2025 NFL Free Agency Live Grades

Free agency is set to kick off today once the legal tampering period opens at noon, EST, on Monday. We’ll be breaking down the biggest moves here with grades as they happen in our 2025 NFL Free Agency Live Tracker & Grades. 

All signings and trades must wait until the start of the new league year on Wednesday at 4 PM EST to become official — and usually there’s at least one deal a year that falls through so this is an important distinction. 

Plenty of big moves have already been agreed to this weekend, and there’s a recap of them below as well.

Keep checking back here for updates throughout the day as free agency gets underway!

2025 NFL Free Agency Live Grades

Packers Signing G Aaron Banks, Four Years $77M

Grade: C+

This has a case as the most surprising signing of the day. The Packers made splashes in free agency last year but one position they have rarely prioritized spending big on in free agency is guard. A lot of that is because few teams have had as much success developing mid and late-round linemen into quality starting-caliber players. But Packers GM Brian Gutekunst evidently felt his starting five needed a major boost, and pounced with an eye-popping deal for Banks. 

At $19.25 million a year, Banks moves into seventh on the list of highest-paid guards and ahead of OL Elgton Jenkins as the team’s highest-paid lineman. Banks’ arrival is also expected to move Jenkins over to guard, ideally solidifying two positions for the Packers. He’s not nearly as established a player as Jenkins but he did have his best season this past year, finishing as PFF’s No. 33 guard. Other teams have had some success spending for guards in recent years, as it’s usually a more projectable position than others, and while Green Bay definitely overpaid based on Banks’ resume to this point, they should be able to get out of the deal after a year if necessary thanks to how they traditionally structure contracts. 

Cardinals Signing OLB Josh Sweat, Four Years $76.4M

Grade: B-

There was an easy connection to draw between Sweat and the Cardinals in free agency. Arizona has had a massive need for more firepower in the front seven for a few years now. Sweat is a solid starting edge rusher coming off a great season who knows both Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon and DC Nick Rallis very well from when all three were in Philadelphia together for two years. He’s a good player at a position of need who makes the Cardinals better. 

Having said that, Sweat has just one year of more than double-digit sacks in his career and he’s never been the No. 1 priority for opposing blocking schemes. Philadelphia always had the benefit of a strong front four and quality rotation. At $19 million a year, the Cardinals are paying a premium and not necessarily getting a premium return on that investment. 

Commanders Trading For Texans LT Laremy Tunsil

Texans grade: C+

Commanders grade: B

This deal came out of nowhere on Monday and is a major shakeup for two hopeful Super Bowl contenders in 2025. Houston will get third and seventh-round picks this year while giving up a fourth, plus second and fourth-round picks in 2026. They shed Tunsil’s salary, which is around $21 million this year and next. 

Let’s start from Houston’s point of view. On the surface, trading one of the best left tackles in football makes no sense for a team whose biggest weakness was protecting the quarterback in 2024. We’ve seen multiple tackles with just a semblance of a pulse get snapped up for big money, and Houston is voluntarily choosing to go looking for a new left tackle in that depleted pool. 

The return back from Washington isn’t particularly remarkable at first glance either. The best pick in the deal doesn’t come back to Houston until 2026 and they only moved up one round in 2025. The Texans will net three additional selections in total. However, the net value comes out to at least a first-round pick depending on which trade calculator you use, and on the Jimmy Johnson chart the value is equal to the No. 29 pick, which coincidentally is where Washington’s 2025 first-rounder sits. It opens an interesting philosophical question; would you rather have one first-round pick or three additional picks that add up to equivalent value? We know what Houston preferred. 

Tunsil has largely been an elite tackle, but he was not blameless as Houston’s offensive line underperformed last year. He’s also been managing a knee injury for a couple of years now, and it’s possible the Texans had some longevity concerns. There is a chance this deal ages better than what it looks like right now, but that will all depend on how the Texans replace Tunsil. 

For the Commanders, this is exactly the kind of big swing a team with a star quarterback on a rookie contract needs to be looking to make. Tunsil adds real star power to a Washington front five that quite frankly overperformed relative to expectations last year. The deal isn’t without risk given Tunsil’s age and injury history but given how hard tackles are to find, it’s a reasonable price for Washington. 

