NFL free agency 2025: Biggest moves that could impact remainder of the offseason

The NFL’s version of March Madness is on the horizon with free agency kicking off next week. That said, there’s already been some action that has unfolded across the league. Those moves have the potential to have a ripple effect that alters how these next few weeks and months will play out for an array of teams. Because one club decides to retain or let them go, that may force other teams to pivot and change their focus.  

That’s what we’ll be focusing on here as we comb through some of the more notable moves that have already gone down in the NFL and detail the impact they could have before the start of the legal tampering period on March 10 at noon ET and the start of the new league year on March 12 at 4 p.m. ET. 

One of the biggest early storylines of the offseason revolved around Matthew Stafford and a potential divorce with the Los Angeles Rams. The team allowed Stafford to speak with other teams to gauge his market and it momentarily felt like the quarterback was on the brink of being traded out of the organization. However, the two sides have since reunited and agreed to move forward together on a revamped contract. 

Impacted team: New York Giants. New York was one of the teams that spoke with Stafford about possibly acquiring him and inking him to a lucrative extension. This appeared to be the organization’s first choice to revamp its quarterback position, but now the Giants need to look elsewhere. Instead of Stafford, the Giants will need to pivot either to the free agent market or the 2025 NFL Draft where they possess the No. 3 overall pick. 

Impacted team: Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders were the other team that was named as a suitor for Stafford and despite run-ins with the Super Bowl-winning quarterback in the mountains of Montana, they are now back to square one as they try to rectify the position. Because they hold the No. 6 overall pick at the upcoming draft, Las Vegas would likely need to strike a trade to get within range of taking a quarterback. If the Raiders are unable or unwilling to do that, it may make more sense to dip into free agency. 

Impacted player: Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers may have been a sneaky candidate to replace Stafford as a stop-gap quarterback option for the Rams had they decided to trade him. Instead, the former Jets quarterback is reportedly now turning his attention to the New York Giants, reportedly making calls to the organization to see if they are interested.

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Tyler Sullivan

The San Francisco 49ers granted Deebo Samuel’s trade request and have agreed in principle to send the star wideout to the Washington Commanders. In return, the team is set to receive a 2025 fifth-round pick. This trade now fills a massive need on the Commanders depth chart, as they were due for an upgrade at the receiver position opposite of Terry McLaurin. It now allows the organization to use its remaining cap space on other needs in free agency. 

Impacted player: Brandon Aiyuk. Along with Samuel, Aiyuk has been the subject of trade rumors this offseason and GM John Lynch even acknowledged at the NFL Scouting Combine that the team is listening to calls. Now that the team has traded Samuel, however, could that result in the Niners keeping Aiyuk in the fold? The pass catcher is coming off a torn ACL, so his market could be depleted. With Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings the other receivers on the roster, it may now make the most sense to retain Aiyuk to keep the position group robust. 

Impacted team: Pittsburgh Steelers. Once again, the Steelers have swung and missed on trying to land another receiver. They were reportedly one of the teams in the mix for Samuel, but San Francisco ultimately decided to send him to Washington. On top of trying to identify who’ll be their starting quarterback going forward, the Steelers will again need to pivot in their hunt for another pass catcher. 

For the second season in a row, the Cincinnati Bengals have deployed the franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins. That means he’s currently under team control for the 2025 season for $26.2 million, which is fully guaranteed. While announcing that they are tagging Higgins, the team also noted that it’s with the hopes of reaching a long-term contract. 

Impacted player: Trey Hendrickson. In a perfect world, Higgins getting tagged shouldn’t have anything to do with Hendrickson. However, it will be interesting to see how the financials, as they relate to Higgins, bleed into Hendrickson’s current negotiations with the organization. After all, on top of Higgins’ $26.2 million salary on the tag being fully guaranteed, that entire sum will also hit Cincinnati’s salary cap. At the moment, the team has $43.6 million in space. With the club also negotiating with Ja’Marr Chase on what is expected to be a market-shattering extension, something may need to give. 

Impacted team: New England Patriots. While it’s truly unclear if the Patriots would’ve been a legit suitor for Higgins, the organization has a clear need for a top-tier pass catcher and possesses the most amount of cap space by far at $127.6 million. Given that need and cash to burn, the Patriots were looked at as one of the favorites to land Higgins. Now, they’ll need to spend that money elsewhere and look in a different direction to boost their receiver room. 

The Minnesota Vikings are unlikely to use the franchise tag on quarterback Sam Darnold, which will then set up the veteran to reach unrestricted free agency. While the tag would’ve guaranteed Darnold $40.2 million for the 2025 season, he now gets to search for a long-term deal that could pay him similar figures, if not slightly more. 

Impacted player: J.J. McCarthy. With Darnold possibly leaving town, that paves the way for McCarthy to take the reins in Minnesota. The Michigan product with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but was sidelined for the year due to a torn meniscus. If the Vikings are comfortable letting Darnold walk, that could signal their confidence in McCarthy not only being healthy for the start of 2025 but assuming the role of QB1 after a rookie year behind the scenes rehabbing and learning the ways of the NFL. 

Impacted team: Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders make sense as a possible Darnold landing spot. The team has a clear need for the position and owns the second-highest amount of cap space in the league at $96.3 million. That’s enough to lock in Darnold and add other pieces to the roster.