The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[skinsinparadise]

Stadium deal a done deal. Basically shovels in the ground at this point. Gotta think that Harris is now looking firmly toward the future of the on field product. Better believe that he does not envision a 5-12 team the first year in the new stadium. Im thinking a renewed focus for him toward the team, IF this year is not a significant improvement he wont hesitate to make changes. After this year there is just 3 years before opening, that would be about the right amount of time for a new staff to come in and get established.

Yeah as far as Harris goes.

A. Classy, good guy. That means a lot to me considering what was here before

B. Tries to hire the best FO guys. Right structure.

C. Upgrading the facilities big time and the current stadium

D. Dan couldn't get a C level stadium in Dumphries. Harris is pulliing off an A level stadium in DC.

He's been great. But I suspect with all his teams he works a budget, not a tight budget, but a moderately aggressive butget but not quite aggressive. He has to get off that mat and go much more aggressive IMO this off season. I suspect he will but will see.

I love that the FO or maybe its ties to ownership who were sensitive to the spending issue that Sheehan brought up. I hope fans keep pounding this point. This ownership has done mostly great but right now they IMO are at a turning point with the organization. The teams that drafted QBs in that same draft as Jayden, notably Denver, Bears, Pats have been much better at working their roster and the Pats spent three times what Washington did in FA.

 

[Higskin]

They've got us busy in FA....

Landing spots for NFL's top 50 free agents: George Pickens stays put, other top weapons find new homes

Plus, what will the Colts do with Daniel Jones?

www.cbssports.com

4. EDGE Jaelan Phillips: Titans​

Tennessee has the most effective cap space in the NFL, and they use that to their advantage here to bring in an impressive edge rusher. Phillips only had five sacks in 2025, but he was tied for ninth league-wide in pressures and had an impressive 18.8% pressure rate.
Other suitors: Commanders, Chargers, Eagles

6. WR Alec Pierce: Commanders​

Coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters both expressed a desire to get younger and faster this offseason. Pierce is young (25) and fast: He's led the NFL in yards per catch in consecutive seasons, and he became the first player since A.J. Brown in 2019 to go over 1,000 yards on at least 20 yards per catch. Other suitors: Colts, Raiders, Steelers, Bills

10. LB Quay Walker: Commanders​

Washington desperately needs to add youth, speed and athleticism across the defense especially, and the 25-year-old Walker fits the bill for what should be an overhauled unit. Other suitors: Packers, Titans, Rams

CB Tariq Woolen: Eagles​

Philadelphia has stars at one outside cornerback spot (Quinyon Mitchell) and the nickel cornerback spot (Cooper DeJean). It would love to add a second strong outside cornerback to that duo, and Woolen would fit the bill as a massive talent that Vic Fangio can get the best out of. Other suitors: Commanders, Cowboys, Jets

LB Devin Lloyd: Jaguars​

Lloyd was one of the NFL's best linebackers this year, and given his breakout coincided with the Jaguars' breakout and he's just 27, Jacksonville should work hard to keep him. Other suitors: Jets Commanders, Panthers

S Coby Bryant: Patriots​

New England made a huge jump this year thanks to some big spending on defense, and they keep that trend going by adding the versatile Bryant. Other suitors: Commanders, Panthers, Vikings

EDGE Boye Mafe: Buccaneers​

Tampa Bay desperately needs to its pass-rushing department, and it does so here with Mafe, who has shown flashes but saw his role reduced this year. Other suitors: Commanders, Patriots, Colts, Bears

TE Isaiah Likely: Commanders​

Washington needs to replace Zach Ertz, and Likely provides speed and athleticism Jayden Daniels hasn't had at the position before. Other suitors: Chiefs, Eagles

 

[DWinzit]

Wow that would be 3 significant signings that really fill needs and add talent

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

But yeah the only spot they took seriouisly was O line. Awesome job on that. A. But F on everything else. And I don't think Harris is dumb, he can see the Bears and Pats went to town on fixing multiple spots at the same time and now look at them and look at Washington.

This I completely agree with. Harris is not dumb. And as a serial investor, he knows how to analyze trends and competitors.

