Patriots and Steelers Among Biggest Losers in NFL Free Agency So Far

Monday marked the official start of the NFL's legal tampering period, and it did NOT disappoint. We were treated to two blockbuster trades -- DeAndre Hopkins was offloaded to Arizona and Stefon Diggs was shipped to Buffalo.

Additionally, there was a legion of bombshell free agency signings. It's not often you can tab winners and losers after just one day of transactions, but there were just so many moves to account for.

Now that the dust has temporarily settled, it's impossibly to deny that the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are currently two of the biggest offseason losers in football.

The #Dolphins may still need to build up their offensive line, find a consistent 2nd WR and that pesky little quarterback thing, but Brian Flores and GM Chris Grier are building that program up.
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) March 17, 2020

For starters, almost every team in their respective decisions got better. In the NFC East, the Miami Dolphins landed the top cornerback in Byron Jones and actually poached linebacker Kyle Van Noy from New England. Elsewhere, the Bills, as noted earlier, acquired an elite receiver in Diggs in a trade with Minnesota.

In terms of losing players, Bill Belichick will be devastated that Van Noy will no longer be anchoring his defense. Further, fellow linebacker Jamie Collins, who logged seven sacks in 2019, inked a three-year contract with the Lions.

To put the cherry on top of a truly disastrous last 24 hours, Tom Brady announced on Tuesday morning that he won't be returning to New England.

LOVE YOU PATS NATION pic.twitter.com/lxSQZmnjPL
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 17, 2020

The Steelers may not be able to top the Pats, but fans in Pittsburgh surely aren't feeling too hot right now. In the AFC North, the Ravens, who finished 14-2 last season, acquired five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell from the Jaguars for a fifth-round pick. Cleveland got better by agreeing to deals with tight tend Austin Hooper and offensive lineman Jack Conklin.

Let's also not dismiss the Bengals, who franchise-tagged superstar wide receiver AJ Green and are about to pair him with presumptive No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Burrow.

On top of that, Pittsburgh saw former star nose tackle Javon Hargrave land a lucrative contract with the Eagles, and the team was forced to part ways with linebacker Mark Barron to save cap space.

Former Steelers’ NT Javon Hargrave reached agreement with the Eagles on a three-year, $39m deal with $26M fully guaranteed, @RosenhausSports tells ESPN. Hargrave becomes the highest paid nose tackle in the NFL.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2020

Nothing more needs to be said, folks. The Patriots and Steelers are undoubtedly licking their wounds after Monday's relentless wave of news.