Although players can’t officially sign until 4pm ET on Wednesday, day 1 of free agency produced several major moves across the NFL. I completed a Top 10 NFL Free Agents list yesterday, and pretty much everyone has agreed to a deal already minus a few. Let’s get into these day 1 moves.
Raiders Spend Big
The Las Vegas Raiders wasted no time in free agency. They signed Tyler Linderbaum, Jalen Nailor, Quay Walker, Nakobe Dean, and Kwity Paye. I actually really like these moves from the Raiders. It is widely expected the Raiders will be drafting Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick. And you’ll want to surround the rookie with as much talent as possible to help with the transition. The Raiders O-line struggled last season, so Linderbaum was an obvious target for this team. He’s a great addition to the line as he’s one of the top centers in the league, and Nailor is a nice addition to the WR room. A player to help protect Mendoza, and a solid WR for him to throw to are good starts. Not saying Nailor is is Justin Jefferson, but certainly a solid receiver.
But since the Raiders stunk everywhere last year, they didn’t stop on that side of the ball. The massive production that will be lost with Maxx Crosby is obvious. So signing an edge rusher like Kwity Paye had to be a priority. I think Boye Mafe may have been a better option, but they needed someone. Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean are two solid veteran linebackers who are both still only 25 years old. I don’t think either are absolute superstars, but still solid signings for a roster that was really bad last season. And again, you wanna help the incoming rookie QB as much as possible. Raiders should definitely improve next year. But it’s hard to get worse than they were, so not exactly a bold prediction.
Dolphins Cut Tua Tagovailoa and sign Malik Willis
July 26, 2024. That is the day the Dolphins inexplicably chose to reward Tua Tagovailoa with a four-year $212.4 million extension. I didn’t understand this deal from the start. And here he is being cut one year into that four year extension. It will cost an NFL record $99.2 million in dead money. $67.4 million dead hit against the cap in 2026, and $31.8 million in 2027. I guess giving an injury prone QB with absolutely no playoff success a huge extension wasn’t the best idea. He also can’t play in cold weather, and definitely benefitted from a Hill/Waddle WR duo in Miami. Credit to Tua for battling through these injuries, but this was a mistake signing from the Dolphins that is catching up to them now. Tagging him for 2 years would have been better than locking yourself into this extension. Tua has now signed with the Falcons and will likely compete with Penix for the starting job. However, we will need to see when Penix is ready to go after suffering an ACL injury in November. I’m not trying to say Tua is awful, but I think he’s just an average QB who got massively overpaid.
The Dolphins albeit needed to move on. Malik Willis looked good in Green Bay, but it was a small sample size. Willis agreed to a three-year, $67.5 million deal with the Dolphins. In two seasons with the Packers, Willis had three starts but appeared in 11 games. All combined he completed 78.7% of his passes for 972 yards and six touchdowns without throwing an interception. Solid numbers, but again small sample size. I still like the signing as he’s only 26 and those flashes he showed in Green Bay make him worth the risk in my opinion. We’ll see how Malik Willis will perform in Miami, where he’ll reunite with former Packer defensive coordinator and new Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley. Hafley got an up close look last year with Willis, and I guess he liked what he saw.
Colts Sign Pierce and Trade Pittman Jr.
I really think this is going to be a wait and see type move. If we look at Alec Pierce, the first thought from a lot of fans may be what an overpay from the Colts with a four-year, $116 million deal. I may not disagree, but this is definitely about upside. He averaged 21.3 yards per catch in 2025, which led the league, and turns 26 in May. Pierce is a 6-foot-3 vertical stretch target who finished with over 1,000 yards in 2025. He accomplished that in just 15 games as well as on only 47 receptions. I believe the thought here is he will get even better with an increased role and become more than just a deep threat.
Michael Pittman Jr. was then traded to the Steelers for a swap of late-round picks (did not see specifics). Pittman was then given a three-year, $59 million deal. Obviously the Colts weren’t gonna pay Pierce and Pittman this kind of money, so one had to go and they chose Pittman. Pittman is coming off a down year as he finished with only 784 receiving yards. His lowest total since his rookie campaign. However, he had a career high seven receiving touchdowns and has two 1,000+ yard receiving seasons under his belt. He will join DK Metcalf in Pittsburgh to form a solid duo. Though the bigger question for the Steelers right now is, who will be throwing to them?
