The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[NickyJ]

So you think between the next two drafts they won’t draft a talented 1st round receiver?

The last 3 WRs the team drafted in the first round were Jahan Dotson, Josh Doctson, and Rod Gardner. Each staff is different, but plenty of teams whiff at 1st round picks, let alone WRs. Our 4th receiver taken in the first round was Michael Westbrook. That was before my time to have an opinion, but I can say he was the best of the 4, which is very sad.

 

[Boone]

Keenan Allen would be a good one if Jennings doesn’t work out (or in addition to him)

 

[Dlts20]

I have been thinking that if Jayden is as coachable as we say… we had some coaching issues. I don’t know if that is on the QB coach or OC but I think we all saw specific regressions and questionable decisions repeat themselves in 2025 without any resolution.

Also I went to a game or two in both years and spoke to others who did as well. The communication was reduced - Jayden was more withdrawn in 2025.

I am hoping we get better development from him and that can help him reach a level I think he has not unlocked: making those lesser (maybe inexperienced) players look better. It could be their coaching was not where it should be. It could be his. The fact is, when our injuries happened, we can lose a lot of games with an excuse. How we lost in 2025 felt too extreme. To me, it felt like we had coaching issues. That is how the whole appears greater than the sum of the parts (visibly as a fan): good coaching.

I often wondered last year was Jaydens great play in his rookie year mostly based from his college coaching. Now after being fully integrated with Kliff, he regressed. This is why I am fully intrigued by Blough.

Mike Florio recently talked about no one knowing how good Maholmes was until he got the elite coaching in kc that he didn't get in college. Then he said "sorry, Kliff but it's true".

If you look at Maholmes being a lot better now, Jayden going backwards, Kyler not playing well, you kinda do have to question Kliff and whether Jayden got coached up better in college.

Now you have Blough which is great because he is first off a QB himself, he just got finished playing so he can be hands on in literally showing Jayden how he should do something, and he has been under elite coaching himself.

I think that Blough and Doug Williams son will get him back to the top. The best thing about Jayden is that if he fails, you know that it won't be from a lack of trying, dedication, preparation, studying, putting in the extra work, and focusing. People questioned that with Kyler. Jayden will be fully engulfed and determined to get back to the top this off season

 

[Boone]

So in 2024 JD took the league by storm in spite of Kliff but in 2025 he regressed because of Kliff?

I actually think Kyler Murray’s best seasons were under Kjngsbury’s watch but that’s just me.

 

[Neophyte]

Daniels is so talented that even a down year is pretty good. But I guess my question is, to what do you attribute Jayden’s down year? Because I feel like him not having great targets he trusts was a major factor.

When I close my eyes and think about Daniels last year, all I can see is that Brisker INT in the Chicago game, on the ball intended for Deebo that would have been a walk-in TD if Daniels had been on-time and on-target. I don't think that was Deebo's fault.

Honestly, I'm really sure we can say "not having great targets" was a huge issue. He had Ertz in every game. He had Deebo, arguably a serious upgrade to any receiver not named McLaurin from 2024.

The big differences were McLaurin's injury and Eckler's injury. Admittedly both were a big deal.

As I write this, now I'm wondering if losing Eckler might have been a much bigger deal, for Kliff as well as Jayden.

I just don't know.

 

[Dlts20]

I feel strangely confident we get Jennings only because we are probably the most WR-desperate team in the league right now and we have the money to outbid others if that’s what it takes. This is assuming he is their current top target.

Idk. Part of me still thinks that AP is looking at WR in the draft because it's such a premium position, all reports are they aren't wanting to pay Terry 34mil next year, Jayden will get a massive contract, and we might not pick this high again anytime soon so this might be your only chance to get an elite, young receiver for cheap

 

[Dah-Dee]

I think the Pierce contract is the reason Jennings hasn't signed yet, he wants more than Pierce got. That's making it tough for anybody to negotiate a deal, all thanks to the Colts losing their minds.

 

[Kalu44]

It's weird Jennings is still out there. He's a solid receiver, and not that old. I could see us pivoting to Kennan Allen for a year. He could easily put up a 60/800/5 season here.

