The Good, Bad and Ugly: Rams, 49ers Nail 2026 NFL Free Agency

The first wave of free agency is over, so it’s time to examine what every team will look like heading into the draft.

For some, it’s a comfortable feeling. There are a pair of teams in the NFC West who are likely not only ready to go on the clock, but onto the field. In the AFC, the Steelers have to feel confident in what they’ve done.

Then there are others. The Titans and Raiders were both ultra-aggressive in free agency, and yet there’s still so much work to be done. The Giants added a host of former Ravens to their roster in a reunion with coach John Harbaugh, but they still need to add significant pieces in the draft to be a postseason contender.

And speaking of contenders, the Chiefs and Eagles added quality players but not enough to be content, while the Bills, Ravens and Lions have to be eyeing the draft as a key opportunity to ascend from their already reasonably high perches.

But we start in the Golden Gate state, where two teams long on tradition and even longer on Lombardi hopes improved dramatically in March.

Good: Rams, 49ers strengthen Super Bowl hopes

If you thought the NFC West was tough last year, this edition will be even more absurd.

Before the league year began, the Rams sent a whopping four draft picks, including a 2026 first-round selection, to the Chiefs for All-Pro corner Trent McDuffie. Then, on the first day of legal tampering, Los Angeles signed fellow Kansas City corner Jaylen Watson to a three-year, $51 million deal. The Rams, whose weakness was their secondary, now have one of the best, with McDuffie and Watson alongside extended safeties Kam Curl and Quentin Lake.

Meanwhile, the Niners are loaded once more. San Francisco brought in future Hall of Fame receiver Mike Evans on a three-year deal to pair with Ricky Pearsall, tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey. On defense, the 49ers brought back linebacker Dre Greenlaw on a one-year pact. They also traded a third-round choice to the Cowboys for standout defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, who has eight sacks and 46 quarterback hits over the past two seasons.

If we’re looking at winners and losers of the offseason, you could reasonably argue that two playoff teams from the NFC West, and not the one that won the Super Bowl, are the biggest winners so far.

Bad: Contracts handed out to edge rushers

There’s always a position that gets overpaid on the market. A few years ago, the guard market exploded for good-not-great players such as Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis. This year, it was the edge rushers.

Of all the big money handed out this past week, no contract was more inexplicable than Jaelan Phillips getting $120 million, including $80 million guaranteed from the Panthers. Phillips is a solid player who has never had nine sacks in a season and has twice sustained major injuries, including a torn Achilles tendon (2023) and a torn ACL (’24).

Then there’s Boye Mafe, who got $60 million across three years from the Bengals. Mafe is coming off a championship in Seattle, but he contributed sparingly, totaling two sacks and a paltry four quarterback hits despite playing 50% of the snaps. Mafe had nine sacks in 2023 but has never eclipsed 16 quarterback hits. Again, he’s a good player who will be paid like an elite one.

Finally, while Odafe Oweh makes the most sense of the bunch, Washington is taking a big chance by paying him $100 million over four years. Oweh is coming off 7.5 sacks in 2025, splitting time with the Ravens and Chargers. The year before, he had 10 sacks in Baltimore. At 27 years old, there’s a case where Oweh is worth that money, but he’s had 20-plus quarterback hits once in his career. It’s a massive gamble.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby — Maxx Crosby returned to the Raiders after the Ravens called off his trade due to a failed physical. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Ugly: The Ravens’ side of the Maxx Crosby debacle

We were never going to get deep into this column before discussing what happened with Maxx Crosby and the Ravens.

Baltimore’s version: Crosby failed a physical due to his repaired left meniscus, and the trade was voided because of that designation. Is that true? Sure, there’s a reasonable possibility Crosby failed the physical. But the Ravens knew Crosby was coming off surgery and wouldn’t be fully healthy for months.