Mike Evans Joins the 49ers
I love this move for both sides. Evans agreed to a three-year deal with the 49ers worth up to $60.4 million. However, only $16.3 million guaranteed. The 49ers battled through significant injuries last season and were still very competitive. This is a very good football team that needed WR help badly. They are expected to lose Jauan Jennings, and it appears the Aiyuk situation has been a nightmare for a while. I still think Evans has a lot to give. Maybe not for much longer, but I think he has a couple of solid seasons left in him. 2025 was the first season he did not top 1,000 yards, but he was limited to just 8 games. Evans adds another dimension on an offense that already includes Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle. I’m anxious to see what this team looks like on offense after this addition. And for only $16.3 million guaranteed, this was absolutely a chance worth taking for the 49ers.
Jaelan Phillips Lands in Carolina
I had Jaelan Phillips listed as my third best free agent available. Carolina sure liked him to, agreeing to a four-year $120 million deal including $80 million in guarantees. Pass rushers are obviously a premier position in this league, and when healthy Phillips is very effective. In 63 career games he has 28 sacks and 68 quarterback hits. Phillips has also had to deal with devastating injuries in his career. The former first-round pick for Miami tore his Achilles in 2023, and suffered a partially torn ACL in 2024. He was fortunately able to play all 17 games last season, which was awesome to see. The Carolina Panthers just had a surprise season as well where they made the post-season and played the Rams very tough in that game. If this guy can stay healthy, look for him to make a big impact in Carolina. Let’s see if Carolina can keep building on a solid 2025 season.
I Don’t Know What the Cowboys Are Doing
So I was only going to do the first five, but my goodness I don’t understand this team. Let’s rewind to summer of 2025 real quick. During this summer, the Cowboys decided to trade their best player, Micah Parsons, to Green Bay for two first-round picks and Kenny Clark. Ok back to present time. It is reported the Cowboys offered a 2026 first-round pick (No.12), a second-round pick, and a veteran player for Maxx Crosby. Boy, that sounds familiar. It is essentially exactly what you got for Parsons, except one second-rounder instead of a first. Micah Parsons is younger and slightly better than Crosby. Yet you essentially offered exactly what you received for Parsons to try and get Crosby not even a full calendar year later? I just don’t get it at all.
To make matters even worse, they then go on to trade a fourth-round pick for Rashan Gary. Rashan Gary is not good. Gary is a former first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers who never quite took that next step into stardom or being a very good player. In 2023 he recorded 9 sacks which was his fifth-year option season. Given that was his best season, the Packers rewarded him with a four-year $96 million extension as it looked like maybe the potential was finally showing and the future was bright for him. Nope. He never recorded a double digit sack campaign, and had 7.5 sacks in back to back seasons after that 9 sack 2023 year. Now you might think 7.5 in 2025 is not bad, but that’s 7.5 WITH Parsons on your team. Parsons was supposed to really open things up for Gary. It looked like it did, as Gary recorded 7.5 sacks in the first 7 weeks. Then? 0 sacks the last 9 weeks of the season. Parsons played in all of those games except the last two and part of the third to last game (Broncos game where he got hurt). If Parsons can’t help this guy, then who can? And also, it was heavily rumored the Packers were going to cut him has a cap casualty anyway. Instead, the Cowboys threw a fourth-round pick at them for this guy. Who needs Micah Parsons when you have Rashan Gary, I guess is what the Cowboys think.
Other Deals:
Kenneth Walker III agreed to a three-year $43.05 deal with Chiefs.
Odafe Oweh agreed to a four-year $100 million deal with the Commanders.
Wan’Dale Robinson agreed to a four-year $78 million deal with the Titans. John Franklin-Myers agreed to a three-year $63 million deal with the Titans. Alontae Taylor agreed to a three-year $60 million deal with the Titans.
Travis Etienne Jr. agreed to a four-year $52 million deal with the Saints.
Jaylen Watson agreed to a three-year $51 million deal with the Rams.
Rashid Shaheed agreed to a three-year $51 million deal to stay in Seattle.
Boye Mafe agreed to a three-year $60 million deal with the Bengals.
Jets traded a 2026 seventh-round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick (sorry, Minkah).
Have a take on this? Leave a comment below.