Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Several NFL teams face critical roster gaps that could be filled with low-risk, high-reward moves before training camp ends.
- Veteran leaders and proven performers remain available, offering immediate help without long-term commitments for contenders.
- The next week will reveal whether front offices act decisively to plug these weaknesses before the regular season begins.
We’re at the point of the NFL offseason where we’ll start seeing some more signings and trades. Most of those are going to be moves to get bodies for training camps, but there will be a handful that are for guys who will play meaningful snaps.
These are some moves that teams could make that have zero (or next to zero) downside. We’re looking at franchise staples, veteran free agents, and low-risk/high-reward trades.
One Last Job
Eagles re-sign Brandon Graham
Some guys will get one-year contracts until they decide to call it a career. Brandon Graham did call it a career and retired after he won Super Bowl LIX with the Eagles in 2024, but after seeing what the 2025 defensive line room was looking like, he had second thoughts.
The Eagles pass rush rotation was in a world of hurt. They cycled between guys like Josh Uche, Azeez Ojulari, and Patrick Robinson. They signed Za’Darius Smith off the street, but then he retired after a few games. Then Nolan Smith got hurt and went on the IR for six games.
On top of that, Jalen Carter was dealing with some shoulder injuries that were clearly taking a toll on him.
So B.G. came out of retirement in October and played a decent number (20-ish percent) of snaps. But it wasn’t just as a defensive end; he ended up playing some defensive tackle too … and he was solid.
After the season, he was asked if he was going to retire again, and his basic sentiment was that he doesn’t really want to, but if his family wants him to, then he will. He also said that if he does come back, he wants a little bit of a training camp because it was tough ramping up to full speed during the actual season.
If B.G. wants to play football, and his family is okay with it, then there should absolutely be a roster spot for him. After all, he did make the most impactful play in the franchise’s history when he strip-sacked Tom Brady with 2:14 left in Super Bowl LII to help the Eagles win their first championship.
Chargers re-sign Keenan Allen
The most important thing to remember about Keenan Allen is that he’s a 34-year-old free agent. Not only does that mean that expectations around his production should be lowered (only slightly), but also that training camp is completely optional for him.
Not only is he a franchise staple for the Chargers, but that wide receiver room doesn’t exactly give you goosebumps. Ladd McConkey rocks and he’s going to get a billion targets this year … But Quentin Johnston, Tre’ Harris, and Brenan Thompson? That’s kind of gross.
Allen has been ridiculously consistent for his entire career. Aside from the 2016 season, when he tore his ACL in Week 1, he’s never had a season with less than 700 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Last year, the Chargers gave him a one-year contract (for $8.5 million) on Aug. 5. They should just rinse and repeat. He’s 535 receiving yards away from breaking the franchise record (Antonio Gates, 11,841), and I don’t really see him signing with someone else.
Full transparency: I did say the same thing about Mike Evans and the Buccaneers, so what do I know?
Veteran Free Agents
The Rams sign Stefon Diggs
A lot has been said about the Rams using the 13th overall pick in the draft to get Ty Simpson. The bottom line is that yes, he might be the guy after Matthew Stafford, but they also could’ve used an offensive lineman or a wide receiver to help them win right now.
Puka Nacua and Devante Adams are the dudes in their wide receiver room. Nacua is a lunatic, and he plays like a lunatic. There are about five plays every game where he gets his soul knocked out of his body, and he misses a decent amount of time.
Adams is just an old dog. He does what he does really well, but can you trust him to be healthy for the entire season? I’d bet not.
Signing Stefon Diggs would give Matthew Stafford and the Rams an above-average pass catcher who could lighten the load for Nacua and Adams.
The 49ers sign Joey Bosa
You either like both of the Bosa brothers or you don’t like both of the Bosa brothers. There’s no in-between. That’s what makes a signing like this perfect for everyone.
For the Anti-Bosa crowd, you want this because it’s so much easier to just rein in your hatred and disdain for one franchise. You could just say, “Dude, Bosa sucks,” and everyone knows that you’d be talking about the one on the 49ers.
Also, it’s exhausting to keep track of everyone you don’t like. Consolidating them is so much more efficient.
