Free Agency Frenzy is almost upon us! Which means we are entering the peak of the offseason as teams begin to look to fill the holes on their roster, whether that is a team beginning a rebuild, or a team looking to reload for a potential Super Bowl run, every team has needs and questions heading into next week. Throughout this week I will be doing an offseason preview for every division, the previews will look at the impending free agents of the team, the biggest questions heading into this offseason, some potential names to target next week, and what they need to accomplish before the season begins. All of the contract estimations are used from Pro Football Focus via Over The Cap.
Baltimore Ravens
Impending Free Agents
FB – Patrick Ricard
C – Tyler Linderbaum (4 yrs, $80m total)
WR – DeAndre Hopkins (1 yrs, $2m total)
TE – Isaiah Likely (3 yrs, $28m total)
TE – Charlie Kolar (1 yrs, $1.75m total)
G – Daniel Faalele (3 yrs, $21m total)
T – Joe Noteboom
DT – Brent Urban
ED – Kyle Van Noy (1 yrs, $3.5m total)
ED – David Ojabo
CB – Chidobe Awuzie (1 yrs, $1.35m total)
S – Ar’Darius Washington (1 yrs, $4m total)
Biggest Questions
The Ravens have a lot of questions on the interior of the offensive line with both Tyler Linderbaum and Daniel Faalele leaving in free agency, so they are going to have to bring in bodies through free agency and the draft to at least put a competent offensive line together. Towards the end of the season, the Ravens’ defense took a turn for the worse, and they had a rough time getting after the passer. So they will need to bring in players on the edge to provide pressure on the quarterback. Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar will be hitting free agency, so with an aging Mark Andrews, they might have to address tight end depth at some point.
Free Agents to Watch
To address center, they are going to have the three names every other center-needy team will be targeting: Tyler Biadasz, Ethan Pocic, and Connor McGovern, so they will be trying hard to bring one of them in. They could look to bring in edge rushers to add to the rotation they have. Arnold Ebiketie would be a good fit in Baltimore, as well as bringing in a linebacker and a corner, which will help to solidify the defense a little bit.
Top Goals
The Ravens need to prioritize the interior of the offensive line, whether that is getting a deal done with Linderbaum or investing money and draft picks in other players. They will also need to rework the defense, as it was the key weakness for the team last year; all three levels could use some work.
Cincinnati Bengals
Impending Free Agents
TE – Noah Fant (1 yrs, $5m total)
G – Dalton Risner (1 yrs, $4.5m total) (Resigned)
G – Lucas Patrick
G – Cordell Volson
ED – Trey Hendrickson (1 yrs, $21m total)
ED – Joseph Ossai (1 yrs, $7m total)
CB – Cam Taylor-Britt (1 yrs, $3.75m total)
CB – Marco Wilson
S – Geno Stone (1 yrs, $4m total)
Biggest Questions
The defense as a whole has been a huge question mark for the last two years, starting with Trey Hendrickson, who has had one of the most interesting contract sagas that is ultimately going to end with Hendrickson hitting free agency this offseason. The offensive line will also need some attention, as there is a chance that Orlando Brown could be cut, and the rest of the line is full of extremely young players. They are going to need numerous defensive players in the front seven, and they should bring in a few edge rushers, defensive tackles, and a linebacker to bring the defense back to competence.
Free Agents to Watch
Some names to keep an eye out for on the defensive line could be Odafe Oweh, Tim Settle, Sheldon Rankins, and re-signing Joseph Ossai would be smart, as Ossai has proven to be a solid edge three for them and could be serviceable in the future. They could also be potential trade targets for Jonathan Greenard with the Minnesota Vikings, who they are currently attempting to trade.
Top Goals
Address the entire defense, which has been historically bad the last two seasons, and they need to do what they can to upgrade it. Poor drafting the past couple of seasons has caused them to struggle to stop ANY offense, and they need to change the process this offseason that has consistently shown to not to work. With that being said, they will also need to add one or two names to the offensive line in order to keep Joe Burrow upright and healthy.
