Judging overreactions to 2024 NFL free agency deals, trades - ESPN

The next time you think we're overreacting during the NFL season, you need to remember how things can be in the middle of March. A frenzied week of signings, cuts and trades has reshaped every NFL roster (well, except the Cowboys) and led to some of the more breathless takes we'll see all year.

So we here in the Overreactions Department decided this would be a good time for an emergency special edition. Let's judge some of the biggest potential takeaways from free agent signings and other big roster moves of the past week and see which are legit.

Jump to:
The Bears misread the Fields market
Henry puts the Ravens over the top
Cousins makes the Falcons serious contenders
The running back market is back
The Texans can now challenge the Chiefs
The Broncos will pick No. 1 in 2025

The Bears had been dangling Fields in trade talks since they found out they would have the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, courtesy of the Panthers. Early in the offseason, we thought Chicago could get a second-round pick for Fields. Well, on Saturday the Bears shipped him to the Steelers for a conditional sixth-rounder.

The list of quarterbacks who were traded this offseason before Fields includes Mac Jones, Sam Howell, Desmond Ridder and Kenny Pickett. The Patriots sent Jones to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. The Commanders moved Howell to Seattle for the equivalent of a late third-rounder. The Falcons flipped Ridder to Arizona for receiver Rondale Moore. And Pickett went from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in a Friday afternoon pick swap. There was a market for quarterbacks whose teams no longer saw them as starters, but the Bears didn't drop their demands early enough to maximize their return.

Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION

When the offseason began, it