The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[Voice_of_Reason]

Question: who were the 3rd, 4th and 5th WRs in FA according to your opinion.

We swung at what I believe were the top 2, Pierce and Doubs.

Who else was there that we should have swung harder at?

This isn’t a snarky question. Seriously, who was next.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

For all, I think Mark Bulkocn did a really good breakdown of Williams on the Al Galdi podcast this week.

I’m at a first grade birthday party so I can’t really summarize now, but it was really good and I think aligns mostly to what KDawg just posted.

If anybody likes to listen to podcasts, that segment is really worth a listen.

 

[Dlts20]

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I don’t get why we think the answer to our problems is not going hard after receivers.

Who’s available that would fit the bill? I agree they need more help.

We’re at where we’re at.

Who should we be chasing?

 

[Faithful Fan]

To me the whole narrative is ridiculous.

The room looked ridiculous to me last summer and I got some pushback here about it when I made the point, and even some pushback even after the season unfolded.

So I gather some fans will have their back on this no matter what. And to each their own. But I've been a part of a zillion debates over the years -- the oddest ones for me are those defeded Bruce, Dan, Cerrato, not many did but it was a small loud vocal group. But the oddest thing for me about football, is this one. We got a potential franchise QB, and its not that big of a deal what we give him to work with and we can justify whatever he's got as enough or hey they tried, that's enough for me.

For me, jealously watching so many young QBs over the years on other teams and watching them being developed -- its part of the soup to load them up. Heck part of it is fear -- I'll give this dude so many weapons that it will be difficult to fail and in turn lol almost force him to be good -- because how can you be bad with all of this?

All the QBs from that 2024 draft, all of them are being spoiled like that. Washington is the one who doesn't. But heck that's fine because they drafted Sonnny Styles or whatever. And heck they don't sign a single premium WR FA -- zero in three years with all the cap room in the world. Most of the FA signings are street 3rd-4th tier types. The highest WR drafted is in the third round. The dude who is supposed to carry the receiver coorp is a 31 year old guy -- who is coming off a tough negoitiation because this team rightfully felt like 30 plus year old WRs decline and are more injury prone.

Using one of Grant Paulsen's favorite lines, make it make sense?

I really don’t agree with this narrative that Jayden isn’t getting enough support compared to other franchise quarterbacks.

For one thing, this feels like preemptively making excuses for when Drake Maye and Caleb Williams are better than Jayden Daniels, not that they will be, but this just reads like a lack of confidence to me.

Also, are the Bears and Patriots really that much better than us at receiver? For the Bears, Odunze had 44 catches last year, Burden had 47, Raymond had 24. Zavion Thomas was drafted later than Antonio Williams. The Patriots look worse with the loss Diggs. Douglas had 31 catches last year. Boutte had 33. Mack Hollins had 46. They didn’t draft a single wide receiver. They did add Doubs I guess, but his best year was last season when he had 55 catches. Am I missing somebody? Because I see a bunch of receivers who have never had anything approaching Terry’s average production or even what Deebo did for us last year.

Maybe you just have unrealistic expectations? Reality is you just can’t have the Posse in the salary cap era unless you make major sacrifices elsewhere on your roster.

The other things is this narrative that we’re not supporting Jayden is just silly. We have invested major draft capital in the offensive line. We overpaid Terry. For each of the years he’s been here, we’ve added weapons in free agency and the draft. Some of those are here because Jayden knows them (Dyami was one of his favorite targets in the 2024 post season, he played college ball with White and Hilton, and we are actively pursuing his buddy Aiyuk). If anything, we might be coddling him too much with some of these moves.

I understand the importance of investing in the franchise QB, but I don’t see us failing to do so while everybody else is surrounding their guys with elite talent. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see us bring Deebo back or add a vet like Aiyuk, but I actually think our roster looks pretty good.

 

[KDawg]

Who’s available that would fit the bill? I agree they need more help.

We’re at where we’re at.

Who should we be chasing?

DHop- aging, not what he was. Can certainly still play enough to make this team.