The more likely reality is Baltimore watched as its roster got ravaged in free agency, including the losses of Tyler Linderbaum, Isaiah Likely, Jordan Stout, Patrick Ricard, Alohi Gilman and Keaton Mitchell, and realized it needed those two first-round picks slated for the Raiders in the Crosby trade. Furthermore, general manager Eric DeCosta had to be considering signing Trey Hendrickson instead, who lingered on the market longer than expected.

Ultimately, Crosby was sent back to Las Vegas, and the Ravens did what many believed was inevitable once the news came down: They signed Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million deal. It all reeks of bad business, even if Baltimore did the best thing for itself.

Good: Kyler Murray ending up in Minnesota for both parties

Sometimes, a divorce is best for everyone. In this case, that axiom certainly holds true.

For the Cardinals, they get to tank their way through 2026 with Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew II before having a shot to land a franchise quarterback next spring. For Kyler Murray, he goes to a team loaded with skill-position talent that managed a 9–8 record last season despite having dreadful quarterback play from J.J. McCarthy (11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions). And for the Vikings, they get a top-15 quarterback when healthy who can make the offense go.

Murray, 28, isn’t a great player. Rather, he’s a solid one who has dealt with injury issues, missing 21 of his last 51 games in Arizona. Coach Kevin O’Connell has long been seen as an offensive guru, and while Murray’s dual talents with his legs and right arm will make life easier, O’Connell will need to navigate the limitations of size and lack of the deep ball.

Still, Murray makes the Vikings a far more interesting team in 2026 than McCarthy or any other available option would have. And for Minnesota, it’s a one-year deal. If Murray flourishes, the Vikings can lock him up for the long haul. If not, it’s onto the ’27 draft.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell — Since losing the 2024 NFC championship game, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell has endured several players leaving in free agency, along with coaches taking other jobs. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bad: The talent drain going on in Detroit

In January of 2024, the Lions held a 17-point lead in the third quarter of the NFC title game and lost. After the game, coach Dan Campbell famously said, “This may have been our only shot.” He wanted his team to understand how difficult it would be to get back to another championship game. He looks more right by the minute.

Since then, the talent exodus in Detroit has been significant. The Lions have lost Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow and Taylor Decker from the offensive line. They traded away David Montgomery to the Texans earlier this month. On defense, Alex Anzalone and Al-Quadin Muhammad left in free agency in the past week.

Of course, the Lions also lost both coordinators a year ago when Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson took jobs with the Jets and Bears, respectively. And as a result, Detroit missed the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Going into the second wave of free agency, Detroit has major questions. Yes, the roster still has top-end talent such as Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta and Aidan Hutchinson, but even that area has concerns. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are All-Pro defensive backs, yet Branch is rehabbing a torn Achilles tendon, while Joseph sustained a serious left knee injury, sidelining him for the last 11 games of the year.

The Lions have glaring needs on the offensive line and at all three levels of the defense. The coaching staff needs to be better than what we saw in 2025, when the offense scored 4.9 points per game fewer, while the defense ranked 18th in points and 22nd in points allowed.

If Detroit doesn’t nail the draft, it could struggle to make the postseason.

Ugly: The Chargers’ failure to spend

If the Chargers are ever going to win a Super Bowl, they have to spend like a team attempting to win a championship.

Going into free agency, the only teams with more cap space were the Raiders and Titans. Both spent like sailors on leave. Las Vegas loaded up with linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean, center Tyler Linderbaum, receiver Jalen Nailor, and the re-signings of corner Eric Stokes and edge rusher Malcolm Koonce, among others. Tennessee also went wild, signing Wan’Dale Robinson, John Franklin-Myers, Cordale Flott, Alontae Taylor and so on.

Then there’s Los Angeles, which still has the second-most cap space. The Chargers brought in center Tyler Biadasz, fullback Alec Ingold, blocking tight end Charlie Kolar, backup running back Keaton Mitchell and re-signed 35-year-old pass rusher Khalil Mack and backup quarterback Trey Lance.

That’s the extent of the moves, and that doesn’t factor in losing their second-best edge rusher in Odafe Oweh and veteran receiver Keenan Allen.

