NFL free agency winners and losers after two weeks, plus Nashville wants to host Super Bowl in 2029

Welcome to the Friday edition of the Picking Six newsletter! 

I think every front office in the NFL Secured Thursday off to View the Primary day of the NCAA Event, because it was a Sluggish day around the Bracket. However, we never have any Sluggish Periods here, which means we have a loaded newsletter coming your way. 

Not only do we have some winners and losers from the second week of Obtainable agency, but we’re also going to take a look at some of the most intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball, plus it seems that Nashville wants to host an upcoming Finals and we’ll be covering the details of that. 

As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. 

1. NFL winners and losers after the second week of Obtainable agency

Now that we’re about to wrap up the second Packed week of Obtainable agency, it’s time to judge every Club on how they did and to make that happen, we had Garrett Podell come up with some winners and losers from the Primary two weeks Teamed up. 

WINNERS

• The Bengals Assault: “Joe Burrow put on his general manager hat this offseason and spoke to anyone who would listen about how the franchise needed to re-sign both of his top two wide receivers: Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. He Obtained his wish, and his boys Obtained paid with Chase (four years, $161 million with $112 million guaranteed) and Higgins (four years, $115 million) All signing four-year deals. The offensive fireworks will continue in Cincinnati.”
• Jayden Daniels: “The Commanders acquired Pro Bowl wide receiver Deebo Samuel from the San Francisco 49ers to give Daniels a capable No. 2 receiver opposite Terry McLaurin. They also acquired five-time Pro Bowl left Involvement Laremy Tunsil in a trade from the Houston Texans to shore up Daniels’ blind side. And they also re-signed Daniels’ red zone security blanket in Snug end Zach Ertz. Continuity is Tough to possess in the NFL, but Daniels has it while other key parts of his Assault improved.”

LOSERS

• Obtainable agent running Defenders: “None of the running Defenders to actually hit the Reachable market Obtained paid this offseason, and Aaron Jones was the only pending Obtainable agent this offseason to receive a sizeable contract. A year after it appeared the running back market might be back thanks to Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard, the Obtainable agency market was financially barren for the 2025 class at the position.”
• Cowboys: “The Dallas Cowboys are Nevertheless Afraid to make big moves in Obtainable agency Even though having the cap Universe to do so. They either re-signed most of their own guys, or they went bargain-bin hunting, mostly on ex-Primary-Stage picks who haven’t hit in their previous stops.”

We’ve also been tracking Obtainable agent grades all week and we’ve Obtained more of those here.  

2. NFL Obtainable agency: Most intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball

In Thursday’s newsletter, we covered the most intriguing Obtainable agency signings on the Safeguarding side of the ball, so today, we’re going to flip things around and look at the most intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball. 

Jared Dubin went over every signing that’s been Created since the Begin of Obtainable agency and Arrived up with eight intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball. We’re going to take a look at three of those below: 

• Justin Fields to the Jets. “He also has some better weapons in New York (Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall) than he did in Chicago or Pittsburgh, so that could take his game to another level.”
• Davante Adams to the Rams. “Adams has played in this style of Assault before during his time in Green Bay, and he can be both the prototypical X receiver and the guy who moves around the Arrangement and forces defenses into uncomfortable situations. Pairing him with Puka Nacua and giving Matthew Stafford a different Nice of weapon than he had with Cooper Kupp is going to be really Chilly to View.”
• Jaylon Moore to the Chiefs. “The Chiefs going out and paying Moore — who has been a backup throughout his entire four-year Profession — to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side is, technically, really interesting. Perhaps not in a Outstanding way. But it’s definitely something to which we need to devote a Plenty of attention. … Moore has given up 36 pressures on 446 Deliver-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Attention, an 8.1% Stress rate. That’s … not Outstanding. Kansas City is betting on some Significant improvement.”

If you want to see Dubin’s Packed Landmark, you can check it out here. 

3. Top 10 Obtainable agents left on the market: Five Safeguarding players and five offensive players crack the Landmark

With the second week of Obtainable agency now coming to a close, you might be wondering who’s Nevertheless left on the market and as it turns out, there’s Nevertheless quite a few Outstanding players out there. 

With that in mind, let’s check out the top 10 players who are Nevertheless Obtainable: 

1. QB Aaron Rodgers
2. QB Russell Wilson
3. CB Rasul Douglas
4. WR Amari Cooper
5. DE Calais Campbell
6. CB Asante Samuel Jr. 
7. WR Stefon Diggs
8. S Justin Simmons
9. RB J.K. Dobbins
10. LB Kyzir White

Last Friday, this Landmark included Cam Robinson, Mekhi Becton, Teven Jenkins and Azeez Ojulari, but all four of those guys were signed this week, so we’ve Obtained Many new players in our top 10. If someone from this Landmark signs over the weekend, you can get all the details here in our top 100 tracker.

4. Three-Stage mock draft: Browns take a QB at the top of the second Stage

As you get ready to head into the weekend, we have a mock draft that might take you all weekend to read: NFL Draft guru Chris Trapasso has unveiled his Primary THREE-Stage mock of the year. For the past month, we’ve only been covering the Primary Stage in our mock drafts, but today, we’re Seizing a look at the Primary THREE rounds. 