Cleveland Browns
Impending Free Agents
HB – Jerome Ford (1 yrs, $1.22m total)
TE – David Njoku (3 yrs, $32m total)
C – Ethan Pocic (2 yrs, $14m total)
G – Joel Bitonio (1 yrs, $4.5m total)
G – Wyatt Teller (1 yrs, $3m total)
G – Teven Jenkins (1 yrs, $2.75m total)
T – Jack Conklin (1 yrs, $3m total)
T – Cam Robinson (1 yrs, $4m total)
DT – Shelby Harris (1 yrs, $2m total)
LB – Devin Bush (3 yrs, $36m total)
LB – Jerome Baker (1 yrs, $1.55m total)
CB – Martin Emerson Jr.
S – Rayshawn Jenkins
Biggest Questions
How is Cleveland going to handle the quarterback situation currently on the roster? It appears that Shedeur Sanders will be the starter in 2026, but having Deshaun Watson come off of back-to-back Achilles tears, who they can’t just cut due to the insane contract that he signed back in 2022. It will most likely be Shedeur Week 1, but it has yet to be decided. The entire offensive line for the Browns will no longer be on the team in 2026, therefore they will need to spend extensive resources to fixing that entire portion of the roster, using maybe both of their first round picks on offensive line, although they have recently made a trade for Tytus Howard to play right tackle, but they still will need four more starters. Overall, the defense was extremely good last year, so the players on that side of the ball are solid, and Cleveland should focus more on the offensive side.
Free Agents to Watch
Cleveland has very little money to spend in free agency due to the constraints of the Deshaun Watson contract. So if they are bringing in anyone, it is going to be bottom-of-the-barrel players who are coming in on cheap deals. Kevin Zeitler, who has played for the Browns previously in his career, would be a solid signing for a year or two as they try to rebuild continuity along the offensive line.
Top Goals
They need to enter next season with a competent offensive line in front of Shedeur Sanders, just to ensure his development continues along the right track. They will also need to add a potential wide receiver one, whether that is via the draft or trade, it will help them to expand the offense. They should also continue to build draft capital over this year and next year, through various trade downs, as continuing to build capital will start to begin to rebuild the depth on this roster.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Impending Free Agents
QB – Aaron Rodgers (1 yrs, $15m total)
HB – Kenneth Gainwell (2 yrs, $8m total)
WR – Calvin Austin lll (2 yrs, $8.5m total)
G – Isaac Seumalo (1 yrs, $8m total)
LB – Cole Holcomb (1 yrs, $1.75m total)
LB – Ja’Whaun Bentley (1 yrs, $1.3m total)
CB – James Pierre (1 yrs, $1.25m total)
S – Jabrill Peppers (1 yrs, $4m total)
S – Chuck Clark (1 yrs, $2m total)
Biggest Questions
Every year around this time, we will get put through the same charade by Aaron Rodgers on whether or not he wants to play football next year; this year is no different. So, because of that, it is unclear who will be playing quarterback for the Steelers next year; it could be Rodgers, Will Howard, or they could potentially bring in someone else. They will also need some help on the Offensive Line, and in the Wide Receiver room, they currently don’t have any solid WR2 to line up on the other side of DK Metcalf. Defensively, they need some help in the secondary, particularly at corner, but they have the cap space and draft picks to fill all of these holes relatively quickly.
Free Agents to Watch
Kyler Murray could be an interesting name to watch as a potential Quarterback for the Steelers next season. They could certainly do better at quarterback, but he is the best quarterback available on the open market. For wide receivers to complement DK Metcalf, they could look at Romeo Doubs or Jauan Jennings, and could also look at Tyquan Thornton or maybe even take the big swing for Alec Pierce.
Top Goals
The quarterback issue is entirely contingent on Aaron Rodgers right now, but it might be smart to bring in a QB in free agency before the decision is made, just in case Rodgers decides he doesn’t want to come back. The Steelers have a good amount of draft picks (12) entering this offseason, and they should use them to spark a youth movement throughout the roster and get them back on track.
Cover Image Courtesy of NFL.com
