The beginning of free agency is rarely disappointing, and this year has been no different. News of massive deals and major trades has been materializing at a rapid clip. We've learned real fast which teams feel a sense of urgency to improve in a hurry. We also discovered how crazy the money could get when certain franchises have incredible amounts of salary cap space.
Big name found new homes. Rising stars scored major money. And the thrilling part is that the offseason is really only just now kicking into full gear, with the two-day window for teams and players to negotiate opening on Monday, and the new league year set to start at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, when signings and trades can become official.
There's a lot to cover in a short amount of space, so this edition of The First Read is going to start where we usually do at this time of year -- with a look at the winners and losers through the first day of the negotiating period.
WINNERS
1) Jesse Minter: The Baltimore Ravens' new head coach is supposed to return that team to the postseason and improve a defense that disappointed far too often over the last two seasons. He received a huge boost in his pursuit of both those goals when general manager Eric DeCosta executed the blockbuster trade agreement for star edge rusher Maxx Crosby. This is the kind of deal the Ravens have shied away from making, historically. They typically rely on drafting well and developing talent rather than giving away a couple first-round picks (one in 2026, one in '27) in exchange for a player as accomplished as Crosby, who's been named second-team All-Pro twice and earned five Pro Bowl nods. This ultimately speaks to how much the Ravens need Minter to succeed quickly as the replacement for John Harbaugh, whom owner Steve Bisciotti fired in January.
Minter and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver now can wield the one weapon the Ravens' defense has lacked since Terrell Suggs left town following the 2018 season: a dominant pass-rushing presence that can make life difficult for any offensive tackle in the league. The Ravens have failed to draft a true difference-maker at that position over the past seven years. They've had some success with veteran free agents -- like Kyle Van Noy and Jadeveon Clowney -- but Crosby is a true game-changer. The Ravens had the league's best defense back in 2023, when it was being run by future Super Bowl-winning Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald. This bunch that Minter will put on the field already looks a lot better when you factor in other stars like linebacker Roquan Smith and safety Kyle Hamilton.
2) Trent McDuffie: The two-time All-Pro cornerback is a perfect example of a young, talented player who was in the right place at the right time. The Los Angeles Rams were desperate for cornerback help after their defensive backfield struggled in the second half of last season, especially in an NFC Championship Game loss to Seattle. The Chiefs were strapped with the kind of salary-cap limitations that made it hard to see how they could give McDuffie the massive contract extension he coveted as he prepared to play 2026 on the final, fifth-year option season of his rookie deal. The agreed-upon trade that will send McDuffie from Kansas City should make everybody happy -- especially McDuffie.
The Rams are giving up plenty to acquire him (four total picks, including the 29th overall selection this year) and will be showering him with riches (he's agreed to terms on a four-year extension worth $124 million). It was a legitimate question as to whether McDuffie deserved to be paid in the same $30 million-per-year neighborhood as other cornerbacks chosen in the 2022 NFL Draft (Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley Jr.), because he's been more impactful in the slot than as an outside corner. The Rams apparently weren't put off by that at all. McDuffie's prowess in that area of the field means he can shadow Seattle's Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who won Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2025 and dominates out of the slot. McDuffie also attended high school not far from SoFi stadium and played for Rams secondary coach Jimmy Lake while in college at Washington. McDuffie obviously loved his time helping the Chiefs build a dynasty. He'll be even happier in Los Angeles, especially if he helps the Rams win another Super Bowl there.
3) Brett Veach: The Chiefs GM proved that he's going to continue being as aggressive as ever when it comes to improving this team. The Chiefs were better off agreeing to that McDuffie trade because: 1) It wouldn't make sense to pay McDuffie at that level, given their salary-cap constraints, and 2) This team needs an infusion of young talent if it wants to resume contending for championships. Veach came into the offseason holding just six picks in this year's draft. He'll now have nine to work with, including the ninth and 29th overall, and the $13.6 million in cap room he'll save with the McDuffie deal will come in real handy, given how the first day of the free agency negotiating window went. On Monday, Veach grabbed the best running back on the market, Kenneth Walker III, who is signing a three-year deal worth up to $45 million.
Veach also received more encouraging news when tight end Travis Kelce informed the team that he would be returning for a 14th season after considering retirement. It's now easier to imagine Veach filling more major holes as the Chiefs move deeper into the offseason. This team still needs help at edge rusher, wide receiver, interior defensive line, safety and, of course, cornerback. As much as some optimists might cling to the notion that they can contend as soon as quarterback Patrick Mahomes returns from a torn ACL, the reality is, the QB covered up a lot of flaws that emerged when Kansas City finished 6-11 last season. We don't know how that injury will impact Mahomes, how much standout defensive tackle Chris Jones (31 years old) has left or what the 36-year-old Kelce can still offer. What is clear is that the Chiefs need to make plenty of savvy moves to improve this roster. Veach is in a better position to do that now.
4) Alec Pierce: Last week, Pierce talked about wanting "to explore free agency," even while declaring his love for Indianapolis. In the end, he found plenty of reasons to stay. The best wide receiver on the free-agent market (ranked fifth overall in the free agency crop by Gregg Rosenthal) is signing a four-year deal worth a maximum of $116 million, which gives him the chance to continue the momentum he created last season. Pierce spent his first three pro seasons building a reputation primarily as a deep threat for the Colts. He grew into a more viable all-around weapon in 2025, when he set career highs in receptions (47) and yards (1,003) and still showcased that impressive speed (with a 21.3 yards per catch average).
