The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[Bulldog]

Signing Aiyuk to anything more than a 1 year contract would be foolhardy.

This is the first 'rebuild' of an organization I have seen where the team actually got OLDER since the George Allen Over the Hill Gang in the 1970's.

Absolutely confounding on many levels to how successful teams have been built and continue to be built.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

There's certainly a lot to like about him but, in my opinion, he doesn't deserve low end WR1/top end WR2 money. Look at this list and, of the guys over a $20M AAV, tell me who you would take Pierce over in 2026. Only guys on this list I can think of are Godwin (who will get let go as he is washed), Hill (whose knee is trashed) and maybe Ridley. So two guys who will probably get let go and a guy coming of 2 1K years whose numbers were trash due to having to play with Cam Ward

I would definitely take him over Jakobi Meyers (he just signed his contract for that amount).

I would happily sign Pierce for $20 apy. But he's going to get more than that. If guys like Dyami Brown, Darius Slayton, Rashod Bateman, and Darnell Mooney are getting $10-15 million then you know you have to pay a lot more than that to get someone above average.

$20 apy is only 6.8% of the projected 2026 cap. It's not nearly as much money as we think. Pierce is going for more than that.

We're paying Deebo 18m currently, or 6.5% of the cap, to be a mostly low depth of target guy.

Pierce at a similar cap ratio but with the ability to scare defenses vertically and be many years younger provides more value than Deebo. Does that mean trading for Deebo was a bad move in the moment? No. He didn't take up 13% of the cap, he took up half that. You take a swing on guys adding a new element to an offense. That's what you do and why you pay them WR 2 money.

6.5% of the cap is WR2 money. That's 20ish million a year.

For the record (if the draft shakes out like this) I would sign Pierce to $20-25 and still draft Tate/Tyson if the draft worked out like that (Bailey wasn't there for example).

We improved the OL. Now we need to improve weapons that get open at all levels so Jayden doesn't turn his body to mush trying to desperately win every snap.

Our needs change based on roster, personnel, and then become exaggerated due to our QB's playing tendency. It is what it is. We know now that we can't go into 2026 with a group of weapons that aren't much improved.

That means spending at least as much money as we spent in 2025, and spending draft capital too. In 2026 we're missing like $30m of cap that was spent on weapons in 2025. Pierce at $20m+ is still less than what we're currently spending that will have contracts expire (Deebo, Ertz, Brown)

 

[Bulldog]

We need to address wide receiver and tight end on offense.

I think the OL can be a solid one if we get the left side signed and Conerly shows improvement like I expect him to on the right side with some additional time.

But we have nothing proven behind Terry at WR and he himself looks like a short-timer now given how his contract is structured.

At tight end it will be interesting to see what we get from these guys over the next couple of games.

But let's go back to when Patrick Mahomes became the starter at quarterback in Kansas City.

He was provided with a Hall of Fame tight end in Travis Kelce and at the time had one of the best deep receivers in recent NFL history in Tyreek Hill.

Was Daniels ever provided with support that was anywhere in the same galaxy as that?

 

[method man]

I would definitely take him over Jakobi Meyers (he just signed his contract for that amount).

I would happily sign Pierce for $20 apy. But he's going to get more than that. If guys like Dyami Brown, Darius Slayton, Rashod Bateman, and Darnell Mooney are getting $10-15 million then you know you have to pay a lot more than that to get someone above average.

$20 apy is only 6.8% of the projected 2026 cap. It's not nearly as much money as we think. Pierce is going for more than that.

We're paying Deebo 18m currently, or 6.5% of the cap, to be a mostly low depth of target guy.

Pierce at a similar cap ratio but with the ability to scare defenses vertically and be many years younger provides more value than Deebo. Does that mean trading for Deebo was a bad move in the moment? No. He didn't take up 13% of the cap, he took up half that. You take a swing on guys adding a new element to an offense. That's what you do and why you pay them WR 2 money.

6.5% of the cap is WR2 money. That's 20ish million a year.

For the record (if the draft shakes out like this) I would sign Pierce to $20-25 and still draft Tate/Tyson if the draft worked out like that (Bailey wasn't there for example).

