Realistic Top 25 2025 NFL Free Agents

One of the pitfalls of top free agent lists is that teams have numerous avenues to preventing those players from hitting the market, including the franchise tag and exclusive negotiating rights to an extension up until free agency opens. This list is an attempt to take that into account, taking our Top 2025 NFL Free Agents and filtering out the players who seem most likely to stay put. 

That involves a little bit of speculation and dot-connecting, but at this point in the season we can start to take educated guesses at that while still acknowledging a lot is going to change in the next two months. One useful takeaway from this exercise, though: this is not going to be a banner year for free agency. There are just a handful of potential candidates for the franchise tag and this might be the fewest amount of tags since 2014 when just three players were tendered. 

These are also the fewest players I’ve removed from the top free agents list while doing this exercise. We’ll see if that’s a good or a bad thing come March. Here’s a look at the Top 25 2025 Free Agents who could most realistically be available. 

1 – Bengals WR Tee Higgins

Higgins has been exceptional this year when he’s been on the field and made a compelling case for why Cincinnati should find a way to pay him alongside No. 1 WR Ja’Marr Chase and franchise QB Joe Burrow. But the Bengals have a defined way of doing business, and the odds of them reaching a deal with Higgins remain slim, especially with Chase due for a new deal and a lot of work needed on the defensive side of the ball. 

Cincinnati’s loss will be another team’s gain. Higgins has 43 catches for 558 yards and five touchdowns in just seven games. He’s capable of being a primary outside No. 1 receiver for another team. A deal in the range of $28 to $30 million a year is very much on the table. 

2 – Chiefs G Trey Smith

Smith has been one of the biggest draft success stories for Kansas City after arriving as a sixth-round pick in 2021 and playing a huge role in the Chiefs’ single-season turnaround on the offensive line. Now it’s time for him to cash in as one of the better young guards in football, and that could mean a $20 million per year deal. 

It’s an open question about whether the Chiefs will pay that. They’ve dedicated a lot of cash to the offensive line with C Creed Humphrey getting an extension and veteran G Joe Thuney and RT Jawaan Taylor also on significant deals. The Chiefs have shown a willingness to let players walk if they don’t think the value matches up, and guard is typically viewed as a position that’s easier to find starters. 

3 – Falcons C Drew Dalman

Dalman has quietly become one of the better centers in the league and is just 25. Normally teams want to bend over backward to keep those kinds of players. But Atlanta’s cap situation is tight heading into 2025 and they’ve already spent big money on G Chris Lindstrom, RT Kaleb McGary and LT Jake Matthews. It’s hard for teams to pay everyone and center is another one of those positions that’s a little lower on the totem pole when it comes to relative value. 

The other thing to note is the franchise tag groups all offensive linemen together and doesn’t separate between tackles, a high-demand, premium position, and guards and centers, typically lower in demand. So for the Falcons to tag Dalman to keep him from testing the market, it could cost as much as $25 million. The top of the center market is $18 million per year. 

4 – Vikings QB Sam Darnold

Between Darnold’s legitimate improvement in 2024 and the number of teams who will need help at quarterback in 2025, it’s shaping up to be a quality market for the Vikings’ starter. All else being equal, Darnold would probably love to stay in Minnesota and the Vikings do have proof of concept with him. But first-round QB J.J. McCarthy looms as the future that the team invested heavily in. That will cap how much the Vikings can invest in Darnold, both financially and otherwise, relative to other teams, and Darnold would probably prefer to go to a team where his outlook is more certain. 

5 – Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley

Stanley took a pay cut to remain with the Ravens this year after several injury-riddled years. At one point he was one of the game’s best young tackles. He’s taken steps back toward that level of play this year and is set to be a free agent, but the Ravens will have limited cash to budget this offseason and will need to make hard decisions up and down the roster. That could mean Stanley is playing elsewhere. 

6 – Chiefs WR Marquise Brown

Brown signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs to boost his value and try to cash in on the booming market at the wide receiver position. A preseason injury has nerfed the high hopes both sides had for the partnership. It looks like Brown will get a few games at the end of the year and in the playoffs to try and put out some good tape, but another one-year deal seems most likely. It could very well come from Kansas City. 