Colts Signing S Camryn Bynum, Four Years $60M

Grade: B+

Indianapolis zeroed in on Bynum with a four-year contract averaging $15 million a year. It’s a hefty payday but it ranks outside the top five for the position. Bynum has been a steady starter the past three years and is regularly around the ball. He’s  smart player, too, as Vikings DC Brian Flores asked a lot of him moving around the defense the past two years and he responded. He’s a great fit with new Colts DC Lou Anarumo, who probably is the closest analog among the other 31 teams to Flores’ unique system. 

Seahawks Signing QB Sam Darnold, Three Years $100.5M

Grade: C+

As noted below in the grade for Seattle’s trades of Smith and Metcaf, I think the Seahawks are flirting with danger by making such drastic moves. This deal hinges on how the Darnold for Smith swap pans out. Darnold was the better quarterback last year and will likely be cheaper than Smith. He also had a far better supporting cast and less of a track record, with largely poor play in admittedly terrible environments in New York and Carolina. 

The challenge right now is the Seahawks just gave $55 million guaranteed to Darnold when the rest of their supporting cast looks a lot more like the Jets and Panthers teams that Darnold played for rather than his squad in Minnesota last year. The Seahawks need two new starting receivers and still have massive question marks on the interior of the offensive line. Even this past season, Darnold’s weaknesses against pressure were exposed at times. This could end up going very poorly. 

Then again, Darnold is landing in a familiar system with new Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak, one that has had success propping up quarterbacks in the past. Darnold was the No. 3 pick for a reason and he played legitimately well for most of last year, including a virtuoso performance against the Seahawks late in the year that it’s hard not to see as impacting Seattle’s calculus in this move. There is a path to this working out for the Seahawks, perhaps if they hit on the third-round pick they got back in the Smith trade. Overall though it feels like a major risk. 

Jets Signing QB Justin Fields, Two Years $40M

Grade: C+

Fields remains more projection than production at this point of his career despite being in the league for four years. The Jets will be his third team in five seasons. New York needed a quarterback and there weren’t a lot of available options this year. At some point, teams will just be trying to avoid a disaster at the position rather than hit a home run. 

The benefit of signing Fields is he’s still young and is a dynamic rushing threat. The Jets aren’t getting as much of a discount as the Steelers did last year, as they’re giving Fields $30 million guaranteed based on the initial reports, but if he pans out into a starting-level passer, this deal will look pretty good. If not, that’s the price of taking a swing at quarterback. This shouldn’t handicap the Jets from drafting a player or addressing the position in future seasons. 

Patriots Signing DT Milton Williams, Four Years $104M

Grade: B+

The Patriots had the cash this offseason to ensure that if they really wanted a player, they would not be outbid, and that appears to have happened with Williams. After reports that the Panthers were closing in on a deal with the interior pass rusher, the Patriots swooped in with a deal worth $26 million a year, No. 3 among all defensive tackles, with $63 million in guarantees. It’s pricy deal for a player with one true breakout season and a history of playing in a rotational role. 

Still, Williams had a major impact rushing the passer this past season, which is a valuable commodity in the NFL. He’ll be just 26 years old, so his prime years should theoretically still be ahead of him. And the Patriots desperately needed to add talent. They paid a lot for Williams but sometimes you have to pay the cost to be the boss. 

Giants Signing CB Paulson Adebo, Three Years $54M

Grade: B

This deal was initially reported as a three-year, $30 million contract. However, with the Twitter outages, it’s been a hectic day for NFL newsbreakers and that was later updated to a three for $54 million contract. This would have been one of the best deals of the day at $10 million a year.

It’s not nearly as good of a deal at $18 million per, but it’s still defensible. Adebo is just 25 years old and was having a great season when it was cut short by a foot injury. No matter how certain people may try to sell free agency, the reality is you’re buying in the scratch and dent section. It makes more sense for teams to take a big swing on a player who’s still young than one who’s potentially nearing the end of the line. The Giants had a glaring need at No. 2 corner this past year and Adebo gives them a credible shot at a significant upgrade. 

Lions Signing CB D.J. Reed, Three Years $48M

Grade: C+

This was the pivot for the Lions after losing Davis to the Patriots on a lucrative deal. Reed is another 28-year-old corner who’s signing a third contract and has battled some durability issues, though not to the extent of Davis. This deal is a risk for the Lions for the same reason the Patriots’ deal for Davis is a risk for New England — cornerbacks just don’t age gracefully more often than not. 

