Re-Grading Biggest Trades, Free-Agent Signings of 2024 NFL Offseason

With teams preparing to start camp later this month, most of the major dominoes of the 2024 NFL offseason have already fallen. That makes this good time to re-evaluate some of the biggest moves of the offseason.

While there’s value in the knee-jerk reactions that come with the biggest signings and trades in a given offseason, the subsequent moves can sometimes provide better context.

In some cases, moves already age better as teams sign other free agents and make draft picks. In others, the moves that follow a big signing or trade can make things even more confusing (looking at you, Atlanta Falcons).

In either case, let’s take a look at some of the biggest moves this offseason and grade them based on value and how they fit into the big picture of roster-building for the specific team (or teams) involved.

Contract Terms: Four years, $180 million, $100 million guaranteed

It made a ton of sense for the Atlanta Falcons to sign Kirk Cousins in free agency even though he’s 35 years old and coming off a ruptured Achilles. They have a star-studded skill-position corps in place and just needed someone who could get the ball to wide receiver Drake London, tight end Kyle Pitts and running back Bijan Robinson.

Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski gave the initial signing of Cousins an “A” grade. It’s hard to keep that grade after the Falcons used the eighth overall pick on Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., though.

The problem with Atlanta using a top 10-pick on a fellow quarterback is that signing Cousins is a win-now move. The Falcons offense is loaded with former first-round picks, while the defense doesn’t have a star player outside of cornerback A.J. Terrell.

Drafting Penix doesn’t completely negate the Cousins signing. Cousins will still provide one of the biggest quarterback upgrades of the offseason, and the Falcons offense should be much better for it.

Still, failing to maximize their resources to round out the roster around Cousins makes this move less of a slam dunk.

Grade: B+

Bills Received: 2025 second-round pick (via Minnesota)

Texans Received: WR Stefon Diggs, 2024 sixth-round pick, 2025 fifth-round pick

The relationship between Stefon Diggs and the Buffalo Bills had run its course. The 30-year-old’s production waned over the second half of last season, and he had only three catches for 21 yards and zero touchdowns in the divisional-round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Diggs had four more years left on his contract and the Bills were facing a tight cap situation, so it made sense for them to shake things up after they fell short of the Super Bowl yet again. However, the Bills also lost Gabe Davis in free agency, which left their receiving corps depleted.

The Bills’ free-agent signings aren’t likely to put fans at ease. Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mack Hollins don’t exactly strike fear into secondaries. The BIlls will be heavily relying on rookie Keon Coleman to make an instant impact this season.

The biggest win from the Texans’ perspective is that they got Diggs to wipe out the final three years of his contract as part of the trade. He’s now playing on a one-year deal, so he should be on his best behavior in a contract season.

The Texans have a special thing brewing with Nico Collins, Tank Dell and C.J. Stroud. From a chemistry perspective, they’re taking a risk by adding an older receiver like Diggs, who is used to having a large share of the targets.

However, the Texans have since given Collins a three-year contract extension, and they should get a version of Diggs who is motivated to earn another contract.

Bills Grade: C+

Texans Grade: B+

Panthers Received: 2024 second-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick, 2025 fifth-round pick

Giants Received: Edge Brian Burns, 2024 fifth-round pick

An elite edge-rusher should be near the top of the checklist for any team looking to rebuild its roster. The New York Giants were able to get one at an affordable price when they traded the Carolina Panthers a second- and fifth-round pick along with a fifth-round pick swap for Brian Burns in mid-March.

The Giants then signed Burns to a five-year, $141 million contract, which is near the top of the market for a 26-year-old with proven production at a premium position. Pairing him with Kayvon Thibodeaux on the outside with Dexter Lawrence on the inside should give the Giants a strong foundation on defense.

The Giants do still have major questions at cornerback, though. An elite pass rush should make life easier on their secondary, but they didn’t make any major moves at the position. That’s a minor ding on the Burns move.

The move is much harder to like for the Panthers. They rejected an offer from the Los Angeles Rams for Burns that included two first-round picks and a second-rounder in 2022, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It’s unfair to hold that against new general manager Dan Morgan, but it speaks to the underwhelming return that the Panthers ultimately received.

The Panthers ended up turning that 2024 second-round pick (No. 39 overall) into two second-round picks in a trade with the Rams, so the move worked out a little bit better in hindsight.

