NFL Free Agent Signings 2011: Winners and Losers in Nnamdi Asomugha Sweepstakes

The Philadelphia Eagles shocked the world, ESPN NFL guru Adam Schefter included, when they swooped in from out of nowhere to snatch up prized free agent Nnamdi Asomugha.

The deal will reportedly pay the four-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro cornerback a whopping $60 million over five years, $25 million of which is guaranteed.

Exorbitant as that sum may seem, it is certainly money well spent for a guy who is arguably the best cornerback in football not named Darrelle Revis.

And so comes to an end what was one of the more intriguing and exciting chapters in this frenetic period of free agency that's followed the lifting of the lockout. Now, as is the case with any significant move in any sport, comes the task of evaluating the fallout from the Asomugha deal, the winners and losers from this week-long goose chase.

Let's have a look at who benefits most from this deal and who still has some work to do in the aftermath. 

Winner: Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles have to be considered the biggest winners in this whole thing.

In Nnamdi Asomugha, the Eagles have added not only one of the best corners in the game today, but also their second top-flight defensive back of the week.

For those with poor memory, it wasn't all that long ago that the news of the day had the Eagles trading backup quarterback Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round draft pick.

Rodgers-Cromartie, by the way, has a Pro Bowl of his own on his resume.

With those two playing across the field and defensive end Jason Babin returning to Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles defense will be among the best in the NFL.

Pair that with a dynamic offense, stewarded by the resurgent play of Michael Vick at quarterback, the dynamic play of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin on the edge, and the emergence of LeSean McCoy as the team's primary tailback, folks in Philly may well be ringing the Liberty Bell with the Vince Lombardi Trophy in February. 

Loser: Dallas Cowboys

Asomugha's signing with the Eagles serves as a double body blow to one of the Eagles' chief rivals in the NFC East, the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys were thought to be in the running to round up Asomugha until the very end but found themselves wanting when pen finally hit paper this afternoon.

For Dallas' sake, losing out on Asomugha leaves their secondary just as vulnerable as it was last season, when they were among the worst units against the pass in all of the NFL.

Jerry Jones could ostensibly re-sign free agent corner Alan Ball, though that won't do much to make up for the fact that Terence Newman is now old, slow, overpaid and, until further notice, still a Cowboy.

Of course, to add insult to injury, the Cowboys' deepening weakness comes at the expense of the Eagles strengthening their own hand while widening the gap between the Eagles at the top and the Cowboys at the bottom.

And if that's not enough, Tony Romo can look forward to struggling against the league's best defensive backfield the day before Halloween AND on Christmas Eve.

Loser: New York Jets

Like the Cowboys, the New York Jets missed out on the opportunity to add one of their premier defensive backs in football to their roster when Asomugha opted for a deal in Philadelphia.

Of course, the Jets don't have nearly the same deficiencies in their secondary to correct that Dallas does; Rex Ryan and company haven't lost Darrelle Revis just yet.

Heck, Ryan himself could line up across from Revis and the Jets would still have one of the best secondaries in the NFL.

However, Asomugha would've made Gang Green perhaps the prohibitive favorite in the AFC East, ahead of even the revamped New England Patriots. More importantly, a defensive backfield of Revis and Asomugha would've done wonders to help the Jets deliver on Ryan's heretofore empty promises of Super Bowl glory.

Instead, they'll have to look elsewhere to find a replacement for Antonio Cromartie, who checks in as arguably the best free agent corner left on the market now that Asomugha and Johnathan Joseph have been snapped up.

Winner: New England Patriots

With the battle atop the AFC East being as tight as it is these days, the Jets' loss ultimately grades out as a gain for the New England Patriots.

Sure, the Pats don't actually gain anything tangible from Nnamdi Asomugha signing with the Eagles, not even an advantage over the Jets from where they last stood.

Unless, of course, the Jets don't find an adequate replacement for Antonio Cromartie.

However, with Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth on board, New England owns a leg-up in the divisional arms race with New York, putting the pressure back on Gang Green to rebound quickly from their failure.

Otherwise, Tom Brady and the Pats might not have such a tough time dispatching the Jets in the playoffs this season as they did last time around.

Loser: Asante Samuel

If the Jets need someone to fill in the gap opposite Darrelle Revis, they would do well to keep tabs on Asante Samuel, who figures to be the odd man out in Philly now that Asomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie have landed.

Crazy to think that any set of concurrent events could possibly send a four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro packing so quickly.

Yet that's exactly what's gone down in Philadelphia. Samuel has been "excused" from camp ever since the Eagles got back to business and won't likely be returning to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania anytime soon for any reason other than to collect his belongings.

Where Samuel ends up and whether he gets there by trade or by cut remains to be seen. What's more certain is that this has been a difficult week professionally for Samuel, who arrived in Philly in 2008 on a six-year, $56-million deal and has done nothing on his own to warrant such an abrupt ending to his time with the Eagles.