I'm not entirely sure if they really considered money as a top consideration in 2025 or not. They did trade for Deebo and a pretty hefty salary, and they thought they were upgrading. And truth be told, I think they would have been right except McLaurin held out then got hurt and missed half the season, Noah Brown missed almost the entire season, McCaffery missed half the season. The biggest issue with the WR room was they picked Noah Brown, who's never stayed healthy, as the #3 guy in the room, and let OZ and DBrown go.

Now, I've said I don't think OZ was coming back here the minute they traded for Deebo and then re-signed Brown. They needed to pick between OZ, Noah Brown and DBrown, because after trading for Deebo, there was only one roster lock left for the other 3 guys, because McLaurin, Deebo and McCaffery were all making the team, and there was a really good possibility of drafting a WR (which they did.) So, that meant Noah Brown, OZ and DBrown all were going to be competing for the 5th spot in the room if they signed more than one of them.

I think they just chose poorly. They should have chosen OZ. Who didn't have a great year with the Bears, but he was really coming on, knew the offense and didn't have Noah Brown's injury history. But they decided to go with Noah Brown, that essentially ended the ability to keep OZ and DBrown even if they wanted to. And so the room on the whole got less deep. Then Terry got hurt, Deebo got hurt, Brown got hurt, and McCaffery got hurt, and you're stuck with practice squad level players starting.

That said, this year, they need to be as aggressive as they can be to upgrade the roster in key spots:
- WR
- TE
- DE
- DB (Safety and CB)

You could argue others also, and they will need pieces at other spots, like upgrade at RB, LB, etc. But they might have solves on the teams at those spots.

They need to throw caution to the wind and get the best guys they can.

The hardest spot to upgrade quickly is going to be CB. Good, young CBs never hit the open market. It's the equivalent of LTs. You'll never see a top 10 LT in FA. I do think Peters knows this because he's drafted CBs high in both of his drafts. So it's possible they do that again. You can find really good Safeties, WRs and TEs in FA. DE's, you might have to cobble together a group, because that's a premier position as well.

But they shouldn't be scared of spending money this season. They have to be aggressive, especially given they don't have a full complement of draft picks.

I still think they should trade Coleman for a 3rd or 4th, but that's for a different thread. Not that I don't think he's a good player, just that they don't need him. Trade him, re-sign Paul, draft a guy late, and that's fine, you get an additional mid-round pick and don't hurt the depth that much.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Maybe the best way for me to summarize what I think about Peters, and Harris as to FA.

A. Peters. I got the vibe but don't know that he brought the clippings that he turned around a bottom talent team into one a breath away from a SB, that he's very special. And look I don't blame him that much for it. Imagine if you took a team from the bottom to the top in one off season, be tough for it not to go to your head some. So he basically doubled down on the same approach. Assumed they can tread water on the D line (wrong), tread water on WR (wrong), doubled down on the bad Lattimore deal (wrong) but heck we got a shut down corner in Lattimore so the secondary will be better and the O line will be good. So imagine the 2024 team but this time with a killer O line and secondary?

I get the logic even though it blew up in his face.

The idea that Harris when filmed during the last draft goes Adam "Fing" Peters like his crap doesn't stink and he's some sort of GM God to me was telling.

B. Harris, strikes me as being somewhat driven by how he made his money, that as an investor, and sometimes you go big and sometimes you don't have to. So I gather he didn't think he had to go big. And in his defense he wasn't cheap but he wasn't code red level aggressive either. But I seriously doubt Peters told him it was code red. If behind the scenes there is this somewhat of a celebration that Peters is a genius with what they did in 2024 -- how can that fly with the idea of man we are in trouble if we don't go to town with our spending.

Now both Peters and Harris get its code red and I am guessing both were shaken by last year. Peters from the perspective that his team sucked and some of his gambles blew up in his face and his 2024 draft is now aging, while is better than some fans give it credit for, is still just so so IMO. He's gone from celebrated as some sort of genius to fans wanting him gone. lol, feels like the rise and fall of RG3. And as to Harris, he has to at least question this time the people he put in charge and must be shaken by how far this team regressed including fans going from this regime walks on water to it sucks.