Deebo - obvious.

Keenan Allen - experience and veteran presence.

Juju - see above

Tyler Lockett

Gabe Davis:

None of these guys are going to fix it. Any of them, if they work out, would be a band aid. But at least we’re not bleeding all over everyone.

I’d still be trying to get BTJ and putting feelers out there for any and all receivers who might be available via trade.

 

[DWinzit]

Not a shocker dipping into the ex Cowboys again

 

[KDawg]

Not a shocker dipping into the ex Cowboys again

I mean, I’m fine with it. We need someone there. He’s a vet that knows Quinn. There’s not much else out there.

We should take that same philosophy at receiver for now. It’s not ideal, but it stops the wound from gushing.

 

[DWinzit]

Bee watching all of Williams and I stand where I wound up on draft night on him with a caveat - he CAN clearly play Z. It’s something he’s done. But I don’t think that is his best usage. His best usage is in the slot for us. He is a natural slot receiver.

I think using him outside CAN work as a Z, but I’m not sure why. I think we’d be getting a slightly lesser version of him. Yes, his stats when he played Z for Clemson were much better than when he played slot. But keep him mind he also played some slot that season and was healthy. He played 4 less games and had 300 less yards and 20 less receptions. It’s not out of the realm of possibility he’d have surpassed his 24 output if healthy.

The big thing that keeping as the slot does is that it allows for Terry to play Z. Which… is such a no brainer for me.

Here’s the problem… we don’t have a true X that is proven. We need Burks to show he can play there. Dyami has played some X for us as well. So ideally one of those two would be able to take that duty so we can use Terry with motion packages.

In 2-receiver sets, if Williams is truly our second best guy, then I’m fine with Terry at X and Williams at Z. I trust Terry to get off of press more than Williams at his point.

The biggest problem we have is we don’t have the guys to use our current guys in roles they may excel in.

As much as I’d like Terry to be the Z, if we had a true Z opposite him - that’s fine.

If we had a true X, we could use him at Z.

Do we have a NFL receiving room? Yes.

Is it a high level NFL receiving room? No.

Is it an average level NFL receiving room? No.

I don’t get why we think the answer to our problems is not going hard after receivers.

I know… someone is now going to say, “WE TRIED! ITS NOT OUR FAULT WE DIDNT GET THEM! WE CANT MAKE THEM SIGN”

My answer is still - okay. That’s true. But we haven’t really helped for three years and to that point, why don’t receivers want to come here?

And that brings me full circle back to other convos for different threads.

Bottom line is we don’t have what we need to help Jayden at receiver and now we have to move guys out of best positions to cover for it.

It seems like right now Terry at Z, Dyami/Burks at X and Williams at slot mainly is our best option.

I'm still confused with where Luke and Lane will or can fit in.

Which one is better backing Williams at slot if he bumps to Z?

Could Lane or Luke be a viable option at z?

 

[Anselmheifer]

Deebo - obvious.

None of these guys are going to fix it. Any of them, if they work out, would be a band aid. But at least we’re not bleeding all over everyone.

I’d still be trying to get BTJ and putting feelers out there for any and all receivers who might be available via trade.

Agree that those players look like band aids. I honestly wouldn't mind a band aid right now, If that's the only option on the table. Deebo, in particular, would at least add someone that can give us some dynamic YAC and some depth, and he played quite well last year.

I don't think BTJ is on the table for Jax right now, but I'd certainly explore a Tunsil level trade for him. Maybe he's made available at the trade deadline?

In terms of not keeping up with the Jones' with our investment in weaponry for Jayden, I agree with everyone here that we haven't done enough. We also did have the worst defense in the league last year. And we invested massively on that side of the ball this year. We had to, unless we wanted to be the Bengals. Oweh, Chaisson, Josephs, Omenihu, Settle, Styles, Chenal, Cross, Amik, Witherspoon represent a massive investment in cap space and draft capital. I'm not even convinced we will be that much better than average without a more dominant player on the DL and a true #1 CB, but we should at least be better.

