NFL free agency losers 2021: Patriots spend too much
Every year in NFL free agency, teams spend bad money. These five teams have made the most head-scratching moves.
5. Houston Texans
The Texans are spending money in NFL free agency, but who are they getting? Houston has already signed running back Mark Ingram, corner Vernon Hargreaves, linebacker Joe Thomas and defensive lineman Vincent Taylor. What do any of them really matter for Houston? The team also watched top receiver Will Fuller leave for the Miami Dolphins. Basically, it’s a ton of shuffling and bad money without any upside.
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4. Denver Broncos
The Broncos did right by running back Phillip Lindsay by letting him out of his restricted status to hit the market, but it’s still a tough loss. Additionally, Denver’s big signing to this point is cornerback Ronald Darby on a three-year deal, who while talented is injury prone. The Broncos desperately need to add to their linebackers and corners even beyond Darby, but have yet to do so.
3. Carolina Panthers
If the Panthers eventually trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson, none of this matters. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s be honest about their free agency to this point. Yes, adding edge rusher Haason Reddick — who notched 12.5 sacks in the final year of his rookie deal — is a good move. However, signing veteran offensive linemen Cam Erving and Pat Eflein in the opening minutes of the tampering period were perplexing. Also, letting receiver Curtis Samuel leave? Bad job there.
Read: Jets Interested In Steelers Free Agent WR Juju Smith Schuster
2. Las Vegas Raiders
Now we’re to the heavy-hitters of the group. The Raiders traded center Rodney Hudson, right tackle Trent Brown and guard Gabe Jackson for a few late draft picks before also watching receiver Nelson Agholor leave for the New England Patriots. The replacement, John Brown, is an older player on a one-year deal. While the signing of edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue was solid, nothing else was done to fix an awful defense, instead spending real money on running back Kenyan Drake. No sense.
1. New England Patriots
Nobody spent more money in the first four days of free agency than the Patriots. They went wild on a litany of players including edge rusher Matthew Judon, receiver Nelson Agholor, centers Ted Karras and David Andrews, corner Jalen Mills and tight ends Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry. Yet, despite bringing all those players into the fold, New England is a fringe playoff team. More than $250 million, and a low ceiling.
