While free-agency in the NFL is far from over, many moves have already been made. The NFC South is one division that was impacted greatly. From the Falcons making big splashes to the Buccaneers adding a quarterback after losing Tom Brady, it has been an active division in the market. Here, each team will receive a grade for their off-season so far. Who improved? Who didn’t?

Atlanta Falcons: B-

Top Five Additions:

QB Taylor Heinicke, TE Jonnu Smith, DT David Onyameta, DE Calais Campbell, S Jessie Bates

Other Additions:

WR Mack Hollins, WR Scotty Miller, LB Kaden Elliss, CB Mike Hughes, LB Tae Davis

Re-Signed:

OT Kaleb McGary, OT Germain Ifedi, CB Cornell Armstrong, P Bradley Pinion, FB Keith Smith, DE Lorenzo Carter,

Losses:

QB Marcus Mariota, CB Mike Ford, CB Isaiah Oliver

Free-Agency for the Atlanta Falcons began early. They released quarterback Marcus Mariota, who started for them last season, before the free-agency window opened. Mariota wasn’t a true free-agency loss because the team did release him.

On March 7, one week before the negotiating period opened, the team brought back LB Lorenzo Carter on a two-year contract. The deal with the 27-year-old linebacker who was a first-year Falcon last season, is worth up to $9 million over the course of the two year deal.

Just minutes before the negotiating period opened, the Falcons locked up their star offensive guard, Chris Lindstrom — giving him a five-year contract worth $102 million that includes $48M guaranteed. Lindstrom was Atlanta’s first-round pick back in 2019 and has emerged since then. He will continue to solidify the offensive guard spot for the Falcons for years to come.

A few hours after the negotiating period opened up, Atlanta let the world know that they are serious — adding former Bengals safety Jessie Bates on a four-year contract worth $64 million. Bates, who is 26 years old and coming off of a franchise-tagged season with the Bengals, is right at the top in terms of Falcons’ free-agency additions.

The Falcons also signed former Washington Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke to a two-year contract worth $20 million. Heinicke, who has made appearances throughout the past few seasons for Washington, will have a chance to show coaches what he’s all about. It is likely, though, that Atlanta will go with Desmond Ridder as their starter this season.

Calais Campbell was someone who many didn’t envision the Falcons targeting at the beginning of the off-season. Campbell, who was released by the Baltimore Ravens, signed a one-year contract with Atlanta worth $7 million. He gives a nice boost to the Falcons’ defense which received lots of bolstering this off-season.

Two other big additions for Atlanta, who went 7-10 last season, were defensive tackle David Onyemata and outside linebacker Kaden Elliss. Onyemata and Elliss signed three-year, $35 million and three-year, $21 million contracts respectively.

Carolina Panthers: B

Top-Five Additions:

QB Andy Dalton, RB Miles Sanders, WR Adam Thielen, WR DJ Chark, S Vonn Bell

Additions:

TE Hayden Hurst, DT Shy Tuttle, OG Justin McCray, DE DeShawn Williams, LB Kamu Grugier-Hill

Re-Signed:

C Bradley Bozeman, K Eddy Pineiro, DE Henry Anderson

Losses:

WR DJ Moore (Trade), QB Sam Darnold, QB PJ Walker, RB D’Onta Foreman, CB Myles Hartsfield,

Yes, the Panthers did lose a lot in the trade for the first overall pick. DJ Moore is no longer a Panther and Carolina also parted ways with two-first round picks. They got the number one overall pick — a top player of their choice (likely a quarterback).

Heading into free agency, Carolina looked like a team that was primed to have an underwhelming free agency. They proved everybody wrong.

They made their top-two additions on the offensive side of the ball, signing wide receiver Adam Thielen and running back Miles Sanders.

Thielen, who was previously released by the Minnesota Vikings after a nine-year tenure, landed in Carolina relatively quickly — agreeing to a three-year contract worth $25 million. Making up for the loss of DJ Moore, the Panthers also added former Lions wideout DJ Chark on a one-year deal worth $5 million. Thielen and Chark will be able to get back lots of the production lost by parting ways with Moore.

While they did sign former Eagles running back Miles Sanders to a four-year contract, worth $25 million, Carolina lost a running back of their own — D’Onta Foreman, who signed with the Chicago Bears. Sanders will make up for the production that was lost in Foreman as he and young back Chuba Hubbard will head the backfield.

On the defensive side of the ball, Carolina improved their secondary by signing safety Vonn Bell from the Bengals to a three-year contract that is worth $22.5 million. Defensive tackle Shy Tuttle, who is a former New Orleans Saint, decided to go across the division to Carolina to sign a three-year deal.

