2025 NFL Free-Agency Tracker: Grading Every Major Move | Super Bowl Odds for Every Team After Free Agency
NFL free agency isn’t over yet. But most of the headliners, save for a few big-name quarterbacks and older receivers, are off the market.
There’s a lot to account for over the past couple weeks, including re-signings, trades and signings, so we asked our reporters to weigh in on some hot topics.
Let’s dive with today’s question.
One move you would have made as a GM of any team?
Matt Verderame: I would have signed any living, breathing free-agent receiver if I were Joe Hortiz of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Last year, the Chargers did well to land Ladd McConkey in the second round of the NFL draft, and he produced like a No. 1 receiver out of the slot. However, Quentin Johnston is still struggling and Josh Palmer was the only other meaningful weapon. Well, Palmer now plays for the Buffalo Bills after getting three years and $36 million to catch passes from Josh Allen.
As we sit here today, the Chargers currently have McConkey in the slot with Johnston and Mike Williams, who signed a one-year deal to have a reunion. It’s brutal. While the Chargers want to run the ball more than most teams with Greg Roman as their offensive coordinator, they also paid a fortune to quarterback Justin Herbert. It’s also 2025. Time to get someone with hands.
Gilberto Manzano: The Pittsburgh Steelers’ proud franchise finds itself in the embarrassing position of waiting for a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who is deciding whether he wants to play for coach Mike Tomlin. The Steelers could have avoided this situation had they been aggressive on the trade market and acquired Geno Smith before he landed in Las Vegas. Smith following DK Metcalf to Pittsburgh could have been enough for this team to be more than a one-and-done playoff team.
Yes, it wouldn’t have been ideal to cough up a third-round pick for Smith after relinquishing a second-rounder to Seattle in the Metcalf deal, but it’s clear the Steelers have no interest in rebuilding, so might as well act as an all-in franchise. Instead, the Steelers did what they’ve done for the past decade by being conservative and now are desperately waiting for Rodgers to call them back. And if he does, the Steelers are probably headed for another wild-card ouster or miss the playoffs altogether.
Conor Orr: I would have nabbed Jimmy Garoppolo or Daniel Jones before the Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts did. I don’t love these players personally, but the floor falls out in terms of quarterback talent in a hurry. Successful teams without a true answer at quarterback are going to be the ones who can accumulate the most chips with at least some positive experience and/or upside, and try to make it work. The buckshot approach is the only way forward given the quarterback recession we are currently in.
Albert Breer: This is a smaller one, but I really would’ve loved for Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes to go get Cooper Kupp—and essentially trade Tim Patrick, who’s been a great story for them, for the guy he was part of scouting and drafting with the Rams. I think Kupp could have been good for Jameson Williams, too. You have the built-in chemistry with Jared Goff and the Lions could have managed him in a way that would have helped him stay healthy throughout the year. Of course, I know the idea of staying on the West Coast in general, and going home to Washington state in particular, appealed to Kupp. But if you’ll indulge me, maybe there’s something the Lions could’ve done to move him off that decision.
Iain MacMillan: If I was Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, I would’ve done all I could to sign Kupp. The young wide receiver core for the Packers is talented, but it struggled with fundamentals, mainly catching. Only the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets had more dropped passes this past season.
Bringing in a veteran, sure-handed player such as Kupp to play a leadership role in a young Packers receiver room would have done great things for this team. His impact off the field may have been even more important than his impact on the field. Best-case scenario is he could’ve been a leader for the rest of the receivers to lean on and also be one of their top pass catchers if he could get healthy and become even close to the triple-crown-winning receiver he was just a few short years ago. A lack of veteran leadership on the Packers offense was evident last season and he immediately could’ve solved that issue.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The MMQB Debates One Big Move NFL GMs Should Have Made In Free Agency.