We improved the OL. Now we need to improve weapons that get open at all levels so Jayden doesn't turn his body to mush trying to desperately win every snap.

Our needs change based on roster, personnel, and then become exaggerated due to our QB's playing tendency. It is what it is. We know now that we can't go into 2026 with a group of weapons that aren't much improved.

That means spending at least as much money as we spent in 2025, and spending draft capital too. In 2026 we're missing like $30m of cap that was spent on weapons in 2025. Pierce at $20m+ is still less than what we're currently spending that will have contracts expire (Deebo, Ertz, Brown)

Pierce at $20M a year maybe, just maybe, might be my upper bound. I wouldn’t go a dollar over that. However, I can absolutely see some bad team with cap room will give him $25M a year.

Meyers is the better player in my opinion and a proven low end WR1/solid WR2. He’s a slot guy and older so makes sense why $20M a year is what he got (he probably signed early because he got only $4M less in guaranteed money than Terry).

I do agree with you that a major WR acquisition in FA should not take WR off the table for us, given the Terry situation. I think What Aiyuk gives you is flexibility in that he can play inside and outside so it would leave all the receivers as potential options for you.

 

[method man]

This is where I'm at, but I could be wrong. Just doesn't feel like Pierce is a guy that can carry the load, almost a Paul Richardson type signing. Won't ever be worth the cap space. In the end, if JD is the guy he was in his rookie year, the team doesn't need a WR #2 type at those dollars for JD to be productive. Obviously, Cincinnati benefits from it and we would to, but its not a necessity if JD is what he was as a rookie and what we witnessed that actually happens again. On the other hand, if JD isn't that guy........please kill me.

He has produced more than Paul Richardson ever has to be fair but that analogy did cross my mind

 

[method man]

So how do we use Free Agency to address DE? Hendrickson’s in his own tier, but comes with obvious concerns - cost/age. Don’t love the idea of buying high on a few of the more interesting guys (some of them younger though, which is a plus), but it might still be the smart course of action. Mack is intriguing given his 2024 season (I believe he graded really well as a run defender and as a pass rusher too?), but man, that age…

I wouldn’t mind bringing Martin or Miller back, and we could probably do worse than Preston Smith as the #3/4, but I’d think ideally we’d sign at least one guy to start ahead of any of them and another to compete… I’m just having a hard time seeing solid solutions.

Mack isn’t coming here. It’s LA or retire.

Phillips can’t defend the run, Bosa has a long long injury history, Mafe’s 9 sack year may be a blip, Paye is no difference maker and Oweh will resign with the Chargers

 

[Conn]

A little bit of overpay doesn’t bother me if it ensures the continued development (and contributes to the health) of Daniels. We can afford to do that at this point in the rebuild. Overpay a bit to get that deep threat in Pierce. Overpay a bit to get Isaiah Likely. Overpay a bit to get Hall if you aren’t going to get Love in the draft. Overpay a medium amount even.

The OL is mostly set, that’s rare for a rebuilding team with a young QB. The skill talent around this kid is an EMERGENCY situation and it will pay future dividends to spend in a way that feels unoptimal now, to ensure we don’t ruin him. Support him now, even if it’s “too much”. As he gets older, once he’s paid, he will pay that investment back by carrying the younger cheaper guys around him more easily.

Get a little reckless. It’s needed and if this staff is interested in their jobs they’ll get a little less precious with the cap health of the next few years. Because their path to glory and staying employed is through Jayden Daniels beasting out and showing that their investment in him is justified.

They cannot afford to be perceived as not doing enough for Daniels again, that will get them fired. They will be forgiven if our offense is expensive but Daniels is elite. You get a lot more leash and leeway when the face of the franchise is living up to his billing and you’re helping him do it.

People who like continuity for our young QB should be rooting for us to spend, or this staff won’t last much longer. At least spend more than fucking Bruce Allen under brokie Snyder would. Go make a splash and let’s have us a supported franchise QB who is both worthy of a huge contract in the future, and wants to sign it with us, shall we?

 

[method man]

A little bit of overpay doesn’t bother me if it ensures the continued development (and contributes to the health) of Daniels. We can afford to do that at this point in the rebuild. Overpay a bit to get that deep threat in Pierce. Overpay a bit to get Isaiah Likely. Overpay a bit to get Hall if you aren’t going to get Love in the draft. Overpay a medium amount even.