Panthers Grade: C-

Giants Grade: A-

Broncos Received: 2024 fifth-round pick, 2024 sixth-round pick

Browns Received: WR Jerry Jeudy

The Denver Broncos reportedly had discussions about moving wide receiver Jerry Jeudy at last year’s trade deadline, per Nick Kosmider, Dianna Russini and Zac Jackson of The Athletic. They didn’t get a huge return when they finally pulled the trigger this offseason.

The Browns gave up two Day 3 picks to fill one of their biggest needs. Amari Cooper has been a solid No. 1 receiver for them, but they needed a No. 2 receiver who can get open and lighten the load for quarterback Deshaun Watson in a critical 2024 season.

Jeudy, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 draft, hasn’t lived up to his predraft hype thus far. He has yet to have a 1,000-yard campaign, but he’s been fairly productive with 211 catches for 3,053 yards and 11 touchdowns across his four NFL seasons. From the Browns’ perspective, it was a major upgrade for a relatively low cost.

For the Broncos, it felt like a declaration that they were choosing Courtland Sutton over Jeudy. The latter was set to play on his fifth-year option, and Sutton has little guaranteed money on his deal in 2025. However, a potential training camp holdout is in play for Sutton as he seeks a new contract.

It’s confusing to trade away a capable receiver and play hardball with another as the Broncos try to break in rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

Broncos Grade: C

Browns Grade: A-

Contract Terms: Two years, $49 million; $48 million guaranteed

The Vikings and Texans didn’t officially trade Danielle Hunter for Jonathan Greenard, but it essentially worked out that way. The Vikings signed Greenard to a four-year, $76 million contract, while the Texans gave Hunter a shorter deal with a higher annual salary.

The difference is that Greenard is a 27-year-old with only one season with double-digit sacks under his belt. Hunter is turning 30 at the end of October, but he’s had 10-plus sacks in five of his eight NFL seasons.

Essentially, the Texans chose a veteran with a proven track record over a younger player whose breakout season could be a mirage. There’s belief around the league that Hunter is a top-10 talent on the edge, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, while Greenard is still building his reputation.

“The thing with Danielle is he’ll continue to have 12 to 14 sacks for at least two to three more years if he stays healthy,” a high-ranking NFL official said, per Fowler. “He’s that high caliber of an athlete that he should age really well.”

It’s a calculated risk given how quickly the Texans could become a contender if second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud is able to build on his rookie season. But these are the types of gambles that teams can make with a star signal-caller on a rookie contract.

Texans Grade: A

Chiefs Received: 2025 third-round pick, 2024 seventh-round pick

Titans Received: CB L’Jarius Sneed, 2024 seventh-round pick

There’s a reason why teams hardly ever repeat as Super Bowl champions in the NFL. Beyond year-to-year variance and injuries, the league’s salary cap makes it difficult for teams to keep an elite core together.

The Kansas City Chiefs felt that tension this offseason with both defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed up for new contracts. Both have been instrumental in the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl titles, but paying them both would have been prohibitive.

Instead, the Chiefs opted to franchise-tag Sneed before trading him to the Titans. That allowed them to get a third-round pick and move up in the seventh round of this year’s draft.

The Chiefs have drafted and developed several cornerbacks in Steve Spagnuolo’s time as defensive coordinator. But there aren’t many defensive tackles who can impact a game like Jones. Picking the interior defender was the right move.

Trading Sneed brought netted the Chiefs a third-round pick, which is what they might have gotten as a compensatory pick if he left as a free agent in 2025.

Meanwhile, the move should be considered a big win for the Titans. Sneed was easily the best cornerback to change teams this offseason, and the Titans had plenty of cap space to sign him to a four-year, $76.4 million extension.

At this stage of the Titans’ rebuild, getting a bona fide difference-maker for a third-round pick is a no-brainer.

Chiefs Grade: B

Titans Grade: A

Contract Terms: Four years, $110 million, $82.8 million guaranteed

After taking over as the Las Vegas Raiders’ new general manager, one of Tom Telesco’s first major moves was signing one of the best available free agents in Christian Wilkins.

The Raiders generated positive momentum last season after firing head coach Josh McDaniels and replacing him with interim head coach Antonio Pierce. They went 5-4 with Pierce in charge, and they did so with a defense that was playing as well as any team’s down the stretch.

This investment in Wilkins suggests that elite defense will be part of the Raiders’ identity moving forward. The 28-year-old is now the second-highest-paid defensive tackle in the league by annual average value.

Interior defenders are typically only worth that much if they are elite pass-rushers. Wilkins put up nine sacks last season, but he had only 11.5 in the previous four seasons combined.

