March 11 marked the start of the 2026 league year in the NFL, meaning any player that have a contract with a team for the 2026 season becomes a free agent. This means players can sign a contract with any team in the league, and teams can begin trading players and draft picks again. This gives teams the opportunity to retool and rebuild their rosters with proven players in order to fill their biggest needs through the 2026 draft. While I can’t cover every single move made in this offseason so far, I will try to focus on the bigger trades of this offseason.

Maxx Crosby’s failed trade to the Ravens:

While the new league year did not start until Wednesday, teams were still able to make ‘handshake’ deals with players and work out trades, but they would not become official until the league year started. This sort of deal is exactly what happened between the Baltimore Ravens and the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday, March 6, when they made a deal to trade star edge rusher Maxx Crosby to Baltimore in exchange for two first round draft picks. This compensation was similar to the Micah Parsons trade that happened last season between the Cowboys and Packers, which displays the value that teams put on elite edge rushers. This trade was very beneficial to both sides, as it gave the Ravens an elite threat who is a problem for the offense on just about every snap, making the rest of the defense’s job easier. The compensation for the Raiders was also very beneficial, as two first round picks allows them the opportunity to get a lot of top end talent through the draft and speed up their rebuild.

But this trade was not to be, as the Ravens backed out of the trade on the night of March 10. The Ravens claimed the reason for their backing out was because Crosby failed his physical in Baltimore, presumably due to his recovery from a meniscus surgery he’d had this past season. There has been a lot of speculation over this move, as a move of this magnitude has not fallen through in a long time. Some have speculated that the Ravens realized instead of trading for Crosby, they would instead sign free agent edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who could bring the same amount of production on a similar contract without giving up draft picks, leading them to intentionally fail Crosby’s physical. I personally don’t think this is true, considering that if the Ravens wanted Hendrickson, they probably could have just signed him, as not many teams showed clear interest in paying him what he wanted.

Ultimately, this could be a blessing in disguise for both teams; if the Ravens really want another elite edge rusher alongside Hendrickson, they can find one for cheap in the draft with the picks they saved, or they can address another need. As for the Raiders, they were one of the top spenders in free agency, and seem to have raised the floor of their team by a large margin. The Raiders still have the cap space to keep Crosby, and with their additions in free agency and the eventual ones in the draft, they could be a fairly solid (but still rebuilding) defensive unit.

Geno Smith traded to the New York Jets: The other notable trade from this free agency cycle was the New York Jets trading with the Las Vegas Raiders for quarterback Geno Smith. Smith started off his career with the Jets, who drafted him in the second round of the 2013 draft. Smith’s tenure in New York was not good, as the best season the Jets had during that time was a 10-6 record, during which he only played in one game due to a broken jaw that he suffered after being punched by teammate IK Enemkpali.

After his release from the Jets in 2017, Smith bounced around the league as a backup until he got an opportunity to start for the Seattle Seahawks after Russel Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos in 2022. During that season, Smith managed to revive his career, earning the Comeback Player of the Year award despite not being injured. While he did not win a playoff game in Seattle, Smith did garner enough attention to be traded to the Las Vegas Raiders for a third round pick that the Seahawks used to draft QB Jalen Milroe.

While on the Raiders, Smith led the league in interceptions, and was a big part of the Raiders’ season from hell that landed them the first overall pick. While Smith was one of the main reasons the Raiders failed, I think he should at least be a little better in 2026 than he was in 2025. This is mostly due to the fact that he will be behind a stronger offensive line, allowing for a stronger run game, which in turn helps out the passing game. While he is not the best quarterback in the league, he can still read a defense well. As Jets fans know from experience, they can do a lot worse.

Jets fans should also keep in mind that Smith is the ultimate bridge quarterback. He has led both the Jets and Seahawks to Sam Darnold, and has presumably led the Raiders to Fernando Mendoza. Given this track record, it is very likely that Smith can perform in a way that wins them a few games, but not enough to screw them out of the opportunity to select a quality quarterback in the 2027 draft. At the end of the day, while I don’t think this move is the worst move the Jets could’ve made, but it won’t win them many games, and they will probably still be the same old Jets.