We're closing in on the start of NFL free agency and that means one thing: A whole lot of craziness is about to erupt.
The beginning of a new league year always creates anticipation and excitement, as each fan base can't wait to see what kinds of acquisitions its beloved team will make. This offseason will be no different than previous ones. Some squads are positioned to execute substantial moves, while others must be more conservative with their finances.
For the sake of this piece, we're going to ignore those organizations that are operating with tight budgets. There's not much fun in discussing teams that have to resort to a flurry of financial contortions simply to be compliant with the cap. The franchises that are blessed with an abundance of cap space are a different story. They're the ones that have the potential to make that first week so captivating. This column focuses on that group -- more specifically, those teams that need to be aggressive this offseason. It can be a free-agent signing or a juicy trade -- like the one Washington just pulled off to acquire former San Francisco wide receiver Deebo Samuel -- but it has to be something that gets folks talking.
By the way, this isn't about those teams that have a lot of money and the hangover from a dismal 2024 season. We're talking about those squads that could be a few personnel moves away from doing some serious damage in the playoffs next January. (OK, the first team listed below fell apart in '24, but there's ample reason to believe a quick turnaround could be in order in '25 -- IF the franchise nails the coming months of team-building.)
Without further ado, here's who should be thinking about making some major offseason noise when the negotiation period begins on March 10 and free agency officially opens on March 12.
NOTE: All cap figures below are pulled from Over The Cap.
This one is a no-brainer. The Bears ultimately fell flat on their faces last season after selecting quarterback Caleb Williams with the first pick in the draft and investing heavily in skill players to make his job easier. Those decisions all sounded promising until this team dropped 10 straight games after a 4-2 start and head coach Matt Eberflus lost his job in late November. Chicago already made one monumental move in hiring former Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as its new head coach. Next up: Finding a way to improve this team in the trenches.
Chicago led the NFL in sacks allowed with 68, so that is the most obvious issue for general manager Ryan Poles to address this offseason. There had been ample speculation that he would target Kansas City guard Trey Smith in free agency, but the Chiefs placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the Pro Bowler. That doesn't mean the Bears won't be aggressive with other options. They have one of the best cap-space situations in the league (nearly $80 million) and they hold the 10th overall selection in this year's draft (where they could find a plug-and-play starter like Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. or LSU OT Will Campbell, both of whom could end up moving to guard at the next level). Chicago also has three interior-linemen starters hitting free agency, so Poles will be looking for replacements there. The best FA possibilities on that front include 49ers guard Aaron Banks, Colts guard Will Fries and Falcons center Drew Dalman.
As for the defense, Montez Sweat is the only consistent edge rusher to pressure quarterbacks, but he finished last season with just 5.5 sacks. Khalil Mack, who played in Chicago from 2018 through 2021, is the biggest name on the pass-rusher market, along with Haason Reddick, Malcolm Koonce and Josh Sweat, the last of whom picked up 2.5 sacks in Philadelphia's Super Bowl win over Kansas City.
There are other needs in Chicago, but stabilizing the offensive and defensive lines is vital to this team's success. The NFC North turned into the best division in football in 2024. It's likely to be just as competitive this coming fall.
Cincinnati was easily the most confounding team of 2024, as it lost games in a variety of ways and somehow remained in the hunt for a playoff spot in December. Now comes the question that has hovered around this franchise for most of the past year: Are the Bengals going to do what it takes to keep their stars?
The most pressing decision is wide receiver Tee Higgins, who played last season on the franchise tag and just received that tag again on Monday. The second tag guarantees Higgins a $26.2 million salary, but it's assumed Cincinnati will keep working on a long-term extension for him. Given the going rate for standout receivers in this league, Higgins must be eyeing a deal that will be in the annual salary range of at least $30 million. The problem, of course, is that his fellow wideout, Ja'Marr Chase, is openly looking for an extension that would exceed the historic four-year, $140 million deal that Minnesota gave Justin Jefferson to reset the wide receiver market last offseason. Quarterback Joe Burrow has made it clear that he wants Higgins to stay in Cincy for the long haul, and the franchise has said it's committed to that idea, along with satisfying the demands of Chase and edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who requested a trade last offseason before leading the league in sacks. Oh, yeah -- the Bengals also need to add more talent on all three levels of a defense that ranked 25th in the league in both points and yards allowed.
The good news here is the Bengals have a good cap-space situation, with roughly $43 million to work with. And they don't have to overpay on the open market to take care of some premium positions. However, this is a franchise that has been known for being frugal. If the Bengals start throwing big money around to take care of these stars -- and director of player personnel Duke Tobin said at the combine that this is doable -- it will let the league know Cincinnati is serious about reclaiming its place among championship contenders.
