never had a place on Rhule's Panthers to begin with, but some are less easily replaced than others. Luke Kuechly for example. The intelligent middle linebacker was the heart and soul of this defense for many years and his retirement came as a shock to most. Trai Turner straight up for Okung was an odd trade I thought the Panthers lost, especially with Van Roten going to the Jets, but I guess they figured it would be easier to find a new guard than a tackle. They also lost Bradberry and could lose Cockrell, two of their three best corners in recent seasons. Lastly of course, an era officially ended when Teddy Bridgewater was signed to oust former MVP Cam Newton. I'm not so sure about Teddy though, and now they have invested in him. No matter what Rhule says to hype up fans, I'm not buying it until I see some real progress, and in this jam-packed division it might take a couple years for Carolina to make some noise.

6. Kansas City Chiefs, Grade: D

Key Additions- DT Chris Jones (franchise tag), RB Damien Williams (re-signed), T Mike Remmers,

WR Demarcus Robinson (re-signed), TE Ricky Seals-Jones, QB Jordan Ta'amu

Key Losses- CB Kendall Fuller, G Stefen Wisniewski, CB Bashaud Breeland (*unsigned FA),

LB Reggie Ragland, RB LeSean McCoy (*unsigned FA), EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah, TE Blake Bell,

EDGE Terrell Suggs (*unsigned FA), LB Darron Lee (*unsigned FA)

The Chiefs just won the Super Bowl so we won't be too critical of them, but they did say they had one more goal going into this off-season and so far they haven't accomplished it. The goal was to sign Second Team All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones to a long-term extension. They have yet to get past the franchise tag stage. Jones will probably remain with KC, but this has been a failure so far. They also lose their top corner in an already shaky secondary (Fuller). Breeland and Mo Claiborne are unsigned free agents as well, and you have to wonder what this secondary will look like in 2020. Remmers is a slight downgrade on Wisniewski, but at least it's a replacement. The cap-starved Chiefs who are currently about 4.5 million in the negative right now have seemed more interested in using their limited money to bolster their dominant offense (typical Andy Reid), but this defense is going to need some help if the Chiefs are going to repeat.

7. Baltimore Ravens, Grade: D+

Key Additions- DL Calais Campbell, EDGE Matt Judon (franchise tag), CB Jimmy Smith (re-signed),

DT Derek Wolfe, S Anthony Levine (re-signed), RB Gus Edwards (re-signed), P Sam Koch (re-signed)

Key Losses- G Marsall Yanda (retired), DT Michael Pierce, TE Hayden Hurst, LB Josh Bynes,

LB Patrick Onwuasor, EDGE Pernell McPhee (*unsigned FA), WR Seth Roberts, S Tony Jefferson (cut)

Similarly to Kuechly, Marshall Yanda was a rare breed of football player that cannot be replaced, he will be sorely missed by the Ravens in 2020. Photo Credit: TSN

For the Ravens, one decision will loom large in 2020, future Hall of Fame guard Marshall Yanda's decision to call it quits. This offense was a machine, and it was constructed with excellent blockers. Yanda was the best of them, and now he's gone. I'm sure Baltimore will look to draft his replacement, since none of the top guards even made it to free agency, but whoever it is they cannot possibly fill the void left by Yanda. On the other side of the ball, Pierce was also a huge departure, but the Ravens have brought in Derek Wolfe to take his place (originally Michael Brockers until conflicting reports and an inability to take a physical caused the deal to fall through). I was also surprised to see them trade Hayden Hurst. I know they hit on Mark Andrews and I know they are deep at tight end, but wasn't that part of their offensive game plan? Utilize the trip-TE set to demolish teams with the option run and play action pass? Yanda and Hurst combined is a large blow to this blocker-necessary strategy. The defense took some hits at linebacker, but managed to retain edge rusher Judon and experienced corner Jimmy Smith. They also acquired veteran Calais Campbell on the cheap to play alongside Wolfe and Brandon Williams.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers, Grade: D+

Key Additions- TE Eric Ebron, EDGE Bud Dupree (franchise tag), G Stefen Wisniewski

Key Losses- DT Javon Hargrave, G Ramon Foster (retired), CB Artie Burns, TE Nick Vannett,

S Sean Davis, LB Mark Barron (cut)

The Steelers were quiet as usual in free agency, and that's part of the reason for their lower grade. Roethlisberger may only have one or two good years left and they let the roster get worse around him. Sturdy guard Ramon Foster also retired, and while Wisniewski should fit in as his replacement, it's a bit of a downgrade. The bigger blow was Javon Hargrave's exit from the Steel City. I feel like defensive tackles are often marginalized by the casual fan, but they are one of the most important positions on the field. Hargrave was integral in Pittsburgh's defensive renaissance last year, and so far they have yet to replace him. The other moves were minor. Eric Ebron was a strange player to splurge on with Vance McDonald already on the roster, especially when you have very little cap space, but it was one area that they helped Big Ben. Even so, I thought they should have spent the money elsewhere. Missed opportunities for the Steelers who also traded their 2020 first round draft pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick.

