There has been lots of meaningful movement around the National Football League since free agency began earlier this month, and several teams look to be much better heading into next season.
However, when players switch teams, another by-product is that some teams get worse, perhaps a lot worse.
For these three teams, things are not exactly peaches-and-cream this offseason. In fact, their fortunes could start to seriously decline.
1. Seattle Seahawks
With Russell Wilson coming off a tremendous 2020 campaign, plenty of observers expected the Seahawks to have a strong 2021 season.
Instead, they finished last in the NFC West, and things went south from there.
Wilson had some hard feelings for management, as the team has had trouble reshuffling the deck after the group that went to back-to-back Super Bowl and brought home one Vince Lombardi trophy dissolved.
In addition, head coach Pete Carroll has reportedly been planning on shifting the team’s focus to its ground game, rather than letting Wilson sling it downfield.
Even worse, the team wasn’t sure he would return to form after a finger injury and some inconsistent play.
Thus, the Seahawks traded him to the Denver Broncos, officially ending an era in the Puget Sound region.
In addition, linebacker Bobby Wagner, one of the team’s other last links to their 2013 championship team, was released.
With Carroll looking to be nearing retirement, it could be a long climb back to relevance for the Seahawks.
2. Green Bay Packers
On one hand, they dodged a major bullet when quarterback Aaron Rodgers ended months of speculation about his future with the team by signing a multi-year extension to remain in Wisconsin.
However, the big shock came a few days ago when the team traded standout wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. According to reports, he couldn’t come to terms with management on a new contract, and relations were so strained that even when the Packers were willing to meet demands, he didn’t want to be with the squad any longer.
Losing a man who put up 1,553 yards and 11 touchdowns last year will be a huge shock to the system. Green Bay still has two solid running backs in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, but without any dynamic wideouts, it will experience a big drop off.
One has to wonder if the Packers, whom many picked to reach the Super Bowl in 2021, could fall out of the playoffs altogether.
3. Dallas Cowboys
Over the last few years, Dallas has boasted one of the NFL’s more talented rosters on both sides of the football, but each season they have found a way to underachieve.
Now, there may not even be high expectations for Jerry Jones‘ big shiny toy. His team traded star wideout Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns after a contract dispute, netting only a fifth and sixth-round draft pick in return.
Although top Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb had a strong sophomore season, not having Cooper to take some pressure off him will hurt.
If losing Cooper wasn’t bad enough, Dallas was in negotiations to sign linebacker Randy Gregory to a new contract. He reportedly agreed to a multi-year deal, but then backed out to sign a similar contract with the Denver Broncos.
The #Cowboys are expected to sign their own pass-rusher Randy Gregory to a deal around $13M per year, source said. The deal isn’t done yet. But it is headed that way.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2022
Sources;
Randy Gregory signing with the @Broncos!!
Not the @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/P6k96RMUfp
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) March 15, 2022
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) March 15, 2022
Yes, Dallas still has QB Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott. But the team’s luster doesn’t seem as great as it used to.
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