For the 49ers, this would give them a little bit more depth on their edge rusher rotation. It’s clear that Joey Bosa’s best days are behind him, but he’s still getting the job done.
Last season with the Bills, he was pretty efficient. He played 64.3 percent of the snaps last season and had a 13.9 percent pressure rate. He wasn’t getting a whole lot of sacks, but he got his hurries and QB knockdowns, and he led the NFL in forced fumbles (5).
The Seahawks sign Najee Harris
Any team can win the Super Bowl in a given year, but there’s only one team that can win back-to-back Super Bowls every year. This year, that’s the Seahawks.
They’re a very strong team, and they have a very complete roster that’s mostly ready to repeat… But their running back room is lacking. Kenneth Walker III left in free agency, and Zach Charbonnet is recovering from an ACL that happened in January.
Now, their running back room is Jaradian Price (first-round pick), George Holani, and Emmanuel Wilson. Not only do they have space for another guy in that room, but a veteran who has a productive upside would make you feel a whole lot more comfortable.
That’s where Najee Harris comes in. He is coming off of a popped Achilles, but that happened in Week 3 last season. That means by the time the season starts, he’d have just under a year to recover. Obviously that’s not prime, but it’s not terrible.
Trades
Bears trade for Kayvon Thibodeaux
Every single thing that you read about NFL trades is going to involve the Bears trading for a pass-rushing defensive end/edge. That’s because they simply don’t have any high-end talent at that position. Right now, they’re looking at Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, and Dayo Odeyingbo.
The Giants have a very crowded edge rusher room. If Kayvon Thibodeaux can’t get a foothold on a premier spot in that rotation, it’d probably be a good idea for them to try to get something from him before he becomes a free agent after this season.
If the Bears wanted to get him, they’d get a guy with a high performance ceiling. That’s the kind of juice they need on that defensive line.
A QB-less team trades for Tanner McKee
Guys get hurt in training camp, and it stinks. The Panthers and the Cardinals are playing in the Hall of Fame Game, so they got to start their training camps a week earlier than everyone else. Unfortunately, Nic Scourton, the edge rusher that the Panthers picked in the second round of the 2025 draft, tore his ACL on the first day of training camp.
Guys are going to get hurt, and you really just hope that it’s not going to happen to your starting quarterback.
But if it does, the Quarterback Factory is open for business; Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton are going to be competing for the QB2 spot in Philadelphia. It sure seems like it should be McKee’s job to lose … But in the past 15 years, I’ve learned to never count out the Red Rifle.
If there’s an unprepared team that’s forced to go into a season in quarterback hell, McKee is a guy who would fit in most offenses. He’s not super mobile, but the dude can absolutely spin it. A coordinator who’s worth a penny should be able to find a way to get an offense with that kind of quarterback to function at an NFL level.
I’m not about to assume that I know what Howie Roseman’s asking price for McKee would be, especially if he’s talking to a team without a QB1. But on a normal day, I imagine he’d be worth a third-round pick.
Eagles trade for Grant Delpit
The Eagles don’t have a weak spot on defense, but if there were one, it’d be at safety in their nickel package.
When they’re in base, it’ll be Cooper DeJean and Drew Mukuba, Marcus Epps, or Michael Carter. When they’re in nickel, DeJean would go down to play the slot and two of those other three guys (I imagine Mukuba and Epps).
That’s not bad, but it’s not great. The problem is that every other part of that secondary is great, so in theory, anything less than that is going to get attacked. Luckily for Howie Roseman, Vic Fangio and the gang, the Browns are sitting on Grant Delpit, their 27-year-old safety who is going to be a free agent in 2027. He is great.
The Browns have a crowded safety room after they drafted Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the draft. Depending on who you asked, EMW seemed like he might’ve been a first-round talent, but he ended up sliding to the end of the second round.
Delpit was the Browns' second-round pick in the 2021 draft. He’s been very solid for them, but he was drafted by an old regime, and the DC that originally got him is looooong gone. It’d probably be a smart idea for the Browns to trade him and get a pick or two before he leaves in free agency and they get nothing for him.
It really comes down to whether or not Vic Fangio thinks Delpit is a good fit for the defense and how he thinks his safeties look in camp … and he’s absolutely going to let you know about that in a press conference.
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