NFL free agency winners and losers
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The first wave of free agency is over and all but a few impact players have found new homes.
Let's take a look at the winners and losers so far.
Winners
Indianapolis Colts
General manager Ryan Grigson said he would be aggressive, and he wasn't lying.
The Colts view themselves as true Super Bowl contenders and their moves are aimed at immediately vaulting over the final hurdle. Trent Cole, Andre Johnson and Frank Gore are all on the wrong side of 30, but you won't find three players hungrier for a championship.
The Colts still have some obvious weaknesses to fill in the draft, but their strengths should be really, really strong.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons focused their attention not on a few big-name acquisitions, but on under-the-radar improvement across the board, the results of which are very promising.
Adrian Clayborn, O'Brien Schofield and Brooks Reed should provide a significant boost to new head coach Dan Quinn's pass rush, while Justin Durant will stabilize the linebacking corps and Phillip Adams offers some inexpensive upside in the secondary.
The Falcons may be the only NFC South team to improve in free agency, and they did it the only way proven to be sustainable: diversifying their investments and hunting for bargains.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals lost some key contributors, including Dan Williams, Darnell Dockett and Antonio Cromartie, but the team moved quickly to bring in reinforcements.
The addition of Cory Peters, Cory Redding and Alameda Ta'amu will mitigate the loss of Williams and Dockett. Mike Iupati and A.Q. Shipley should help transform the Cardinals' offensive line into one of the league's best power-blocking units, and Sean Weatherspoon is the kind of high-risk, high-reward signing Cardinals GM Steve Keim hits on more often than not.
Losers
Oakland Raiders
Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie entered free agency with about $70 million in salary cap space and the mandate to improve his team by opening his wallet. McKenzie tried his best to find big-name takers for his cash, but came up mostly empty-handed.
Randall Cobb chose less money to remain with the Packers, Julius Thomas opted to take the Jaguars's cash, Ndamukong Suh took his talents to South Beach and DeMarco Murray used the Raiders to drive up his price before signing with the Eagles. The Raiders plugged some holes with the addition of Rodney Hudson, Dan Williams, Curtis Lofton and Roy Helu, but they'll need another impactful draft class to even sniff playoff contention.
Chicago Bears
The Bears chose not to release Jay Cutler before guarantees in his contract kicked in, effectively tying the team to the polarizing passer for two more seasons. It's not hard to see why new general manager Ryan Pace made the call - franchise quarterbacks don't grow on trees - but the decision doesn't exactly inspire hope.
Neither does overpaying for Pernell McPhee and Eddie Royal. McPhee could easily be the latest in a long line of overachieving Ravens defenders to underwhelm on a new team, and Royal is a significant downgrade from Brandon Marshall (yet somehow isn't much cheaper).
San Francisco 49ers
The NFC West may still be the best division in football, but it's because the Seahawks added Jimmy Graham, the Rams bolstered the league's best defensive line and the Cardinals found upgrades across the board.
All the 49ers did was watch Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Mike Iupati and Chris Culliver walk out the door. Torrey Smith can't replace them all.
Could Go Either Way
Jacksonville Jaguars
Rarely does being the biggest spender in free agency work out exactly as planned, but it's hard to fault the Jaguars for deciding their time to make a splash is now.
Jared Odrick, Dan Skuta and Davon House will boost the talent level on defense, but it's Julius Thomas and Jermey Parnell who'll play a bigger role in determining whether the Jaguars are ready to evolve from perennial bottom-dwellers to legitimate playoff contenders.
Can Thomas be the same red-zone weapon with Blake Bortles throwing to him that he was in Peyton Manning's offense? If he can't, GM David Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley will probably have to find new jobs.
New York Jets
The Jets went on a shopping spree, but were they buying an improved defense or nostalgia?
The old gang is back together (minus former head coach Rex Ryan, of course) with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie providing what should be a huge boost to the NFL's worst secondary. Both veteran cornerbacks received huge contracts that could become albatrosses as they enter their 30s, but the Jets appear to be thinking more short-term. Add Buster Skrine to the mix as a slot corner and new Jets head coach Todd Bowles can feel comfortable blitzing every single play if he desires (and don't be surprised if he does).