Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Free Agency period has come and gone, so let's dive into some winners and losers from the first day. Now yes, it is important to note that being a 'winner' in free agency is not necessarily a good thing. Teams who are largely seen as winners during the FA period do not always go onto enjoy that type of success in the following season.
And there are many 'bad' teams who end up being more active in free agency. There were a ton of deals that were agreed to on Monday, but they cannot become official until Wednesday. Even with them not being official, we can still breakdown some of the top signings and dive into some key winners and losers from Day 1 of free agency frenzy.
NFL Free Agency: Biggest winners and losers from the Day 1 frenzy
Winner: Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears
How about the Chicago Bears? Caleb Williams was already a huge winner coming into the free agency period, as the Bears had already agreed to swing trades for a duo of guards in Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, but if that was not enough, the Bears also agreed to terms with center Drew Dalman as well.
Chicago has totally rebuilt their interior offensive line and now have a ton of flexibility in the 2025 NFL Draft to perhaps take the top RB on the board in Ashton Jeanty. It's clear that new head coach Ben Johnson came into his first year with the Bears with a clear-cut plan.
Chicago is investing into their trenches in a big way, and when you have the QB down, that is the exact thing to do. Good for the Bears, man.
Winner: Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos fielded a top-5 defense in the NFL in 2024 and still came away with two major positions of improvement after Day 1 of free agency. They agreed to terms with a pair of former San Francisco 49ers defenders in Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw. They also re-signed DJ Jones as well. Denver did want to address both safety and inside linebacker in free agency, and they did just that.
I would expect this team to dip into the offensive crop of free agents in the coming days.
Loser: Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys created a ton of cap space coming into the free agency period, and their biggest signing on Monday was... Javonte Williams. Dallas has truly hit a new level of dysfunctional over the last year or so, and it's been a theme for them recently. They essentially kicked Mike McCarthy out the door and replaced him with Brian Schottenheimer, who is obviously not nearly as good of a coach.
And with the amount of roster holes they have and the cap space they created, you'd think they would have went into free agency with more of a plan, right? Improving the trenches and finding some viable weapons for the offense should have been a priority for them, but their biggest move was signing a running back who has not averaged at least four yards per carry since the 2022 NFL Season.
This is already, somehow, a disaster for the Dallas Cowboys, and it's a shame that they are being run the way they are. Let's see of Day 2 and beyond yield better results...
Loser: Patrick Mahomes
Heading into the free agency period, the Kansas City Chiefs clearly wanted to address the offensive line. They traded Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears and also need a left tackle. With the franchise tag being placed on Trey Smith, you would at least hope that GM Brett Veach can work out a long-term deal with him.
The right tackle situation is also a bit shaky, as Jawaan Taylor simply hasn't been all that good for them. Well, on Day 1 of free agency, the Kansas City Chiefs handed Jaylon Moore $15 million per year to play left tackle for them.
Moore has been a backup player his entire career and has started just 12 out of the 55 regular season games he's played in. It's an odd signing where the Chiefs clearly want to bet on the upside, but this feels like a lot of money for an unproven player. Jaylon Moore really does not move the needle for the Kansas City Chiefs, and could yield similar results in 2025 with Patrick Mahomes running for his life.