One of the most optimistic times of the year for NFL fans has arrived. Free agency has started with a bang, with several huge deals around the league already completed.
We're grading every notable signing and even a few trades as the deals happen. Did your favorite team make smart moves?
Let's take a look at how we view some of the top signings and trades around the league.
QB Malik Willis signs with Dolphins
Henry McKenna: Willis will be the highest-paid QB on the open market, signing a three-year, $67.5 million deal with $45 million guaranteed, per multiple reports.
The former Packer joins ex-Green Bay defensive coordinator and now Miami head coach Jeff Hafley and Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, who also came from Green Bay. The Dolphins will give Willis at least a year to prove himself in an offense that includes good skill players: RB De'Von Achane and WR Jaylen Waddle.
Willis will be tasked with doing what he did in Green Bay as a backup. With the Packers, he converted his unique (and raw) gifts into becoming a game manager. Miami will have to turn him into a game-changer.
At the combine, the Dolphins were concerned that Willis’ contract would get bloated beyond what they could accommodate, per a source. But at $22.5 million per year, he lands just north of what the New York Jets gave Justin Fields last year.
It’ll be fascinating to see how Miami gets under the cap, given they’re about to take on $99 million in dead money from Tua Tagovailoa’s impending release.
Ultimately, I like this move. I like Willis. The risks are sizable. But this offseason won’t offer much in the way of young QBs with upside. The Dolphins chased their guy and got him.
Ben Arthur: Pierce’s return is pivotal for a Colts offense that is looking to get back to the explosiveness it displayed at the start of last season. A homegrown talent with plenty of upside, the 25-year-old Pierce had a strong connection with quarterback Daniel Jones, who’s on the transition tag (at least for the time being).
Pierce is a deep threat with a growing route tree, but he became more expensive than he needed to be. Indianapolis could’ve extended the former second-round pick before last season or earlier this offseason, when he would’ve been significantly cheaper.
Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce has led the NFL in yards per catch in each of the past two seasons. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Chiefs sign Kenneth Walker III to three-year deal
Eric D. Williams: Running backs matter. Just ask the Chiefs, who grabbed the top back available at the start of free agency. The Super Bowl MVP for the Seattle Seahawks will not get a chance to defend the Lombardi Trophy next season. Instead, he’ll try to help Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid chase another ring.
Kansas City needed an upgrade to its running game from the backfield of Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt. The Chiefs averaged just 106.6 rushing yards a contest last year, which was No. 25 in the NFL. And with Mahomes recovering from ACL surgery, the Chiefs now have a bell-cow running back to lean on in Walker.
According to reports, it’s a three-year, $45 million deal with $28.7 million fully guaranteed. That’s a heavy investment to fix the running game for Kansas City for a player who had some injury concerns during his time in Seattle.
Kenneth Walker III joins Kansas City after a Super Bowl MVP performance for the Seahawks. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Falcons agree to terms with former Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Williams: With former first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. still recovering from an ACL tear he suffered in November, the Falcons added some insurance with the signing of veteran quarterback Tagovailoa to a one-year deal.
While serving as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, new Atlanta coach Kevin Stefanski drafted a left-handed quarterback in Dillon Gabriel. Stefanski takes over a team with a left-handed quarterback as the team’s projected starter in Penix.
And now Stefanski adds another left-handed quarterback in Tagovailoa to serve as the team’s starter until Penix is healthy enough to return. The Alabama product is a good fit in Stefanski’s system, a West Coast-based scheme that leans on running the football and a precision passer in the play-action game.
Atlanta has a solid offensive line and one of the best groups of offensive weapons in the league, led by running back Bijan Robinson, tight end Kyle Pitts and receiver Drake London. Yes, Tagovailoa is coming off one of his worst seasons as a pro. He got benched for the last three games of the regular season in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers.
Tagovailoa has struggled to stay healthy, missing significant time over his six NFL seasons due to concussion issues in addition to rib fractures, finger fractures and a back injury. However, the Hawaii native has played winning football, posting a 44-32 record, reaching the playoffs once during his time in Miami and making the Pro Bowl in 2023, leading the NFL in passing yards that season.
