Three of the four NFC West teams gained plenty of star power in free agency, while the one that has appeared in two Super Bowls in the past six years said goodbye to several key starters.
The Seattle Seahawks have a new starting quarterback after signing Sam Darnold and trading Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Los Angeles Rams added a new weapon for Matthew Stafford after signing Davante Adams. And the Arizona Cardinals went all in for edge rusher Josh Sweat.
However, the San Francisco 49ers parted with many starters in free agency and are banking on their rookie class producing immediately.
Here are the offseason grades for the teams in the NFC West.
Arizona Cardinals
Offseason grade: B+
Key additions: QB Jacoby Brissett, edge Jordan Burch, DT Calais Campbell, CB Will Johnson, G Royce Newman, DT Walter Nolen, LB Cody Simon, edge Josh Sweat, DT Dalvin Tomlinson
Key subtractions: DT Roy Lopez, LB Kyzir White
The Cardinals could have a top-10 defense this season thanks to their splash signing of Sweat, who reunited with former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator and Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon.
Nolen is a boom-or-bust defensive tackle, but he’ll get the benefit of leaning on veterans Campbell and Tomlinson. Suddenly, the Cardinals have depth and talent on a defensive front that desperately needed help since Gannon arrived in 2023. The secondary could also be much-improved if Johnson is healthy and makes teams regret his surprising fall into the second round. The Cardinals rightfully prioritized their defense, but they might have settled for an offense that faltered after a 6–4 start last season.