The OL is mostly set, that’s rare for a rebuilding team with a young QB. The skill talent around this kid is an EMERGENCY situation and it will pay future dividends to spend in a way that feels unoptimal now, to ensure we don’t ruin him. Support him now, even if it’s “too much”. As he gets older, once he’s paid, he will pay that investment back by carrying the younger cheaper guys around him more easily.

Get a little reckless. It’s needed and if this staff is interested in their jobs they’ll get a little less precious with the cap health of the next few years. Because their path to glory and staying employed is through Jayden Daniels beasting out and showing that their investment in him is justified.

They cannot afford to be perceived as not doing enough for Daniels again, that will get them fired. They will be forgiven if our offense is expensive but Daniels is elite. You get a lot more leash and leeway when the face of the franchise is living up to his billing and you’re helping him do it.

People who like continuity for our young QB should be rooting for us to spend, or this staff won’t last much longer. At least spend more than fucking Bruce Allen under brokie Snyder would. Go make a splash and let’s have us a supported franchise QB who is both worthy of a huge contract in the future, and wants to sign it with us, shall we?

I agree with the general sentiment, not just on offense but across the board as long as the overpay is for the right players.

I’ve drawn a lot of analogies between Mike Elias (Orioles GM) and Adam Peters. Mike was coming off back to back playoff seasons and took a lazy, conservative approach last offseason with bad players on 1 year deals. Orioles finished in last place.

So far, in this baseball offseason, no team has been more aggressive than the Orioles. He’s been overpaying in FA and trades to bring in real talent to legitimately contend before his young cheap core hits free agency in a couple years.

We need AP to do the same. Maybe not so much with trades due to lack of picks but in FA

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Pierce at $20M a year maybe, just maybe, might be my upper bound. I wouldn’t go a dollar over that. However, I can absolutely see some bad team with cap room will give him $25M a year.

Meyers is the better player in my opinion and a proven low end WR1/solid WR2. He’s a slot guy and older so makes sense why $20M a year is what he got (he probably signed early because he got only $4M less in guaranteed money than Terry).

I do agree with you that a major WR acquisition in FA should not take WR off the table for us, given the Terry situation. I think What Aiyuk gives you is flexibility in that he can play inside and outside so it would leave all the receivers as potential options for you.

Aiyuk (if we get him) should not move the needle on WR situation for us. It would be malpractice to think the situation is changed by getting Aiyuk.

Problems with relying on Aiyuk:

• Brutal knee injury where it's uncertain how athletic he still is
• He won't have played for almost 2 years (23 months) since his injury
• He's ghosted teammates/staff this season so we don't even have any anecdotes about how he looks

If we do get Aiyuk, he should be thought of as a mystery box and not factor into other decisions at WR. If we get him, we should still go after Pierce as well as think about drafting Tate/Tyson. To rely on someone with the above issues is just setting up Jayden Daniels to have another brutal season where he throws his body away trying to make plays. Odds are Aiyuk will be a shell of himself.

Those above stats came from Michael Thomas. An injury bad enough to miss that much time (same time as Aiyuk has missed) often means they just aren't the same athlete anymore.

This is AJ Green. Shell of himself afterwards.

If we roll the dice on Aiyuk, it should not change the decisions on Pierce or drafting a WR at all.

 

[DogofWar1]

Also the 30/31 year old wall comes for so many guys.

Amari Cooper

Look at DaVante Adams, Calvin Ridley, Mike Evans, heck Terry McLaurin. Sometimes it's injuries, sometimes it's just a decline, sometimes it's both. Aiyuk should not be assumed to be a high level WR beyond 2027, if even that.

 

[method man]

Aiyuk (if we get him) should not move the needle on WR situation for us. It would be malpractice to think the situation is changed by getting Aiyuk.

