The first big wave of free agency has ended. The second wave has, too.
As the dollars settle on last week’s spending spree, plenty of big names are still on the board.
Receiver Stefon Diggs had a very good year in his first season back from a torn ACL, notching his seventh 1,000-yard season. The Patriots opted not to continue his contract, which added him to the group of available players. He remains on the market.
So does receiver Jauan Jennings, who landed at No. 23 on the PFT Top 100 list of free agents. He failed to parlay an unexpectedly productive 2024 into an extension with the 49ers. The fact that he didn’t sign quickly after free agency opened suggests that he wanted more than the market will bear.
Receiver Deebo Samuel, No. 29 on the PFT list, also waits for his next team. There was no land rush for a player whose lone Pro Bowl and All-Pro season is now five years in the rear-view mirror. He hit free agency for the first time. He remains available.
Other receivers who are free and clear include Tyreek Hill (who’s recovering from a serious knee injury), Christian Kirk, DeAndre Hopkins, and Keenan Allen.
As running backs go, the best options are gone. Veterans who are available include Joe Mixon, Nick Chubb, Brian Robinson, A.J. Dillon, Raheem Mostert, Najee Harris, and Austin Ekeler.
Edge rusher Joey Bosa, who’s No. 35, was essentially replaced in Buffalo by Bradley Chubb. Bosa is waiting for his next stop; his mother apparently envisions the Bosa brothers teaming up in San Francisco.
Other big-name defenders remain. Future Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Wagner is unsigned. As is edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, the first overall pick in the 2014 draft. Veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan is a free agent. Linebacker Lavonte David, a fixture in Tampa Bay since 2012, is unsigned, too.
Then there are the quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Joe Flacco, and Tyrod Taylor are the headliners. Currently, only the Cardinals and Steelers are presumably in the market for a QB1.
More signings will surely happen. But, for the most part, the big-money pipeline has sealed shut. The budgets have been busted. Quickly, the spending spree ends and the pre-draft process resumes.
Last month, retired quarterback Derek Carr said he’d return to football for a chance to play with a Super Bowl contender.
As of Scouting Combine week, the Saints hadn’t heard from any team regarding a potential trade for Carr’s contract rights. Through the first week of free agency, we’re told, the Saints still haven’t gotten any inquiries.
In the interim, plenty of teams with needs at the quarterback position have filled them, from the Dolphins (Malik Willis) to the Jets (Geno Smith) to the Vikings (Kyler Murray) to the Falcons (Tua Tagovailoa).
With the Raiders presumably waiting to make Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, only two teams currently have a hole in the QB1 spot: the Steelers and the Cardinals.
The Cardinals, with all due respect, aren’t a Super Bowl contender. The Steelers arguably aren’t, either. In a wide-open AFC, they could be.
Carr becomes a potential option in Pittsburgh if Aaron Rodgers decides not to play for the Steelers again in 2026, and if they don’t land Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of the draft. (Some in league circles think the Steelers will take him if he’s on the board when Pittsburgh makes the 21st overall pick.)
For now, there are no takers for Carr, if he were to unretire. Injuries could change that; if a starter on a contender suffers a serious injury before the trade deadline, Carr becomes a potential alternative to the next man up on the depth chart.
Free agent punter Corliss Waitman is signing with the 49ers, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.
The 49ers previously re-signed long snapper Jon Weeks and kicker Eddy Pineiro.
Waitman, 30, will replace Thomas Morstead as the team’s punter.
He signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and has had three stints with Pittsburgh, including the past two seasons.
Waitman has also had stops with the Raiders, Patriots, Broncos and Bears.
In his career, Waitman has appeared in 52 games with 230 punts for a 46.4-yard average and a 41.7-yard net. He has landed 36.5 percent of his punts inside the 20-yard line.
Free agent defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day is signing a two-year, $11 million deal with the Steelers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. The deal includes $6 million this year.
Joseph-Day, who turns 31 next week, spent the past two seasons with the Titans, appearing in all 34 possible games.
In 2025, he totaled 41 tackles, two sacks, six quarterback hits and a fumble recovery.
The Rams made him a sixth-round pick in 2018, and he has also spent time with the Chargers and 49ers.
Joseph-Day has recorded 314 tackles, 5.5 sacks, one interception, six pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
The Dolphins are adding a long snapper.
Via Dan Graziano of ESPN, Miami is signing Tucker Addington.
Addington, 28, previously played for Miami in 2024, appearing in three games. He’s appeared in regular season games for New England, Washington, and Miami since 2022.
After going undrafted out of Sam Houston State, Addington has spent time with Dallas, New England, Jacksonville, Washington, Miami, Houston, and Pittsburgh in the league.
