The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[method man]

I wanted to see Dallas sign Hendrickson and really screw up their cap for the next 3-5 years.

Is your view that Hendrickson is suddenly going to become a Deatrich Wise level player just because he is over 30?

Hendrickson signed for the same money that Phillips got with fewer guarantees given age. I would be surprised if Hendrickson doesn't outperform Phillips the next two years.

 

[heisenberg]

Would have liked him to be signed to a 2 or more year deal. Take what we can get, I guess. Shorter deals 1 to 3 year deals are more common now. Glad we got Oweh on a 4 year deal. Hendrickson finally got paid and glad to see it.

Sometimes one year deals are to the teams benefit as well.

If they dont "prove it" so to speak you're not stuck with dead cap.

Chaisson is a good add but hes one year removed from being a total bust and still has a lot to prove, he may be the product of being placed in a perfect situation that we may not be able to duplicate.

And watching his tape I was not blown away by his tackling.

 

[Dlts20]

You really think Tate is going before #7?

I wouldn't be shocked if he isn't but yes, I expect him to be gone

 

[method man]

Closest maybe was the fallout with the Eagles and Desean Jackson, but his pay was still good.

Yep. I think Reuben Foster was arguably the other in recent memory given Bruce had all his local connections in Tampa who he was able to obtain more info from. Too bad that one didn't pan out

 

[Bulldog]

So, what I am learning here is that ANY of our cherished hopes for that #7 pick whether Love, Bailey, Downs, Tate, etc. ANY of them could be in play from 2-6 and we may be standing there going 'hummmana, hummana' when we go on the clock?

 

[RexTomb]

An interesting side note to signing Goedert would be that the eagles would immediately lose 20.5 million in cap space this year but if they're able to resign him they can kick that can down the road again.

Goedert is the real deal still. He caught a bunch of touchdowns last year (11!). He may not have the speed that he used to, but he has the route running and the ability to separate and/or box out defenders on the catch. What is his injury that he's recovering from?

 

[Dah-Dee]

Only thing I am worried about with Aiyuk is the knee. It wasn't 'just' an ACL tear, he also tore the MCL and meniscus. With the buzz about issues during rehab, I wonder if he's really 100% even after missing most of 2024 and all of 2025.

Attitude wise, JD5 seems to be a positive and calming influence on those around him, and I'd think that'd go double with one of his closest friends, Aiyuk. I really don't expect Aiyuk to be a locker room problem, regardless of whatever happened in SF.

FWIW, Aiyuk and Deebo are also very good friends.

 

[Gooseneck]

So, what I am learning here is that ANY of our cherished hopes for that #7 pick whether Love, Bailey, Downs, Tate, etc. ANY of them could be in play from 2-6 and we may be standing there going 'hummmana, hummana' when we go on the clock?

styles or delane or trade down if we get a good offer

 

[heisenberg]

Goedert is the real deal still. He caught a bunch of touchdowns last year (11!). He may not have the speed that he used to, but he has the route running and the ability to separate and/or box out defenders on the catch. What is his injury that he's recovering from?

He had a lot of minor knee problems last year.

 

[method man]

Only thing I am worried about Aiyuk is the knee. It wasn't 'just' an ACL tear, he also tore the MCL and meniscus. With the buzz about issues during rehab, I wonder if he's really 100% even after missing most of 2024 and all of 2025.

Attitude wise, JD5 seems to be a positive and calming influence on those around him, and I'd think that'd go double with one of his closest friends, Aiyuk. I really don't expect Aiyuk to be a locker room problem, regardless of whatever happened in SF.

FWIW, Aiyuk and Deebo are also very good friends.

I think the team understands the risk here, which is 1) why it'd be a 1 year prove it deal and 2) they are set on trying to bring in another receiver in addition to Aiyuk

 

[SkinsLife]

You mean everyone in the SF building was smiling and thought well of Aiyuk not communicating with the team over his rehab and generally being dismissive of how his team was performing on the field during the season?

And this was after he got paid.

Must be a different culture in SF these days.

