Mar. 16—The first week of NFL free agency has come to an end, which means, except for a few aftershocks that often follow the earthquakes of the first couple of days, free agency has pretty much ended for another year.
The landscape in the AFC North has changed since the 2023 season ended. As a reminder, all four teams finished above .500 — the only one of the league's eight divisions to boast that distinction. The Ravens (13-4), Browns (11-6) and Steelers (10-7) all made the playoffs. The Bengals finished 9-8 despite star quarterback Joe Burrow being slowed by a calf injury to start the season and then missing the last seven games with a wrist injury.
Following is a look at the key moves made by each NFC North team.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Talk about sweeping with a wide broom. All three quarterbacks who started games for the Steelers last year are no longer with the team.
Mitch Trubisky was cut. He signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bills to back up Josh Allen. Trubisky had the same role with the Bills in 2020.
Mason Rudolph sparked the Steelers' late 2023 playoff push by winning the last three games of the regular season. Rudolph parlayed the strong finish into a one-year, $2.87 million contract with the Tennessee Titans, where he will back up second-year quarterback Will Levis.
Kenny Pickett, a first-round pick in 2022, began last season as the Steelers starting quarterback. The Steelers on March 15 traded Pickett plus a fourth-round pick to the Eagles for a third-round and a seventh-round pick.
The Steelers' biggest move of the offseason, and one of the biggest moves in the new league year so far, was signing quarterback Russell Wilson to a one-year contract. But Wilson is currently the only quarterback on the roster. The Pickett trade has led to speculation the Steelers will either trade for Bears quarterback Justin Fields or select a quarterback with the 20th pick in the first round.
Player-for-player trades are unusual in the NFL, but the Steelers traded wide receiver Dionte Johnson and a seventh-round pick to the Panthers for cornerback Donte Johnson and a sixth-round pick.
Patrick Queen, a 24-year-old Pro Bowl linebacker, left the Ravens in free agency to sign a three-year, $41 million contract with the Steelers.
The Steelers cut cornerback Patrick Peterson and wide receiver Allen Robinson.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens' biggest move in free agency is one that will be difficult for them to top. They signed former Titans workhorse running back Derrick Henry to a two-year, $16 million contract. The Browns now have to face Henry twice a year for at least the next two years. Last season, they held Henry to 20 yards on 11 carries when the Browns dominated the Titans, 27-3.
Henry rushed for 9,502 yards in eight seasons with Tennessee. He led the NFL in rushing attempts in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023.
Losing Queen to the rival Steelers is a huge loss for the Ravens. Queen started and played in all 67 games during his time with Baltimore.
Gus Edwards, a running back with the Ravens from 2018-23, signed with the Chargers. Edwards scored 13 rushing touchdowns for Baltimore last year.
Odell Beckham Jr. was released with a post-June 1 designation. Beckham caught 35 passes for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 2023 in his only season with the Ravens.
The Ravens lost another defensive player to a division rival when safety Gene Stone left Baltimore for a two-year $15 million contract with the Bengals. Stone was a seventh-round draft pick by the Ravens in 2020. He started seven games in 2022 and 11 last season, He intercepted seven passes and made 68 tackles in 2023.
The Ravens gave defensive tackle Justin Madubuike the non-exclusive franchise tag and then signed him to a four-year $98 million contract.
Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Mixon rushed for more than 1,000 yards four times in seven seasons with the Bengals, including 2023, when he rushed for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns. He also caught 52 passes for 376 yards and three touchdowns last year.
The Bengals signed free agent running back Zack Moss from the Colts and traded Mixon to the Texans for a seventh-round draft pick. Moss is younger, but not as productive as Mixon. Moss, a third-round pick by the Bills in 2020, rushed for 794 yards and five touchdowns on 183 carries last season.
The biggest changes the Bengals made were on defense. Along with signing Stone, the former Ravens safety, they re-signed Vonn Bell. Bell is entering his ninth season. He played for the Saints from 2016-19, signed with the Bengals as a free agent in 2020 and signed a three-year contract with Carolina last year. The Panthers cut him after one season.
Stalwart defensive tackle D.J. Reader left the Bengals for a two-year contract with the Lions. The Bengals replaced him by signing veteran defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins.
Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie left the Bengals for a three-year, $36 million contract with the Titans. Offensive tackle Jonah Williams left Cincinnati for a two-year, $30 million contract with the Cardinals.
The Bengals slapped wide receiver Tee Higgins with a non-exclusive franchise tag. He wants to be traded if he and the Bengals can't come to a long-term agreement. Fellow wide receiver Tyler Boyd is a free agent.
Burrow is on track for a full recovery from wrist surgery.
Browns
The Browns have been active in free agency without making any splash moves, which has been Andrew Berry's style since he was hired as general manager in 2020. Kevin Stefanski was also hired in January of 2020.
Berry likes to sign players to one-year contracts. To that end, he re-signed defensive tackles Maurice Hurst and Shelby Harris to one-year deals for the second straight year. Former Jets defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson was signed for one year.
Berry stepped out of his one-year contract pattern to re-sign defensive end Za'Darius for two years. Punter Corey Bojorquez also re-signed with the Browns on a two-year deal.
Linebacker should be stronger in 2024. Former Steelers first-round pick Devin Bush signed for one year and Jordan Hicks, who formerly played for the Vikings, signed with the Browns for two years,
The Browns lost two linebackers to free agency. Anthony Walker signed with the Dolphins and Sione Takitaki signed with the Patriots. Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott signed with the 49ers.
Running back/return specialist Nyheim Hines signed a one-year contract as did reserve offensive tackle Hakeem Adeniji. Backup guard Michael Dunn re-signed for one year.
The Browns traded a fifth-round and a sixth-round pick in the draft next month to the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. Jeudy is slated to be the No. 2 receiver. Amari Cooper and tight end David Njoku will get most of the work as pass catchers.
The Browns needed an experienced quarterback behind Deshaun Watson. They could have re-signed Joe Flacco, who led them to the playoffs by winning four straight games in December. They signed Jameis Winston instead.
There is still work to do. The Browns are determined to rework the contract of star running back Nick Chubb. Chubb is recovering from knee surgery. It is uncertain when he'll be ready to play again. Chubb is scheduled to make $11,775,000 in 2024.
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