Problems with relying on Aiyuk:

• Brutal knee injury where it's uncertain how athletic he still is
• He won't have played for almost 2 years (23 months) since his injury
• He's ghosted teammates/staff this season so we don't even have any anecdotes about how he looks

If we do get Aiyuk, he should be thought of as a mystery box and not factor into other decisions at WR. If we get him, we should still go after Pierce as well as think about drafting Tate/Tyson. To rely on someone with the above issues is just setting up Jayden Daniels to have another brutal season where he throws his body away trying to make plays. Odds are Aiyuk will be a shell of himself.

View attachment 13698

Those above stats came from Michael Thomas. An injury bad enough to miss that much time (same time as Aiyuk has missed) often means they just aren't the same athlete anymore.

View attachment 13699

This is AJ Green. Shell of himself afterwards.

If we roll the dice on Aiyuk, it should not change the decisions on Pierce or drafting a WR at all.

That's fair and I agree. I'd love to also grab a slot guy who consistently gets open. Doesn't necessarily have to be a star. We had that in Zaccheus last year but did not have a guy like that this year. There might be a guy like that at #73.

I'd love to go into camp with Terry, Aiyuk, Zaccheus (or similar player), Dyami Brown, Burks, Lane, LMC with more. One guy gets cut and joins our practice squad (Dyami?).

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

That's fair and I agree. I'd love to also grab a slot guy who consistently gets open. Doesn't necessarily have to be a star. We had that in Zaccheus last year but did not have a guy like that this year. There might be a guy like that at #73.

I'd love to go into camp with Terry, Aiyuk, Zaccheus (or similar player), Dyami Brown, Burks, Lane, LMC with more. One guy gets cut and joins our practice squad (Dyami?).

Scenarios for Pros and Cons of that grouping seem to lie more towards the Cons side of things. That seems like it would likely be a worse group of offensive weapons than we had in 2024 or 2025. What's the offensive identity goal there? Draft Jeramiyah Love and go oldschool really heavy run game as the teams primary offensive identity?

I think relying on Lane (Year 2), LMC (Year 3), and Burks (Year 5) to make large leaps in talent is a 'Big If'. Zaccheus two best seasons were 2022 Falcons and 2024 Commanders. Each were 500 yards and 3 TD's. He went to the Eagles and Bears and could not make it work as well. So we should assume 500 yards and 3 TDs are his ceiling. Based on that offensive group, that ceiling is who we're penciling in as the #2 weapon.

Keep in mind, we're also missing Zach Ertz, who if we project for him to not be injured would have roughly kept pace with 2024 numbers. So that's missing 650-ish yards and 6-ish TDs as the #2 weapon he had in 2024 and projected to be in 2025. We're dropping that down to Zaccheus with 500-ish yards and 3 TDs in the hopes he can reproduce his career best again with us. Or I guess we could really desperately bank on Ben Sinnott to take a monstrous developmental leap in Year 3. That's a lot of 'Ifs' for this offensive group to not be worse.

 

[Discobob]

Signing Aiyuk to anything more than a 1 year contract would be foolhardy.

This is the first 'rebuild' of an organization I have seen where the team actually got OLDER since the George Allen Over the Hill Gang in the 1970's.

Absolutely confounding on many levels to how successful teams have been built and continue to be built.

I'd actually argue that we should sign him to a multi-year deal, but just make sure there aren't any real guarantees after year 1.

If year two is a fully unguaranteed 18-20M... the team has full control with little risk.

 

[method man]

Scenarios for Pros and Cons of that grouping seem to lie more towards the Cons side of things. That seems like it would likely be a worse group of offensive weapons than we had in 2024 or 2025. What's the offensive identity goal there? Draft Jeramiyah Love and go oldschool really heavy run game as the teams primary offensive identity?

I think relying on Lane (Year 2), LMC (Year 3), and Burks (Year 5) to make large leaps in talent is a 'Big If'. Zaccheus two best seasons were 2022 Falcons and 2024 Commanders. Each were 500 yards and 3 TD's. He went to the Eagles and Bears and could not make it work as well. So we should assume 500 yards and 3 TDs are his ceiling. Based on that offensive group, that ceiling is who we're penciling in as the #2 weapon.