 

[HTTR]

The silver lining to last year‘s free agency disaster is we get to roll over some of that cap space that they didn’t even bother to use. So even more spending power now to do this year what should’ve been obvious last year, which is fill out the roster with as many young talented players as possible, while also sprinkling in a couple of veterans. I think we’re going to need to see three high-end defensive players, plus a receiving weapon on offense signed in FA to be happy. And an RB (K9!). So five free agents and their age has to start with the number 2. On top of that, we will need a handful of cheaper guys to fill in the depth. Easier said than done, I know, and now we are not as attractive a destination as we were a year ago, which makes last year’s failure even more glaring.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I'm not entirely sure if they really considered money as a top consideration in 2025 or not. They did trade for Deebo and a pretty hefty salary, and they thought they were upgrading. And truth be told, I think they would have been right except McLaurin held out then got hurt and missed half the season, Noah Brown missed almost the entire season, McCaffery missed half the season. The biggest issue with the WR room was they picked Noah Brown, who's never stayed healthy, as the #3 guy in the room, and let OZ and DBrown go.

Now, I've said I don't think OZ was coming back here the minute they traded for Deebo and then re-signed Brown. They needed to pick between OZ, Noah Brown and DBrown, because after trading for Deebo, there was only one roster lock left for the other 3 guys, because McLaurin, Deebo and McCaffery were all making the team, and there was a really good possibility of drafting a WR (which they did.) So, that meant Noah Brown, OZ and DBrown all were going to be competing for the 5th spot in the room if they signed more than one of them.

He has I noticed a few defenders here on what he did at WR. But I couldn't disagree more. And this coming from one of the bigger defenders of the Deebo trade. I don't think even the team would agree with those who defend it at this point.

Keim has said talking to his sources with the team they knew they were risking at it WR and Edge and that their roster wasn't complete. Keim also said Peters was banking on Osborn, Chris Moore, Gallup to replace the depth they lost, and gambled wrong on it. Standig went right at Peters about Noah at Z and basically nicely said why did you think the WR room would work out considering the lack of depth. Peters response was there were targets but ended up out of their price range and there were lessons learned from it.

A. Deebo is a gadget WR. He's not an outside WR. He's the cherry on top, not the ice cream. He's a great cherry on top, thought.

B. Trusting Noah Brown as your Z. When he never stays healthy. He's over 30. And wasn't even healthy in the off season. That is absurd. It was as Bruce Allen, Rivera level dumb and arrogant.

C. Being disappointed that your street level FAs, Moore, Osborn, Gallup ended up sucking is wild to me. What a shock! Again it came off arrogant, hey I can take my uber eats driver and have him produce. I am Adam "Fing" Peters, same dude who found Zaccheus for peanuts. Same dude who will showcase that wasn't some one off lucky break, I can find WRs on the cheap from the street, just you watch!

D. When Moore was struggiling at X to replace Terry and sucked and a reporter said they asked someone from the team why Moore keeps getting those starts and the response was he's the only one on the team who knows the routes at X. Wow, talking about lack of depth.

So you got an injury prone Noah Brown as your Z WR, with no legit Z backup let alone X backup. And heck lets have ourselves a season!

Deebo they used at slot. McCaffrey is a natural slot. Lane also a slot and by their own admission they see as a punt returner not a WR in year one, in Virginia Tech he was raw as a route runner.

Compare that to how aggressive the Bears have been to add weapons, its an absolute joke to compare. Noah wouldn't even make it on the Bears roster let alone be slated as the starting Z.

 

[leonard_washington]

They've got us busy in FA....

Landing spots for NFL's top 50 free agents: George Pickens stays put, other top weapons find new homes

Plus, what will the Colts do with Daniel Jones?

www.cbssports.com

I read this to mean we may have to overpay, but that is why they have all that cap space. If we bring in younger players, at least they have the chance to improve if they aren't a hit in year 1.

 

[skinsinparadise]

They've got us busy in FA....

