NFL Free Agency 2017: NFL Teams with the Most on the Line in Week 2

There are few discounts during the first days of NFL free agency, but everything will change as we make the transition this week into what is essentially the second wave of the frenzy. 

The supply and demand dynamics are shifting, and the sense that unsigned players might immediately sign elsewhere if you don't overpay them is gone. Some teams are practically out of money, while others have more cash than they know what to do with. And almost everybody still has holes to fill. 

Here's a look at seven teams with the most to gain and/or lose going forward in free agency. 

New York Jets

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The New York Jets are coming off a 5-11 season. They're in one of the toughest divisions in football. And on paper, they've actually taken a large step backward early this offseason. 

Top receiver Brandon Marshall, top cornerback Darrelle Revis and center Nick Mangold—three players with multiple Pro Bowls on their resumes—are all gone. The only outside free agent they've added—offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum—is coming off a terrible season in Jacksonville. 

And we're not even sure whose blind side Beachum will be protecting to start the 2017 season because quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith remain unsigned. 

I understand why general manager Mike Maccagnan (pictured) resisted overpaying high-profile free agents last week. This team is rebuilding, and it didn't kick off the new league year with a ton of money to spend. But that puts a lot of pressure on the front office now that bargains can be found. 

The Jets have to be looking for a quarterback to compete with Bryce Petty and/or Christian Hackenberg as well as proven NFL players who can fill holes along the offensive line in the secondary and in the front seven. 

Might that strategy involve trading defensive end Sheldon Richardson and his $8 million salary to a contender? They already have Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams up front, and there's a hot rumor (per Rich Cimini of ESPN) right now about a potential trade with the Cincinnati Bengals for promising young quarterback AJ McCarron. 

Whether or not that comes to fruition, Maccagnan has plenty of work to do. 

Cincinnati Bengals

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There's a lot of pressure on the Cincinnati Bengals to remain stocked with talent in order to contend while quarterback-receiver battery Andy Dalton and A.J. Green are in their prime. But the Bengals followed up a 12-win 2015 season with an ugly 10-loss 2016 campaign thanks in part to the fact they lost key receivers Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu and key defensive backs Reggie Nelson and Leon Hall in free agency. 

Folks in Cincy may be experiencing a tinge of deja vu early this offseason. On Day 1, the Bengals lost starting offensive linemen Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler. 

Despite those losses, and despite having over $25 million in salary-cap space, they haven't signed anybody to replace those guys. 

Or any outside free agents at all. 

I know, that's sort of the Bengal way. This is a team that rarely makes big splashes in free agency. But right now it appears that, for the second consecutive offseason, a team that needs to get better has gotten worse. 

If the Bengals can't find some high-quality bargains in the second wave of free agency, they'll have lost even more ground to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. 

Indianapolis Colts

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Another team facing a lot of pressure to shore things up around a franchise quarterback-receiver duo is the Indianapolis Colts, who have missed the playoffs with back-to-back eight-win seasons despite the presence of Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton. 

The Colts entered the offseason needing to bolster an offensive line that Pro Football Focus ranked last in terms of pass-blocking efficiency in 2016 as well as a defense that has ranked in the bottom 10 in sacks in each of the last two seasons. 

They did address the front seven early in free agency by signing pass-rushers Jabaal Sheard and John Simon away from AFC rivals New England and Houston, but that line continues to be neglected. 

The Colts entered the offseason with well over $50 million in salary-cap space, presumably aware that they lack talent at right guard and right tackle. But they watched as top free-agent tackles Andrew Whitworth, Ricky Wagner and Riley Reiff and guards Kevin Zeitler, T.J. Lang and Larry Warford signed elsewhere. 

There remain some decent second-tier free agents available at both positions (Andre Smith, Breno Giacomini, Austin Pasztor, Tim Lelito, John Jerry, to name a few). With this draft class lacking great offensive linemen, the flush-with-cap-space Colts have to take advantage of the market and give one or two of those veterans a shot. 

Dallas Cowboys

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No team in football entered the 2017 offseason with less salary-cap wiggle room than the Dallas Cowboys, who almost immediately lost strong safety Barry Church to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Church's backup, J.J. Wilcox, then jumped ship to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr remain unsigned. 

The Cowboys have high hopes for young defensive backs Byron Jones and Anthony Brown, and they've signed veteran Nolan Carroll to team up with the reliable Orlando Scandrick at corner, but the secondary still needs a lot of TLC, and Jerry Jones (pictured) doesn't have a lot of money to spend. 

Now's the time to find free-agent diamonds in the rough, especially on the defensive side of the ball. 

Of course, how they approach that could depend on what happens with quarterback Tony Romo, who won't be a Cowboy in 2017 but remains on the roster. There were strong indications last week that Romo would be released with a post-June 1 designation, but that hasn't happened yet because the team appears to be holding out for a trade. 

If the Cowboys can find a way to make that happen, it'd free them up to make an extra move or two in free agency. 

The Cowboys are trying to remain on top of a competitive division—one that hasn't had a repeat champion since 2003-04. That's a lot to put on Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott as sophomores, especially if they take a step backward anywhere else on the roster. 

Houston Texans

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When the Houston Texans traded quarterback Brock Osweiler to the Cleveland Browns, they freed up $10 million in salary-cap space while also taking on a new challenge. 

Who will be their quarterback in 2017? 

It's an important question for a team that could be a legitimate Super Bowl contender with a reliable signal-caller running the offense. The Texans had the league's top-rated defense in 2016 despite the fact three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt missed virtually the entire campaign. Watt's healthy now, and they have enough weapons on offense to at least take some pressure off of whoever starts under center. 

Will they bring in Romo? If not, how will they use the $30 million they now have to spend? Current QB1 Tom Savage has a career passer rating of 74.9 in five appearances, so if general manager Rick Smith (pictured) opts to stick with him despite having that much cap space, he'll take a lot of heat for that roll of the dice. 

Especially since the Texans have already lost three good defensive players—A.J. Bouye, John Simon and Quintin Demps—in free agency. 

Denver Broncos

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And then there are the Denver Broncos, who many figured were the front-runners for Romo before Houston traded Osweiler to Cleveland. They still might be. But here we are, on the cusp of the second week of free agency, and Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch are the only signal-callers on the Denver roster. 

That's uninspiring, as are the moves general manager John Elway (pictured) has made thus far in the new league year. The Broncos brought in offensive linemen Ronald Leary and Menelik Watson and defensive lineman Domata Peko, but they also lost Russell Okung and Sylvester Williams from either side, and pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware remains unsigned. 

Denver is stuck in the best division in football, and the Oakland Raiders look as though they'll continue to get better. The New England Patriots—Denver's biggest nondivision rival—have experienced a remarkably productive offseason. 

In order to avoid losing ground, a Broncos team with more than $25 million to spend will have to make some things happen in the days and/or weeks to come. 

Arizona Cardinals

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The Arizona Cardinals are trying to remain in contention before the window closes on the Carson Palmer/Larry Fitzgerald era, but they're low on funds, and they've already lost key defensive players Calais Campbell, Tony Jefferson and D.J Swearinger. 

To boot, they have a massive hole at right guard with Earl Watford gone and Evan Mathis retired, and reliable and emerging linebacker Kevin Minter still doesn't have a contract. 

General manager Steve Keim (pictured) was smart to slap the franchise tag on Pro Bowl pass-rusher Chandler Jones, but he's now trying to find a new guard and a new defensive end on the cheap while working to lock up Jones with a long-term deal. 

Keim has a busy few weeks ahead.