That said, Reed is cheaper than Davis, so the Lions avoided that mistake. He’s also a gritty player who is a great fit with the Lions, even though he’s a lot smaller than Davis. 

Patriots Signing CB Carlton Davis, Three Years $60M

Grade: C

On paper, this is kind of a fun fit for the Patriots to add some size and muscle across from budding star CB Christian Gonzalez. However, this is a big risk for the Patriots. Davis has never played a full season and at 28 years old in 2025, that’s unlikely to change. Cornerback is a young man’s game and not only is this the third contract for Davis, it’s the biggest of his career. The Patriots have tons of money to spend and need to improve the roster, but $20 million for an aging, injury-prone No. 2 corner does not seem like the soundest investment. 

Titans Sign OT Dan Moore, Four Years $82M

Grade: D+

The early frontrunner for the annual “Who Is That? He Got How Much??” award is Moore, cracking $20 million per year with significant guarantees on a four-year deal despite being a player the Steelers have been trying to replace for a few years now. This is a classic case of supply and demand, as the shortage of even competent tackles around the league drives up the price for everyone. The Titans became well aware of this last year because they struggled to even find a below average player to line up at right tackle despite cycling through several options. 

Moore has started 66 of 68 possible games since being drafted in the fourth round in 2021. There’s something to be said for that, especially because the Steelers kept bringing in competition that Moore kept fending off. This past year was his best, finishing as PFF’s No. 42 overall tackle out of 81 qualifying players. He’s a solid player and does help the Titans get better. 

The problem is Tennessee paid a massive premium for a player whose career-best has been just average, making it tough for them to get value back off this contract. 

Commanders Sign DT Javon Kinlaw, Three Years $45M

Grade: D

The first truly perplexing deal of the free agency period — the Chiefs’ deal for Moore is close, but he at least plays a position where the scarcity is a major factor — I have a tough time wrapping my head around this deal for Washington. Kinlaw is a former first-round pick by the 49ers when Commanders GM Adam Peters was in San Francisco’s front office, but he’s never really come close to living up to that potential. His best year was last year after signing a one-year prove-it contract with the Jets and notching 4.5 sacks, but he was a liability against the run and part of the unit’s overall regression. 

Washington is choosing to cut veteran DT Jonathan Allen, who was owed a little more than $16 million in 2025, to turn around and spend twice that in guaranteed money on Kinlaw. Evidently Washington thinks Kinlaw has more left in the tank than Allen, a well-established NFL commodity. We’ll see how it plays out. 

Chiefs Sign OT Jaylon Moore, Two Years $30M

Grade: C

This is the fallout of the Chiefs not being able to go after Ronnie Stanley when the Ravens locked him up. They had to pivot to a less proven option, and that was Moore, who got a significant pay-day despite playing sparingly as a backup tackle in San Francisco the past four years. Moore started five games for LT Trent Williams last year and did grade out well, per PFF, with just one sack allowed. However the sample size is small and the dollar sign here is big for the Chiefs. It’s not the biggest overpay of the day at tackle, which saves the grade a little bit. 

Bears Sign C Drew Dalman, Three Years $42M

Grade: B+

Chicago’s offensive line makeover continued with the addition of Dalman, giving the Bears a completely brand-new trio of starters along the interior. At $14 million a year, Dalman is the No. 2 center in terms of APY, but dramatically behind Chiefs C Creed Humphrey at the top of the market at $18 million per year. He’s not a household name but he’s a tough player and smart (Stanford graduate). Pro Football Focus has had him as a top four center the past two years and we had him high in our free agent rankings. This feels like a quality meat and potatoes move for the Bears, who had cash to spend coming into this week. 

Buccaneers Re-sign WR Chris Godwin, Three Years $66M

Grade: A

There was a persistent feeling that Godwin and Tampa Bay would be able to work things out to keep him with the team, even as free agency inched closer and closer. In the end, the same thing happened with Godwin that happened with fellow WR Mike Evans last year. Both veteran wideouts got within a whisker of free agency and both ended up leaving some money on the table to remain with the same team. 