Until we reach training camp without adding a WR, I am going to believe that we are still going to do that. I don't know if it is Diggs, Jennings, Aiyuk, etc, but I still believe we add somebody. The FO clearly knew we needed more at the position given the contracts they offered in FA. And Peters has to be feeling both the sting of last year, and probably some pressure from within the organization with all of the bad press.

I'd still take Diggs, if he can push his legal stuff out to next offseason.

 

[KDawg]

It seems like right now Terry at Z, Dyami/Burks at X and Williams at slot mainly is our best option.

I'm still confused with where Luke and Lane will or can fit in.

Which one is better backing Williams at slot if he bumps to Z?

Could Lane or Luke be a viable option at z?

I don’t see why Luke couldn’t play X or Z. He’s 6-2, 195. I don’t think he’s much of a slot. If he could show he can beat press he could be our top X, in all honesty.

As of now, Lane can slide in the slot if Terry and Luke/Burks are on the outside in 2x2 sets. That leaves Lane and Williams in the slots.

We can move Terry to multiple positions, really.

But a lot of this isn’t ideal.

It’s not terrible, but we are far from maximizing our talent due to missing another good outside option.

A lot of this goes to shit if Terry goes down. His health matters more than anyone else’s.

 

[DWinzit]

I don’t see why Luke couldn’t play X or Z. He’s 6-2, 195. I don’t think he’s much of a slot. If he could show he can beat press he could be our top X, in all honesty.

As of now, Lane can slide in the slot if Terry and Luke/Burks are on the outside in 2x2 sets. That leaves Lane and Williams in the slots.

We can move Terry to multiple positions, really.

But a lot of this isn’t ideal.

It’s not terrible, but we are far from maximizing our talent due to missing another good outside option.

A lot of this goes to shit if Terry goes down. His health matters more than anyone else’s.

Thank you! This helps straighten my head out on where Luke stands. He has been the one I cannot really lock down.

You are right, this is doable although not the best situation. Right now I feel like we are a half notch better than last year....sadly because we needed to be much more.

I do believe our RB room is way better than last year and the TE room may be better with an expanded Sinnott usage along with Chig

 

[KDawg]

Thank you! This helps straighten my head out on where Luke stands. He has been the one I cannot really lock down.

You are right, this is doable although not the best situation. Right now I feel like we are a half notch better than last year....sadly because we needed to be much more.

I do believe our RB room is way better than last year and the TE room may be better with an expanded Sinnott usage along with Chig

I don’t like the receiver situation at all. But it’s better than last year. When we are talking about Van Jefferson as a potential on the bubble guy you know we have a NFL level room. He’s not a scrub.

He’s obviously not the world’s greatest receiver, either. But it beats the battle for our second guy being between 7 JAGs

 

[DWinzit]

I don’t like the receiver situation at all. But it’s better than last year. When we are talking about Van Jefferson as a potential on the bubble guy you know we have a NFL level room. He’s not a scrub.

He’s obviously not the world’s greatest receiver, either. But it beats the battle for our second guy being between 7 JAGs

Agreed and Jefferson could still beat out someone since Blough doesn't really have the investment in these guys like Kliff did. I too see him as the odd man out however.

 

[KDawg]

Agreed and Jefferson could still beat out someone since Blough doesn't really have the investment in these guys like Kliff did. I too see him as the odd man out however.

I’m not sure if he is or isn’t. I have to see him with us and how Blough uses him. There’s potential he’s the guy that’s out or the second best guy. All depends on the other guys and his usage. I don’t really have a prediction for this room. They are all pretty close together.

 

[burgold]

I remember them saying they tried Luke out at Z in practice. I don't know what became of it or how many reps they really gave him.

 

[Faithful Fan]

I’m not sure if he is or isn’t. I have to see him with us and how Blough uses him. There’s potential he’s the guy that’s out or the second best guy. All depends on the other guys and his usage. I don’t really have a prediction for this room. They are all pretty close together.

I think the idea is to stack potential and let the competition decide. Not a bad strategy if you can’t land a proven guy. And there really is a lot of potential there.

