TheNew England Patriots showedhow valuable of a tool free agency can be.
Not many teams have the cap space or the desire to spend like the Patriots last year, but New England remade its roster through a great free-agency haul and a strong draft. They went from 4-13 to 14-3 andwon an AFC championship.
Most teams this year will take a more prudent approach to free agency, looking to fill gaps in the roster. Free agency begins on March 11, and here are the top 25 players slated to become unrestricted free agents.
25. Seahawks DE Boye Mafe
Mafe had nine sacks as a second-year player in 2023. He has just eight sacks in the two seasons since, so he won't hit free agent as a high-priority pass rusher. But the former second-round pick is just 27 years old and can help a team from the edge.
24. Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers
Not many quarterbacks about to turn 43 would make a list like this. However, the quarterback market will be brutal and Rodgers was pretty good last season. Areturn to the Steelers and a reunion with Mike McCarthyseems like the most likely outcome if Rodgers keeps playing, but there aren't enough starting quality QBs to go around this offseason.
23. Packers WR Romeo Doubs
Doubs made high-profile complaints about hisrole in the Packers' offense,and now he has a chance to find a team that will use him more. Doubs has never had more than 724 yards in a season, though perhaps he could do more in a less-crowded receiver group. He will be 26 years old next season and should have plenty of suitors.
22. 49ers WR Jauan Jennings
Jennings has rarely been in a high-volume role, but he has produced when given opportunities. He has 15 touchdown receptions the past two seasons. He's a big receiver who might not be a No. 1, but can be a productive part of an offense.
21. Steelers G Isaac Seumalo
Seumalo will turn 33 years old next season, but he's a steady veteran and it's hard to find offensive line help. Seumalo has started 104 games in his career and made a Pro Bowl in 2024.
20. Packers OT Rasheed Walker
Walker has been the Packers' starting left tackle for three seasons and will be just 26 years old next season. Walker isn't an elite player but it is very hard to find a competent starting left tackle in free agency.
19. Patriots OLB K'Lavon Chaisson
Chaisson is a classic taleof a first-round disappointment who flourished in a better situation. Chaisson didn't work out with the Jaguars but was very good for the Patriots this past season, picking up 7.5 sacks. He's just 26 years old and a team will bet on his emergence continuing.
18. Buccaneers CB Jamel Dean
Dean wasPro Football Focus'No. 5 cornerback this past season, and while he'll turn 30 years old during next season, teams that need cornerback help will take a risk that Dean's 2025 level can sustain for at least one more season.
17. Buccaneers WR Mike Evans
Evans could always return to the Buccaneers again, or retire. But heading into what should be his age-33 season, Evans should still have some juice left. Injuries set him back this past season, his first in the NFL without gaining 1,000 yards, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's at the end. Evans is a future Hall of Famer and some team would love to add his presence to their receiver room, if he doesn't go back to Tampa Bay.
16. Falcons QB Kirk Cousins
Cousins isn't officially a free agent but theFalcons are reportedly planning to cut him,so he's on the list. Cousins finished last season with some good performances, which will reinvigorate the market for him. He'll be 38 years old in August but he'll be better than plenty of the options some QB-needy teams will be looking at.
15. Chargers OLB Khalil Mack
Mack has to decide if he wants to continue playing. He'll be 35 years old next season and said he will ponder his future. If he does return, he still has value. He had 5.5 sacks last season and while he's not at his old NFL Defensive Player of the Year level, he can be a versatile piece on a one-year deal.
14. Jaguars RB Travis Etienne Jr.
Etienne has at least 1,399 yards from scrimmage in three of his four NFL seasons. He also has at least 260 carries in a season twice, showing he can be a focal point of a team's running game.
13. Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III
Winning Super Bowl MVPraises Walker's profile, but teams won't see him as an elite running back. He is very good though, and has three 1,000-yard seasons in his four years in the NFL. He has big-play ability, but down-to-down consistency has been a question. It seems likely he'll be back with the Seahawks, but there will be some outside interest.
12. Falcons TE Kyle Pitts
A very interesting case. Pitts had a historic rookie season gaining more than 1,000 yards, then three incredibly frustrating and unproductive seasons, and then was very good with 88 catches and 928 yards last season. Do you trust the draft pedigree as one of the best tight end prospects ever and those two productive seasons, or the duds that were in between them?
11. Seahawks WR Rashid Shaheed
Shaheed didn't have a huge impact with the Seahawks as a receiver after a midseason trade, but it's hard to acclimate to an offense during a season. On special teams he was great though. What a team is getting with Shaheed is a big-play receiver who can also flip a game with a big return. That has a lot of value.
10. Jets RB Breece Hall
Hall is versatile, productive and just 25 years old next season. He was having a monster rookie year in 2022 before a season-ending injury. Over the past three seasons he put up 4,359 yards from scrimmage in putrid offensive conditions. Perhaps there's some concern that Hall has never quite lived up to that rookie season, but we can also blame that on the Jets.
9. Chargers OLB Odafe Oweh
The Ravens moved on from Oweh, a former first-round pick, and the Chargers benefitted from a low-cost midseason trade. Oweh had 7.5 sacks in 12 games and put himself on the map as an attractive free agent. Oweh did have some moments with the Ravens too, including 10 sacks in 2024. He will get paid by someone looking for edge help.
8. Eagles DE Jaelan Phillips
Phillips has an injury history, which might keep the bidding from getting out of control. He's also an accomplished pass rusher who was once a first-round pick and will be just 27 years old next season. Phillips had just five sacks between the Dolphins and Eagles last season, and he didn't make a huge impact for Philadelphia after a midseason trade. But his 28 career sacks and prime age will generate interest.
7. Packers QB Malik Willis
The quarterback market is incredibly thin, including aweak draft class outside of Fernando Mendoza.That will make Willis a surprisingly popular commodity, considering how many teams need a quarterback. Would you rather gamble on Willis, who is 26 years old and has looked good when he needed to play for the Packers, a Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers near the end, or Daniel Jones coming off a major injury? At least Willis provides some hope to be a long-term option without many glaring concerns, other than seeing if he can produce as a full-time starter.
6. Jaguars LB Devin Lloyd
Lloyd looked like a first-round disappointment with the Jaguars — he didn't get his fifth-year option picked up — but then he had a breakout season with a new coaching staff. He made the Pro Bowl and had a career-best season. Now he looks like a late bloomer that needed a better scheme to thrive.
5. Colts WR Alec Pierce
Pierce picked a good time for his breakout season. The former second-round pick went from an occasional big-play threat to more production in a higher-volume role. Pierce has led the NFL in yards per catch in each of the last two seasons and he's coming off his first 1,000-yard season. He'll be just 26 years old next season.
4. Colts QB Daniel Jones
Had Jones continued his strong play through the second half of the season and hit free agency healthy, he'd be No. 1 on this list and it might not be close. But that didn't happen. Jones tore his Achilles, and that's not an easy injury to return from, especially for a player like Jones whose mobility is a big part of his game. It seems likely he returns to the Colts anyway, but there's plenty of questions too.
3. Cowboys WR George Pickens
Pickens could be No. 1 on this list, but theinevitability of the franchise tag tempers enthusiasm. The Cowboys will have to figure out how to make Pickens happy, because he's unlikely to be with the tag. He'll be just 25 years old next season with elite talent, but also off-field concerns that caused the Steelers to move on. If he ever got to free agency he'd get an enormous deal. But that's very unlikely.
2. Ravens C Tyler Linderbaum
Linderbaum was Pro Football Focus' No. 4 center last season, he's 25 years old and is a former first-round pick. This is the exact type of free agent teams will and should overpay. He plays a highly valuable position and has many prime years left.
1. Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson
Hendrickson had 17.5 sacks in 2023 and 2024. Last season that dipped to 4.5, but his unhappiness over the Bengals' treatment of him, along with injuries that limited him to seven games, tells that story. Hendrickson is 31 years old so that will work against him on a long-term deal, but pass rushers like this aren't often available.