Landing spots for NFL's top 50 free agents: George Pickens stays put, other top weapons find new homes

Plus, what will the Colts do with Daniel Jones?

www.cbssports.com

4. EDGE Jaelan Phillips: Titans​

Tennessee has the most effective cap space in the NFL, and they use that to their advantage here to bring in an impressive edge rusher. Phillips only had five sacks in 2025, but he was tied for ninth league-wide in pressures and had an impressive 18.8% pressure rate.
Other suitors: Commanders, Chargers, Eagles

6. WR Alec Pierce: Commanders​

Coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters both expressed a desire to get younger and faster this offseason. Pierce is young (25) and fast: He's led the NFL in yards per catch in consecutive seasons, and he became the first player since A.J. Brown in 2019 to go over 1,000 yards on at least 20 yards per catch. Other suitors: Colts, Raiders, Steelers, Bills

10. LB Quay Walker: Commanders​

Washington desperately needs to add youth, speed and athleticism across the defense especially, and the 25-year-old Walker fits the bill for what should be an overhauled unit. Other suitors: Packers, Titans, Rams

CB Tariq Woolen: Eagles​

Philadelphia has stars at one outside cornerback spot (Quinyon Mitchell) and the nickel cornerback spot (Cooper DeJean). It would love to add a second strong outside cornerback to that duo, and Woolen would fit the bill as a massive talent that Vic Fangio can get the best out of. Other suitors: Commanders, Cowboys, Jets

LB Devin Lloyd: Jaguars​

Lloyd was one of the NFL's best linebackers this year, and given his breakout coincided with the Jaguars' breakout and he's just 27, Jacksonville should work hard to keep him. Other suitors: Jets Commanders, Panthers

S Coby Bryant: Patriots​

New England made a huge jump this year thanks to some big spending on defense, and they keep that trend going by adding the versatile Bryant. Other suitors: Commanders, Panthers, Vikings

EDGE Boye Mafe: Buccaneers​

Tampa Bay desperately needs to its pass-rushing department, and it does so here with Mafe, who has shown flashes but saw his role reduced this year. Other suitors: Commanders, Patriots, Colts, Bears

TE Isaiah Likely: Commanders​

Washington needs to replace Zach Ertz, and Likely provides speed and athleticism Jayden Daniels hasn't had at the position before. Other suitors: Chiefs, Eagles

I'd love all three. They need obviously to add some edge in that mix.

 

[Conn]

They've got us busy in FA....

Landing spots for NFL's top 50 free agents: George Pickens stays put, other top weapons find new homes

Plus, what will the Colts do with Daniel Jones?

www.cbssports.com

4. EDGE Jaelan Phillips: Titans​

Tennessee has the most effective cap space in the NFL, and they use that to their advantage here to bring in an impressive edge rusher. Phillips only had five sacks in 2025, but he was tied for ninth league-wide in pressures and had an impressive 18.8% pressure rate.
Other suitors: Commanders, Chargers, Eagles

6. WR Alec Pierce: Commanders​

Coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters both expressed a desire to get younger and faster this offseason. Pierce is young (25) and fast: He's led the NFL in yards per catch in consecutive seasons, and he became the first player since A.J. Brown in 2019 to go over 1,000 yards on at least 20 yards per catch. Other suitors: Colts, Raiders, Steelers, Bills

10. LB Quay Walker: Commanders​

Washington desperately needs to add youth, speed and athleticism across the defense especially, and the 25-year-old Walker fits the bill for what should be an overhauled unit. Other suitors: Packers, Titans, Rams

CB Tariq Woolen: Eagles​

Philadelphia has stars at one outside cornerback spot (Quinyon Mitchell) and the nickel cornerback spot (Cooper DeJean). It would love to add a second strong outside cornerback to that duo, and Woolen would fit the bill as a massive talent that Vic Fangio can get the best out of. Other suitors: Commanders, Cowboys, Jets

LB Devin Lloyd: Jaguars​

Lloyd was one of the NFL's best linebackers this year, and given his breakout coincided with the Jaguars' breakout and he's just 27, Jacksonville should work hard to keep him. Other suitors: Jets Commanders, Panthers

