The first wave of free agency is always a whirlwind, but we made it through. So far, we’ve seen over 260 players sign, re-sign, get extended, and get traded. It’s a lot to take in, and a whole lot of those signings are nothing-burgers. In an attempt to suss it all out, these are the ten best moves we’ve seen over the last two weeks.
When we’re looking at the best signings, we’re looking at ones that aren’t just the best for the teams, but the ones that are the best for specific players too. Keep that in mind.
1. Vikings sign Kyler Murray
Getting a starting-caliber quarterback for less than $2 million is a good idea 99 percent of the time. It was smart when the Steelers did it with Russell Wilson in 2024, and it was smart for the Vikings to do it with Kyler Murray.
Now, it didn’t work out for the Steelers because DangeRuss was clearly washed, but it was a good process. It’s up to Kevin O’Connell to get Murray to have at least the same level of success as Sam Darnold had in 2024.
This also probably means that the J.J. McCarthy saga in Minnesota is over. Unless you’re in the NFC North or one of us that blind-bet McCarthy going under on his completions every week, this is a good thing.
2. Falcons sign Tua Tagovailoa
Take everything I said about the Kyler Murray signing and apply it here: It’s a good idea to sign cheap guys who can start. However, there are four differences between the Vikings' move and the Falcons'.
First, Kevin Stefanski isn’t Kevin O’Connell. Stefanski is a good offensive mind, but he doesn’t have anywhere close to the same track record of rehabbing quarterbacks as KOC.
Second, Michael Penix Jr. is better than J.J. McCarthy. That’s not a high bar to clear, but the starting quarterback job isn’t just going to be handed to Tua Tagovailoa like it will be to Murray.
Third, Penix is coming off his 100th knee injury. He (partially) tore his ACL in November, so his status at the beginning of the season is a little up in the air right now. If he’s not ready to go in Week 1 and the Falcons go with Tua to start the season, there’s a pretty good reason to believe that he’ll have a short leash.
Fourth, Tua isn’t very good. Kyler Murray’s time in Arizona ended with a sputter; it seemed like a loveless marriage that just needed to end. Tua’s time in Miami ended with frustration and disgust; his play was bringing down the offense, and he needed to go. It’s just another reason why there’s going to be some type of quarterback competition in Atlanta.
3. Bengals sign Bryan Cook
The Bengals missed 170 tackles last season, while the other 31 teams in the NFL missed an average of 98-ish tackles. The Commanders were second in missed tackles with 131 for the season, and the best team was the Patriots with only 71.
Cincinnati wasn’t just plagued by missed tackles; they were straight up ravaged and plundered by them. So they did a very smart thing and signed one of the most sure-tackling free agents in safety Bryan Cook.
He missed only five tackles through all of 2025. Of the 291 guys who played over 600 snaps last season, he’s the 33rd best (missed tackle percentage of 5.6%, 22nd best).
That’s particularly important because the Bengals safeties last season were Geno Stone and Jordan Battle, who missed a combined 47 tackles. It’s a massive upgrade to a unit that was just about as desperate as any unit in the league.
4. Ravens back out of Maxx Crosby deal
One of two things is true: The Raiders are scummy and tried to trade a wildly hurt player for two first-round draft picks, or the Ravens are scummy for backing out of a trade… And it sure feels like it’s the latter. However, you have to give them a round of applause.
They wrecked everything. Teams that thought they were going to be in the market for Maxx Crosby made moves because they thought he was gone, and then made moves based on those moves, etc.
Then, the Ravens signed Trey Hendrickson. He’s not as good as Crosby, but he’s still got a very high upside. AND they got to keep their two first-round draft picks, which is a huge price to pay for a 29-year-old edge rusher who has played almost 6,500 defensive snaps over the past seven seasons.
For reference, it took Von Miller and Khalil Mack (two of the most prolific EDGE/defensive ends in the last 20 years) eight seasons to get to that number.
