As the 2023 NFL offseason trudges along, NFL free agency is slowing down to a crawl after a flurry of action in the opening week. While there are still players to sign, most of the big moves are in the books, so we can start to declare the 2023 NFL free agency winners, like the Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Atlanta Falcons.
Below are the five biggest winners of NFL free agency this year. These teams signed big names that will help fill holes, kept many of their key players, and minimized big-name losses.
Being one of the NFL free agency winners guarantees a team nothing, other than going into the draft and preseason with good vibes. Last season, the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals were two of the NFL free agency winners, and they had excellent seasons. However, so were the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams, and they went a combined 11-23.
With that in mind, here are the free agency winners of the 2023 NFL offseason so far.
Denver Broncos
Top free agents signed: RT Mike McGlinchey, OG Ben Powers, DE Zach Allen, QB Jarrett Stidham, RB Samaje Perine
Top free agents re-signed: LB Alex Singleton
Key losses: DE Dre’Mont Jones (Seahawks), RB Chase Edmonds (Buccaneers)
The Broncos remade themselves in Sean Payton’s image this NFL offseason. They beefed up the offensive line and signed a versatile running back in Samaje Perine. They also brought in a young QB in Jarrett Stidham whom Payton can work with if the Russell Wilson experiment goes off the rails.
And while Payton was never that big on defense, the Broncos did a nice job replacing Dre’Mont Jones with Zach Allen, so they won’t miss much on the defensive line after NFL free agency.
Detroit Lions
Top free agents signed: LB Tremaine Edmunds, S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, CB Cameron Sutton, RB David Montgomery
Top free agents re-signed: LB Alex Anzalone
Key losses: G Evan Brown (Seahawks), RB Jamaal Williams (Saints), S Deshon Elliott (Dolphins), CB Mike Hughes (Falcons)
The Lions continued their rebuild by adding veteran pieces to get them over the hump and into the playoffs in 2023. With a lot of cap space heading into the NFL offseason, the Lions went for big-ticket players and landed four huge names.
After focusing on the defensive line last offseason, the Lions addressed the back seven this year and took three of the biggest names off the market in Tremaine Edmunds, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and Cameron Sutton. The only possible misstep is that we’ll have to see if David Montgomery is really an upgrade over Jamaal Williams or just a bigger name.
Carolina Panthers
Top free agents signed: WR Adam Thielen, RB Miles Sanders, S Vonn Bell, TE Hayden Hurst, DT Shy Tuttle, QB Andy Dalton
Top free agents re-signed: C Bradley Bozeman,
Key losses: RB D’Onta Foreman (Bears), QB Sam Darnold (49ers)
The big news of the Panthers' NFL offseason is that they traded for the No. 1 overall pick. However, they also took some big swings in NFL free agency. Whoever the rookie QB is, he’ll be well-supported by Adam Thielen, Miles Sanders, and Hayden Hurst. And Andy Dalton will be a great mentor/Week 1 starter, if necessary.
On defense, the Panthers were already strong, but safety and team leader Vonn Bell is a great addition, as is rotational defensive tackle Shy Tuttle, who the franchise knows well from the NFC South.
Atlanta Falcons
Top free agents signed: S Jessie Bates III, DT David Onyemata, LB Kaden Elliss, QB Taylor Heinicke, CB Mike Hughes, WR Mack Hollins
Top free agents re-signed: RT Kaleb McGary, OT Germain Ifedi
Key losses: OT Chuma Edoga (Cowboys), CB Isaiah Oliver (49ers)
Jessie Bates III and David Onyemata are two stars that more NFL fans should know about. Their addition in NFL free agent to the Falcons should immediately improve the unit that gave up the sixth-most points in the league last season.
And bringing in Taylor Heinicke is a smart move that can win the team games now while giving Desmond Ridder or a QB from the 2023 NFL Draft time to develop.
New Orleans Saints
Top free agents signed: QB Derek Carr, DT Khalen Saunders, RB Jamaal Williams, S Jonathan Abram, OT Storm Norton
Top free agents re-signed: CB Isaac Yiadom
Key losses: DT David Onyemata (Falcons), LB Kaden Elliss (Falcons), DE Marcus Davenport (Vikings), QB Andy Dalton (Panthers), DT Shy Tuttle (Panthers)
How do the Saints keep doing it? Yes, they lost some good players, especially Onyemata and Davenport. Still, with salary cap problems dating back to the Drew Brees Era, the team managed to sign the top free-agent QB, an excellent running back, and some defensive replacements.
The names (other than Derek Carr) won’t overwhelm, but the fact that the Saints are able to make moves like this with their long-term cap issues makes them one of the NFL free-agency winners.
Follow Us
Subscribe