The Commanders already helped us out with this exercise by producing the Deebo Samuel trade over the weekend. The deal that brought the rugged playmaker to Washington ensures that this team is willing to do what it takes to continue the momentum created by last season's 12-5 regular-season record and run to the NFC Championship Game. Quarterback Jayden Daniels now has another weapon to take some pressure off top target Terry McLaurin, but general manager Adam Peters could still make plenty of moves in the coming months.
The Commanders have a young star quarterback on a rookie a deal and nearly $65 million in cap space. It'd be hard to find a personnel evaluator in the league who wouldn't be jealous of that combination. Peters was extremely active last offseason, when he added several established veterans to a team that held the second overall pick in the draft. The strategy paid off -- as the leadership of players like linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Ertz proved invaluable -- but now Peters must figure out which guys to keep, as a number of key contributors are heading right back into free agency. Wagner and Ertz make sense, given what they mean to each side of the football.
All that cap space also suggests the Commanders have the resources to make a run at trading for Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, even though Cleveland has said it's not interested in dealing the disgruntled first-team All-Pro. The Commanders need to find defensive line help somewhere -- ends Clelin Ferrell and Dante Fowler Jr. are free agents, and the team has granted defensive tackle Jonathan Allen permission to seek a trade -- so they should be in the market for some of the same names mentioned in the Bears blurb above.
The Chargers were facing some tough financial decisions at this time last year, when they were sitting roughly $50 million over the cap. They did what they had to do -- jettisoning big names like running back Austin Ekeler and wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, while restructuring the contracts of veteran edge rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack -- and then went on to win 11 games and earn a wild-card playoff slot in the first year under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Los Angeles now has over $66 million in cap space and plenty of reasons to think a strong offseason could turn this franchise into a legitimate championship contender capable of challenging Kansas City for AFC West supremacy.
The most glaring need for this team is on offense, where the departures of Allen and Williams left sizable holes in the receiving corps. Rookie wideout Ladd McConkey immediately established himself as a stud in the slot, but Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz have to find more targets for quarterback Justin Herbert. Chris Godwin could be an intriguing option in free agency, but this isn't a great market for receivers. Some of the biggest names are aging players like Amari Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins and Stefon Diggs. And let's not forget the Rams are looking to trade 31-year-old Cooper Kupp. If the Chargers don't like those choices, they likely can find a receiver in the draft -- they hold the 22nd overall pick -- and they'll be just as eager to find help at tight end. A player like Michigan TE Colston Loveland, who emerged as a star in Ann Arbor under Harbaugh, would make perfect sense there.
Whatever the Chargers do, Hortiz has said they want to continue spending responsibly and not recklessly. They have some key players from last year's roster moving into free agency -- like Mack and running back J.K. Dobbins -- so some of that extra space will have to go toward holding onto talent they already know well.
Like Harbaugh in Los Angeles, Broncos head coach Sean Payton proved his value in Denver by turning around that franchise in 2024, his second season at the helm. The Broncos willingly took the hit that came with paying former quarterback Russell Wilson nearly $38 million in salary to leave town last year -- Wilson eventually played for the Steelers -- and they're in a much better place today because of that pain. There's still a $32 million dead-cap charge this season for dumping the signal-caller, but the upside for Denver is that Wilson's successor, Bo Nix, just finished a rousing first season in the league. Even with Wilson's dead money, the Broncos have more than $41 million to play with this offseason. The franchise has been aggressive in terms of locking up its core players, and general manager George Paton made it clear at the combine that the team wants to work out extensions with edge rusher Nik Bonitto and wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
When it comes to making splashy moves, Paton needs to boost Nix's supporting cast. The Broncos must find a more viable option at tight end, as the team's top three players at that position combined for 46 receptions and 455 yards in 2024. Payton also would love to find a running back who can make life easier on his young quarterback. He specifically covets a player who can fill the "Joker" role of runner/receiver that turned Alvin Kamara into a star during Payton's tenure in New Orleans. It's not a great market for running backs in free agency -- especially after last year's crop included impact performers like Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs -- but a player like J.K. Dobbins could be an intriguing fit. The draft also is flush with talent at running back.
However it happens, the Broncos need to capitalize on that momentum generated by their first playoff appearance since 2015. Payton was talking openly after the season about how his team liked its chances of beating Kansas City if those two had met in the Divisional Round. If Denver can make some strong offseason moves, Payton's Broncos could take another large step forward and truly contend with the AFC heavyweights.
