a quick look at 2026 FA

[Rob0729]

Some quick thoughts about the offseason in general:

Owenu will be cut. He just isn't that good anymore and cutting him saves $17 million against the cap.

I think Diggs will be extended. He has too high of a cap next year. Expect some voidable years.

Moses will be cut. Too old and too expensive to keep another year.

I would try to trade Carlton Davis because cutting him will add to the cap.

The Pats will trade for AJ Brown. His trade value is dropping every week and so his his value to the Eagles. They will want to get him off the books. He just isn't productive in the Eagles' system anymore. I think it could be his friction with Hurts. But they may not be able to trade him until post June 1st because of the cap hit ramifications of trading him before that.

Tonga, Chaisson, and Ellis will be resigned. Some of the other free agents will be resigned, but none are guaranteed.

Some free agents I would consider targeting:

- Tyler Linderbaum - The Ravens aren't going to franchise a center since all o-linemen are franchised at the same level. It all depends on whether they want to move Wilson to center or keep him at guard. I might move him to the right side if they keep him at guard.
- Nakobe Dean - Don't know if the Eagles will let him go, but I am also not sure if they would franchise him coming off an PCL tear.
- Branden Smith - a stud RT, but a little up there in age.
- Kaden Elliss - Better than his brother.
- Breece Hall - If they decide to move on from Stevenson
- David Njoku - former pro bowler. Would be an upgrade over either Hooper or Henry in blocking
- Kyle Pitts - Maybe with Maye he could return to his rookie form where he looked to be on track to be a stud TE
- Cade Otton - We just saw him play really well vs the Pats. He can do everything. Good blocker. Can catch.
- Alontae Taylor - A pretty good CB. Could be a solid #2 in replacement of Carlton Davis.
- Odafe Oweh - Very good LB. I doubt the Chargers let him walk.
- Devin Lloyd - I doubt the Jags will let him go, but they are the Jags.
- Romeo Doubs - Would eventually replace Diggs or Hollins. Not sure if there would be room for him next year especially if the Pats trade for Brown.

 

[signbabybrady]

What do we think of Bryant at OT? Is he good enough to solidify that position. I agree with edge and safety.

I'm willing to give him the leg up on one of the back up spots next year. I don't think we need to worry about playtime for our depth guys though so bring as much competition as we can for tackles 3 and 4. Once training camp roles around if one of them can beat Moses then great that's a little different than going out on the market and spending big on a RT and then just expecting Moses to happily take being a backup.

I'm not against replacing incumbents I just think it creates a little bit of a dynamic that needs to be considered. We can't just pretend this Madden and if you're not a 90 we just go find one without ever dealing with the human side of that. So with the way things have gone this year I think we probably need to be very selective next year as to not erode the good will with the players that Vrabel seems to be incredible at.

I would pick one of the 3 Onwenwu, Bradbury, or Moses but not all 3.

 

[signbabybrady]

Some quick thoughts about the offseason in general:

Owenu will be cut. He just isn't that good anymore and cutting him saves $17 million against the cap.

I think Diggs will be extended. He has too high of a cap next year. Expect some voidable years.

Moses will be cut. Too old and too expensive to keep another year.

I would try to trade Carlton Davis because cutting him will add to the cap.

The Pats will trade for AJ Brown. His trade value is dropping every week and so his his value to the Eagles. They will want to get him off the books. He just isn't productive in the Eagles' system anymore. I think it could be his friction with Hurts. But they may not be able to trade him until post June 1st because of the cap hit ramifications of trading him before that.

Tonga, Chaisson, and Ellis will be resigned. Some of the other free agents will be resigned, but none are guaranteed.

Some free agents I would consider targeting:

- Tyler Linderbaum - The Ravens aren't going to franchise a center since all o-linemen are franchised at the same level. It all depends on whether they want to move Wilson to center or keep him at guard. I might move him to the right side if they keep him at guard.
- Nakobe Dean - Don't know if the Eagles will let him go, but I am also not sure if they would franchise him coming off an PCL tear.
- Branden Smith - a stud RT, but a little up there in age.
- Kaden Elliss - Better than his brother.
- Breece Hall - If they decide to move on from Stevenson
- David Njoku - former pro bowler. Would be an upgrade over either Hooper or Henry in blocking
- Kyle Pitts - Maybe with Maye he could return to his rookie form where he looked to be on track to be a stud TE
- Cade Otton - We just saw him play really well vs the Pats. He can do everything. Good blocker. Can catch.
- Alontae Taylor - A pretty good CB. Could be a solid #2 in replacement of Carlton Davis.
- Odafe Oweh - Very good LB. I doubt the Chargers let him walk.
- Devin Lloyd - I doubt the Jags will let him go, but they are the Jags.
- Romeo Doubs - Would eventually replace Diggs or Hollins. Not sure if there would be room for him next year especially if the Pats trade for Brown.

