The first three official days of NFL Free Agency are over. While there are still plenty of moves left to be made, several teams have already made impact signings. Some of those moves were smart ones, while others were foolish.
As a reminder, ending up as a winner in free agency isn't achieved by throwing a ton of money at players. It's about filling needs, finding values and not overpaying. For some teams, that last part is difficult. The winners didn't all make perfect moves and success in March doesn't always translate to success in the regular season. The losers didn't necessarily fail in every move, but as whole, their offseasons are off to a rough start. As often is the case, the free agency signings become more reasonable after the first day. Unlike in our Winners and Losers from the first two days, individual players are included in this one. With that in mind, here are the Winners And Losers From Day 3 Of NFL Free Agency.
Winners
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles got rid of Mark Sanchez by trading him to the Broncos. While the Eagles didn't get more than a late-round, 2017 conditional pick, getting something for Sanchez is good move. The Eagles didn't need Sanchez with the presence of Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel. Getting a possible pick and clearing some cap space is a good move.
Denver Broncos
Sanchez is not going to Denver to be the starter. He's going as the backup, unless they end up flipping him. Denver needed a backup who isn't a seventh round pick from last season and that's what they got. Sanchez has a fair contract and he's a known commodity at this point. He's not a franchise QB, but Denver did just win a Super Bowl with an awful Peyton Manning at QB. The Broncos have still lost a ton of talent, but adding Sanchez as the backup was a solid move.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs made a pair of moves today, picking up CB Brent Grimes and DE Robert Ayers. Grimes is getting a two-year, $16.5 million deal, while Ayers is getting a three-year, $21 million deal. Grimes is not the player he once was, but he could be a No. 2 CB for Tampa. Ayers is coming off a career season, although there's a chance he won't match his numbers again. The Bucs didn't overpay for either player and they addressed two needs with the signings.
Losers
Cleveland Browns
The good news is that they finally cut Johnny Manziel (more on that below). But that was a no-brainer move. The Browns still have not made any real moves in free agency. The picked up DE Alvin Bailey and LB Justin Tuggle, but neither played well last season. At best, the Browns added some depth/special teams players. This offseason remains a poor one for the Browns.
Johnny Manziel
At long last, the Manziel Era is over in Cleveland. Manziel failed to focus on football, preferring instead to party amid other off-the-field issues. The Browns cut Manziel today, after holding out hope for a trade offer. As for Manziel's NFL future, no one is signing him this offseason. I've seen it on social media far too often today, so I'll repeat: No. One. Is. Signing. Johnny. Football. That could change next year if Manziel proves he can change, but Manziel's career might truly be over.
Russell Okung
Okung is one of the top tackles on the market, yet players like Jermon Bushrod have signed before Okung. And here's why: Okung is operating without an agent this offseason, in year in which is critically important to him. While agents are far from perfect, NFL teams prefer to negotiate with agents rather than players. Okung is going to cost himself money this offseason and he could have already had a deal had he kept an agent.