A week removed from the start of free agency and the offseason’s losers thus far are in clear sight.
Two playoff teams from a year ago failed to address their glaring needs and one perennial contender — which tends to be on the verge of .500 and a Wildcard berth year in and year out — has taken a major step in the wrong direction.
Three teams have stood out as losers during free agency. Here’s why:
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers lost some key cogs along their offensive line, their top wide receiver, and much of their secondary.
Three offensive linemen, including tackle Jordan Gross, have hanged up their cleats, and the team has made no progress signing potential replacements. Sure, Carolina can turn to the draft, but there was an abundance of veterans on the free agent market that could be place-holders for a contending team, none of which were seemingly considered by the team.
Gone is Steve Smith, the franchise’s best wide receiver, as well as the Domenik Hixon, Brandon LaFell, and Ted Ginn Jr. Allowing those players to walk would be fine — if the team had a plan of attack to bring in other talented weapons. Now Cam Newton is without his No. 1 wideout and the team made no moves to bring any top-caliber free agents. The team’s best hope is to sign Kenny Britt or Mario Manningham, neither of whom have been No. 1-type guys in quite some time.
Also gone is safety Mike Mitchell and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, neither of whom broke the bank with their new squads. The Panthers essentially replaced Mitchell with Roman Harper, an aging veteran who is on the back end of his career and battled knee injuries in 2013 with the New Orleans Saints.
General manager Dave Gettleman should be on the hot seat after an offseason like this. Newton lost his receiving corps and his protection, and the team is quickly running out of options.
Dallas Cowboys
Much like Carolina, the Cowboys opted to sit around and watch as their top players were snatched away by other clubs.
Jerry Jones should not be wearing a general manager cap, and this offseason should be enough evidence to that. He decided to release the franchise’s best defensive player in DeMarcus Ware after one down, injury plagued season. Now he’ll rush the passer for a Super Bowl contender. I’d expect Ware to send Jones a lovely fruit basket after he gets his ring. He allowed the team’s best defensive lineman, Jason Hatcher, to sign on with the division rival Washington Redskins. Hatcher now can make Jones pay for his ignorance twice a season. And still unsigned is Anthony Spencer, who is coming off an injury and could be cheap to retain, yet no moves seem to be imminent.
Also, Miles Austin is gone, and the team did not make a move to replace him. Jones also threw a cold shoulder as the team’s other glaring needs in the secondary. The Cowboys sported the 30th-ranked pass defense last season, with an overpaid Brandon Carr at one corner spot, a first-round bust is Morris Claiborne opposite him, and a pair of pedestrian safeties.
Fear not, though. The team struck gold by signing Brandon Weeden. Right?
Kansas City Chiefs
At one point in the 2013 season the Chiefs were striving for an undefeated regular season and the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Those expectation would seem quite lofty if you looked at the current roster.
Kansas City lost three members of its offensive line, including tackles Branden Albert and Geoff Schwartz, as well as guard Jon Asamoah. Replacing a player of Albert’s caliber is hard enough, so the task of finding replacements for all three quality linemen should prove even greater. I imagine Jamaal Charles is none too happy that more than half of his dominant offensive line will be playing elsewhere next season.
The Chiefs not only lost Dexter McCluster but whiffed in their attempt to sign Emmanuel Sanders, who wound up on the division rival Denver Broncos, one of our winners of free agency. Aside from Dwayne Bowe and a very inconsistent Donnie Avery, Alex Smith is without too many weapons in the passing game, which doesn’t bode well for an already limited quarterback.
The defense was the most surprising unit for the upstart Chiefs last season, and now that unit will be without safety Quintin Demps who is coming off a career year. The New York Giants didn’t overpay to sign Demps, so why wouldn’t the Chiefs dish out some cash to keep him in the secondary opposite Eric Berry?