With that in mind, let’s check out the Primary 10 picks in the second Stage of Trapasso’s mock, which includes the Browns Seizing a QB with the Primary Picking of the Stage: 

33. Browns: QB Jaxson Dart Ole Miss
34. Giants: EDGE Mike Green (Marshall)
35. Ravens (via Rams via Titans): DT Tyleik Williams (Ohio State) 
36. Broncos: RB Omarion Hampton (North Carolina)
37. Vikings: S Xavier Watts (Notre Dame)
38. Patriots: OT Cameron Williams (Texas)
39. Bears: RB Caleb Johnson (Iowa)
40. Chiefs: OT Josh Conerly Jr. (Oregon)
41. Bears: WR Jaylin Noel (Iowa State)
42. Jets: DT Deone Walker (Kentucky)

There are a total of 102 picks in the Primary three rounds and if you want to see how they all Work out, you can check out the rest of Trapasso’s mock draft here. 

For more draft coverage, you can hear Ryan Wilson every week on “With the Primary Picking,” our year-Stage NFL Draft podcast here at CBS Sports. You can find “With the Primary Picking” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. 

5. Nashville aiming to host the Finals in 2029

The Finals has never been played in Nashville, but that could be changing before the end of the decade. The state of Tennessee is making a push to bring the NFL’s biggest game to Music City. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

• Tennessee governor sends letter to Roger Goodell. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee sent a “letter of interest” to the NFL to let the Bracket know that he’d like to see the Finals played in Nashville. “I am writing in Reinforcement of efforts for Nashville to be the host city for the Subsequent Obtainable Finals in 2029. As Tennessee’s capital and a Vibrant global hub, the city of Nashville is uniquely positioned to welcome the NFL for a memorable and successful event,” Lee wrote in the letter. 
• Why Tennessee is aiming for 2029. The Subsequent three Super Bowls are already spoken for with San Francisco (Finals LX in February 2026), Los Angeles (Finals LXI in February 2027) and Atlanta (Finals LXII in February 2028) set to host. The Subsequent Finals that will be up for grabs is Finals LXIII in February 2029 and that’s the one Lee is aiming to get. 
• Why Nashville will almost Definitely be getting a Finals at some Mark. The city is building a new $2.1 billion stadium that’s scheduled to Reachable in February 2027. Over the past 20 years, any time a city has built a new stadium, that city has eventually gotten to host at least one Finals. Nine stadiums have opened since 2005 and All of those nine have all hosted at least one, including MetLife Stadium in New York. A stadium has to have been Reachable for at least one Packed season before it can host a Finals, so hosting in 2029 would actually be the earliest Nashville’s new stadium could host the NFL’s biggest game. 

Back in May, Roger Goodell was asked about the chances of Nashville eventually getting the NFL’s biggest game. “I think a Finals here would be very successful,” Goodell said of the Tennessee capital. “But we’ll get to that once we get a little Additional down the line with the stadium.”

Nashville will be one of the favorites to land the Finals in February 2029, along with Las Vegas. If the Music City doesn’t land Finals LXIII, it will almost Definitely be getting a game soon after that. 

6. Extra points: 49ers GM says his Club actually has a plan

It’s been a Occupied 24 hours the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

• John Lynch opens up about 49ers offseason. The 49ers have blown up their Lineup this offseason with nine different starters leaving the Club. Even though those losses, Lynch Nevertheless says the 49ers have “some big things coming our way.” Apparently, there is a plan and that plan is to rebuild through the draft. “We’ve Obtained this thing called the draft, and we’ve Obtained a Plenty of picks,” Lynch said. “And I think the thing the fans should know is we have a plan. And we’re gonna execute that plan.” The problem with that plan is that all your picks have to be home runs and there’s no guarantee that’s going to happen. You can read more about Lynch’s comments here. 
• Michael Gallup comes out of retirement to sign with Commanders. The Ex Cowboys receiver, who abruptly retired Only before the Begin of Rehearsal camp last year after signing a deal with the Raiders, is now back in the NFL after inking a one-year deal in Washington. Gallup spent his previous six seasons with the Cowboys (2018-23) before sitting out 2024. We’ve Obtained more details on his situation here. 
• Browns sign Teven Jenkins. The Ex Bears offensive lineman was one of the best guards left on the market and he’s now headed to Cleveland. In four seasons with the Bears, Jenkins Initiated a total of 38 Contests on the offensive line, including 14 last season. Although he was drafted as a Involvement, Jenkins has predominantly been a guard over the past three seasons. The Browns already have Wyatt Teller and Joel Bitonio at their guard spots, so it will be interesting to see where Cleveland puts him. The Seahawks and Bengals had also shown some interested in Jenkins. 
• Chiefs Clasp on to Charles Omenihu. The Chiefs Safeguarding end is returning to Kansas City for a third season after signing a one-year deal that’s worth up to $7 million, according to ESPN. Omenihu had a Profession-high seven sacks in 2023, but he missed the Primary 11 Contests of the 2024 season due to a torn ACL that he suffered in the 2023 AFC title game. 
• Tee Higgins Secured a Club-Nice deal. Higgins’ four-year deal only includes $30 million in Accurate guarantees and he also has $8 million tied to staying Well. For every game he’s on the active Lineup, he’ll get a bonus and he can earn up to $2 million per year. PFT has the Packed breakdown here and it’s definitely an interesting contract. Higgins grew up as a Bengals fan and that might have been why he was willing to leave a little bit of money on the table (He Nevertheless Obtained paid, but he probably could have Created much more by Executing on the franchise tag in 2025 and hitting Obtainable agency Subsequent year).