The NFL’s free-agent signing period officially opened Wednesday, though teams have been able to negotiate with impending free agents since Monday.
With the new league year now underway, we’ve already seen a flurry of moves, including some spins on the quarterback carousel (Sam Darnold, Justin Fields), big-name players making moves (Davante Adams, DK Metcalf), and other stars like Myles Garrett staying put.
Which signings will have the most impact and which won’t move the needle? NBC News breaks it all down.
Best signing of free agency
Nadkarni: I don’t think he’s the player he was five seasons ago, but I love the Los Angeles Rams’ adding Davante Adams on a two-year deal. The Rams are cooking a bit in general this offseason, bringing back quarterback Matthew Stafford to a team that nearly upset the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles last postseason.
Adams, a three-time All-Pro with the Packers and the Raiders, is a nice addition to a receiver room that also has Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell. What I like about this group for Los Angeles is the variety of styles these players play, and I would bet Adams has a bounce-back year with a competent organization and an offensive genius in coach Sean McVay. Stafford is also the best quarterback Adams has played with since he left Green Bay.
Greif: The Minnesota Vikings’ signing center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries. They had a magical last season until their final two games, when pass-rush pressure by the Lions and the Rams completely wrecked one of the NFL’s better offenses.
Quarterback Sam Darnold’s struggles to counter the pressure may have sealed the team’s decision to move on and turn the offense over to second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, but the team still needed to address its protection. It did that by signing Kelly and Fries, who played next to each other in Indianapolis.
The Vikings already had a strong depth chart returning from last season, and they added to it in free agency with defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave and other signings, but if McCarthy thrives in his first season as a starter, as the Vikings hope he will, their decision to shore up its line could be a major reason.
The biggest head-scratching signing was …
Greif: Indianapolis’ signing quarterback Daniel Jones. Considering the Colts started, benched, then went back to Anthony Richardson as a starter during a roller-coaster last season, it was obvious the team’s leadership harbored at least some doubts that the 22-year-old former first-round pick in 2023 who has struggled with consistency as a passer could develop into a franchise cornerstone. In free agency, then, Indianapolis went looking for a human insurance policy who could maintain a baseline of competency, just in case.
Yet Jones, the 27-year-old former New York Giants first-round pick who was released this season only a short time after he signed a lucrative extension, hasn’t exactly inspired much confidence or produced much consistency, either, during his short career while throwing 47 interceptions against 70 touchdowns. Jones’ career quarterback rating ties for 33rd among 37 active quarterbacks in the league, per Pro Football Reference.
Nadkarni: Do the Cincinnati Bengals know they have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL? It’s upsetting to watch them alienate seemingly all of their top talent around Joe Burrow.
Wide receiver Tee Higgins has been franchise tagged for the second straight year, which he’s probably not thrilled about. Now Higgins is the subject of trade speculation as he tries to secure a long-term deal. Defensive end Trey Hendrickson, meanwhile, is the team’s only great pass rusher on an already-iffy defense, and he’s actually been given permission to find a trade partner as he won’t be kept around long term. And all this is happening as receiver Ja’Marr Chase tries to sign a new deal of his own.
The most improved team from free agency
Nadkarni: The New England Patriots, though this isn’t necessarily a huge endorsement. First off, the Patriots were very bad last season. They had basically nowhere to go but up. Second, New England really threw money around this week. The hallmark of this franchise’s success for the first 20 years of this century was building through the draft, not free agency, so it’s a little worrying to see the 180-degree turn.
But the Pats have brought in better players than they had last year, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Former Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams is their biggest signing, and he’ll anchor the front four for new coach Mike Vrabel. With quarterback Drake Maye looking promising, at the very least New England is trying to take advantage of Maye’s affordable rookie contract.
Greif: The New England Patriots traditionally are not big spenders in free agency, and the last time they opened their wallets this much, in 2021, the return on investment was minimal. On paper, spending $277 million on free agents this week — the most in the league, according to Spotrac, which collects contract information across major sports — has a chance to result in a different outcome.
There is familiarity: Linebacker additions Robert Spillane and Harold Landry played for new head coach Mike Vrabel at previous stops. There is playoff-tested talent (defensive tackle Milton Williams from Philadelphia) and help on the offensive line (Morgan Moses) to protect promising quarterback Drake Maye as he enters his second season. Given Maye’s strong decision- and play-making as a rookie and the offseason moves they have made, the Patriots clearly believe their window for contention is open right now if the pieces fit. But there is one question: When will the Patriots get Maye a strong option at receiver?
Which team has work left to do?
Greif: The Bengals. Cincinnati hit wide receiver Tee Higgins with the franchise tag — a high-paying one-year stopgap measure that delays, for now, committing to a long-term extension that Higgins is seeking — and then have largely sat on their hands ever since.
Cincinnati appears hesitant to add new players until it has answers about the stars already on its roster. Will Ja’Marr Chase, the superstar wideout who along with Higgins comprises the most talented receiving tandem in the league, become the league’s highest-paid non-QB? Will it trade or keep Trey Hendrickson, last year’s leader in sacks? Quarterback Joe Burrow has publicly put pressure on team management to keep the band together, but even in a league in which the salary cap is rising $23 million next season, the Bengals’ willingness to spend will be tested.
Nadkarni: It’s obviously the Dallas Cowboys, who restructured contracts to clear up a bunch of cap space only to not really do anything of note with it. I’ll throw the Seattle Seahawks in here, as well, though.
It’s not that the Seahawks haven’t made big moves, such as trading DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers and signing quarterback Sam Darnold to replace Geno Smith. But I want to see what Seattle does with this flexibility it has gained from trading its two best offensive players. Though Smith may not be elite, he was propping up the Seahawks’ offense the last couple years, especially playing behind a porous line. And Metcalf has long been a problem for opposing defenses.
Clearly Seattle has some kind of rebuild/retool in mind. And I want to see exactly what the plan is there.
The biggest question remaining in free agency
Greif: Can San Francisco assemble enough talent around a higher-paid Brock Purdy in 2025 to create a bounce-back season? For the last three seasons, the 49ers had the ultimate NFL luxury: a good quarterback on a dirt-cheap contract. (In a league with $60 million quarterbacks, Purdy was making six figures). But with one year left on his deal, Purdy is expected to earn a lucrative extension this offseason, and it sure seems like one is in the works given how many players the team has moved on from to clear its books. From trading Swiss Army knife playmaker Deebo Samuel to Washington to losing Charvarius Ward, Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw, among others, what was one of the league’s most talented rosters just two seasons ago during their Super Bowl run has been thinned out. It seems like San Francisco will have its quarterback going forward; will it have it enough around Purdy, though?
Nadkarni: There’s a former Super Bowl champion quarterback available, and I don’t mean Aaron Rodgers! Where will Russell Wilson sign?
Wilson was solid for the Steelers last year, even if his play tailed off toward the end of the season when the team’s schedule got much tougher. Still, he played in a conservative offense with some inconsistent skill players, and I thought he elevated that group to the best of his ability. Is Wilson going to sign somewhere and make that team a Super Bowl contender? That’s a stretch. At the same time, with money drying up around the league, it’s possible Wilson can be a bargain player for another year and be a steady veteran presence on a playoff hopeful.
Would the Vikings really be better off with Rodgers or J.J. McCarthy? Is there a world in which the 49ers and Brock Purdy are too far apart on a contract? I’m not sure there’s an obvious spot for Wilson if he wants to win. Maybe he even ends up back in Pittsburgh. It’s not impossible he can be someone who makes a difference next season, though.