S Coby Bryant: Patriots​

New England made a huge jump this year thanks to some big spending on defense, and they keep that trend going by adding the versatile Bryant. Other suitors: Commanders, Panthers, Vikings

EDGE Boye Mafe: Buccaneers​

Tampa Bay desperately needs to its pass-rushing department, and it does so here with Mafe, who has shown flashes but saw his role reduced this year. Other suitors: Commanders, Patriots, Colts, Bears

TE Isaiah Likely: Commanders​

Washington needs to replace Zach Ertz, and Likely provides speed and athleticism Jayden Daniels hasn't had at the position before. Other suitors: Chiefs, Eagles

These sorts of lofty media expectations heading into FA last year, due to a lot of cap space (and many needs), are what led to AP dampening expectations with his “we operate on a cash cap” line. It was what first pinged on my radar and I basically haven’t shut up about it since after that cheap FA period (sorry everyone).

So I’ll be listening closely when AP gets in front of the media again before FA opens, to see what he says now. I imagine his tune will have changed in a big way (and he may even brush what he said last year under the rug if mentioned, as I gather that was a loose lips moment he—or Harris—might regret now that it’s “a thing” with fans and local media. A rare slip up that I’m glad we got if it gives insight into our current or past operations decisions).

 

[Riggo44]

On that list, I'd rather sign Mafe than Likely.

And the idea that Harris won't run high payrolls is false--the Sixers are top-5 payroll per Google (I don't know for sure, I hate the NBA)

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I think Luvu and Mikey S. were both improperly used. I just don't think you can drop off as badly as they both did from one season to the next, if they aren't. Hopefully our new DC will bring them both back where they need to be

The perplexing thing is it's the same coaches with the same scheme in '24 and '25.

 

[mcdonaldrw]

The perplexing thing is it's the same coaches with the same scheme in '24 and '25.

Yea that's why I think it had a lot more to do with injuries, maybe possibly, or hell I'm just grasping at straws trying to figure out why.

 

[Riggo44]

Yea that's why I think it had a lot more to do with injuries, maybe possibly, or hell I'm just grasping at straws trying to figure out why.

Luvu was handed primary pass rushing duties because we were bleeding DEs--we were starting our 4th and 5th string ends 7 games into the season.

 

[Hailer]

Lack of 2026 draft picks + most UFA in the league this offseason + spectacular failures of roster gambles at WR/Edge/etc. in 2025 + a LOT of cap flexibility = we better be VERY busy.

In other words, I expect to overpay, be all over the day 1 headlines of the FA cycle, and land all the names in that CBS pontification + Kenneth Walker (please).

 

[Riggo44]

spectacular failures of roster gambles at WR/Edge/etc. in 2025

How are they "spectacular failures?" They're all one-year deals and easily moved on from...

 

[Higskin]

I read this to mean we may have to overpay, but that is why they have all that cap space. If we bring in younger players, at least they have the chance to improve if they aren't a hit in year 1.

For sure and that really goes to any FA period where other teams compete with you. Getting younger/more talented should certainly be the goal.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

He has I noticed a few defenders here on what he did at WR. But I couldn't disagree more. And this coming from one of the bigger defenders of the Deebo trade. I don't think even the team would agree with those who defend it at this point.

Keim has said talking to his sources with the team they knew they were risking at it WR and Edge and that their roster wasn't complete. Keim also said Peters was banking on Osborn, Chris Moore, Gallup to replace the depth they lost, and gambled wrong on it. Standig went right at Peters about Noah at Z and basically nicely said why did you think the WR room would work out considering the lack of depth. Peters response was there were targets but ended up out of their price range and there were lessons learned from it.

A. Deebo is a gadget WR. He's not an outside WR. He's the cherry on top, not the ice cream. He's a great cherry on top, thought.

B. Trusting Noah Brown as your Z. When he never stays healthy. He's over 30. And wasn't even healthy in the off season. That is absurd. It was as Bruce Allen, Rivera level dumb and arrogant.