Commanders agree to terms with OLB Odafe Oweh
Arthur: The guarantees in Oweh’s reported four-year, $100 million deal will be important. His sack numbers show he’s more than worth this kind of money — he has 21.5 sacks over the past two seasons, including playoffs — but he doesn’t put up the pressure numbers of the top-end edge rushers. According to Pro Football Focus, he had 51 pressures in 2025 (including postseason), which ranked 29th among edge defenders.
The uptick in his numbers after getting traded to the Chargers is notable — after joining Los Angeles in Week 6, he generated the sixth-highest pressure rate in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats. But we don’t have a long-term sample size of the former first-round pick being a consistent, every down game-wrecker. Also, Oweh isn’t a major disruptive force in the run game.
Panthers sign former Eagles edge Jaelan Phillips
McKenna: Phillips has long been an analytics darling, with a propensity to generate as much pressure as anyone. But there are a few reasons why this deal is a major risk for the Panthers. Phillips’ sack numbers have never hit double digits in a single season. He has been at his best in Vic Fangio’s defense (in Miami and Philly), and he won’t have that luxury in Carolina. Phillips also has a long injury history (torn ACL in 2024, torn Achilles in 2023).
The Eagles were able to buy him pretty cheap at the trade deadline. That’s not what the Panthers are doing here. When the dust settles in free agency, Phillips is likely to finish in the top 10 (or near it) among pass-rusher salaries — alongside Josh Hines-Allen ($28.3 million) and Nick Bosa ($34 million per year). Anytime you buy into a guy after a meteoric rise, there’s the possibility of regression. That risk feels even bigger with an oft-injured defender like Phillips.
Raiders agree to terms with C Tyler Linderbaum on historic deal
Williams: Las Vegas significantly upgraded one of its main weaknesses, bringing in an anchor up front to protect the pending addition of quarterback Fernando Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick. The Raiders signed Ravens free-agent Tyler Linderbaum to a three-year, $81 million deal that includes $60 million in guaranteed money, making him the highest paid center in the league.
Last season, Las Vegas allowed a league-worst 64 sacks and struggled to clear running lanes for rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. Linderbaum should help on both fronts as Las Vegas looks to revamp an offensive line around blindside protector Kolton Miller. Las Vegas entered free agency with more than $100 million in salary cap space — the most in the NFL — and should still have more room to make some splashes in free agency. The addition of Linderbaum fills a major hole, giving the Raiders a cornerstone quarterback-center tandem to build around.
Jets sign former Bears CB Nahshon Wright
Ralph Vacchiano: For just $5.5 million over one year, the Jets may have gotten a huge bargain in this 27-year-old, big (6-foot-4) cornerback. He’s coming off a phenomenal season in Chicago, during which he had five interceptions and went to the Pro Bowl.
Granted, it took a long time for Wright to bloom into the player the Cowboys thought he’d be when they took him in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft — and a string of injuries didn’t help. It’s probably why bidders were scared away. But he’s exactly the kind of player the Jets should take an inexpensive shot at. They had zero interceptions last season, so if Wright is the ball-hawk they think he is, they have an ascending young player they can pay next season. If he’s not, they’ve lost absolutely nothing but a little time.
Arthur: It never made sense for the Seahawks to let Shaheed walk. They traded two mid-round picks to the Saints for the Pro Bowl returner midseason, and his playmaking ability in the return game and field-stretching capabilities as a receiver played an integral role in Seattle winning the Super Bowl.
At $17 million AAV on the new three-year deal, Shaheed is firmly in the low end WR2 range. And that makes a lot of sense for Seattle. Establishing contract value is all about projecting what said player can be for your team moving forward. Shaheed’s history in New Orleans demonstrates that he can be a legitimate running mate alongside WR1 Jaxon Smith-Njigba given a full year in the Seahawks’ offense — on top of everything he already does as a returner. Shaheed’s full potential as an offensive weapon is yet to be unlocked.
Saints agree to terms with RB Travis Etienne Jr.
Arthur: The Saints desperately needed a three-down running back of the future, considering that a declining Alvin Kamara will be out of the picture sooner than later. It’s why Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love was widely considered an option for New Orleans with the ninth overall pick.