I appreciate your efforts and individually nothing against the moves but collectively that seems like an awful lot of moves for a 2 loss team.

 

[TheRainMaker]

First things first. The OL needs to be addressed. Jared Wilson is a massive weak link. They need an upgrade at C. Owenu will be cut. They are stuck with Moses for one more season.

They could be stuck with Stevenson for one more year, but they may take the slight hit if another RB they like is available.

Carlton David has been okay, but his contract is mind boggling. He should’ve been on a prove deal given his injury history and been passed around by two other teams. They are stuck with him for at least one more season.

Tavai is finally let go.

Tonga get re-signed.

Now for the surprises:

I think Stefon Diggs is cut after the season and the Pats target another WR. His cap is $26.5M. They also save $20.8M towards the cap to a $5M dead cap. He reminds me of 2014 Revis where you can see they’ve clearly lost a step and were one year rentals. Even with his big game against the Bills, it looks like struggles for every catch. He can’t play the outside anymore.

I think Chiasson walks like Mark Anderson after 2011.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

I certainly see the logic in releasing Ownenu based on salary to level of play, but it’s also opening up a hole on the offensive line to create more cap space for a team that’s starting with $50M+. Idk… if there’s a free agent replacement they like or if they him through draft day where they land someone they view as plug and play then maybe. I’m not in a rush on that one though. I kind of just treat it like a one year “pillow” contract where you get a proven vet you can count on for a decent level of play so you give a bloated one year salary to avoid long term commitment without leaving the roster hole.

Ravens TE Isiah Likely is my favorite FA target for us. Replaces/upgrades Hooper for the 2 TE sets we play a lot of. Henry is older too so it allows for his role to be gradually reduced as he ages. I think he’ll fit really well with Maye throwing down the seams. Young and in his prime too.

 

[Real fan 02]

As usual most free agents will resign with their team
Running Back looks like an area with some depth
Will be a Morgan Moses type or 2, older linemen with a little left. Wyatt Teller maybe?
WR looks bare. Expect Pickens and Pierce to go nowhere
TE: Maybe Kyle Pitts gets there, maybe Njoku.
DE: Jaelan Phillips maybe
LB: Dean likely stays, Lloyd likely stays, maybe Kaden Ellis? Ellis brothers reunite!

Keep our own, add some veteran depth, and hope you hit on the late first round pick.
The depth is very important but won't be a splashy free agency. Outside of maybe unlocking Kyle Pitts and adding a small RB upgrade you won't be able to get Maye any shiny new top weapons, barring an unforeseen trade.

We have guys playing well that we would want to sign:
Hooper, Chaisson, Tonga, Hawkins, Gibbens.
Like to get a younger TE so maybe Hooper goes but the others are all valuable contributors.
Pats can tender Gibbens but not sure what those details would be.
Not daunting to get them all back but those are 4 guys that play a good number of defensive snaps that would need to be replaced otherwise.

Then Gonzalez extension and then eventually Maye.

I think Onwenu stays, it's only 1 year and be hard pressed to replace him and not have a drop off and they won't need his salary savings in 2026.
They could extend him and bring the cap hit down but think they'll let it play out. Type of guy that probably will thrive in a contract year.

Agreed here! I'd add.. love to get Kyle Pitts here.. imagine Pitts with Drake and JMD..

I've been very impressed with all of our FAs for the most part.. they all have played quality ball and should likely see extension.. especially KC & tonga.

 

[p8ryts]

I'm willing to give him the leg up on one of the back up spots next year. I don't think we need to worry about playtime for our depth guys though so bring as much competition as we can for tackles 3 and 4. Once training camp roles around if one of them can beat Moses then great that's a little different than going out on the market and spending big on a RT and then just expecting Moses to happily take being a backup.

I'm not against replacing incumbents I just think it creates a little bit of a dynamic that needs to be considered. We can't just pretend this Madden and if you're not a 90 we just go find one without ever dealing with the human side of that. So with the way things have gone this year I think we probably need to be very selective next year as to not erode the good will with the players that Vrabel seems to be incredible at.

I would pick one of the 3 Onwenwu, Bradbury, or Moses but not all 3.

This team's goodwill bank will close in February. I hope everyone has to earn their job all over again in 2026. Despite Vrabel's mister sensitivity approach, it's still a best man gets the job. (I hope).