This deal works on a few levels. The first is that the Colts know exactly what kind of talent Pierce is after watching him for four seasons. He also has an obvious rapport with quarterback Daniel Jones, a chemistry that should continue to grow as they spend more time together. The Colts didn't even have to go overboard with the money they paid Pierce. The top receivers are working on deals averaging between $35 million to $40 million annually. Pierce's contract puts him more in line with good players like Cincinnati's Tee Higgins ($28.75 million), Miami's Jaylen Waddle ($28.25 million) and Buffalo's DJ Moore ($27.5 million). Given that Pierce is primed for a bigger role this coming season -- after the Colts traded fellow wide receiver Michael Pittman to the Steelers -- this is a situation that worked out very well for him.
5) Centers: Tyler Linderbaum was expected to be a hot commodity if the Ravens couldn't find a way to retain the three-time Pro Bowl center. But it's hard to imagine anybody predicting he would cash in on his talents to this degree. The Las Vegas Raiders agreed to make Linderbaum the highest-paid center in league history with a three-year, $81 million deal. That average annual salary of $27 million is $9 million more than the second-highest-paid player at that position, Kansas City's Creed Humphrey. Hell, Drew Dalman was the most coveted center in last year's free-agent market, and his deal with the Bears was worth only $14 million per year annually (Dalman also recently retired at age 27).
We all know the Raiders had tons of salary-cap space to play with this offseason -- the team leads the league in that department with nearly $112 million, -- but there won't be a more astonishing deal signed this offseason than this one. That isn't a knock on Linderbaum. He's going to bring tremendous value to a team that is expected to use the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and already needs to energize its running game after selecting running back Ashton Jeanty sixth overall last year. It remains to be seen how quickly Linderbaum can make that impact, but this much is clear already: Every talented center coming up for a new deal is going to be praising Linderbaum's name for years to come.
LOSERS
1) Jerry Jones: The Cowboys owner was to acquire Maxx Crosby before eventually losing out to the Ravens. It's a legitimate argument that giving up two first-round picks for a player might have been too much to bear -- especially since Green Bay gave up two first-rounders to acquire edge rusher Micah Parsons from Dallas last August, and Parsons eventually sustained a torn ACL late in what had been an impressive year -- but Crosby would've been a game-changer in Dallas. The Cowboys' Plan B turned out to be another trade with Green Bay, this time for the right to acquire edge rusher Rashan Gary in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2027.
Gary is certainly an upgrade on what Dallas already had on the edge. It's also worth wondering how impactful he will be as a Cowboy. Gary was once considered an ascending talent. A torn ACL in the 2022 season changed all that; he hasn't been nearly as proficient at pressuring quarterbacks since he was before that injury. The 29-year-old also is set to count for $19.5 million against this year's cap. There's a reason the Packers were considering releasing him at some point this offseason. Jones certainly found a cheaper option for his pass rush. It remains to be seen if it will be an effective one.
2) Vic Fangio: The Eagles defensive coordinator has been lauded for his work with that unit over the past two seasons. His job became much tougher with edge rusher Jaelan Phillips agreeing to a four-year, $120 million deal to go to Carolina. Just as with the situation that played out with Crosby in Dallas, there is a point where every franchise must weigh the long-term cost of any player. The money Phillips received would've been tough for any general manager to stomach, even one as aggressive as Philadelphia's Howie Roseman.
The problem is that Fangio is now back in the same difficult spot he found himself in last season, when he needed to find more juice for the pass rush. The Eagles executed a midseason trade to acquire Phillips, and he proved to be a valuable addition to one of the league's best defenses. Roseman's desire to add the previously retired Brandon Graham to the roster also provides some indication of how badly Philadelphia wanted to improve its ability to get after the quarterback. It's a long offseason, and there will be other opportunities for the Eagles to address this obvious need. But right now, their most talented edge rusher is moving on to a brighter future elsewhere.
3) Michael Penix Jr.: It's when QB Penix will be ready to play again as he rehabilitates a torn ACL. The Falcons do apparently think it's a good idea to have some insurance on hand -- and, likely, competition once the third-year pro returns to action, which is why former Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is going to be a member of that franchise. The Dolphins' decision to release Tagovailoa doesn't mean he's washed. There have been too many disappointing quarterbacks in recent memory who've revived their careers in other places, a list that includes Seattle's Sam Darnold, Indianapolis' Daniel Jones, Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield and the man who just agreed to replace Tagovailoa in Miami, former Titans starter turned Green Bay backup Malik Willis.
The important thing to remember here is that the person who brought Penix to Atlanta as the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft -- former general manager Terry Fontenot -- is no longer working for the team. There is no reason for GM Ian Cunningham and head coach Kevin Stefanski to tie themselves to a player who's been inconsistent and is now returning from a major injury. The Falcons looked pretty formidable when Kirk Cousins was under the center down the stretch last season. Penix had better hope the new regime doesn't anticipate another older veteran being able to do the same things this year.