Keep in mind, we're also missing Zach Ertz, who if we project for him to not be injured would have roughly kept pace with 2024 numbers. So that's missing 650-ish yards and 6-ish TDs as the #2 weapon he had in 2024 and projected to be in 2025. We're dropping that down to Zaccheus with 500-ish yards and 3 TDs in the hopes he can reproduce his career best again with us. Or I guess we could really desperately bank on Ben Sinnott to take a monstrous developmental leap in Year 3. That's a lot of 'Ifs' for this offensive group to not be worse.

I’m also targeting Njoku on a value deal and Hall to bring on the high end back.

Theme here is 1) to deleverage JD by giving him a better threat at RB to work with & 2) to surround Jayden with targets he trusts and have had success with him as their QB while also improving the quality of the depth and working within the constraints of the cap and lack of picks.

Olamide and Burks are your primary backup receivers in some order and LMC and Lane are your deep depth with Dyami as their guy who sits on the PS and is your insurance for opening day in the event of an injury.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

I’m also targeting Njoku on a value deal and Hall to bring on the high end back.

Theme here is 1) to deleverage JD by giving him a better threat at RB to work with & 2) to surround Jayden with targets he trusts and have had success with him as their QB while also improving the quality of the depth and working within the constraints of the cap and lack of picks.

Olamide and Burks are your primary backup receivers in some order and LMC and Lane are your deep depth with Dyami as their guy who sits on the PS and is your insurance for opening day in the event of an injury.

This is some extremely heavy bargain bin shopping and rolling the dice. What's the plan with free agency besides that? We've got 100-ish million in cap room. This plan for the offense barely dents that.

QB's on a rookie contract are the best Super Bowl window in the NFL. So how do we spend money to be competitive with Jayden Daniels? If not offense, are we going all out on defense? I know the Edge rush group has Trey Hendrickson, but he is a little old and coming off a season with some injuries.

 

[method man]

This is some extremely heavy bargain bin shopping and rolling the dice. What's the plan with free agency besides that? We've got 100-ish million in cap room. This plan for the offense barely dents that.

QB's on a rookie contract are the best Super Bowl window in the NFL. So how do we spend money to be competitive with Jayden Daniels? If not offense, are we going all out on defense? I know the Edge rush group has Trey Hendrickson, but he is a little old and coming off a season with some injuries.

Yes. We need up to 7 new defensive starters, maybe 8 depending on Dorance’s knee and some meaningful investments in the rotational depth. Say you take the impact EDGE in the draft. You still need a DT, a green dot LB, 2 safeties, a nickel corner and competition for Sainristil.

You will also need to pay up for good rotational depth on the DL. You probably need to go sign someone like a Kwity Paye even if you hope to draft Bailey because you might not know if he will be there

 

[Skinfanjon]

That's fair and I agree. I'd love to also grab a slot guy who consistently gets open. Doesn't necessarily have to be a star. We had that in Zaccheus last year but did not have a guy like that this year. There might be a guy like that at #73.

I'd love to go into camp with Terry, Aiyuk, Zaccheus (or similar player), Dyami Brown, Burks, Lane, LMC with more. One guy gets cut and joins our practice squad (Dyami?).

I’ll be terribly disappointed if that’s the WR room next year. Might throw myself off a roof actually.

A huge part of the problem is Terry could hit his expiration date any season now. It’s truly year to year. And you have two guys who were relatively high draft picks from this regime that are good at special teams and so far, not much else. It’s okay if you have one guy like that, but two is a problem.

So that’s three spots in the room.

Then you got Burks, who I didn’t think deserved to be a first round pick by any means, looked like crap his entire time in Tennessee, but now looks like a competent NFL receiver. Not good, but a guy you want as a WR 5/6 type. You probably want to bring him back at reasonable cost.

So 4 spots used up and we still have zero answers.

And y’all want to add Aiyuk as a mystery box? Let me solve the mystery for you. He’s lost his fucking mind. Bro is not ok. I was a big fan, have him on several dynasty teams, but he’s about 5 minutes from ripping his jersey off and jogging around the stadium waving his arms at fans and running into the tunnel. With the other 4 guys I already mentioned in tow, there’s no space to waste on a long shot.

If AP is honest with himself, he should figure out which one of Lane and LMC to keep (I lean LMC) and move the other one. Then you got that one, Terry, and resign Burks heading into next year.

