The first week of NFL free agency has wrapped up, and all four teams in the NFC North made notable additions and subtractions. While none of the teams landed a massive blockbuster that instantly reshaped the division, each team did add at least one player who could have a meaningful impact in 2026.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at the biggest free-agent addition for each team through the opening week.<\/p>\n
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Detroit Lions: C Cade Mays<\/p>\n
The Detroit Lions addressed a key need by signing center Cade Mays to a three-year, $25 million contract with $14 million guaranteed. The move helps stabilize the center position after longtime starter Frank Ragnow moved on and veteran Graham Glasgow struggled in the role last season.<\/p>\n
Mays, 26, stands 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds and previously spent time with the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants.<\/p>\n
In 2025, Mays posted a 62.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking 24th out of 40 centers. His pass protection was the strength of his game, earning a 69.4 pass-blocking grade (13th). His run blocking graded lower at 58.4.<\/p>\n
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Across 726 snaps, Mays allowed zero sacks, just three quarterback hits, and 11 total pressures while committing only two penalties. In 2024 he posted stronger numbers, including a 74.9 pass-blocking grade that ranked sixth among centers.<\/p>\n
Over his career (1,706 snaps), Mays has allowed four sacks, six quarterback hits, and 42 pressures. For Detroit, the move provides stability to one of the league\u2019s best offensive lines.<\/p>\n
Minnesota Vikings: QB Kyler Murray<\/p>\n
The Minnesota Vikings made the most intriguing move in the division by signing Kyler Murray to a one-year deal after his release from the Arizona Cardinals.<\/p>\n
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The move comes after second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy dealt with injuries and inconsistency in 2025.<\/p>\n
Murray, the former No. 1 overall pick, has thrown for 20,460 yards, 121 touchdowns, and 60 interceptions over seven seasons while adding 3,193 rushing yards and 32 rushing touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell has a strong reputation for quarterback development, previously helping revive the career of Sam Darnold and maximizing veteran production from Kirk Cousins.<\/p>\n
Murray raises Minnesota\u2019s upside, but the one-year deal shows the team is still evaluating its long-term quarterback situation.<\/p>\n
Chicago Bears: S Coby Bryant<\/p>\n
The Chicago Bears strengthened their secondary by signing safety Coby Bryant to a three-year, $40 million contract with $25 million guaranteed after losing starters Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard.<\/p>\n
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Bryant arrives from the Seattle Seahawks, where he spent four seasons. In 2025 he recorded 66 tackles, seven pass breakups, four interceptions, four tackles for loss, and one forced fumble.<\/p>\n
PFF graded him at 65.5 overall (45th among safeties) with a 61.9 coverage grade and a 70.3 run-defense grade. He logged 974 snaps but also had 17 missed tackles, which ranked among the highest at his position.<\/p>\n
Bryant adds youth and playmaking ability to a secondary that needed help.<\/p>\n
Green Bay Packers: DL Javon Hargrave<\/p>\n
The Green Bay Packers were the least active team in the division during the opening wave of free agency. Their biggest move was signing veteran defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to a two-year, $23 million deal after his release from the Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n
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Hargrave, 33, is entering his 11th NFL season and has made two Pro Bowl appearances.<\/p>\n
Last season he started 15 games and recorded 3.5 sacks, 52 tackles, four tackles for loss, and six quarterback hits. Across 537 snaps he generated 31 total pressures.<\/p>\n
For his career, Hargrave has started 130 games and recorded 49 sacks, 432 tackles, and 59 tackles for loss, giving Green Bay a proven interior presence.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/p>\n
Overall, the NFC North didn\u2019t see any division-shaking moves in the first week of free agency. Minnesota\u2019s signing of Kyler Murray may carry the most intrigue simply because quarterback moves have the biggest impact.<\/p>\n
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Still, from a Detroit Lions perspective, none of these additions drastically change the balance of power. Detroit addressed a key need at center while maintaining one of the strongest rosters in the division heading into the draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first week of NFL free agency has wrapped up, and all four teams in the NFC North…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[1258,64,63,148082,1257,1248,169847,3055,40055,147987,6587,1243,1282,22815,17458,157307,1280,5380,1239,1242,94976,593,5875,1269,1254,85],"class_list":["post-543485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cade-mays","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-chicago-bears","tag-coby-bryant","tag-detroit-lions","tag-frank-ragnow","tag-graham-glasgow","tag-green-bay","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-jaquan-brisker","tag-javon-hargrave","tag-kevin-byard","tag-kirk-cousins","tag-kyler-murray","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-new-york-giants","tag-nfc-north","tag-nfl","tag-pro-football-focus","tag-sam-darnold","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}