C. Being disappointed that your street level FAs, Moore, Osborn, Gallup ended up sucking is wild to me. What a shock! Again it came off arrogant, hey I can take my uber eats driver and have him produce. I am Adam "Fing" Peters, same dude who found Zaccheus for peanuts. Same dude who will showcase that wasn't some one off lucky break, I can find WRs on the cheap from the street, just you watch!

D. When Moore was struggiling at X to replace Terry and sucked and a reporter said they asked someone from the team why Moore keeps getting those starts and the response was he's the only one on the team who knows the routes at X. Wow, talking about lack of depth.

So you got an injury prone Noah Brown as your Z WR, with no legit Z backup let alone X backup. And heck lets have ourselves a season!

Deebo they used at slot. McCaffrey is a natural slot. Lane also a slot and by their own admission they see as a punt returner not a WR in year one, in Virginia Tech he was raw as a route runner.

Compare that to how aggressive the Bears have been to add weapons, its an absolute joke to compare. Noah wouldn't even make it on the Bears roster let alone be slated as the starting Z.

I like the Deebo trade.

The domino that fell and caused a lot of issues was re-signing Noah Brown. To me, that was the big mistake.

I keep coming back to numbers:
1. McLaurin
2. Deebo
3. McCaffery
4. Noah Brown

After we re-signed Noah Brown, and traded for Deebo, you either have to sign a guy who CLEALRY is better than Brown and essentially immediately bumps him down the depth chart like Pittman or Evans, who were initially available, everybody else is competing for the #5 spot and playing time, and that's without knowing if the team is going to draft a WR, which seemed likely, and then they did.

So then, you have 5 virtual roster locks, 2 being draft choices, 2 being starters, and then Brown.

So if you're a FA WR and you're not Pickens or Evans or the like, the chances are you're either competing for 1 spot or maybe there isn't even a spot to compete for.

Which is why OZ and Brown were never going to re-sign.

And they probably couldn't get anybody other than, as you said, street level WRs.

I would have approached it differently. Even if they signed Brown, I would have gone out to sign the best FA WR, and make Brown the 4th option, and expendable if somebody else bumps him. Ideally, I wouldn't have signed Brown, and then I would have kept either OZ or DBrown, traded for Deebo, and then gone out and still tried to sign the best FA I could find.

But the bottom line is, once they signed Brown, they couldn't get "average" players to fill out the roster because of the numbers game. So they needed to get much higher level players who were a lock to make the roster.

But they thought, incorrectly, Noah was going to stay healthy, McCaffery was going to develop, and they would get production out of McLaurin, who had been durable.

The approach was wrong, the signing of Noah Brown was wrong, and the whole construct of the room was wrong. Deebo was fine. He was the only piece they added which made sense.

But you're right, the rest of it was just a mess, and that's on Peters. He might not have known better. But now he does.

 

[Bulldog]

A 2026 overpay for a 25 year old player just entering his prime you can deal with a couple of those because they are likely to complete the contract period through to when the guaranteed money is paid out.

The mistake I see teams making most often is signing the 29 or 30 year old player to the same type of deal and then seeing declining play and accumulating injuries cause the teams to release these vets and eat a lot of dead money.

 

[Hailer]

Riggo44 post above by VOR hits on why I think we failed at WR.

At Edge we replaced Fowler with Von Miller instead of a Demarcus Lawrence, Sweat, etc. We were cheap in our approach and went into the season without depth. Now it's the first thing out of AP's mouth as to where we improve.

We put our DB eggs in the Lattimore basket and it failed. He showed no signs of being the man-coverage corner our D needed in 2024, couldn't cobble together a full season 3 years running, yet we went into 2025 as-if he was going to rediscover his pro-bowl form.

The overall approach to those position groups turned out to be spectacular failures IMO. I'm not just pointing to the FAs we signed and saying they're all bums on bad contracts - agree with you on the flexibility aspect. No, I don't want to go full Snyder/Cerrato and throw around bags of cash at names.

I simply think our group has been a little too risk-averse when it comes to FA. Let's take a page out of the DQ playbook and put our balls on the line this offseason.. or at least unzip in the attempt to.