play1:08Tim Hasselbeck: Malik Willis will ‘walk in as the anointed starter somewhere’Tim Hasselbeck and Mina Kimes explain why they can see a strong free agent market for Malik Willis.
play2:05Will Kenneth Walker III still be with the Seahawks next season?The “Get Up” crew debates whether the Seahawks should do all they can to keep Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III.
play1:27The Cowboys-Pickens situation could get messyJeremy Fowler, Damien Woody and Tim Hasselbeck discuss the future of George Pickens with the Dallas Cowboys.
play0:46Riddick: Mike Evans will be in high demandLouis Riddick and Booger McFarland react to Mike Evans playing in 2026 and being set to be a free agent.
Who should Vikings bring in to compete with J.J. McCarthy? (1:44)Bart Scott and Mike Tannenbaum disagree over which quarterback the Vikings should bring in to compete with J.J. McCarthy. (1:44)
Tim Hasselbeck: Malik Willis will ‘walk in as the anointed starter somewhere’Tim Hasselbeck and Mina Kimes explain why they can see a strong free agent market for Malik Willis.
Will Kenneth Walker III still be with the Seahawks next season?The “Get Up” crew debates whether the Seahawks should do all they can to keep Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III.
The “Get Up” crew debates whether the Seahawks should do all they can to keep Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III.
The Cowboys-Pickens situation could get messyJeremy Fowler, Damien Woody and Tim Hasselbeck discuss the future of George Pickens with the Dallas Cowboys.
Jeremy Fowler, Damien Woody and Tim Hasselbeck discuss the future of George Pickens with the Dallas Cowboys.
Riddick: Mike Evans will be in high demandLouis Riddick and Booger McFarland react to Mike Evans playing in 2026 and being set to be a free agent.
Louis Riddick and Booger McFarland react to Mike Evans playing in 2026 and being set to be a free agent.
So, I’m here to produce my annual free agent tiers. This week, I’ll go position by position on the offensive side of the ball. Next Monday, I’ll do the same on defense.
While acknowledging that Joe Flacco eventually landed in the Pro Bowl Games after others opted out or declined invitations, there aren’t any QBs who should be considered Pro Bowlers based on the merit of their play on the open market.
Someone’s going to take the plunge on Willis, who was virtually unplayable before looking eminently comfortable in three spot starts for an injured Jordan Love over the past two seasons. Willis has averaged a whopping 10.9 yards per pass attempt and 6.2 yards per rush in Green Bay, comfortably shouldering a meaningful role in the offense even while taking over midgame, as he did against the Bears late last season.
Tim Hasselbeck: Malik Willis will ‘walk in as the anointed starter somewhere’
Tim Hasselbeck and Mina Kimes explain why they can see a strong free agent market for Malik Willis.
Free agents: Joe Flacco, Bengals; Marcus Mariota, Commanders; Gardner Minshew, Chiefs; Mitchell Trubisky, Bills
Mariota has done very well as the backup to Jayden Daniels in Washington. He has posted a 56.9 Total QBR over two years in Washington, averaging 7.6 yards per attempt over that span. He’s one of the four best backup quarterbacks in the NFL, which is enough to earn what would be starter money at a handful of other positions.
The Seahawks, Vikings and Eagles have all traded for Howell over the past couple of years, but he has thrown just 14 passes over that time frame, with the Vikings preferring to add Wentz over the possibility of playing Howell. Wentz led the league in both interceptions and sacks in his lone year as a starter with Washington.
Pickett has also bounced around the league over that same stretch, finishing fourth in Cleveland’s four-man rumba for three spots last summer. He’s 16-11 as a starter without exhibiting any sort of sustained offensive proficiency.
We might see a running back or two earn the franchise tag because $14.5 million is pretty reasonable relative to what a back might earn as part of a multiyear guarantee. But I’m not sure there are any true franchise-caliber backs in the vein of Saquon Barkley or Christian McCaffrey entering free agency.
The Jets didn’t trade Hall to the Chiefs for a middle-round pick when they had an opportunity at the deadline, suggesting that they saw their lead back’s future in green. Given that the franchise tag is $14.5 million and the transition tag comes in at only $11.7 million, keeping Hall around would be financially reasonable. But if Hall gets the chance to hit the open market, he should run away and never look back.
Will Kenneth Walker III still be with the Seahawks next season?
Walker’s success on this second contract is going to come down to a handful of potential big plays each year. If those runs go for 12 yards, Walker’s going to be underwhelming relative to other veteran backs who offer more consistency and a wider range of skills. If those runs go for 30 or 40 yards, though, Walker’s going to put together a 1,400-yard season and make it to the Pro Bowl. Some team is going to take that bet.
