2015 NFL Free-Agent Signings: Winners and Losers from Day 3

The deluge has turned into a regular downpour in NFL free agency on the third day of the new league year, but there is still plenty of buzz and drama to be had.

Jordan Cameron was back with the Cleveland Browns for a full hour before we got word that wasn't true. DeMarco Murray kicked sand in the faces of Dallas Cowboys fans everywhere.

Subdued madness in a crazy NFL world!

Let's look at some of the winners and losers from the third day of free-agent action.

Loser: Ryan Mathews

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King for a day, Ryan Mathews has fallen back into the muck.

Well, almost—when DeMarco Murray signed a five-year, $42 million deal with $21 million in guarantees, according to Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com, it seemed the $11.5 million contract Mathews reportedly agreed to just a day earlier would be thrown out.

Head coach Chip Kelly decided to move ahead with the deal, however, which pairs Mathews with last year's rushing champion.

Now, perhaps Mathews will be happy to make the same amount of money while playing fewer snaps—wouldn't you like to work two fewer hours per day?—but the fact remains he was set to be the main man in the backfield before Murray signed on.

As we said Wednesday, Mathews was king for a day, but that was about it.

Losers: New England Patriots

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It's official—the New England secondary isn't what it was a season ago.

Despite bringing back safety Devin McCourty, the Patriots lost out on Darrelle Revis Wednesday when he signed a massive deal to go back to the New York Jets.

That leaves the Patriots devoid of serious talent at cornerback—basically where they were two years ago, at least for now. Sure, Logan Ryan may have improved a bit, but they will be hard-pressed to replicate the success of a season ago.

The Patriots made a nice deal with pass-rusher Jabaal Sheard on Day 2 of free agency, but Day 3 was a cold reminder that the cornerback situation is back to being a big question mark.

Winners: New York Jets

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

The band is back together.

It wasn't that long ago that the New York Jets sported the No. 1 defense in the land. Injuries and departures had them scrambling to field a serviceable secondary last season, but that is a thing of the past. 

Two days after shelling out almost $100 million in new contracts to Darrelle Revis and Buster Skrine, the Jets handed Revis' old running mate a $32 million deal, according to ESPN.com's Rich Cimini, who said Revis wanted to bring Antonio Cromartie back: "On Wednesday night, Revis said he was planning to make a recruiting call to Cromartie, saying he wants the 'Batman-and-Robin tandem' together again." 

Cromartie is back in New York, and that secondary is back to being elite. It is now arguably the best cornerback corps in the NFL, and the defense as a whole could be scary in 2015.

Losers: New Orleans Saints

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Poor Saints fans.

Just a scant five calendar years since they won Super Bowl XLIV, the New Orleans Saints have crumbled into the abyss. Sure, they still have quarterback Drew Brees and a handful of other quality pieces, but this week's fire sale continued as the Saints worked to get under the cap and more.

New Orleans traded away guard Ben Grubbs for a mere fifth-round pick, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Sure, the Saints signed cornerback Brandon Browner to a three-year, $18 million deal, per Mike Jones of The Washington Post, but that does little to allay the notion that the Saints are falling further away from contention with each passing day.

Perhaps the fact team owner Tom Benson is embroiled in a nasty dispute with his heirs about the team's future has something to do with it. His daughter and grandkids are seeking to declare him mentally unstable, and he struck back by suing to remove them from his trust, according to NOLA.com's Katherine Sayre and Andy Grimm.

The family feud may be putting a financial strain on the man who also owns the New Orleans Pelicans. Perhaps he is gearing up for another few years in the NFL's cellar while he straightens out his affairs.

Soon, the Saints will be selling the "S" to meet financial obligations.

Loser: Cleveland Browns

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It was widely reported that Cameron signed a two-year, $15 million deal to stay with his original club, as NBC Sports' Josh Alper wrote.

Not only that, he reportedly did it just after visiting Miami. That would have been twice South Florida has lost a basketball player—former or otherwise—to the North Coast in the past year.

Alas, the reports proved untrue, according to Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson—news filtered out that the Dolphins were in negotiations and that the Browns had no idea what anyone was talking about.

The Browns will be desperate to fill Cameron's shoes if he leaves—perhaps Miami's tendered tight end Charles Clay will fill the void, if the Buffalo Bills don't swipe him away first. 

Cleveland could still get Cameron to agree to the deal, but that may not come until Friday. Or the Browns may have lost Cameron to the sunny Miami disposition.

Winner: Washington, Loser: Terrance Knighton

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You would think a quality nose tackle would be able to get more than a one-year, $4 million deal.

That's what former Broncos starter Terrance Knighton wound up agreeing to when he notched a deal with Washington, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. That is surprising on his behalf considering he was reportedly lowballed by the Oakland Raiders, as tweeted by ESPN's Bill Williamson.

How low did they go, exactly?

At any rate, this is a steal of a deal for Washington, which continues to bolster its defensive line with cheap, quality labor. Knighton had a terrible start to his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he turned things around in Denver, where he brought "Pot Roast" to life.

Loser: Trent Richardson

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We hesitate to call Trent Richardson a literal loser, but his time in the NFL may be coming to an end.

Three seasons after the Cleveland Browns took him with the No. 3 overall pick, and two seasons after the Indianapolis Colts traded a first-round pick to get him, the former Alabama star has been released into the wild.

The Colts finally cut bait on their awful investment after he averaged an abysmal 3.1 yards per carry with the team and was overtaken by the likes of Donald Brown and Dan Herron for playing time.

Richardson is brimming with confidence, as he told ESPN Mike Wells, per AL.com's Mark Inabinett: "Me and the (general manager) didn't see eye to eye. My next step, I'll be the starter. Indy didn't fit me."

Perhaps Richardson will find a home somewhere, but the market is flooded and the draft class is strong. The best he can likely hope for is a training camp tryout.