Go to free agency and make your move. Whether that’s Pierce, Doubs (my preference) whoever…spend on someone to play outside. Then sign your favorite slot guy. Oh and Pickens and Shaheed will not be available so just move on from that.

And then, most importantly, draft your favorite WR in the 1st round. Absolutely MANDATORY. I don’t even want to hear about another plan for that pick.

Terry, Doubs, LMC, Burks, slot guy, 1st round pick. That’s the room. And then you replace Terry and keep throwing resources at this spot until everyone thinks we have way too much at wide receiver. Then do it some more.

Buy a defense. Buy a running back.

WR is a five alarm fire.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I know the discussion is about WR but I'd like to discuss Jacob Martin. I sure wish he was 23 and an ascending player, but he's 30 and has done little in his career. Until this season. In limited snaps he put on more pressure than anyone else they had on that side. He has actually played pretty damned well. So what to do with him?

 

[Conn]

I know the discussion is about WR but I'd like to discuss Jacob Martin. I sure wish he was 23 and an ascending player, but he's 30 and has done little in his career. Until this season. In limited snaps he put on more pressure than anyone else they had on that side. He has actually played pretty damned well. So what to do with him?

In my view, if you can get him for a similar veteran deal you extend. If he wants to test the market after finally manufacturing some pressure in his career, I think you let him. And be ready to match if it’s not the market he wants. I worry that if you overvalue his late career growth, you end up in a similar situation as we did this year where you go from having a “found money” type vet stay healthy and exceed expectations (Ekeler, Ertz from last year) to depending on them too much the next year instead of looking for the next undervalued vet.

As a rotational pass rusher under a new DC, I’d welcome him back on a similar contract. I don’t want to treat him like we found something real though, financially. You kind of have to treat this season as a happy accident anomaly and let someone else bet that it isn’t, if he has real FA interest.

He’s the type of guy our FO likes to bring back though. I just hope they’re smart about it and don’t allocate too much single year cap space to him which takes a bite out of our flexibility compared to signing a younger guy to a multi-year deal at a higher APY with a higher ceiling, potentially.

 

[method man]

I’ll be terribly disappointed if that’s the WR room next year. Might throw myself off a roof actually.

A huge part of the problem is Terry could hit his expiration date any season now. It’s truly year to year. And you have two guys who were relatively high draft picks from this regime that are good at special teams and so far, not much else. It’s okay if you have one guy like that, but two is a problem.

So that’s three spots in the room.

Then you got Burks, who I didn’t think deserved to be a first round pick by any means, looked like crap his entire time in Tennessee, but now looks like a competent NFL receiver. Not good, but a guy you want as a WR 5/6 type. You probably want to bring him back at reasonable cost.

So 4 spots used up and we still have zero answers.

And y’all want to add Aiyuk as a mystery box? Let me solve the mystery for you. He’s lost his fucking mind. Bro is not ok. I was a big fan, have him on several dynasty teams, but he’s about 5 minutes from ripping his jersey off and jogging around the stadium waving his arms at fans and running into the tunnel. With the other 4 guys I already mentioned in tow, there’s no space to waste on a long shot.

If AP is honest with himself, he should figure out which one of Lane and LMC to keep (I lean LMC) and move the other one. Then you got that one, Terry, and resign Burks heading into next year.

Go to free agency and make your move. Whether that’s Pierce, Doubs (my preference) whoever…spend on someone to play outside. Then sign your favorite slot guy. Oh and Pickens and Shaheed will not be available so just move on from that.

And then, most importantly, draft your favorite WR in the 1st round. Absolutely MANDATORY. I don’t even want to hear about another plan for that pick.

Terry, Doubs, LMC, Burks, slot guy, 1st round pick. That’s the room. And then you replace Terry and keep throwing resources at this spot until everyone thinks we have way too much at wide receiver. Then do it some more.

Buy a defense. Buy a running back.

WR is a five alarm fire.

What I agree with from this post is we have too many special teams specialists on this team and that hurts the true depth of both the offense and defense (namely the safeties).

If a new FO came in, LMC wouldn’t be on this team next year. However, I’m being realistic here given AP’s seemingly personal ties to the McCaffrey family and his ability to point to his kick return skills