For Godwin, $22 million a year coming off a severe ankle injury with $44 million in guarantees is still an exceptionally strong pay-day. He was in the middle of a career year when he went down and the good news for him is it wasn’t a severe ligament injury, so while he’s nearly 30 there’s a good reason to think he can remain productive for the Bucs. 

Panthers Extend CB Jaycee Horn, Four Years $100M

Grade: B+

There’s some sticker shock with this deal, as at $25 million a year Horn is now the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, ahead of Jalen Ramsey, Patrick Surtain II and plenty more. It’s a premium for Horn who is coming off the healthiest year of his career in 2024, but still hasn’t played a full 17-game season. The stats for Horn aren’t necessarily standout either, with just one interception, 13 pass deflections and a pedestrian PFF grade. 

That said, Horn still made the Pro Bowl despite playing for a historically bad Panthers defense. He was one of the few bright spots each week and played a lot better than the stats indicate. Carolina has had precious few draft successes who they’ve been able to retain over the past few years, so getting a deal done with Horn was important. It was also important to get ahead of other deals at the cornerback market that could have pushed the price even higher, especially if Horn built on this past season with another strong year in 2025. 

Overall, it would have been nice for the Panthers to get this deal done at closer to $22-$23 million a year, but the past few weeks have driven home the maxim that it’s better to get core players under contract sooner rather than later, and Carolina accomplished that with this deal even if they slightly overpaid and took on some risk. 

Chargers Re-signed OLB Khalil Mack, One Year $18M

Grade: B+

Rather than losing both Mack and OLB Joey Bosa, the two starting edge rushers last year, the Chargers worked out a deal to keep Mack in Los Angeles for another season. Though $18 million may seem like a premium for just six sacks, Mack clearly had a lot left in the tank last year, coming in as PFF‘s No. 5 edge rusher. They also credited him with 52 total pressures, 29th among all edge rushers.

The Chargers had gobs of cap space to afford this deal and it gives them flexibility to address the position in the draft or with a lower-cost deal later on. Mack had a healthy market but still got a strong number for being 34 years old and gets to try to help the Chargers build on the progress made last year. 

Seahawks Traded WR D.K. Metcalf To Steelers For 2025 2nd (No. 52), 6th/7th Pick Swap

Seahawks Grade: C+

Steelers Grade: B-

Seattle continued its offseason makeover on offense, auctioning off Metcalf after dealing starting QB Geno Smith to the Raiders and cutting veteran WR Tyler Lockett. The return for Metcalf is solid, as after starting off with an asking price of a first and third-round pick, a second-round selection is solid value — much better than having to settle for a third-round pick again like in the Smith trade. From a value perspective, the Seahawks didn’t get robbed. 

The bigger question for the Seahawks is what the plan on offense is, as outside of WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and RB Kenneth Walker there are major question marks at quarterback, receiver and offensive line. New OC Klint Kubiak is going to have his hands full. We’ll see how the next week unfolds for the Seahawks but for now the decision to trade Metcalf seems like they are voluntarily taking a step back when they didn’t necessarily have to. 

Metcalf isn’t a perfect receiver but he does things on the football field that not a lot of other players are physically capable of. He’s an outstanding deep threat due to his combination of size and speed, and he’s a better route runner than given credit for. Consistency is the biggest negative, both at the catch point and with his effort. Regardless, the Steelers are getting the big-time playmaker they’ve been searching for over the past year-plus. 

The question for the Steelers is whether they can properly utilize both Metcalf and WR George Pickens in OC Arthur Smith‘s offense when we still don’t know who’s going to be throwing the ball. If Pittsburgh brings back QB Justin Fields, he had a hard enough time getting the ball to Pickens, let alone a second No. 1-caliber option. This is also a potentially volatile situation with two mercurial top wideouts, one of whom just got paid a boatload of money, one of whom is still waiting for his first big pay day. How the Steelers manage contract talks with Pickens is going to be a major story in the coming months. 

Rams Signed WR Davante Adams, Two Years $46M

Grade: B

The Rams haven’t moved on from WR Cooper Kupp yet but that’s even more of a formality now that Adams is in the fold. Adams essentially takes Kupp’s slot on the roster as the veteran No. 2 receiver, and he’s on the books for a similar amount. 

