You don’t really want your team to be super active in free agency because the majority of the time, free agents end up getting overpaid big time. This offseason, the free agent class wasn’t super star-studded either. That makes it really hard for the guys who got the biggest money to play up to their paychecks.
These are the seven highest-paid players from the 2026 free agency class (not guys who got new contracts with the same team, or guys who were traded and then got paid), and their grade through the end of September, based on what we all expected from them.
Remember, there’s a lot of the season left.
Jaelan Phillips, Carolina Panthers
- EDGE
- $30 million per year
- Grade: C+
It’s not Jaelan Phillips’ fault that the Panthers paid him $30 million per year. The Panthers got burned during free agency in 2025 when they tried to get Milton Williams, but he got sniped by the Patriots for more money. They clearly didn’t want that to happen again, so they dropped the fattest bag of cash in Phillips’ driveway and never looked back.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t been the most effective against the run … to be fair, a lot of that is because of the Week 1 game against the Bears, where they rushed for a billion yards.
As a pass rusher, he hasn’t been the killer that you’re hoping for either. You’re paying the guy game-wrecking money, and he hasn’t been that.
There’s still plenty of time for him to play up to his money. And with the injuries the Panthers have in their secondary, you’ve got to be hoping that happens sooner rather than later.
Trey Hendrickson, Baltimore Ravens
- EDGE
- $28 million per year
- Grade: C
When the Ravens signed Trey Hendrickson, they signed a guy who was significantly better at getting after the quarterback than he was at playing against the run.
So far this season, he’s just been a big-pressure guy. That’s totally fine, and his pressures have been earned and effective … but they haven’t really resulted in negative plays, let alone a decent number of sacks (he only has one).
He’s also not demanding a whole lot of attention either. You would like guys who are making elite money to get treated like elite players, get those double teams and chips, and allow the rest of the defensive line to eat.
That’s not happening, and it’s part of why the Ravens are sitting at six sacks (20th).
Odafe Oweh, Washington Commanders
- EDGE
- $24 million per year
- Grade: B-
The Commanders are certainly getting their money’s worth of playing time with Odafe Oweh. They’re playing for a higher percentage of defensive snaps than he’s ever played in his career, which is great because the big question in free agency was if he could do that … But he just hasn’t really done a whole lot.
Sure, in Week 3 he got the pressure that made Sam Darnold throw the pick-six to Kain Medrano, and that’s great … But the dude needs to be doing significantly more.
If he’s going to be worth his money, he needs to beat the allegations that he’s only good when he’s playing on a defensive line that’s chock full of talent. Through three games, he hasn’t really come close to that.
Tyler Linderbaum, Las Vegas Raiders
- Center
- $27 million per year
- Grade: A
$27 million for a center seemed like a crazy amount of money to spend on a center. Tyler Linderbaum was going to have to be perfect if he was going to be worth that kind of cash … And he’s been just about as perfect as you can be.
He’s been on the field for all 201 plays, and he’s allowed exactly two pressures and exactly zero sacks (per PFF). That’s a huge upgrade from where they were last season. The three centers they used in 2025 allowed pressures on four percent of the snaps, and they allowed 13 sacks.
It’s not like the Raiders reached when they signed Linderbaum (aside from the money), but he’s everything they were hoping for.
Romeo Doubs, New England Patriots
- Wide Receiver
- $17 million per year
- Grade: D+
When the Patriots signed Romeo Doubs, they hadn’t traded for A.J. Brown yet. We don’t have proof of this, and we probably never will … but I think that Eliot Wolf and Howie Roseman had agreed to the trade waaaay before it went through on June 1st. So for the purpose of this grade, I’m not counting Doubs as a WR1, but a WR2.
The tricky part is that Brown got hurt in Week 1, which means Doubs should slot right into the WR1 spot, and he just hasn’t.
On that offense: He’s not running the most routes. He doesn’t have the most targets. He doesn’t have the most catches. He doesn’t have the most yards. He’s been straight-up disappointing.
The Patriots have been bad, and Doubs certainly isn’t helping.
Wan’Dale Robinson, Tennessee Titans
- Wide Receiver
- $17.5 million per year
- Grade: B-?
I would love to be able to say that Wan’Dale Robinson could either not be graded or that he has a bad grade … But given the absolute hellscape that is the Titans offense, you kind of have to give him a good grade.
Cam Ward isn’t a good quarterback. He might be at some point down the line, but right now he flat-out stinks, baby … And yet, Robinson has the highest catch rate of any of the Titans’ wide receivers (except for Chimere Dike, who caught the two balls that were thrown to him).
Robinson has caught 13-of-18 for 104 yards and a touchdown. Those aren’t sexy numbers, but they’re relatively good given his situation.
Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
- Quarterback
- $22.5 million per year
- Grade: NA
I refuse to give Malik Willis a real grade because the Dolphins went into this season making him ungradable. He’s throwing to Malik Washington, Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell, and Greg Dulcich … What is he supposed to do?
If there is one good thing he’s doing, it’s using his legs. Through three games, he’s got 101 rushing yards. That makes him the second-most productive rusher on the team behind De’Von Achane … who is out for the rest of the season.
Maybe he’ll be good enough with his legs to warrant a grade by the end of the season, but for now I have to stand ten toes down and say, “The Dolphins wronged this man.”
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