Bears among 6 teams whose aggressiveness shows they're desperate for contention

There's a whole lot of fool's gold in the NFL offseason. Teams have money and draft picks to spend. So that's what they do, in hopes of getting back into the playoffs — or getting deeper into the postseason (and eventually winning a Super Bowl).

We've seen plenty of measured approaches this offseason, with teams clearly looking for specific players to fill a specific need. And when the match looks good, they pull the trigger.

The teams below are not taking that measured approach. Their moves hint at a sense of desperation — whether it's for playoff contention or Super Bowl contention. To be clear, that doesn't make these moves bad. Sometimes you have to overpay to get a good player. Sometimes, you have to make a big move to get the arrow trending upward.

These teams have taken big swings in the trade market and in free agency. We've seen desperation showing up in all sorts of transactions and pursuits. In other words, this list is not simply about who spent the most money.

Let's dive in.

6. Las Vegas Raiders

You want to make a change? You either get a new QB, coach or GM.

Well, the Raiders did all three.

They did an organizational overhaul, bringing in coach Pete Carroll, GM John Spytek and quarterback Geno Smith. You can argue about the necessity of replacing the coach and GM. But there was no question that a QB acquisition was in order.

The Raiders will need to keep building. They lack the requisite talent in the AFC West. But by replacing every one of the most important leadership positions (which includes QB), the Raiders showed they're ready to get aggressive to claw their way back into the hunt.

5. Washington Commanders

It feels like they've made one big move after another this offseason.

They made the trade