Free agents: Tyler Allgeier, Falcons; J.K. Dobbins, Broncos; Rico Dowdle, Panthers; Kenneth Gainwell, Steelers; Brian Robinson Jr., 49ers; Rachaad White, Buccaneers
There are a few big names and former starters here, but I wonder whether there might be more interest in some of the players who haven’t been starters for very long, mostly because they’re younger and have taken fewer hits. Allgeier had a 1,000-yard season as a rookie with the Falcons before Atlanta drafted Bijan Robinson. He remained competent as both a runner and receiver in the 1B role, hasn’t fumbled once as a pro and has touched the ball only 511 times over the past three years.
Likewise, Gainwell was always a part-time back during his time with the Eagles, but by the end of his lone year in Pittsburgh, he had emerged as Aaron Rodgers’ most frequent target. Offenses probably don’t want to build as much of their passing game out of swing screens and checkdowns to Gainwell as the Steelers did, but he can catch the football and posted a 47.4% success rate as a runner last season, the sixth-best rate in the league among backs with 100 carries or more.
Restricted free agents: Emari Demercado, Cardinals; Jaleel McLaughlin, Broncos; Keaton Mitchell, Ravens; Chris Rodriguez Jr., Commanders; Sean Tucker, Buccaneers; Emanuel Wilson, Packers
These guys would have a market as unrestricted free agents, but it’s difficult to imagine another team sacrificing draft picks to add them this offseason.
Can one of these guys serve as a team’s RB2? For backs like Chubb, Hunt and Sanders, who haven’t played regular special teams snaps in years (or at all), finding a spot where they can serve as the primary backup is their path to staying in the league. Third backs typically need to be at least capable special-teamers to be active on a weekly basis, which discourages front offices from rostering vets in those roles.
The tag could also be in play for Pierce, who offers tantalizing downfield ability in the sort of way we might not really have seen since the DeSean Jackson days in Philadelphia. Teams will see his 2025 breakout as evidence that Pierce needed better quarterback play to blossom, and although Daniel Jones was a massive upgrade on Anthony Richardson Sr., there will be a fair number of coaches who see their signal-caller as a better deep ball thrower than Jones.
With the tag at $28.8 million, a Colts team that has a lot of work to do elsewhere might have to pick between tagging Pierce or moving on from Michael Pittman Jr., who is in the final year of his deal. If Pierce does become a free agent, he might not crack $29 million per year in average salary, but there are going to be a lot of teams that see his combination of size and speed and wonder if they can get even more production out of him.
Free agents: Romeo Doubs, Packers; Mike Evans, Buccaneers; Jauan Jennings, 49ers; Deebo Samuel, Commanders; Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants
Evans is coming off his first sub-1,000-yard campaign as a pro, with injuries ruining the future Hall of Famer’s season. It was a bit of a surprise when he didn’t have a huge market in free agency two years ago, and the 6-foot-5 wideout returned to the Bucs for just $41 million over two years. Evans responded with one of the most efficient seasons of his career on a route-by-route basis in 2024, but injuries have cost him 12 games over the past two seasons.
It’s tough to imagine Evans wearing any other jersey, and when dealing with franchise icons, ownership has a habit of getting involved to keep a player around. If Evans does leave, though, one logical landing spot would be Las Vegas, where former Bucs executive John Spytek is the general manager, and presumptive first pick Fernando Mendoza needs playmakers.
Free agents: Keenan Allen, Chargers; Tyreek Hill, Dolphins; Christian Kirk, Texans; Rashid Shaheed, Seahawks
Allen spent most of last offseason unsigned before eventually returning to the Chargers on a one-year deal for $3 million plus incentives. He quickly returned to form, topping his 2024 totals for receptions (81) and receiving yards (777) despite running 62 fewer routes than he did with the Bears. Allen suggested that he preferred to stay in Los Angeles after his contract expired in Chicago, which obviously limits his market.
Pitts is not going to win many awards for most complete football player. He’s not going to offer much physicality as a blocker. He’s going to go missing from games for stretches of time. And he’s not a serious threat in the red zone — although he has very pleasingly increased his touchdown total by one each year, starting with one in his rookie season and advancing to five in his fifth campaign.
And heck, even in 2025, Pitts’ resurgent year was really a product of a three-game stretch without Drake London in the lineup, during which Pitts managed 24 catches for 338 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged nearly 113 receiving yards in those contests and just over 42 receiving yards per game in the other 14 matchups. Is it worth paying Pitts to be a franchise tight end when he was really that guy for only three games?