 

[Rob0729]

I appreciate your efforts and individually nothing against the moves but collectively that seems like an awful lot of moves for a 2 loss team.

I guess you didn't see that I said that the free agents listed were players to consider. I never said to get all of them.

 

[signbabybrady]

This team's goodwill bank will close in February. I hope everyone has to earn their job all over again in 2026. Despite Vrabel's mister sensitivity approach, it's still a best man gets the job. (I hope).

Obviously that makes sense but at the same time you have to be very cognizant of available play time. Players aren't dumb if they see something that will screw with their PT they won't be happy and some guys might not sign here if they don't see where their PT is to begin with.

 

[jdlboot14]

Not sure Vrabel will keep Rham here next year. I know he just got paid, but he's too much of a liability.
Might depend on rest of this year.
I'm not sure Gibson will ever be the same either - will be 28, after a bad knee injury.
Seems we'll need a good vet RB to compliment Hendo (doubt Jennings is the answer). Like Montgomery in DET.

 

[Grogan14]

Jaelen Phillips would be an excellent signing to strengthen the edge

Reed Blankenship at safety

Lindenbaum at center

 

[jdlboot14]

And, TE should be a major focus in FA. Ours are old and slow.
If we get a Bowers type TE, with 1 more legit outside WR, and a "thunder" for Hendo's "lightning" this offense will be a top unit.

 

[203Pat]

Hard pass on paying another running back. I don’t know why people overvalue that position so much.

 

[patsinthesnow]

While I get people wanting to get rid of Onwenu to extent the supply & demand of OL may make it not worthwhile. A starting level guard is going to cost $10M-12M APY. An above average one will be more. Will Fries signed a 5 year $87 million dollar contract with the Vikings.

Moses is a steal on his contract. He's 13th/61 in OTs with atleast 50% snaps in pass block efficiency. He'd arguably be the 2nd best available RT in FA. He's going nowhere.

 

[TheRainMaker]

While I get people wanting to get rid of Onwenu to extent the supply & demand of OL may make it not worthwhile. A starting level guard is going to cost $10M-12M APY. An above average one will be more. Will Fries signed a 5 year $87 million dollar contract with the Vikings.

His cap hit is $25M. It would be idiotic to keep him at that number.

 

[DaBruinz]

The most obvious move is to sign the best available LG in free agency & move Wilson to C. Until they do that it won’t matter who they have running the ball up the middle. David Edwards is a FA & would weaken the Bills in the process. Solidifying the OL longterm should be the main priority while Maye is on a rookie deal.

That reiterates that C and LG need to be upgraded and that Onwenu isn't doing as well as I thought earlier.

I pointed out that Wilson was NOT the answer at LG as he is right now. Do I expect him to improve? Yes. Whether that means at Center or at LG, I don't know. But he's only slightly better than Layden Robinson was last year.

This graphic also highlights that Bradbury is an issue. For a guy who was touted as a better run blocker than a pass blocker, he's done a complete 180. He's blocking better in passes than runs.

It is interesting that the worst gap is the "A" gap between Onwenu and Bradbury. Not sure if this is because Bradbury is focusing on helping Wilson or what.

 

[patsinthesnow]

His cap hit is $25. It would be idiotic to keep him at that number.

His dead cap hit is $7.5M. The best available guards are Edwards, 34 year old Bitonio, 31 year old Teller & Vera-Tucker who's finished the season on IR in back to back years. Onwenu might be the highest paid guard in FA. I get cutting him and drafting a replacement though.

 

[Ring 6]

Ellis is under contract.
But at an 8.5 mill cap hit with 5.1 of new $$.
Can’t see him being kept at that price. After Gibbens stepped in and played well last week, I don’t think Ellis is going to have much of a role any more any way.

 

[TheRainMaker]

His dead cap hit is $7.5M. The best available guards are 34 year old Bitonio, 31 year old Teller & Vera-Tucker who's finished the season on IR in back to back years. Onwenu would probably be the highest paid guard in FA.

Then let him be the highest paid on another team. Pats will save $17.5M by cutting him. He never should've received the contract that he did. Max Lane/Todd Rucci esque.

 

[TommyD4207]

His dead cap hit is $7.5M. The best available guards are Edwards, 34 year old Bitonio, 31 year old Teller & Vera-Tucker who's finished the season on IR in back to back years. Onwenu might be the highest paid guard in FA. I get cutting him and drafting a replacement though.

Worth every penny. Mike Tubagoo needs to go after the season's over. He's terrible and has been vastly overpaid the last two years.