One of the top free agent linebackers has yet to find a home. Bobby Okereke, a former third-round pick out of Stanford by the Colts in 2019, is still on the market after being cut by the Giants in a cost-cutting move earlier this offseason. 

Setting aside an injury-shortened year in 2024, Okereke has topped 130 tackles in each of his last four healthy seasons between Indy and New York. He’s a turnover machine, with multiple combined forced fumbles and interceptions in each of the last five seasons. Primarily a coverage backer, Okereke struggled to defend the run in 2025, but that’s an area he’s usually more reliable in.

While he’s not a star, Okereke is a stable starter who offers a high floor as both a run defender and in coverage. The Giants moved on from him this offseason and instead signed Tremaine Edmunds to a big contract, a notable upgrade for them. But Okereke is just entering his age-30 season and can still be a starter in this league, as a veteran brought in to stabilize a young core or as the final piece to a team looking to push over the top.

As far as his contract goes, that’s a little harder to pin down. At this point, he’s probably looking at a one-year deal, and I’d expect that to come in around for just below $3 million. That puts him in the same rough range as guys like Drue Tranquill, Denzel Perryman, Tyrel Dodson, Malcolm Rodriguez and Akeem Davis-Gaither.

Okereke, 29, is a former third-round pick of the Colts out of Stanford back in 2019. He played out the final year of his four-year, $3,403,116 rookie contract that included an $883,113 signing bonus.  

Okereke was testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NFL career when he agreed to a four-year contract worth $40 million and included $22 million guaranteed with the Giants before the 2023 season. 

He was entering the final year of that deal when the Giants released him. 

In 2025, Okereke appeared in all 17 games for the Giants and recorded 143 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, six pass defenses and one fumble recovery. 

We have him included in our Top 100 Available NFL Free Agents list. 

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals need a linebacker in a bad way. They had the worst linebacker corps in the NFL by a margin last season, starting a pair of rookies alongside career special-teamer Oren Burks. Second-rounder Demetrius Knight Jr. had his moments as a rookie and has a promising future, and fourth-rounder Barrett Carter showed some upside too. But together, those three players all ranked among the six worst linebackers in the league, per PFF.

Cincinnati didn’t draft a single linebacker in 2026. Eric Gentry from USC was the most notable addition as an undrafted free agent, and he reportedly struggled in rookie minicamp. It was widely considered a strong linebacker class, with starting-caliber prospects readily available into the fourth round. The Bengals saw value elsewhere and capitalized, turning in a pretty good class all told, but it doesn’t solve their linebacker issues.

Critically, the Bengals aren’t supposed to be a rebuilding team, either. Letting your young guns develop is important, but Cincy can’t afford to wait around for that while they’re supposed to be in a Super Bowl window. The pressure’s on after three straight seasons missing the playoffs. Okereke provides a more stable floor at linebacker, important for a defense that underperformed in 2025.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Devin Lloyd is off to Carolina. The Jaguars’ former first-round pick had an exceptional season in a contract year, ranking third among qualifying linebackers in PFF grade and transforming the middle of Jacksonville’s defense. Lloyd became the best middle-field coverage linebacker in the league, vaulting the Jags’ defense to new heights and earning himself a fat payday from the Panthers as a result.

But that leaves Jacksonville to fill his sizable shoes in the middle of their defense. Foyesade Oluokun should be his usual reliable self at one spot, and 2023 fourth-round pick Ventrell Miller has the team’s confidence to slide into Lloyd’s role at the other. Miller spent last season as the Jags’ third linebacker, seeing the field in heavier personnel sets, and is poised to take a step forward in his development.

But even if Miller is ready for that responsibility, the depth behind him and Oluokun is pretty thin. 2025 fourth-round pick Jack Kiser is probably the next up, but he’s unproven. Signing Okereke would provide some competition for Miller as a starter and massively upgrade the depth in a linebacker room that needs it.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys are another team that needs more at linebacker. DeMarvion Overshown should be back and healthy after a devastating knee injury in 2024 that wiped out most of his 2025 season. He returned to play the final few games of the season and will now have a full offseason to work his way back into playing shape, but how he’ll look over the course of an entire season remains to be seen.

Next to Overshown, Dallas traded for Dee Winters from the 49ers during the draft. After Fred Warner’s season-ending injury, Winters was one of the linebackers who stepped up to replace him and keep San Francisco’s season alive. As cool a story as that was, Winters was more passable than good, and relying on him as a primary starter is a risky proposition.

Behind Overshown and Winters, it gets thin quickly. Shemar James started most of last season and graded out as one of the worst linebackers in the league. Even just as injury insurance, the Cowboys need more bodies at the position. Winters was brought in to start, but Okereke would be the third linebacker in base defensive fronts and the primary backup to both Overshown and Winters. As I’ve been saying with him throughout this article, he provides a baseline of linebacker play that the Cowboys need, especially after their defensive struggles last season.

Other teams to watch: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints