It feels like NFL free agency has been roaring for a week, with more than half of Gregg Rosenthal's Top 101 free agents already off the market.
But Wednesday marks the actual start of the new league year. So for this rundown of what we've learned in the first wave of 2025 free agency, I'm going to focus on the most recent events, while keeping a wider lens on all the movement that has transpired to this point. We still don't know the answers to some major quarterback questions, while several big-name options remain available at wide receiver and on both lines of scrimmage.
Here are some thoughts on the latest moves in the flurry of trades and signings that kicked the offseason into high gear.
1) Denver adds reliable target for Nix. Broncos head coach Sean Payton has made it clear he wants to add offensive weaponry and flexibility for quarterback Bo Nix this offseason, seeking a "joker" type of piece he can move around and use to manipulate defenses. Is newly signed tight end Evan Engram that piece? Well, at the very least, he's part of the solution.
Engram has been a volume receiver the past three years in Jacksonville, averaging 5.4 catches per game in that span. And he was a reliable on-field presence, too, even as the Jaguars' quarterback play vacillated. Engram caught more than 76.7% of the passes thrown his way over that span.
That's an upgrade over the Broncos' top four tight ends from last year. Collectively, they caught 70.8% of their targets, but for a total of 51 catches, 483 and five TDs. Engram alone caught 47 passes in nine games. And, yes, he missed roughly half the season with injuries before being released by the Jaguars this offseason, but he did appear in all 17 games in each of the previous two seasons.
So I view Engram as an upgrade. But he can't be the only one. Engram will be 31 in Week 1, and he's lost the 4.4 speed he boasted coming out of college. Yes, he's a moveable chess piece who can line up in-line, in the slot, flexed out wide and even in the backfield. But Engram has averaged 8.9 yards per reception over his past four seasons, and his longest catch over that span was 36 yards. He's also not a big red-zone threat, with only 19 TD catches since the 2018 season.
I don't believe this signing should at all preclude Payton from seeking more help. If one of the draft's top two tight ends -- Penn State's Tyler Warren or Michigan's Colston Loveland -- is there for the Broncos in Round 1 (they currently own pick No. 20 overall), they should strongly consider either player. There also are some good Day 2 options.
Adding Engram is an encouraging start, but he's not known as a run blocker and can only fix some of the Broncos' problems. I'd like to see them pair Engram with another new TE addition, unless Payton believes that one of his holdovers can make a big jump up in their play.
2) Cowboys scoop up former first-rounders. Kaiir Elam just never quite worked in Buffalo. It happens; we've seen plenty of top-50 draft picks fail to make an impact in one spot, only to reemerge elsewhere. That's the hope for the Cowboys, who were badly in need of CB talent and have had some success with reclamation projects in recent years.
That said, I was a bit surprised the Bills were able to extract much of anything for Elam, who logged two interceptions and six passes defensed in 29 games over the past three seasons, much less the top-175 pick they snagged from Dallas as part of Wednesday's deal. Buffalo doesn't have a third-round selection (it went to the Browns in exchange for Amari Cooper), but it will have extra picks in Rounds 2, 4, 5 and 6, even after shipping away a sixth in the Elam swap.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane and his staff haven't always crushed their first-round selections outside of Josh Allen, but they have found some real gems outside of that round, including Taron Johnson, Spencer Brown, Khalil Shakir, Terrel Bernard, Ray Davis and others. Perhaps this year's draft class can help replenish some of the missing depth and add some youth to a roster that was on the older side a year ago.
As for the Cowboys, they didn't stop trading for former first-rounders there, later acquiring LB Kenneth Murray from Tennessee. The sixth-year pro has yet to become a star, but he has improved his tackling in recent years. Dallas still hasn't splurged for a free agent in many years, but if the Cowboys aren't going to spend big, there's some sense in taking a fixer-upper approach.
3) Bosa bolsters Buffalo's D. On a one-year deal worth up to $15.6 million, Joey Bosa appears to be a solid addition -- as long as the Bills know what they're getting.
Over the past three seasons, he has played in 28 games and missed 23, thanks to a slew of injuries. The reality is, though he doesn't turn 30 years old until July, Bosa appears to no longer be a three-down, 800-snap player, and he hasn't for some time now.
It might be too simple to say this is a one-for-one replacement for Von Miller, who is being released by the team after settling into a 20-25-snap role, mainly on passing downs, the past few seasons in Buffalo. But that's roughly what I expect for Bosa -- perhaps a tad more -- at this stage of his career.
The Chargers asked Bosa to carry a bit of a heavier load last year, somewhat out of need to fill out a slightly shallow defensive front, but I don't think Buffalo should be counting on Bosa to be a true bookend opposite Greg Rousseau, who was just handed a major extension. In a perfect world, Bosa and A.J. Epenesa will split work at one spot, with Rousseau at the other.
The Bills' formula is no secret: They want to be a takeaway and big-play defense while rushing four most often. They've ranked near the top of the league in fumbles and interceptions the past few seasons, and Bosa is among the active leaders in forced fumbles (tied for 16th). He also still brings some juice as a pass rusher, and that was an area where Buffalo fell off last season, so Bosa can help.
But it all hinges on his health, and the Bills have to be prepared for Bosa to miss time. If the past three seasons mean anything, counting on 17 games from him would appear to be quixotic.
4) Pierce says goodbye. A fond farewell to Ravens NT Michael Pierce, who announced his retirement Wednesday after eight seasons in the NFL. Pierce's journey was a feel-good story, and not just for those of us who are saps for the big guys. He was also an undrafted free agent in 2016 who carved out a role in Baltimore, earned a nice payday in Minnesota and then, in 2022, found his way back to Baltimore, where it all started.
And there are few better ways to cap a career for a 350-plus pounder than what Pierce managed. At home in Week 18, on his final regular-season snap, Pierce dropped into coverage and jumped Bailey Zappe's errant throw, recording his *first* career pick. I still wish Pierce had tried to house it (and he might have been able to!), but he made the smart play and went down. Then he was rightfully mobbed by his teammates.
The writing seemed to be on the wall as far as his role with the Ravens. Last season, he became a part-time nose tackle, ceding snaps to Travis Jones. Pierce might not have been able to win a Super Bowl, but he bucked the odds to become a fine player, not to mention a favorite among fans and in the locker room.
5) Steelers take a swing on Slay. Darius Slay was connected to the Steelers over the past few days, though he maintained the possibility of returning to Philadelphia remained alive. The latter hypothetical became null and void on Wednesday when Slay joined the Steelers on a one-year, $10 million deal.
I'm always a bit leery about older cornerbacks in general, and I am not further reassured by the 34-year-old Slay's recent quote about wanting "to play one more year, for sure," which seems to leave open the possibility he won't play any more. What can the Steelers reasonably get from him?
Slay isn't the playmaker he once was, with only two picks over his past 37 regular-season games and none in his past 20, although he did intercept a pass in the playoffs and has gotten his hands on plenty of pass breakups in that span. It would be reasonable to assume the six-time Pro Bowler has lost a step.
But the Steelers needed bodies at the position, and adding Slay and Brandin Echols gives them two more outside corners to utilize opposite Joey Porter Jr., preventing them from having to hope Cory Trice Jr. develops. Now they might just need some competition at nickel, where Beanie Bishop made some early noise as an undrafted rookie last season before fading.
The Steelers already had an older roster prior to adding Slay, and they might even get older when they settle on a quarterback, which ups the ante for the 2025 season. This says to me Mike Tomlin still believes this team is close to contending for a Super Bowl -- or as close as a team can get without having a starting QB lined up yet.
6) Tennessee upgrades O-line -- and tips hand on draft plans? The Titans did not get off to a blazing fast start in free agency, but they appear to have shored up one big concern: the offensive line.
I know it might have been eyebrow-raising to see Dan Moore land a deal that gives him a higher APY ($20.5 million) than Ronnie Stanley ($20 million), especially given that Moore was credited by Pro Football Focus with allowing 12 sacks in Pittsburgh last season. But Moore was blocking for Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, the most-sacked and fourth-most sacked quarterbacks, respectively, over the past four NFL seasons. That context matters.
Moore, 26, might not be a world-beater, but he's an upgrade at an important position. Another upgrade came Wednesday with the addition of guard Kevin Zeitler, a pro's pro who turned 35 a few days ago but can still operate at a high level for the short term. Both have been extremely durable over the past few years, which is a big help.
Those moves would allow the Titans to kick 2024 first-rounder JC Latham to right tackle (his best position, in my opinion) and push Nicholas Petit-Frere to the bench. In recent years, Tennessee gave a healthy amount of snaps to Petit-Frere and outgoing free agents Dillon Radunz and Daniel Brunskill, players who are good as backups but demand an upgrade as starters. With a few signings, the Titans appear to have done just that.
These moves might also give us a hint as to the Titans' plans with the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. We've seen no movement at quarterback and no reported visits from the likes of Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers. Sure, they could take Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter, both of whom could be the "generational talent" they don't want to pass up at No. 1.
Yet, this very much feels like table-setting to make Cam Ward the first pick. I'm sure the Titans have not bailed all the hay on that decision yet, and passing on elite non-QBs like Carter or Hunter can be dangerous business, unless they're sold on the idea that Ward can be a difference-maker. But they can't just march into 2025 with Will Levis and a scrap-heap veteran and expect to energize the fanbase after three straight losing seasons.
If I had to guess right now based on the moves they've made to this point, Ward feels like a strong possibility. We're still six weeks removed from the draft, but to me, that's becoming a more likely situation right now.
