play0:58Will the 49ers move on from Brandon Aiyuk?Nick Wagoner breaks down the 49ers’ future plans with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
play0:45Cowboys bring in Rashan Gary via trade with PackersTodd Archer reports on the Cowboys trading for defensive lineman Rashan Gary from the Packers.
play2:32Orlovsky: Kenneth Walker III can ‘100%’ change everything for ChiefsDan Orlovsky, Peter Schrager and Pat McAfee react to the news that Kenneth Wallker III is signing with the Chiefs.
play1:59How Joe Brady plans to make the Bills’ offense even betterBills coach Joe Brady and GM Brandon Beane tell Pat McAfee their plans for Buffalo’s offense and defense this season.
play1:11Steelers hopeful Aaron Rodgers will returnBrooke Pryor explains the Steelers’ thought process as they wait for Aaron Rodgers to make a decision on his future.
play1:57Stephen A.: Jaylen Waddle a huge pickup for BroncosStephen A. Smith reacts to the Broncos trading for Jaylen Waddle and reflects on the Bills’ failed pursuit of the wide receiver.
Why Graz isn’t buying all of the Kyler Murray hype (1:39)Dan Graziano says he believes the Vikings might have signed Kyler Murray to bring the best out of J.J. McCarthy, rather than to make Murray the starter. (1:39)
Will the 49ers move on from Brandon Aiyuk?Nick Wagoner breaks down the 49ers’ future plans with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Cowboys bring in Rashan Gary via trade with PackersTodd Archer reports on the Cowboys trading for defensive lineman Rashan Gary from the Packers.
Orlovsky: Kenneth Walker III can ‘100%’ change everything for ChiefsDan Orlovsky, Peter Schrager and Pat McAfee react to the news that Kenneth Wallker III is signing with the Chiefs.
Dan Orlovsky, Peter Schrager and Pat McAfee react to the news that Kenneth Wallker III is signing with the Chiefs.
How Joe Brady plans to make the Bills’ offense even betterBills coach Joe Brady and GM Brandon Beane tell Pat McAfee their plans for Buffalo’s offense and defense this season.
Bills coach Joe Brady and GM Brandon Beane tell Pat McAfee their plans for Buffalo’s offense and defense this season.
Steelers hopeful Aaron Rodgers will returnBrooke Pryor explains the Steelers’ thought process as they wait for Aaron Rodgers to make a decision on his future.
Brooke Pryor explains the Steelers’ thought process as they wait for Aaron Rodgers to make a decision on his future.
Stephen A.: Jaylen Waddle a huge pickup for BroncosStephen A. Smith reacts to the Broncos trading for Jaylen Waddle and reflects on the Bills’ failed pursuit of the wide receiver.
Stephen A. Smith reacts to the Broncos trading for Jaylen Waddle and reflects on the Bills’ failed pursuit of the wide receiver.
In a perfect world, your favorite NFL team would keep everybody they want on a reasonable salary, add the best players available in free agency and find a sleeper or two on the lower ends of the market. In reality, of course, things rarely go that way.
Is there a starting-caliber free agent left on the market? Will these teams instead address their weak positions in the draft? Or are there other reasons to think that a team might wait until later in the summer before making any decisions?
To save myself from having to make playoff predictions in mid-March, I’ll define contenders as franchises that made the playoffs in either 2024 or 2025, which leaves us with only … 20 teams. Better get started. (Teams are sorted here alphabetically within each division.)
Jump to: BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | DEN DET | GB | HOU | JAX | KC LAC | LAR | MIN | NE | PHI PIT | SF | SEA | TB | WSH
The solution: Draft a safety. The Eagles are facing a financial crunch as they reckon with retaining A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert. Even if the Eagles were flush with room, though, there isn’t really a safety worth spending significant money on left in free agency, with veterans like Kyle Dugger and Donovan Wilson as the best options available. Those are players the Eagles could add at a reasonable number, but I’m not sure Fangio would want to commit to them as 2026 starters.
Sydney Brown could be in the mix as an in-house option, although the Eagles preferred Epps to their former third-round pick as the Mukuba replacement last season. And GM Howie Roseman could add a veteran like Xavier Woods, who has years of starting experience in Fangio-style defenses with the Panthers, but he would likely figure in as a backup safety and special teamer.
It would make sense for Philly to lean into the draft as a place to find a new safety to play alongside Mukuba in nickel and dime packages.