The Panthers added a second former Bengal after Von Bell — tight end Hayden Hurst — giving him a three-year deal worth around $21 million. Hurst was previously with the Bengals on a one-year, prove-it deal in which he showed the league that he is a viable tight-end option.

Losing quarterbacks Sam Darnold to San Francisco and PJ Walker to Chicago did hurt a little, but the signing of veteran quarterback Andy Dalton gave the Panthers just what they need at quarterback — a veteran presence. Dalton is set to back up the quarterback that the Panthers select in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carolina also has Matt Corral, who they drafted last season.

New Orleans Saints: C-

Top-Five Additions: QB Derek Carr, RB Jamaal Williams, DT Khalen Saunders DE Nathan Shepherd, S Jonathan Abram

Additions: CB Lonnie Johnson, WR Bryan Edwards, OT Storm Norton

Re-Signed: CB Isaac Yiadom, LB Ty Summers, DE Malcolm Roach, LB Andrew Dowell

Losses: QB Andy Dalton, WR Marquez Callaway, WR Deonte Harty, DT David Onyemata, LB Kaden Elliss, DT Shy Tuttle, DE Marcus Davenport, S Justin Evans, DE Kentavius Street

Let’s be honest, the New Orleans Saints’ free agency has been sub-par. They did some things well, though. When you don’t have much cap space, you can’t make all of the big splashes that other teams are making.

The one position that New Orleans certainly upgraded at is the quarterback position. Longtime Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who was released by Las Vegas, signed a four-year contract with the Saints — one that is worth $150 million. Carr, 32, offers stability for New Orleans at the quarterback position for years to come. Free-Agent quarterback Andy Dalton did part ways with the Saints, signing a two-year, $10 million contract with the Carolina Panthers, as mentioned earlier when talking about the Panthers.

New Orleans upgraded their backfield, giving former Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams a three-year contract worth $12 million. Williams had career highs last season in rushing yards (1,066) and rushing touchdowns (17).

They lost out on young wide receivers in Marquez Callaway and Deonte Harty as they left New Orleans for Denver and Buffalo respectively.

On the defensive end of the ball, the Saints lost out on their own emerging players to their division rivals in David Onyemata (Falcons), Kaden Elliss (Falcons), and Shy Tuttle (Panthers).

The Saints added defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, defensive end Nathan Shepherd, and safety Jonathan Abram to help replace some of their losses.

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry, cornerback Bradley Roby, cornerback PJ Williams, and safety Daniel Sorensen are still in the free-agent market so New Orleans will have a chance to retain them.

Though they haven’t had a great free-agency so far, the Saints are still set to compete for the division title this season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: C+

Top-Five Additions: QB Baker Mayfield, RB Chase Edmonds, DT Greg Gaines, S Ryan Neal, K Chase McLaughlin

Additions: N/A

Re-Signed: CB Jamel Dean, LB Anthony Nelson, LB Lavonte David, OG Aaron Stinnie, DT Deadrin Senat, DE Pat O’Connor

Losses: QB Tom Brady, DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, S Mike Edwards, WR Scotty Miller, RT Josh Wells, S Keanu Neal

The Tom Brady-era is no more in Tampa Bay. Brady, the all-time great, announced before the off-season began that he’d be retiring from the NFL “for good.” With Brady’s retirement, the Buccaneers no longer have a solidified number-one quarterback.

The Buccaneers did do some work in free agency, though, as they signed 27-year-old quarterback Baker Mayfield to a one-year contract that is worth $4 million. After stints with the Rams, Panthers, and Browns, Mayfield, a former number-one overall pick will get the chance to compete with Kyle Trask for the starting spot.

Tampa Bay still has a few key players testing free agency. Donovan Smith, Julio Jones, Akiem Hicks, and Cameron Brate headline the players who have yet to either return to Tampa Bay or head elsewhere.

Also fresh off of the team — running back Leonard Fournette, who was released by the Buccaneers this off-season. He is likely to land somewhere on a one-to-two-year contract. The Buccaneers took to the free-agent market to sign running back Chase Edmonds to try to fill the void that the loss of Fournette creates.

Tampa Bay retained a few key defensive players in cornerback Jamel Dean (4 years/$52M) along with linebackers Lavonte David (1-year/$4.5M) and Anthony Nelson (2-years/$10M).

To combat the loss of safety Mike Edwards, who signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buccaneers went out and signed safety Ryan Neal from the Seattle Seahawks. Neal, 27, played in 43 games in the past three seasons with Seattle.

They also took a hit to their secondary with the losses of cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting and safety Keanu Neal, who signed with the Titans and Steelers respectively. Tampa Bay may look to replenish their secondary losses in the 2023 NFL Draft.