Free-agent fallout: Look who's leaving the NFC West

Former Dodger great and civil rights pioneer Jackie Robinson once said, “Above anything else, I hate to lose.” It’s a good thing he never dabbled in NFL free agency.

To be fair, free agency wouldn’t arrive in the NFL until 1993. These days, losing talented players can make or break a franchise.

Here’s a look at players leaving their NFC West teams:

Arizona Cardinals

Key losses: WR Marquis Brown

The Cardinals gladly welcomed starting quarterback Kyler Murray back from an ACL injury last season but he had trouble connecting with the team’s wide receivers. Second-year tight end Trey McBride led the team with 825 yards, 251 more than Brown who missed three games with an injured heel.

Aside from one 1,000-yard season with the Ravens in 2021, Brown hasn’t earned his “Hollywood” nickname, but his loss could sting if the team doesn’t add a receiver in the draft. The Cardinals also traded Rondale Moore to the Falcons for quarterback Desmond Ridder, leaving Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch as Arizona’s top-two receivers.

Brown should have more success with the Kansas City Chiefs and Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. remains an option for the Cardinals with the No. 4 overall pick in next month’s draft.

Los Angeles Rams

Key losses: C Coleman Shelton

Nothing to see here. Shelton had been the Los Angeles Rams starting center for the past two seasons but is not considered an elite talent. He appeared in 73 games with 32 starts and will rejoin new Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron who spent two years as the Rams passing game coordinator.

San Francisco 49ers

Key losses: QB Sam Darnold, CB Isaiah Oliver, DE Clelin Ferrell

Brock Purdy will always have his haters, but after a trip to Super Bowl LVIII, there’s no need to keep Darnold in the shadows, especially for the $10M the Vikings gave him. The team had enough faith in fourth-string quarterback Brandon Allen to trade away Trey Lance last season, but do they trust him enough to be their No. 2?

Oliver appeared in 17 games for the Niners but started just six. The former Falcon had 48 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery last season but was primarily used on special teams in last year’s playoffs. He’ll back up cornerback D.J. Reed with the Jets next season.

Ferrell was a first-round pick with the Raiders in 2019 and started every game for the 49ers last season. He’s never been much of a pass-rusher but had 3.5 sacks in 2023. That may be good enough for Washington, but not San Francisco who just added 58 career sacks by signing former Giant Leonard Floyd.

Seattle Seahawks

Key losses: TE Will Dissly, TE Colby Parkinson, QB Drew Lock, RB DeeJay Dallas

Seattle had no choice but to re-sign tight end Noah Fant to a two-year, $21M deal after losing Dissly and Parkinson. Dallas became expendable once the team added running back Zach Charbonnett in last year’s draft.

Less obvious was the team’s move to drop Lock in favor of Washington QB Sam Howell. Lock impressed in a comeback win against the Eagles in Week 15 but Howell finished 2023 as the NFL’s 12th leading passer with 3,946 yards and could challenge Geno Smith for the starting job.