What’s missing: Wide receiver. It has been an offseason of upheaval for young quarterback Jayden Daniels, who lost offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, and players such as center Tyler Biadasz and potentially wide receiver Deebo Samuel after a frustrating 2025 campaign. The Commanders elected to promote 30-year-old assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough to replace Kingsbury, and they’ve added players like Rachaad White, Jerome Ford and Chig Okonkwo as new playmakers.
The solution: Add Brandon Aiyuk. The 49ers haven’t yet cut Aiyuk in the hopes of landing a trade for their former first-round pick, whose future lays away from San Francisco after a bizarre past 18 months. The 49ers voided Aiyuk’s guarantees after he refused to rehab on the team’s timeline, so while he is owed $26.2 million in 2026, none of that money is actually likely to go to the 27-year-old.
Nick Wagoner breaks down the 49ers’ future plans with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
The Bears probably still need to add a starting cornerback and a safety comfortable playing in the box between now and the start of the 2026 season.
The solution: Take a flyer on a veteran and add help in the draft. I thought the Bears might pursue Alontae Taylor, who spent his first couple of seasons under Chicago defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans, but the fifth-year pro signed with the Titans. Most of the young, starting-caliber cornerbacks have already signed elsewhere, leaving the Bears without a plug-and-play option on the outside.
The Bears could bring one of those veterans in on a one-year deal, but that would be to compete with Stevenson, not replace him. The likes of Tre’Davious White or Jeff Okudah could be more appealing. Chicago could also try to buy low on a disappointing young player such as Kyu Blu Kelly or Kaiir Elam, hoping that Allen might coax more out of them than their previous staffs.
While the Bears might hope to address wide receiver and edge rusher early on in the 2026 draft, the secondary should also be a priority. The good news for Poles is that the Bears have an extra second-round pick after trading Moore to the Bills.
With Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch all eligible for extensions this offseason, Holmes will be putting most of his cash budget toward raises for some of his best young players. Is there anything left to fill the cupboard beyond Hutchinson?
At this point, knowing the Lions probably need to reserve at least one of their top two picks for a left tackle, Holmes must approach the edge rusher position with the idea that he needs to find multiple veterans who can contribute in situational roles. There’s no full-time starter lurking on the market outside of Joey Bosa, who might be best in a rotational role given how he played against the run last season in Buffalo.
The good news is that there are still plenty of vets available. It’s realistic to imagine the Lions building a rotation with someone such as Bosa or Jadeveon Clowney, who had 8.5 sacks in 13 games with the Cowboys in 2025, alongside D.J. Wonnum (who signed a one-year deal worth $6 million to join Detroit on Tuesday). That combination might not thrill Lions fans, but Detroit has to add at least two edge rushers in the months to come.
What’s missing: Edge rusher depth. The Packers were going to feel some financial impact after acquiring and paying Micah Parsons a record-setting deal, and that was inevitably going to show up this offseason. The Packers have lost six players who signed deals worth at least $10 million per year with their new team while trading Rashan Gary and cutting Nate Hobbs. The only player they’ve signed on a deal worth more than $5 million per season is defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
The solution: Wait out the market. Parsons is going to be the focal point of the Packers’ pass rush, and Van Ness has flashed at times over his first three seasons, especially early on in 2025. The Packers also project to land four compensatory picks after losing Malik Willis, Romeo Doubs and others in free agency, including two fourth-round selections. Down significant draft capital from the Parsons trade, Gutekunst will want to do whatever he can to pick up those extra compensatory picks.
Cowboys bring in Rashan Gary via trade with Packers
Todd Archer reports on the Cowboys trading for defensive lineman Rashan Gary from the Packers.
Beyond those three and Andrew Van Ginkel, though, there wouldn’t be much left for Brian Flores if the Vikings do trade Greenard. I would expect the 28-year-old to land a Day 2 pick, which would help the Vikings add to the three Day 2 picks they already possess, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to build a complete defensive line in Minnesota.
The solution: Focus on depth. The young guys are going to be the focal points in 2026, but the Vikings could still stand to add some veteran depth to rotate in and offer some reliability. This defense had plenty of players like that in 2024, but players such as Patrick Jones II and Jihad Ward played well enough to earn deals elsewhere.
There isn’t a ton available on the edge, but the Vikings could stand to add a guy or two on the interior to bulk up against the run in veteran free agency. Several former Vikings are free agents, including Jonathan Bullard. Ward, who had five sacks and an impressive 22 knockdowns for the Titans last season as a full-time starter, hasn’t found much of a market in free agency. A return to the Vikings for him could make sense if Greenard moves on.