Either his asking price is too high, or he is waiting on the AJ Brown situation to resolve itself. Once Brown gets traded, Jennings could find himself additional suiters or even wind up in Philly.

 

[DWinzit]

Eh, with the Pierce deal, I can see why we didn't. He reset the market for a slightly above average receiver, so its possible that Doubs in particular was like "I want a similar deal". Isn't Jennings still out there?

Jennings is still out there. My thinkig is if he got love rght off the bat he might have signed...who knows

 

[Neophyte]

I think the Pierce contract is the reason Jennings hasn't signed yet, he wants more than Pierce got. That's making it tough for anybody to negotiate a deal, all thanks to the Colts losing their minds.

Apples and Oranges in my mind.

Pierce is 3 years younger and plays a different game than Jennings.

And I'm not sure the Colts lost their minds. Pierce stretches things in a big way, putting pressure on the defense in ways that are sometimes hard to measure. I'm sure some of Jonathan Taylor's success can be attributed to Piece pulling attention downfield.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Pierce was WILDLY overpaid for his production. Someone said he has fewer than 2 completions per game. And he made 32 million AAV? Insane and I'm so glad we were not the winner there.

None of that was true.

Average per year was 29 not 32. He had 47 catches, not 33.

Colts also traded Pittman to open up room for Pierce to run more routes. He was given more limited options to get open, and he became the leagues best deep threat. You can look up quotes from other GM's, they think Pierce is on the verge of becoming a true WR1 once the scheme opens up for him.

1,000 yards as the 4th schemed option on that offense? That's crazy efficient. So he's going into 2026 with the scheme opening up for him. His catch volume is going to explode.

 

[Dah-Dee]

I feel like Jennings might also be waiting to see whether Tennessee is going to keep Calvin Ridley - who is 32, played in only 7 games last year, and has a 26.4M cap hit this year - or create around 13.5M cap space by using the contract out they have available this year (must decide by 3/16/26). Jennings is from Tennessee, and Daboll apparently wanted the Giants to trade for him last year. There's also a Saleh/SF connection there.

Maybe the Tennessee situation has something to do with Keim feeling like nothing is going to happen this weekend.

 

[Bulldog]

I think the Pierce contract is the reason Jennings hasn't signed yet, he wants more than Pierce got. That's making it tough for anybody to negotiate a deal, all thanks to the Colts losing their minds.

Jennings will never get more than Pierce.

Like most organizations that are in love with their own player, the Colts were going to pay him almost whatever he wanted to stay.

Jennings former club has given up on resigning him at 29 to a rich contract and other teams see that.

He's a solid player but is not elite in production or in breakaway down the field ability.

A consistently productive receiver is valued but not at $30M.

We can draft a potential franchise receiver in April and pay him pennies on the dollar compared to these salaries.

 

[method man]

I feel like Jennings might also be waiting to see whether Tennessee is going to keep Calvin Ridley - who is 32, played in only 7 games last year, and has a 26.4M cap hit this year - or create around 13.5M cap space by using the contract out they have available this year (must decide by 3/16/26). Jennings is from Tennessee, and Daboll apparently wanted the Giants to trade for him last year. There's also a Saleh/SF connection there.

Maybe the Tennessee situation has something to do with Keim feeling like nothing is going to happen this weekend.

Older guy but Ridley is a guy DQ obviously knows well

 

[Phantvm]

The last 3 WRs the team drafted in the first round were Jahan Dotson, Josh Doctson, and Rod Gardner. Each staff is different, but plenty of teams whiff at 1st round picks, let alone WRs. Our 4th receiver taken in the first round was Michael Westbrook. That was before my time to have an opinion, but I can say he was the best of the 4, which is very sad.

I’m not sure what correlation exists with those players vs anything we may do in the future? Does this mean that we shouldn’t draft a 1st round receiver in your esteemed opinion?

 

[NickyJ]

When I close my eyes and think about Daniels last year, all I can see is that Brisker INT in the Chicago game, on the ball intended for Deebo that would have been a walk-in TD if Daniels had been on-time and on-target. I don't think that was Deebo's fault.