9. Chicago Bears, Grade: D+

Key Additions- QB Nick Foles, EDGE Robert Quinn, TE Jimmy Graham, T/G Germain Ifedi,

LB Danny Trevathan (re-signed), CB Artie Burns, DL Brent Urban (re-signed), TE Demetrius Harris

Key Losses- G Kyle Long (retired), S HaHa Clinton-Dix, EDGE Leonard Floyd, LB Nick Kwiatkoski, WR Taylor Gabriel, DT Nick Williams, CB Prince Amukamara (cut), EDGE Aaron Lynch (cut)

Went back and forth on this one. Chicago made attempts to get better, but I'm not sure they made the right attempts. They traded for Nick Foles, okay, but they did so a week or so before Cam Newton and Jameis Winston became available. If they waited, they might have had their pick of the litter, and at a more manageable price (Foles is making 15.6 million against the cap). For a team with the second worst available cap space in the league (Patriots are the worst), it was also odd that they spent valuable money on both Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris, two below average tight ends. Ifedi may be asked to replaced Kyle Long, we'll see, but Long was not playing at the level he once did so that should be fine. Otherwise, cap cuts weaken their fearsome defense. Clinton-Dix and Williams walk, Amukamara is a money casualty, and the linebacker core takes multiple hits and only brings in Robert Quinn to help out. The Bears didn't have much wiggle room this off-season, and they blew it with what little they had.

10. Dallas Cowboys, Grade: D+

Key Additions- QB Dak Prescott (franchise tag), WR Amari Cooper (re-signed), S HaHa Clinton-Dix,

DT Dontari Poe (re-signed), DL Gerald McCoy (re-signed), CB Anthony Brown (re-signed),

LB Sean Lee (re-signed), S Darian Thompson (re-signed), CB Maurice Canady, K Greg Zuerlein,

TE Blake Bell, EDGE Aldon Smith

Key Losses- C Travis Frederick (retired), CB Byron Jones, DT Maliek Collins, EDGE Robert Quinn,

WR Randall Cobb, DT Christian Covington (*unsigned FA), S Jeff Heath, TE Jason Witten,

G Xavier Su'a-Filo, T Cameron Fleming, EDGE Michael Bennett (*unsigned FA)

How will the Dak Prescott extension saga end up, and is he the right man for Dallas long-term? Photo Credit: hiptoro

The Cowboys have done some good things under the new Mike McCarthy era, but they've also had some turnover and some trouble extending their franchise quarterback, Dak Prescott. They did manage to bring back Amari Cooper, which was paramount to their chances in 2020. I liked the Clinton-Dix move, Jerry Jones finally gets a solid safety, but losing Byron Jones does hurt the secondary. They also have Frederick retire on them, which brings them back to square one at center, and they downgrade at defensive tackle after losing Maliek Collins. P.S. Zuerlein versus Forbath is probably the most high-profile kicker battle I've seen in awhile. Overall, this Cowboys roster is worse than last year's roster, which was stacked and never lived up to expectations (some of which was due to poor coaching and small mistakes like kicking). They now have the Super Bowl head coach, so does the star power matter as much for America's team? Or is this more about finding the right pieces? Couple holes to sure up but Dallas should still be in the playoff conversation... and goes without saying the Aldon Smith pickup was a horrible look.

Honorable Mentions

(key losses below include signings, trades, and franchise tags)

Jacksonville Jaguars, Grade:C-, Keys- Calais Campbell, A.J. Bouye, Nick Foles, Jake Ryan

(moves by Jags were mostly trades to cut cap and acquire a plethora of draft assets for a much needed full rebuild, keeping their grade higher despite the fact that they have lost a ton of talent)

Atlanta Falcons, Grade:C-, Keys- Desmond Trufant, Austin Hooper, DeVondre Campbell, V Beasley

Green Bay Packers, Grade:C-, Keys- Bryan Bulaga, Blake Martinez, Kyler Fackrell, Jimmy Graham

San Francisco 49ers, Grade:C-, Keys- DeForest Buckner, Emmanuel Sanders, Sheldon Day, A Zettel

Neutral (neither a winner or loser)

Seattle Seahawks, Grade: C, Keys- Quinton Dunbar(+), Jadeveon Clowney/Ezekiel Ansah(?/--)

Tennessee Titans, Grade: C, Keys- Ryan Tannehill/Derrick Henry(+), Jack Conklin(--), Logan Ryan(?)

Detroit Lions, Grade: C, Keys- Desmond Trufant/Duron Harmon/Jamie Collins/Danny Shelton(+),

Darius Slay(trade +/--), Damon Harrison/A'Shawn Robinson/Graham Glasgow/Rick Wagner(--)

NFL Draft grades to come in late April/early May!