7 – Bills WR Amari Cooper

Cooper has just 10 catches for 136 yards and a touchdown since the Bills acquired him in a trade, but a wrist injury that required a hard cast and adjusting to a midseason playbook change are mitigating factors. He has five games plus the playoffs to build a case for Buffalo to either bring him back or for his next team. Either way, the veteran will likely end up testing the market. 

8 – Texans WR Stefon Diggs

A torn ACL ended a contract year for Diggs after he was one of the Texans’ many blockbuster additions this past offseason. He had 47 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games before going down. At this point in his career, Diggs looks more like an underneath slot receiver than the dynamic playmaker he was at his peak. The vibes were good with him and the Texans before he got hurt, so he could elect to come back, but as a part of the trade his deal was shortened to give him a chance to test free agency and it feels likely he’ll see what’s on the market first. 

9 – Chargers OLB Khalil Mack

The 33-year-old Mack isn’t on the same pace as he was last year when he piled up 17 sacks in a turn-back-the-clock season. He has just 4.5 sacks in 2024 and is playing fewer snaps, but continues to be an impact player. It feels like Mack still has some gas in the tank, but at his age, it will be interesting to see what the Chargers want to do. 

10 – Jets DE Haason Reddick

The 2024 season probably can’t end soon enough for Reddick, who’s been embroiled in a contract dispute for much of the year. He’ll get a chance at unrestricted free agency and a new deal, which is what he was pushing for the whole time, but his market is likely going to be more tepid than he expects because of how the last 10 months have played out. Still, he’s an established sack artist and those guys have value. 

11 – Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence

Lawrence is on an expiring contract and the veteran could be lost in the shuffle as the Cowboys continue to reshape their roster around high-priced core players like QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb and the next player in line for a mega deal, LB Micah Parsons. 

12 – Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins

Hopkins has been an important addition for the Chiefs, as his veteran savvy and vise-grip hands have been a perfect fit for the offense in its current form. If he wants to chase a ring (or another ring depending on how this season goes), it could make a lot of sense to return to Kansas City. If maximizing his value is the most important thing for Hopkins on his next contract, though, that almost certainly will be with a different team. 

13 – Jets LT Tyron Smith

Smith is once again poised to finish a season on injured reserve. While the nearly 34-year-old tackle still grades well in metrics from Pro Football Focus and ESPN, he’s on pace for a career-worst year in terms of sacks allowed. The highs are there but the lows are as low and as frequent as they’ve been at any point in his career. The Jets will be entering a rebuilding phase in 2025 and it’ll be interesting to see how Smith’s market pans out. It was soft this past spring outside of New York. 

14 – Steelers QB Justin Fields

Going into 2025, we will have four years of tape on Fields with two different teams and it still feels like we’re not a whole lot closer to knowing who he is as an NFL player. His early-season stint with the Steelers was a little better than some of his work in Chicago but featured a lot of the same pitfalls with regards to accuracy and holding the ball too long. While his market was soft when the Bears looked to trade him this past offseason, there are too many teams that need quarterback help in 2025. Fields will be able to find a home and a chance to compete for a starting job, and we’ll see where it goes from there. 

15 – Jets CB D.J. Reed

Reed would probably be a starter on the All-Underrated team for his work over the past few years. However, for a Jets team in transition, it does not make sense to spend a lot on a 28-year-old cornerback. 

16 – Ravens WR Diontae Johnson

Johnson could be available again much sooner than March, as there seems to be some simmering frustration between him and the Ravens due to his lack of playing time since being traded by the Panthers to Baltimore. How much interest there is in him around the league remains to be seen. Johnson has a 1,000-yard season under his belt and various advanced metrics like ESPN’s Open Score that chart route separation data have been high on him for years. But he’s been available for the entire league and been traded twice for a pittance in the past nine months. 

17 – Eagles DE Josh Sweat

Sweat has been a productive pass rusher for Philadelphia for the past few years, but the team has a few other notable free agents like DT Milton Williams, OL Mekhi Becton and LB Zack Baun and just around $30 million in cap space to work with. Whether or not Sweat returns likely depends on the contract he’s seeking. 

18 – Saints DE Chase Young

Young signed a one-year deal with the Saints when a big multi-year contract didn’t materialize for him this past offseason due to concerns about his health and prior inconsistency. In 2024, Young has just 3.5 sacks in 12 games, but he’s stayed healthy and the advanced metrics show he’s been one of the more disruptive edge rushers in the league. The Saints would probably love to keep him but it remains to be seen if they’ll be able to afford to. 

