2011 NFL Free Agency: Winners and Losers from a Crazy Free Agency Weekend

While many teams have certainly improved in this year's busy free agency period, others have failed quite fantastically.

To borrow a baseball metaphor, more teams have been settling for base hits or bunt singles than home runs and many have struck out entirely. 

Even worse, the talent of this free agency crop leaves much to be desired with a large amount of above average talent but only one elite player—Nnamdi Asomugha.

When Asomugha and the clear cut number two cornerback were signed, teams were left scrambling for players with clear question marks, like: Chris Carr, Eric Wright, Nate Clements and Richard Marshall.

Which teams won and lost in this weekend's free agency frenzy?

Winner No. 3: Green Bay Packers

The rich didn't get any richer this weekend, but the champs re-signed a couple of guys who comprised their Super Bowl winning roster—James Jones (WR) and John Kuhn (FB.)

Jones was successful in the regular season, posting career highs in catches, yards and touchdowns. He was also top three on the team in all three categories. However, Jones faltered in the postseason with a few egregious drops leading to a breakout game by Jordy Nelson in the Super Bowl.

Many of Nelson's nine Super Bowl receptions and his 140 yards could have been Jones and likely would have led to a bigger market. Instead, Jones returns to Green Bay with a quarterback who lobbied for his return and a battle for the number three receiver position.

Kuhn returns as insurance for Ryan Grant's newly-healed ankle. The fullback was second on the team in carries in 2010 and third in yards. While other fullbacks may lead block better, no other options on the market were quite as well rounded as Kuhn who has upside as a pass catcher and pass blocker.

The Packers haven't gotten any better during free agency, but when the Super Bowl champions do everything they can do to stay on top, they're a clear winner.

Loser No. 3: Washington Redskins

Free agency is a competitive exercise and the Washington Redskins are getting pummeled when they should be trading punches.

While the Philadelphia Eagles have put together one of the better defensive lines in the league—adding Jason Babin (DE) and Cullen Jenkins (DT)—the Redskins decided to re-sign Jamaal Brown (OT,) one of the worst offensive tackles in the league last year.

The Redskins other "big" move was acquiring Tim Hightower (RB) for Vonnie Holliday (DE) and an undisclosed pick.

Holliday is 36, but showed no signs of slowing down in 2010 when he was the Redskins' top defensive lineman and one of the better 3-4 defensive linemen in the league. Fans will say that the team drafted his likely replacement in Jarvis Jenkins, but Holliday was a proven commodity.

Hightower was once highly thought-of, but has developed a reputation as a fumbler and lost both carries and effectiveness as 2010 wore on. Furthermore, the Redskins have a quality runner in Ryan Torain and drafted multiple backs in April.

On top of all that, the Redskins are likely losing their number two and three corners, Carlos Rogers and Philip Buchanon—although, they added Josh Wilson to fill one of those spots. (h/t to reader @ghue).

With the rest of the division getting better and the Redskins just treading water (or worse), they're definitely a loser.

Winner No. 2: Cincinnati Bengals

It would be easy to focus on the Bengals losing Jonathan Joseph this offseason.

Instead, fans should focus on the players the Bengals added and kept around, most notably Nate Clements and Cedric Benson.

Clements was arguably better than Joseph last season and wasn't looking for the insane payday that Joseph was. Clements will be looking to bounce back after many in the Bay Area considered him a "bust" after signing a huge contract in San Francisco. With a lower salary and lesser expectations, Clements should be an awesome cornerback across from Leon Hall.

Cincinnati also added Thomas Howard (LB) from Oakland who will fight for a starting spot and be used in obvious passing situations.

The Bengals re-signed Cedric Benson to a one-year deal, hoping he will relish the opportunity to rehab his image after an offseason arrest.

Loser No. 2: Denver Broncos

Kyle Orton is still a Bronco.

Meanwhile,the QB market is quickly drying up. The Miami Dolphins (Matt Moore), Arizona Cardinals (Kevin Kolb), Tennessee Titans (Matt Hasselbeck) and San Francisco 49ers (Alex Smith) all got their guy.

Barring a major injury, Kyle Orton may remain a Bronco for the rest of the year, and even if he is traded it won't be for as much as the market once held. That is a shame for a rebuilding team needing to optimize all of its resources.

Not only did the Broncos fail to trade Orton, they also failed to make a single quality signing over the weekend. Dante Rosario and Daniel Fells are alright players, but join an already talented and crowded tight end position group. Willis McGahee would have been a great addition two years ago, but is the wrong side of 30.

The other football luminaries joining the roster? The re-signed Marcus Thomas (DT) and Mark Anderson (WR), neither of whom would have found much in way of work elsewhere.

Winner No. 1: Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions entered the offseason with two clear needs—cornerback and linebacker—and came out of the NFL Draft with little in immediate help at either position. So, the team entered free agency with the exact same needs.

Consider those roster holes amply filled.

Earlier in free agency, the Lions signed starting linebacker Justin Durant and possible starting cornerback Eric Wright. Today, the Lions continued their offseason success by signing Stephen Tulloch (LB) and re-signing Chris Houston (CB.)

Tulloch was the best free agent 4-3 linebacker on the market and one of the best overall free agents. He fills a huge need in the middle of Detroit's front seven, allowing DeAndre Levy to shift to his natural weakside position. Moreover, his one-year, $3 Million, deal was an absolute steal compared to the three-year, $12M, that the Bills paid to the less-talented Nick Barnett.

Houston was the top cornerback on the Lions last year and should continue to be in 2011. With the help he has gotten so far this offseason in both the secondary and elsewhere on the defense, he should take another step forward.

Filling your two biggest needs with quality players in the same day qualifies as a pretty solid weekend.

Loser No. 1: New York Giants

When your biggest news of the weekend is signing David Carr, your team has issues.

Again, like the Redskins, this rating has just as much to do with the Eagles than what the New York Giants did (or did not do.)

However, unlike the Redskins, the Giants don't seem even interested in getting better through free agency. The Giants let Plaxico Burress walk out of their offices right into the arms of the New York Jets and are uninterested in keeping Ahmad Bradshaw around.

Perhaps the most egregious error in the New York Giants' weekend was their mishandling of Osi Umenyiora. Umenyiora was looking for a payday or trade and the Giants both refused to pay or deal him for a realistic return. Now, one of the franchise's brightest recent stars is disgruntled.

Trading the defensive end for anything would have been better than dividing a locker room that still loves the unhappy player.

Michael Schottey is an on-call editor for the Bleacher Report College Writing Internship, as well as an NFL Featured Columnist and an NFL Labor/Draft Expert. A member of the Pro Football Writers of America, he has professionally covered the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions, as well as NFL events like the Scouting Combine and the Senior Bowl. Follow him on Twitter.