The NFC South, as a whole, did nothing. Absolutely nothing of value. They were so boring that the biggest moves were signing a kicker, trading for a guy without hands, trading for a guy with 70% of his hands and upgrading the third passing option in New Orleans. This division was incredibly boring this offseason, holy moly.
The Atlanta Falcons
Multiple times in this state of the league, I accused teams of doing nothing. I was wrong. Holy moly, I was wrong. The Atlanta Falcons definitely win the title for “most work done to tread water for 2018.” Per Roster Resource, they made ten free agent signings heading into the 2018 NFL Draft. Seven of those signings were re-signing free agents, and six of those players were signed to one-year deals. The only Falcon incumbent to get a multi-year deal was Matt Bryant. The Kicker. Don’t worry, I’m sure they used that money to go get big name free agents, like two 49ers 2018 backups and the worst Cardinals CB last year. Oh, and Julio Jones may or may not be mad at the franchise.
Current Status:
The Carolina Panthers
Andrew Norwell was one of the most coveted free agents this offseason, and the Carolina Panthers did not re-sign him. Things did not get better for them from there. They sidestepped the Daryl Worley situation by moving him for their new Ted Ginn Jr (Torrey Smith), and the NFL slapped Thomas Davis with a four-game suspension. They rebuilt their secondary with Da’Norris Searcy and Ross Cockrell. They also signed Dontari Poe and Julius Peppers, who have a combined age of 175 years old. All-in-all, however, it feels like a step in the right direction for the Panthers, even if it is a tiny one. Hey, Black Panther was good though, remember Black Panther?
Current Status:
The New Orleans Saints
The Saints didn’t do a whole heck of a lot this offseason, but that’s mostly due to them already having perfected the formula last year. It took the Minneapolis Miracle to kick them out of the playoffs, so they were right to stand pat. They’re likely coiling to get ready to strike again after what might be one of the best drafts of all time (getting Alvin Kamara, Ryan Ramczyk, Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Williams, all of which made the PFWA All-Rookie Team). That’s in the past, but this offseason they got even better. They let malcontent Willie Snead leave and signed Cameron Meredith and added one of the league’s best linebackers in Demario Davis. They got just a little bit better than last season, but when you’re as high up as they were, it’s hard to get much better. They certainly managed to do at least that this offseason, and should be a force in the NFC next season.
Current Status:
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The 2018 season didn’t go as-planned for the Bucs, but they re-upped everyone of value that was a free agent (Adam Humphries, Cam Brate, and Brent Grimes). They also strategically forgot to call the representatives for Doug Martin and Charles Sims to throw a big, fat reset button on the RB corps. They’re a shoo-in to take one of the top-five backs this weekend. Much like the other three teams in this division, they didn’t do jack squat for me to make jokes out of. They traded for JPP, and I can count the rest of their good moves on one of his hands. Oh hey, there’s a joke. Phew.
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AND THIS ISN’T EVEN THE WORST SOUTH DIVISION IN THE NFL.
