The following are PFT’s top 100 free agents for the start of the 2025 league year. The rankings include prospective unrestricted free agents and released players. The list will be updated as events warrant, with signings, tags and re-signings denoted when announced and/or reported. Players released after initial publication may be added and all 100 players initially on the list will still be listed after any additions.
1. Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (Franchise tagged by the Bengals on March 3.)
2. Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold
3. Chiefs offensive guard Trey Smith (Franchise tagged by Chiefs on Feb. 27.)
4. Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat
5. Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin
6. Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley
7. Jets cornerback D.J. Reed
8. Dolphins safety Jevon Holland
9. Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton
10. Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa (Agreed to four-year deal with Cowboys on March 4.)
11. Chiefs safety Justin Reid
12. Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack
13. 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward
14. 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga
15. 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw
16. Rams offensive tackle Alaric Jackson (Agreed to three-year extension with Rams on February 28.)
17. Vikings offensive tackle Cam Robinson
18. Falcons center Drew Dalman
19. Lions cornerback Carlton Davis
20. Eagles linebacker Zack Baun (Agreed to three-year deal with Eagles on March 5.)
21. Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood
22. Jets edge Haason Reddick
23. Eagles offensive guard Mekhi Becton
24. Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers
25. Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy
26. Colts offensive guard Will Fries
27. Packers center Josh Myers
28. Vikings safety Cam Bynum
29. Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner (Agreed to a one-year deal with the Commanders on March 6.)
30. Eagles defensive lineman Milton Williams
31. Lions defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike
32. Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel
33. Vikings running back Aaron Jones
34. Jets wide receiver Davante Adams
35. Raiders safety Tre’von Moehrig
36. Saints tight end Juwan Johnson
37. Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper
38. Steelers running back Najee Harris
39. Lions offensive guard Kevin Zeitler
40. Chiefs wide receiver Marquise Brown
41. Cardinals linebacker Baron Browning
42. Eagles cornerback Darius Slay
43. Steelers offensive guard James Daniels
44. Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson
45. Saints edge rusher Chase Young
46. Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs
47. Colts edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo
48. Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton
49. Giants linebacker Azeez Ojulari
50. Chiefs defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton
51. Falcons safety Justin Simmons
52. Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton
53. Buccaneers offensive guard Ben Bredeson
54. Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton
55. Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones
56. Vikings edge rusher Patrick Jones
57. Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David
58. Commanders edge rusher Dante Fowler
59. Vikings safety Harrison Smith
60. Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas
61. Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa
62. Steelers quarterback Justin Fields
63. Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce
64. Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai
65. Commanders safety Jeremy Chinn
66. Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane
67. Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins
68. Bears offensive lineman Teven Jenkins
69. Commanders wide receiver Dyami Brown
70. Raiders linebacker Divine Deablo
71. Ravens offensive guard Patrick Mekari
72. Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen
73. Cowboys defensive lineman DeMarcus Lawrence
74. Commanders tight end Zach Ertz
75. Bengals defensive tackle B.J. Hill
76. Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed
77. Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins
78. Colts center Ryan Kelly
79. Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis
80. Colts safety Julian Blackmon
81. Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki
82. Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo
83. Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell
84. Falcons edge rusher Matthew Judon
85. Colts linebacker E.J. Speed
86. Jaguars offensive guard Brandon Scherff
87. Steelers offensive tackle Dan Moore
88. Chargers defensive tackle Poona Ford
89. Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson
90. Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle
91. Browns quarterback Jameis Winston
92. Cardinals outside linebacker Kyzir White
93. Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson
94. Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs
95. Jets offensive tackle Morgan Moses
96. Broncos inside linebacker Cody Barton
97. 49ers defensive lineman Javon Hargrove
98. Browns offensive tackle Jedrick Wills
99. Rams defensive tackle Bobby Brown
100. Jaguars safety Andre Cisco
101. Cowboys edge rusher Chauncey Golston
102. Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones
103. Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell
As today’s franchise tag deadline approaches, there’s one impending free agent who definitely will not be tagged by his team.
Scattered reports emerged on Monday regarding the financial realities that will make it extremely unlikely for the Bucs to tag receiver Chris Godwin. The easier explanation is they can’t do it.
They can’t do it because Godwin’s contract voids after the deadline for applying the tag.
Previously, the void was due to happen before the tag deadline. That would have permitted a tag. Moving the deadline until after the tag deadline prevents the Bucs from doing it.
It’s a term that has been added to new contracts in the past. Four years ago, the original extension signed by Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott included a void date after the 2025 tag deadline. Even though it would have been ridiculously expensive for the Cowboys to tag Dak a third time, the terms of the 2021 contract blocked a tag by adding a void date after the closing of the tag window.
The Bucs surely knew the implications of delaying the void date until March 12. It didn’t matter, because there’s no way they would have tagged him a third time.
For the third tag (Godwin was tagged in 2021 and 2022), the player gets the greater of 144 percent of his cap number the prior year OR the average of the five highest cap numbers from the prior year at the highest-paid position. Which is always the quarterback position.