 

[KDawg]

I think the idea is to stack potential and let the competition decide. Not a bad strategy if you can’t land a proven guy. And there really is a lot of potential there.

This is a kind way of saying, “stack guys who haven’t done much that have moments of brilliance and hope something materializes”.

It’s a shit strategy, but it’s better than whatever it was we tried last year.

Still don’t like it.

But… it’s at least an outline of a plan.

 

[skinsinparadise]

The question which I think was asked and answered recently is if Aiyuk doesn’t report he can be put on the Did Not Report list and not paid AND fined up to $50k per day

And as far as I can tell, that applies to the Sept 1 roster bonus as well.

If that’s true, there is literally no leverage at all and SF can hang on to him indefinitely.

The only way that changes is if Aiyuk shows up to SF’s offseason program and training camp.

So I don’t even think, unless what I’m reading is wrong or I’m misunderstanding, Sept 1 is a realistic date.

I posted this before: until something changes, we have to assume Aiyuk doesn’t exist. He’s not an option for us or anybody else.

The way this changes quickly is if Aiyuk shows up, in shape, and ready to go. At that point, SF will have to pay him and keep him or release him or trade him.

But until that happens, he is non-existent as far as I’m concerned.

Yeah actually if Aiyuk doesn't report, it could lead to the end of his career as a SF reporter detailed.

 

[Riggo44]

So, I have worked for a long time, and become very good at identifying and calling out what I like to call "unsubstantiated bullshit." Darr's whole premise is "everyone did it better than we did!" with no substantiation.

The Pats "upgraded across the offense!" Did they? How? They replaced Diggs with a receiver who has never had more than 60 catches and 750 yards in any season. They drafted Fano for the OL, great. He's still a rookie and we saw last year how Conerly struggled early last year. They also sign Vera Tucker to a THREE YEAR DEAL. That's like us giving Noah Brown three years and calling the problem fixed. Tucker has missed 42 out of a possible 85 games in his career. That line was absolutely destroyed in the playoffs. Will Campbell was an utter mess at LT. Sure, all signs and indications are that Brown will go to the Pats at some point, but that rumor was initiated by Dianna Russini who was quoted at the time saying "AJ BWOWN WIW GO THA PATHS...oh yeah, daddy, you like that?!" Until he does, I cannot say they upgraded their WR room. Likewise, I will absolutely take our OL over theirs.

I mentioned this before, the Saints signed Etienne (to an absurd overpay, mind you) and drafted Jordyn Tyson. Great. Again their line still sucks and Tyson is a huge injury risk. Did we learn nothing from Noah Brown? Their other additions were...3rd (Delp), 4th (Lance), 6th rounders (Barion Brown?)...who answers for the Saints, but unreliable question marks for us?

How did Houston address their OL? How, exactly? Who did they bring in? I don't recall anyone of note (please, anyone who knows who they did bring in, let me know.) Our OL is still far better than theirs.

Yes the Broncos have a stud OL, were in a position to add Waddle, which was a good move, if not a pretty significant overpay (a 1st, 3rd, and 4th). But Darr is trumpeting Adam Trautman? Really? I'd rather have Ben Sinnott. Admittedly, I am more hopeful there than most and I keep hoping for the Ben Sinnott Breakout. It's probably never going to come, but Adam Trautman? Please. Meanwhile dismissing the best receiving TE on the FA market in Konk? And the Broncos RB was who? I can't find a single running back they actually signed--they resigned Dobbins, who is injured every year as well, and...Jaleel McLaughlin? Dobbins, being that he plays for not the Commanders, is automatically better than Crosky-Merritt right?

Dobbins: 153/772/4
Bill: 175/805/8
(Neither do much in the passing game.)

Meanwhile, we added a very reliable receiver out of the backfield in White (had 9 TDs in 2024), in addition to Jerome Ford (who might not even make the team if Allen shines) who averaged 5.4 YPC in '24.

This is the same crap we see in Power Rankings where people rank us behind the Dolphins.