I

yes it was dumb and immature on his part. Yet this was aimed at the team. He might have been communicating with other players. In any case how does it affect his 1-2y deal here at min cost. What are the chances that he does the same here? 0 to nil

 

[Bulldog]

Goedert is the real deal still. He caught a bunch of touchdowns last year (11!). He may not have the speed that he used to, but he has the route running and the ability to separate and/or box out defenders on the catch. What is his injury that he's recovering from?

The Philly article indicated the team may be looking at Sadiq in the draft.

And of course they are still in on Njoku.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

I hate this stupid narrative that seems to float here without any backing:
1. Ayuk stinks - he has been one of the top receivers in the NFL when healthy the last few years
2. he is a cancer - dumb narrative as every player on the niners seems to only have good things to say and Peters does as well. His issue was ONLY with the Niners Org (shit happens, we dont really know what happened under the scenes. We all had shitty bosses before, and sometimes need a change)
3. bringing him here is a mistake - hows is bringing a young stud receiver here on the cheap is a mistake? esp watching WR scrubs get paid mad cash this offseason

Ill take it a step farther... it would be incredibly stupid for Peters NOT to bring Ayuik here if we are his first choice. (assuming he is on track health wise) and i will be extremely disappointed if he is not here next season . Ability to sign a very good WR on the cheap with basically no downside comes along once in a blue moon.. take advantage!

Where's this reverse narrative coming from? I hate it too.

Reality is we don't know much.

1) the "when healthy" is doing A LOT of heavy lifting here. How much rehab did he skip (we know he skipped some)? How stable is his knee?

2) this does not seem true? He had locker room issues in 2024, was a headache, and single handedly blew up a practice because he didn't want to do the team bonding thing. He is also supposedly leaving the Niners without any friends left on the team. Came into 2024 out of shape on purpose (this is a weird rumor). Had a meltdown vs the coaches in front of the team in 2024 over usage (he didn't like Jennings was getting his targets). Granted I have heard of these takes from Niners fans so take it with a grain of salt.

I have also heard opposite takes from Commanders fans, who are also biased...in the opposite way.

What's the truth...I don't know. But waving away any concerns is ridiculous.

The knee especially concerns me. I get that Aiyuk would be on good behavior for a 1 year deal. But that knee...if he skipped most of rehab. We simply can not rely on his health and effectiveness.

I don't want Jayden Daniels getting hurt again cause Aiyuk is physically washed up, Terry misses half the season, and we have zero other targets.

We can sign Aiyuk...but it should not change our desire to add other WR and we might have to switch priorities at #7 to only offense because we're stuck relying on injury prone players.

 

[actorguy1]

 

[Bulldog]

The injury as someone else mention was not only the ACL but the MCL and it is still not clear whether he is 100% at this time.

Perhaps he will be more forthcoming with our medical staff.

 

[RWJ]

 

[Chris 44]

So, what I am learning here is that ANY of our cherished hopes for that #7 pick whether Love, Bailey, Downs, Tate, etc. ANY of them could be in play from 2-6 and we may be standing there going 'hummmana, hummana' when we go on the clock?

I guess that also contributes to some hesitancy in FA, if we knew for certain a player like Love for example (or any of the projected 4 through 7 picks) would be there at 7 it would go a long ways in shaping our free agency approach.

 

[Canuck]

I think 50-50. Depends on NY and the Browns.

It's a premium position. Personally, I think Tate is a low end #1 WR or high end #2 -- a Tee Higgins type or Devonte Smith. Those guys go for big money in FA let alone hit FA so if that's a factor to those teams, he might be gone.

TEN is an option also

 

[heisenberg]

The injury as someone else mention was not only the ACL but the MCL and it is still not clear whether he is 100% at this time.

Perhaps he will be more forthcoming with our medical staff.

No but he was medically cleared to play in 2025 and now he'll be two years removed from the injury.

Some players never get back to their old self after an injury like that but rarely does it take more than 2 years to be healthy enough to play.

 

[Bulldog]

Well, our leading pass rusher after Armstrong went down was a guy who was turning 37 in the offseason and is years past his prime so it's not surprising we were down at the bottom.

After all the defense was 29th in some categories and 31st in others.