While both are similar in age, they’re quite different receivers. Kupp was a zone specialist who excelled at moving around the formation and contributing both in the passing game and the running game. Adams, meanwhile, is a savant at beating man coverage, even if he’s not as dynamic as he was in his prime a few years ago. That could explain why the Rams are willing to pay a premium to make this switch. The success of the deal depends on how much exactly Adams has left in the tank but he still topped 1,000 yards last year despite playing for multiple teams and being traded midseason. 

Seahawks Traded QB Geno Smith To Raiders For 2025 3rd (No. 92)

Seahawks Grade: C

Raiders Grade: A-

How you feel about Smith likely colors how you feel about this deal. If you think he’s an aging and declining quarterback who’s been found out since his breakout year in 2022, this is a sharp move by Seattle to avoid paying Smith a lucrative contract while pivoting to a younger passer at a similar price point while banking an extra Day 2 pick. 

If you think Smith is criminally underrated and a borderline top-ten passer, then this is a baffling move by the Seahawks and a steal by the Raiders. Personally I tend to fall in the latter camp. Smith’s numbers have fallen off since his first year as a starter but that’s more indicative of the struggles Seattle has had around him on offense, including with his protection. 

No player has more true dropbacks (non play-action, non screen) than Geno Smith does this season. On such snaps, he is:

4th in completion percentage
1st (!) in on-target rate
5th in success rate
8th in 1D+TD rate

…despite seeing an above average pressure rate of 35.5%

— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) December 9, 2024

Smith did a lot to make the offense look better than it was, and that was hammered home when backup QB Sam Howell had to play late in the year and looked completely overwhelmed. And even if Smith signs a new deal at the top end of what he’s looking for, reported to be $45 million a year, that’s still a significant discount from the top of the quarterback market, particularly with how the cap is set to grow. 

Seattle clearly didn’t put the same valuation on Smith and thinks he’s more or less replaceable. Time will tell if GM John Schneider is right but he’s making some big bets between this and the Metcalf trade and putting his neck on the line as much as any other time in his tenure with the Seahawks. I think the Seahawks are going to find that they took Smith’s level of play for granted. 

As for the Raiders, Smith gets to reunite with HC Pete Carroll who was his biggest believer and responsible for giving him his shot in 2022. The Raiders have toiled in quarterback mediocrity for a while and Smith is the best passer they had realistic access to this year. Getting him for only a third-round pick is a steal, even with his age and the extension cost. There’s a high bar to contending, particularly in the AFC West, but Smith significantly raises the floor for this Raiders team. Neither he nor Carroll are realistically part of the long-term future for Las Vegas, but they should instantly help re-establish a positive organizational culture that will outlive them. 

Patriots Signed OLB Harold Landry, Three Years $43.5M

Grade: C+

Landry is a familiar face for new Patriots HC Mike Vrabel, who was part of the organization when Tennessee drafted Landry and later signed him to a major extension. Unfortunately the veteran player hasn’t been the same since tearing his ACL and missing the 2022 season. The 19.5 sacks over the past two years look solid on paper but Landry has been dramatically less impactful on a down-to-down basis. Per PFF, he had just 30 total pressures last season on over 400 pass rushing snaps. 

Landry should start in an otherwise barren Patriots edge rushing group and he does fit the new scheme under Vrabel and DC Terrell Williams, who also coached him in Tennessee. But New England paid a premium for a declining player who might not have had many options elsewhere. 

Ravens Re-signed LT Ronnie Stanley, Three Years $60M

Grade: A

Stanley didn’t recapture his previous form in 2024 after battling injuries for several years, but he made it about 80 to 85 percent of the way back and was a rock-solid starting tackle for the Ravens. Because of the dearth of quality starting tackles leaguewide, Stanley was shaping up to have a hot market as an unrestricted free agent, with the Patriots, Chiefs and probably other teams lining up to throw a bag at him.

Instead, the Ravens locked Stanley up on a long-term deal for less than what his market was reportedly going to be ($21-$23 million a year, with possible upside to $24 million APY). Market reports should always be taken with a grain of salt this time of year as agents try to gin up interest in their clients but regardless of the price it’s a huge win for the Ravens to not be searching for a new starting left tackle at this point.