The Bears entered the winter with money and assets to control the NFL offseason. Days before the start of the new league year, general manager Ryan Poles cashed in his biggest chip, sending the No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver DJ Moore and a package of draft picks.
With that, the NFL offseason officially kicked off.
A flurry of moves enveloped the league last week as contenders went all-in, an era will eventually end in Green Bay, wrecking balls were erected in Tennessee and Las Vegas, and a rebuild started for real in Chicago.
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With the major wave of free agency in the books, here’s where all 32 teams stand as we head toward the draft.
1. Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs let Orlando Brown Jr. walk and promptly replaced him with Jawaan Taylor, who they signed to a four-year, $80 million contract. Taylor had an objectively better season than Brown in 2022. Brett Veach stays one step ahead of the pack of contenders chasing the champs.
2. Cincinnati Bengals: General manager Duke Tobin opened the offseason by adamantly stating the Bengals had no plans to trade Tee Higgins. He then went out and used the money earmarked for safety Jessie Bates and signed Brown to a reasonable four-year, $64 million deal to protect Joe Burrow’s blindside. As long as Tobin can get extensions for Burrow and Higgins done this offseason, the Bengals will be primed to make another run at a Lombardi Trophy.
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3. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles hang an “In Howie We Trust” banner outside of Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia lost Javon Hargrave, Miles Sanders, T.J. Edwards, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, but was able to retain Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Jason Kelce, James Bradberry, and Darius Slay. The defending NFC champs will have some turnover, but the core remains intact. In a weak NFC, that should be enough to be the frontrunner.
4. San Francisco 49ers: San Francisco opened free agency with a splash by adding Hargrave to an already loaded defensive front. With Brock Purdy and Trey Lance both on rookie contracts, now is the 49ers’ time to go for it. General manager John Lynch is all-in.
5. Buffalo Bills: The addition of guard Connor McGovern bolsters the protection in front of quarterback Josh Allen, but other than that it has been a relatively quiet offseason for the Bills to this point. Could a splash for OBJ be in the Bills’ future?
6. Dallas Cowboys: Trading for Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore are two moves that should put the Cowboys right back in the Super Bowl picture. Cooks will complement CeeDee Lamb well, and Gilmore should be a strong CB2 to put opposite Trevon Diggs.
7. Los Angeles Chargers: Austin Ekeler’s situation looms large over a Chargers team that is primed to take a step forward in 2023 under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. The Bolts need to find a way to keep a dynamic back who has led the NFL in touchdowns from scrimmage in each of the past two seasons.
8. Detroit Lions: The Lions are going for it. Detroit bolstered its secondary with the additions of Cam Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley, and Gardner-Johnson. Sprinkle in two first-round picks and the Lions should be the NFC North favorites entering 2023.
9. Miami Dolphins: Miami knows it only has Tua Tagovailoa on his rookie contract for two more seasons, so the Dolphins are loading up. Miami hired Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator and traded for Jalen Ramsey to give Fangio a unit that has four elite playmakers in Ramsey, Xavien Howard, Jevon Holland, and Bradley Chubb. As long as Tua can stay healthy, the Dolphins are a real threat in the AFC.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars: After going on their big spending spree last offseason, the Jaguars have been relatively quiet this spring. As long as Trevor Lawrence takes the expected Year 3 leap, the arrow will remain pointing straight up in Duval.
11. Baltimore Ravens: Stop playing around with Lamar Jackson. Just pay the man.
12. New York Jets: The expected addition of Aaron Rodgers should bolster New York’s Super Bowl hopes, but I’m skeptical that a 39-year-old quarterback who isn’t all-in on continuing to play will thrive in NYC.
13. Seattle Seahawks: Pete Carroll and John Schneider continue to raid the Broncos. One offseason after robbing Denver in the Russell Wilson trade, the Seahawks lured 26-year-old defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones away from the Mile High City with a steal of a contract. Sprinkle in the No. 5 overall pick, which the Seahawks own thanks to Wilson’s self-combustion season in 2022, and the Carroll era has been fully resuscitated.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers: Pittsburgh’s offensive line has been a problem for the past few seasons. The additions of Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig should help quarterback Kenny Pickett develop in Year 2.
15. New York Giants: The Giants finally had money to spend, and boy, did they spend it. Albeit, not in the best fashion. Call me crazy, but I have a hard time with the Giants giving Daniel Jones $160 million one offseason after they failed to pick up his fifth-year option. The Giants also overpaid for linebacker Bobby Okereke and took on Darren Waller’s contract. Just because you can spend the money, doesn’t mean you should.
16. Minnesota Vikings: The bill is coming due in Minnesota. The Vikings cut Adam Thielen and lost defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency. Minnesota also has the least amount of cap space in the NFL. It’s time for the “rebuild” part of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s “competitive rebuild.”
17. New England Patriots: The addition of Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator might be worth two wins on its own following last year’s Matt Patricia debacle. New England has to get Mac Jones’ development back on track after a lost Year 2.
18. Los Angeles Rams: LA is entering a gap year. The Rams will retool around Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, and Cooper Kupp, but 2023 will be more of a reset year under a reinvigorated Sean McVay.
19. New Orleans Saints: New Orleans gave Derek Carr a bucket of money and re-worked Michael Thomas’ deal in a last-ditch effort to stay relevant in a down NFC South. Not sure it’s going to work.
20. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers traded away D.J. Moore to get the No. 1 pick from the Bears, but remain loaded with young talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The additions of Miles Sanders and Adam Thielen should help C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young settle in quickly.
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: From Brady to Baker: A rebuilding story.
22. Las Vegas Raiders: Josh McDaniels didn’t like the roster Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock built, so he's ripping it down. Hard to blame him.
23. Green Bay Packers: The Packers’ offseason is on hold until Rodgers is officially catapulted to New York. Can the Packers get enough back to help accelerate the rebuild around Jordan Love and Christian Watson?
24. Cleveland Browns: Deshaun Watson looked like a shell of himself after returning from his suspension last season. The Browns better hope that was just rust.
25. Washington Commanders: Washington seems content to enter the 2023 season with Jacoby Brissett and Sam Howell as its quarterback options. If Dan Snyder wasn’t so bust cleaning out his office, he might have tried to call the quarterback from just up I-95 who needs a new deal.
26. Denver Broncos: Sean Payton arrives with plans to either fix Russell Wilson or cut him loose ASAP if the quarterback is beyond repair. It’s a new day in Broncos Country.
27. Chicago Bears: There’s no question the Bears got better this offseason. But there still is a ton of work to be done to make them even fringe playoff hopefuls.
28. Tennessee Titans: I wonder how Caleb Williams feels about Nashville.
29. Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson, anyone?
30. Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals have lost contact with the rest of the NFC West.
31. Atlanta Falcons: Can Desmond Ridder get Kyle Pitts the ball?
32. Houston Texans: I believe DeMeco Ryans will be a good NFL coach, but he faces a massive uphill climb in Houston.