Honestly, I'm really sure we can say "not having great targets" was a huge issue. He had Ertz in every game. He had Deebo, arguably a serious upgrade to any receiver not named McLaurin from 2024.

The big differences were McLaurin's injury and Eckler's injury. Admittedly both were a big deal.

As I write this, now I'm wondering if losing Eckler might have been a much bigger deal, for Kliff as well as Jayden.

I just don't know.

JD will be imperfect. He can do good, he can do great, he can do amazing things. But he can't be perfect. It's unfair for him to have to be perfect to make up for a destitute roster made up of such sucky players that were picking them up off the practice squad where no other team in the NFL felt they were talented to put on their roster of top 53. Jayden deserves help.

 

[Skinfanjon]

I feel like Jennings might also be waiting to see whether Tennessee is going to keep Calvin Ridley - who is 32, played in only 7 games last year, and has a 26.4M cap hit this year - or create around 13.5M cap space by using the contract out they have available this year (must decide by 3/16/26). Jennings is from Tennessee, and Daboll apparently wanted the Giants to trade for him last year. There's also a Saleh/SF connection there.

Maybe the Tennessee situation has something to do with Keim feeling like nothing is going to happen this weekend.

If Ridley hits the market he’d actually be a pretty good fit for a sacrificial X role. He can still make a downfield play or two as well. Professional receiver who can take the top off may be the best we can do. He most likely doesn’t get cut until after the draft, too. Gives us a chance to see how that goes.

As much as I absolutely hate it, we might have to just let WR come to us rather than force it.

 

[NickyJ]

I’m not sure what correlation exists with those players vs anything we may do in the future? Does this mean that we shouldn’t draft a 1st round receiver in your esteemed opinion?

By all means, we should draft one. But we shouldn't treat the draft pick that hasn't even been made yet as a 100% guaranteed fix that eliminates the need to get more quality receivers in addition to that one draft pick.

 

[Bulldog]

I feel like Jennings might also be waiting to see whether Tennessee is going to keep Calvin Ridley - who is 32, played in only 7 games last year, and has a 26.4M cap hit this year - or create around 13.5M cap space by using the contract out they have available this year (must decide by 3/16/26). Jennings is from Tennessee, and Daboll apparently wanted the Giants to trade for him last year. There's also a Saleh/SF connection there.

Maybe the Tennessee situation has something to do with Keim feeling like nothing is going to happen this weekend.

This goes in pattern to what we heard about the Eagles interest in Jennings - needing to sort out the AJ Brown situation first.

But you can bet that Roseman is not going to pay Jennings $27-30M to play with Philly.

 

[DogofWar1]

I do think there may be something to the "Jennings unsure if he wants to come to WAS with Aiyuk coming here" stuff.

It may also have played a role in Pierce and Doubs.

After all, all of these guys are viewed as "solid #2s" which means you've got a real chance of hitting 1000+ yards in a season.

But if you are splitting targets with not just Terry but also Aiyuk, that makes the odds of hitting 1000 yards this season very low.

I doubt it was the deciding factor for Pierce, it sounds like money was close and we offered maybe 1-2M more, but once you factor in costs of moving and the mental toll of it all, it makes sense to leave 1-2M on the table, and stay put.

It may have been a bigger factor for Doubs but he's young enough to outlast Terry and even Aiyuk if he's healthy. Without knowing what we offered its hard to know how close we were but it wouldn't surprise me if he looked at the NE depth chart, realized he's EASILY the #1 option, looked at ours, realized he could be #3, and chose NE based on that. Doubs is going to be playing for another contract eventually.

For Jennings, he knows the clock is ticking, he's 29, so he probably wants to cash in and maybe add an extra year or two to a deal to get some security. Teams on the other hand might want shorter team friendlier deals. If you're worried you're gonna need a new contract in 2 years, at age 31, you want these next two years to be as amazing as possible. If you're 3rd fiddle behind Terry and Aiyuk this year, that's unlikely, and basically all your eggs are in the 2027 basket.

So very possible Jennings only comes here if we offered more years/more AAV/more guaranteed than anyone else so if things don't go his way he can ride into the sunset instead of trying to find more work in his 30's.