19 – Bills CB Rasul Douglas

Douglas has been a solid starter for the Bills but is 29 years old and there are some younger options behind him Buffalo might be ready to move toward. It likely all depends on his market. 

20 – Vikings LT Cam Robinson

Minnesota traded for Robinson to patch the hole left when star LT Christian Darrisaw went down with a season-ending torn ACL. Darrisaw has a rehab process ahead of him but should be back in 2025, meaning Robinson will be elsewhere. He’s a competent left tackle even if he’s not a top-level player, and the dearth of quality tackles around the league means Robinson will be in high demand. 

21 – Ravens OL Patrick Mekari

Mekari’s versatility to play all five positions on the offensive line made him a valuable asset for Baltimore the past several years even though he wasn’t starting. This year, the Ravens have needed Mekari to be an every-game starter and the results have been a little more uneven. Still, he should have some value, either to Baltimore or another OL-needy team. The latter might be able to offer Mekari more of a role and a bigger salary. 

22 – Rams LT Alaric Jackson

Jackson has developed from a former undrafted free agent to someone who’s started 25 games over the past two seasons at left tackle for the Rams. It’s a rousing success story. It’ll be interesting to see if the Rams pursue an extension. Tackles are hard to find but Jackson is closer to solid starter than Pro Bowl caliber. 

23 – Vikings S Camryn Bynum

A key piece in an ascending Vikings defense, Bynum has had some extension talks with the Vikings this season but those have yet to result in a new deal. Safeties have been interesting to watch over the past few years because the market can fluctuate. Last year was a bit of a down year because there were so many quality players available the supply depressed the demand. Bynum might still end up re-signing with Minnesota but he could look to explore his market first. 

24 – Vikings RB Aaron Jones

Jones has been a quality player for the Vikings this year but at this stage of his career he probably will be limited to one-year deals, even if the running back position as a whole is making a bit of a comeback. Minnesota has been conscious of managing Jones’ workload this year, just like the Packers were the year before. Green Bay elected to sign workhorse RB Josh Jacobs and let Jones go, so the Vikings could end up doing the same. 

25 – Steelers RB Najee Harris

Harris is in position to reap the benefits of the running back market’s revival because Pittsburgh declined his fifth-year option last year, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2025. That’s why I’m leaning toward Harris testing the market but the Steelers have several options to bring back their former first-rounder, including the franchise tag which could be around $13.5 million guaranteed for one year. 

Removed

These were the players I removed from our initial list, and the rationale: 

Bucs WR Chris Godwin: Just like fellow WR Mike Evans, seems like the kind of player who wants to be a Buc for life, and he was having a monster year before his injury. 

Steelers QB Russell Wilson: He’s been a big part of Pittsburgh’s success and probably won’t be in a rush for a change of scenery. The two sides should be able to figure out the money. The tag could be an option. 

Broncos LT Garett Bolles: Denver will have cap space to work with and Bolles has been a rock on the blind side. He’s an extension priority and a legitimate candidate for the franchise tag to buy time to negotiate. 

Bears G Teven Jenkins: The Bears’ offensive line catches a lot of flak but Jenkins is a good player and someone it feels Chicago will want to build around rather than let walk for nothing — assuming the price is reasonable. 

Dolphins S Jevon Holland: The Dolphins have salary cap challenges but it’s tough to be in the business of letting 24-year-old foundational pieces like Holland leave. They’ll have to pay up to keep him but have the tag as a fallback. They couldn’t afford to keep DT Christian Wilkins last year but Holland will be cheaper, albeit at a less premium position. 

Saints CB Paulson Adebo: Saints GM Mickey Loomis mentioned Adebo as one of the young players that made him optimistic about the franchise’s outlook. While the team has some work to do to get back in the black before the 2025 league year, they should have enough space to extend Adebo and Loomis’ comments indicate the motivation will be there. 

Cardinals S Budda Baker: Baker has continued to be a leader on and off the field for the Arizona defense, and his production remains strong. For a Cardinals team looking to take another step and keep growing, he’s a valuable building block piece even if he (probably) doesn’t have another 10 years to play.