The NFL offseason continued on Thursday with the second official day of the league year and free-agent signing period. It featured one of the biggest signings of the offseason as a potential Super Bowl contender gets the quarterback it needed.
Let’s take a look at some of the winners and losers from Thursday’s moves.
The Vikings and quarterback Kyler Murray seemed like a perfect match, and on Thursday they made it official with a one-year deal. It certainly puts a lot of pressure on both the Vikings and Murray to perform and deliver big results, and both sides are now out of excuses for what they need to win.
The Vikings were probably only a quarterback away.
Murray needed more help, better coaching and a better supporting cast.
They both now have all of that. Let us see what they can do with it.
Loser: Other quarterback-needy teams
Specifically, the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Murray now signed the only real free-agent quarterback option available that could be a potential starter during the 2026 season is Aaron Rodgers.
Murray was the last remaining potential impact free agent at the position. Now he is off the market.
After mostly ignoring their defense for the better part of the past two years, the Bengals are finally making some moves to fix it this offseason.
That continued on Thursday with a two-year contract for defensive lineman Jonathan Allen.
Allen is not the player he was at his peak, but he started 17 games on a good Minnesota defense a year ago and can help a Cincinnati front that badly needs the help.
The 49ers have had some big issues with edge-rushing depth and pass-rushers, and they tried to address that for the 2025 season with the addition of Bryce Huff.
Huff ended up appearing in 15 games for the 49ers, recording four sacks, six tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hits. Hardly a star, but a productive rotation player who could contribute.
The problem for the 49ers: Huff announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday so he can focus on other interests and making an impact away from football. Good career for him. Tough news for a 49ers defense that still needs help getting to the quarterback.
Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers secondary
The Steelers have really made an effort to boost their secondary this offseason. After previously agreeing to terms with cornerback Jamel Dean during the legal tampering period, they reportedly signed free-agent safety Jaquan Brisker on Thursday.
He should be a strong safety partner for DeShon Elliott and give the Steelers a strong defensive backfield with Dean, Brisker, Elliott, Joey Porter Jr. and Jalen Ramsey.
Loser: Alvin Kamara’s future with the New Orleans Saints
Technically speaking, Kamara is still on the Saints roster. But following the free-agency addition of Travis Etienne, there is some real discussion about what his future with the team will look like.
Head coach Kellen Moore did not really do much to convince people that Kamara will remain with the team for the 2026 season.
Said Moore, via NFL.com: “We’d like to go through that process certainly. We know Alvin means a lot to us. We’re three days in this thing. We’ve signed Travis, and we’ll go through that process.”
Not exactly a vote of confidence. Kamara has previously said he would rather retire than play for another team.