It’s cowardly to back out of a trade because you have cold feet, but two first-round picks for a guy who’s had just about as much wear and tear as any 29-year-old professional athlete could have is a risky move. Getting out of that was objectively smart.
5. Rams sign Jaylen Watson
By no means was the Rams defense horrible last season, but they’re a team that’s looking to win another Super Bowl, and they’re trying to do it before they have to move on from Matthew Stafford.
They already hit the jackpot last offseason when they traded for the Falcons’ first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2026 draft. At that point, they were a team that was already mega-competitive, and then they got another luxury pick.
They very smartly traded their own first-round (29th overall) and a few other picks to the Chiefs for cornerback Trent McDuffie. Then, early on in free agency, they also signed cornerback Jaylen Watson… another cornerback from the Chiefs.
That’s really good. They’re going to go from the pipsqueak Emmanuel Forbes and the middling Cobie Durant to two certified studs. Those are the kinds of luxury moves championship-caliber teams make… and it’s terrifying.
6. Broncos trade for Jaylen Waddle
On March 18th, the Broncos sent their 2026 first, third, and fourth round picks to the Dolphins for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and a fourth-round pick. That’s a win for both teams.
The Broncos get a certified stud to go along with Courtland Sutton for Bo Nix to throw to, which is huge for an offense that found itself in some talent-driven struggles last year. And the Dolphins get to continue to hoard draft picks. Everyone’s in a better spot now.
By the way, Miami now has 11 draft picks this year. Seven of which are in the top-100. If you’re a franchise that’s looking to speedrun a rebuild, that’s a really good place to start.
7. Jalen Tolbert signs with Miami
If Jalen Tolbert wants to just chill out and collect a paycheck for the 2026 season, he’s in a great spot. The Dolphins sold off all their pass-catching talent, and now Tolbert is kind of the de facto WR1… which is gross.
He’s going from being the sixth banana in Dallas to being the guy in Miami. Normally, you'd think that knowing that the passing game is going predominantly through you would be stressful… However, no one expects anything out of him, and he has nothing to lose.
If he has 26 total catches for 500 yards and a touchdown, no one will care because it’s Jalen Tolbert. If he has 60 catches for 900 yards and five touchdowns, then everyone will applaud him for exceeding everyone’s expectations. Good for him.
8. Giants sign Isaiah Likely
If you wanted a tight end in free agency, the guy you were hoping for was Isaiah Likely. If you were like me, you thought that there was going to be a big market for him and that he was going to sign for $14 or $15 million because of the market…
And then he signed a three-year deal for $13.3 million per year to go be with John Harbaugh and the New York Giants. That seems kind of low, right? He’s 25 years old, a fine blocker, but most importantly, he’s shown that he can handle a full workload in the passing game.
He’s still the fifth-highest-paid tight end in the league behind George Kittle, Trey McBride, T.J. Hockenson, and Kyle Pitts… But it felt like there was going to be a bigger payday for him. Good for the Giants.
9. Raiders sign Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean
The Raiders did a very smart thing during free agency: They understood that their defense was terrible, saw that the Eagles have had one of the best defenses over the past two seasons, and copied Howie Roseman’s strategy of rebuilding the 2021 Georgia defense.
They gave both Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean three-year contracts. Walker’s is for $13.5 million per year, and Dean’s is for $12-ish million per year.
Those guys would be a decent upgrade to almost every defense in the league… But the Raiders were an absolute laughingstock last season, so they are a phenomenal upgrade.
10. Buccaneers sign Kenneth Gainwell
When you think about pass-catching running backs, you think Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, and Jahmyr Gibbs. You don’t think about Kenny G., but he’s right there with those cats.
He had that role during his four seasons with the Eagles, but he was never a real priority on an offense with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert. Last season in Pittsburgh, he was kind of unleashed.
He had the fifth-most receptions of all the running backs in the NFL, and he had the second-most receptions on the Steelers. He signed with the Buccaneers, who haven’t really had a certified killer as a receiving threat out of the backfield, but now they do. Now we just have to see if Baker Mayfield takes advantage of him.