This year’s NFL season saw a power shift in the league’s rankings; teams hailed as the best didn’t perform while the underdogs did. On the brink of spring, free agency is now here in full swing. The fan opinion can drastically shake how these moves look, so will the power rankings look the same, or will underdogs gain the pieces they need to make big moves?
Possibly the biggest name in this year’s free agency is Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders defensive player. Crosby has been hailed as one of the league’s better Defensive Ends. With a total of 439 tackles and 69.5 sacks in 110 games played, he has the stats to back it up. The Baltimore Ravens were set to take Crosby in exchange for two first-round picks; however, shocking many, the Ravens backed out of the trade, meaning Crosby is still on the market for other teams. While Crosby can still stay with the Raiders, he had come to a disagreement with the organization last season after their decision to sit him in the final two games. Possible destinations for Crosby are vast, as many teams can use defensive support, such as the Chicago Bears or Philadelphia Eagles.
With the high chance of Maxx Crosby leaving, the Raiders have made a lot of defensive moves. Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, Kwity Paye and Malcom Koonce are all defensive players recently acquired in free agency by Las Vegas. Walker and Dean, the two linebackers, have been signed to fill depth on their defensive roster. Out of Nakobe Dean’s four-year career in Philadelphia, his best season came with the Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, in which Dean recorded 128 total tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble and an interception over the season. Las Vegas surely hopes to get these same results from not only Dean but also Quay Walker. Walker has spent his last four seasons with the Green Bay Packers, recording 469 total tackles and even a touchdown as a defensive player over his career. This new linebacker pair should prove to be a defensive unit for the Raiders. Should Crosby decide to leave the Raiders defense, the team already has replacements set up at his position. Kwity Paye joins the team at Defensive End after five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. Over his career, Paye has recorded 30.5 sacks, with 8.5 in his best season. At the same position, the Raiders have also re-signed Malcolm Koonce. Last season, Koonce had four sacks and likely hopes to improve these numbers for the Raiders’ defensive scheme.
Quarterback Geno Smith has ended up back with the New York Jets, where he started his 12-season NFL career. (Heading into his 13th) Smith has been a questionable QB in terms of his skill and ultimately hasn’t reached the top QB conversations. Starting in 2015, Geno Smith was benched and placed as a backup quarterback. He proceeded to spend the next few seasons as a backup player rather than a starter, shifting around to three different teams until he would get another shot as a starter. On the upside, Smith has been a great passer with not one, but two seasons with over 4,000 passing yards on the Seahawks. In these two seasons, Smith threw 51 touchdowns and only 26 interceptions. On the Jets this season, Smith should hope to turn the team’s luck around after an unfortunate 3-14 2025 season. Smith will be throwing to star receiver Garrett Wilson and young talent Adonai Mitchell next season, giving him and the Jets hope for the 2026 season.
Some of the success in free agency is heavily dependent on fan opinion. As the season hasn’t started and results can’t be seen yet, the fans of a team can generate the noise to affect how a signing will go. Adam MacLean (26), lifelong NFL fan, weighed in with his takes on this season’s free agency. As a Patriots fan, MacLean said he believed his team could turn things around with free agency after a loss in the Super Bowl last season. However, MacLean said he was “not optimistic” as the front office “usually does a terrible job”, another factor that shifts the course of free agency. Additionally, MacLean seemed to think many of the top teams will remain that way for now. He stated that no major players had been shifted around, meaning free agency wouldn’t have as big an impact.
The fan opinion may not always be reality, but it definitely shifts how other fans may view the league at any given time. A perception like Maclean’s may be the product of sports talk from analysts or fellow fans.
With many teams scrambling to pick up the best players, free agency alone won’t be a deciding factor for next year. While judgments are cast on new signings every year, a good or bad signing can’t be truly determined until the end of that player’s contract. Some signings end up great while others are seen as a waste of money, but a “bad” team can still beat a “good” team any given day of the week.