The good news is that Wilkins has always been an elite run defender. He was a perfect match for what the Raiders needed to pair with Maxx Crosby up front. The Raiders might have to make sacrifices to afford Wilkins in future years, but he’ll be a cornerstone moving forward.

Raiders Grade: B+

Chargers Received: 2024 fourth-round pick

Bears Received: WR Keenan Allen

Unless Keenan Allen falls off a cliff next season, this deal looked like a no-brainer for the Bears at the time and has only gotten better in the ensuing months.

Allen was instrumental in Justin Herbert’s first few years in the league. He has the ability to be the same steadying force for Caleb Williams early on. The Chargers were in a bad cap situation going into the offseason and only held on to Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack when they agreed to take pay cuts.

According to Kris Rhim of ESPN, Allen was hoping that the Chargers could come to an agreement on a revised contract after one of his most productive seasons. However, the two sides couldn’t come up with a new deal, so the team instead decided to trade him.

It was a tough situation for new general manager Joe Hortiz to navigate. Given Allen’s production last season, the Chargers received a relatively lackluster return, but that’s what making a deal on a deadline will do. The Chargers had to get cap-compliant by the start of the new league year.

The Chargers’ current receiving corps doesn’t make the move look better in retrospect. They passed on drafting a receiver with the No. 5 overall pick, although they did select Georgia’s Ladd McConkey in the second round.

Meanwhile, the Bears continued to stockpile talent around Williams, using their second first-round pick to take Washington wideout Rome Odunze. Allen now will not only be Williams’ safety valve, but a well-qualified mentor for Odunze.

That’s huge for a team looking to build around a potential superstar quarterback.

Chargers Grade: C-

Bears Grade: A

Eagles Received: Conditional 2026 third-round pick (can become a second-round pick based on playing time/performance conditions)

Jets Received: Edge Haason Reddick

Haason Reddick has been one of the NFL’s most productive pass-rushers over the last four years. He has 50.5 sacks in that span while playing on three different teams, showing that he can be successful under multiple coaches and multiple schemes.

When the Jets lost Bryce Huff in free agency—to the Philadelphia Eagles, ironically—it made sense that they would pursue Reddick as a replacement.

The Eagles gave Reddick permission to seek a trade in February, which hinted at their unwillingness to give him a new contract. Whichever team traded for Reddick needed to have a plan for dealing with his contract demands.

However, Reddick has yet to sign a new contract, and he did not show up for the Jets’ OTAs or mandatory minicamp as a result. Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reported that the Jets weren’t expecting the holdout and were under the impression that Reddick would play out the one-year pact.

Sweetening the one-year contract could be a possible solution, but the Jets are already tight up against the cap. They’d have to get creative to clear significant space.

Given what’s happened since this trade went down, it seems like the Eagles avoided a massive headache and the Jets didn’t have a real plan for what they were getting into.

Eagles Grade: A

Jets Grade: C+

Wilson Contract Terms: One year, $1.2 million

Justin Fields Trade Terms: Steelers Receive Justin Fields, Bears Receive 2025 sixth-round pick (can become a fourth-round pick based on playing time)

The quarterback and play-caller are always the first two to get the blame for a failing offense. The Pittsburgh Steelers made moves to make sure they replaced both this offseason.

Head coach Mike Tomlin first replaced former offensive coordinator Matt Canada with Arthur Smith, the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Then the Steelers went to work on finding a new quarterback.

They opted for two of the best bargains at the position this offseason.

Because of Russell Wilson’s unprecedented exit in Denver, the Steelers were able to sign Wilson to a minimum contract. Then the Bears were willing to trade Justin Fields to the Steelers for cheap because they had the No. 1 overall pick, which they used on quarterback Caleb Williams.

The Steelers landed two quarterbacks who started for their respective teams last season at bargain-bin prices. Those were a pair of shrewd moves, but there’s also a reason why those two were available at that cost.

There’s still a good chance that the Steelers’ quarterback of the future is still not on the roster. Wilson will turn 36 in November and has taken 527 career regular-season sacks.

Fields has promise, but it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever improve his timing and anticipation enough to thrive as an NFL quarterback. He held on to the ball longer than anyone in the league last season, per Next Gen Stats.

The rest of the Steelers’ moves on offense were half-measures. They are giving Wilson and Fields enough weapons to be functional, but they’re hardly all-in on the 2024 season.

As for the Bears, the return for Fields seems underwhelming, but they waited too long to pull the trigger on trading him. It was better for them to cut their losses before they spent the No. 1 overall pick on Williams.

Steelers Grade: B-

Bears Grade: A