Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The second day of the 2023 NFL Free Agency period brought more major names coming off the market. With the signings and trades, there were winners and losers, and these were those teams from day two.
Winners:
Detroit Lions
The Lions keep improving their defense through this free agency period. They made a splash in their secondary by signing former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley to a one-year, $6 million deal. They were also able to retain defensive lineman John Cominsky on a two-year, $8.5 million deal. Cominsky may not be a standout name to the public, but to fans of the team, they know how big of a contributor he was. He finished 2022 with 44 pressures, four sacks, and 16 run stops.
New York Giants
The New York Giants have a new top receiving option in New York, and his name is Darren Waller. In a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Giants only gave up the 100th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, a compensatory pick they got in the Kadarius Toney trade. Waller has accumulated 3,572 yards and 19 touchdowns over his career, as well as a 71.6% catch rate. Having a reliable tight end to throw to will be massive for Daniel Jones.
Houston Texans
After an active first day of free agency, the Texans kept adding to the team on day two. They started by adding to their offensive line by trading for guard Shaq Mason and a seventh round pick, while giving up only a sixth round pick. Then they added more wide receiver depth with an underrated receiver in Noah Brown. The Texans have built up both the offense and defense so far in free agency and have set themselves up nice for the draft.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys made plenty of moves to add to their defense. They started off by re-signing safety Donovan Wilson to a three-year, $24 million deal. Then they traded for Stephon Gilmore with the Indianapolis Colts to pair with Trevon Diggs in the secondary. In addition, they also re-signed one of their own again in linebacker Leighton Vander Esch to a two-year, $11 million deal. Between retaining their key players and trading for one, the Cowboys did a great job of stabilizing their defense.
Losers:
Las Vegas Raiders
On the flip side of the Waller trade, is the Raiders. Trading away a top tight end in the league takes a significant hit to your offense. Foster Moreau is still a free agent the team needs to bring back as well. Now, of course they could target a tight end in this deep 2023 draft class, but tight ends typically take time to adjust to the NFL. With a new quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo under center, having that security blanket tight end would’ve been nice.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts ended up trading cornerback Stephon Gilmore to the Dallas Cowboys in return for a fifth-round compensatory pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. This move is fantastic for the Cowboys, not so much for the Colts. Losing a five-time Pro Bowl caliber cornerback is never great. Then taking into consideration that the Colts’ cornerback room now consists of Isaiah Rodgers, Kenny Moore, Tony Brown, Dallis Flowers, David Vereeniging, Marcel Dabo, and Darrell Baker, makes this trade even worse when looking at the secondary.