When Justin Herbert was paired with Jim Harbaugh two years ago, it was supposed to mean a new day in Los Angeles. While the Chargers have reached the playoffs in both campaigns since, they’ve lost in the wild-card round. This set of transactions will improve the run game but do little to fix lingering problems with the depth of skill-position talent outside and the back seven defensively.

Factor in the loss of respected coordinator Jesse Minter, and you could argue that despite having $90 million in cap space, the Chargers actually went backwards.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. — Former Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. will be joining DK Metcalf to give the Steelers one of the best wide receiver tandems in the NFL. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Good: Pittsburgh building out its roster

For years, the Steelers have been stuck in neutral. Same coach, same quarterback problems, same result. Right on the playoff bubble and no threat to win it all.

While Pittsburgh still has quarterback concerns (whether Aaron Rodgers returns), it has enjoyed a terrific start to the offseason. The Steelers were busy last week, bolstering the offense with the acquisition and subsequent three-year extension of receiver Michael Pittman Jr., giving DK Metcalf a quality sidekick. Pittsburgh also did well to replace Kenneth Gainwell with Rico Dowdle.

Defensively, general manager Omar Khan rightfully focused on the secondary. After bringing back corner Asante Samuel Jr. on a one-year deal, he signed veteran corner Jamel Dean, along with safeties Jaquan Brisker and Darnell Savage.

The Steelers still have needs to address. They’re also getting older, with many of their stars, and potentially Rodgers, in their 30s and 40s. Nobody would consider them Super Bowl favorites. But this team has far more juice than in previous years and has a real shot at winning a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 season.

Bad: The average age of the Bills’ roster

As long as Josh Allen is in Buffalo, the Bills have a chance to win the Super Bowl. But as the first eight years of his career also show, it’s far from a guarantee.

This winter, the Bills shook up their organization more than any previous offseason with Allen in tow, firing coach Sean McDermott and promoting former offensive coordinator Joe Brady to that post while also elevating general manager Brandon Beane.

The results since have been interesting. In the week before free agency, the Bills traded a second-round pick to the Bears for receiver DJ Moore II, who is 29 years old and last year posted 50 catches for 682 yards. While Moore is still a good player, he’s had 1,000 yards once in the past four seasons and wasn’t expected by many to cost more than a Day 3 pick.

In free agency, Buffalo addressed its defense by signing the talented but also oft-injured Bradley Chubb for three years and $43.5 million. Chubb, who will turn 30 this spring, had 8.5 sacks in 2025 for the Dolphins but also missed all of ’24 with a torn ACL. The contract could work out if he stays healthy, which won’t be easy at his age.

With some restructures, Buffalo could have been a serious player for some top (and younger) free agents. Instead, Beane chose to send away premium draft capital and bet on an aging pass rusher while the defense transforms from a 4-3 to a 3-4. It’s a high-risk strategy with little wiggle room to achieve success.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III — The Chiefs signed former Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III in free agency. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Ugly: Seattle losing so many key pieces on its Super Bowl team

At the top of this column, we outlined how much better the Rams and 49ers improved. Unfortunately for the reigning Super Bowl champs, that hasn’t been the case.

Seattle watched as several key players departed from its championship team, including Kenneth Walker III, Coby Bryant, Riq Woolen and Boye Mafe, while only receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed was retained from the big names hitting the market.

General manager John Schneider still has the nucleus of a great team and one of the best coaches in football with Mike Macdonald. Still, the staff also took a big hit with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak taking over the Raiders.

It’s easy to think about Seattle and remember the dominant performances against the 49ers and Patriots in the playoffs, along with the valiant win over the Rams in the NFC title game. But it’s also important to realize how close Seattle was to being a fifth or sixth seed in the NFC playoffs. It needed a miracle win in Week 16 over the Rams on Thursday Night Football and then to beat the injury-ravaged 49ers in Week 18 to secure the NFC West and top seed.

If Los Angeles and San Francisco got even a little bit better, and Seattle slips at all, things could be much different in 2026.