For Godwin, 144 percent of $27.534 million would have become $39.64 million under the 2025 franchise tag. And the five highest quarterback cap numbers from 2024 (Kyler Murray at $49.518 million, Matthew Stafford at $46.166 million, Dak Prescott at $44.615 million, Patrick Mahomes at $37 million, and Lamar Jackson at $32.4 million) result in an average of $41.94 million.
So, no, Godwin wouldn’t have been tagged. More importantly, he can’t be tagged due to the delayed void date in his deal.
That’s the thing to remember going forward. Any player whose contract voids after the tag deadline cannot be tagged.
Jon Gruden will be among those in Tampa Bay’s Ring of Honor once again.
After he was removed in 2021, Gruden will now be reinstated, the Buccaneers announced on Thursday.
“Jon Gruden was initially inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor based on his many accomplishments during his seven seasons as our head coach and he remains a significant figure in the history of our franchise,” the team said in a statement. “Upon further reflection, we have decided to reinstate him into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.”
Gruden was removed from the Ring of Honor after he resigned from his position as head coach of the Raiders when his emails using racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language surfaced in multiple reports.
But Gruden has been making his way back into the league, first as a consultant for the Saints and then as a media member with his YouTube channel and Barstool Sports.
Gruden was the Bucs’ head coach from 2002-2008, winning Super Bowl XXXVII in his first year with the club. He finished his seven-year tenure with Tampa Bay 57-55 in the regular season with a 3-2 postseason record.
Safety Jordan Whitehead is set to become a free agent next month.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Buccaneers have informed Whitehead that they will not be picking up their option on his contract for 2025.
If Whitehead was on the roster five days into the new league year, he would have been paid a $750,000 roster bonus. He was in line for a $3.75 million base salary as well, but it is not guaranteed and the Bucs will now clear $4.5 million in cap space.
Whitehead was placed on the non-football injury list in early January after being hurt in a car accident. General Manager Jason Licht hinted at the direction things would go with Whitehead when he told reporters at a Tuesday press conference that the Bucs “have to make sure he’s healthy” when asked about his chances of being with the team in 2025.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said on Tuesday that the tush push should be banned, but one of his NFC South peers has a different view of the Eagles’ signature play.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has led his team to wins over Nick Sirianni’s Eagles in four of their five meetings, including a pair of playoff games. They’ve won the last games and they’ve had some success stopping a play that has been almost automatic for the Eagles over the last few years.
That history helps explain why Bowles said on PFT Live that he believes it’s up to other teams to stop the play rather than have the league legislate it out of the game.
“The safety of it is always going to be a question because it’s a rugby-style play, but I have nothing against it,” Bowles said. “You found guys that are being creative and found the niche and how to gain an edge in this league and that’s what we as coaches try to do on a daily basis. Now it’s up to defensive coaches to try to gain an edge to try to stop it. That’s the challenge of it every time someone brings something new whether it’s offense or defense. I’m all for it that way.”
Several coaches and General Managers have weighed in on whether the play should be allowed and the Packers have proposed banning it, but it remains to be seen if the question will be put to a vote of all 32 teams at any point this offseason.
The on-field workouts at the Scouting Combine begin on Thursday, but the activities surrounding the annual event are up and running.
On Tuesday, we were sprinting. We interviewed 20 coaches and General Managers. One happened during Tuesday’s PFT Live, when we chatted with Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh. After the show ended, we ripped through 19 more.
The full list included Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, Chiefs coach Andy Reid, Eagles G.M. Howie Roseman, Bills G.M. Brandon Beane, Bears coach Ben Johnson, Bears G.M. Ryan Poles, Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles, Buccaneers G.M. Jason Licht, Seahawks G.M. John Schneider, Raiders coach Pete Carroll, Raiders G.M. John Spytek, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, Bengals coach Zac Taylor, Falcons coach Raheem Morris, Titans coach Brian Callahan, Panthers coach Dave Canales, Jaguars coach Liam Coen, Chargers G.M. Joe Hortiz, Titans G.M. Mike Borgonzi.
All interviews will be posted on our NFL on NBC YouTube channel. And you’ll see the clips posted in PFT stories in the coming days.
We’ll be back at it tomorrow.
Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin’s contract was set to void earlier this month, but Godwin agreed to move the date to the day before the start of the new league year in order to give him and the team more time to work on a contract extension.
Reaching an agreement would allow the Bucs to avoid having dead money on their 2025 salary cap and would ensure that Godwin remains with the only NFL team he has played for during his career. On Tuesday, Bucs G.M. Jason Licht said from the Scouting Combine that the shift in void dates also allows the team more time to see how Godwin is recovering from his season-ending dislocated ankle.
“The facts are he had a serious injury, missed a lot of time,” Licht said in a press conference. “There’s still some uncertainty with any injury like that at this point, so move the void so it gives us more options, more flexibility as it pertains to him. We just gotta make a good decision, but we hopefully can come to an agreement with him because Chris means the world to this organization.”
Licht said that the team has to “weigh through some variables” related to Godwin’s injury, but noted that the wideout bounced back from a torn ACL he suffered in 2021 and added that he wouldn’t bet against Godwin making a full recovery.
Safety Keanu Neal has reached the end of the line.
Neal announced his retirement in an Instagram post on Sunday. Neal played for the Steelers in 2023 and was out of the league after Pittsburgh released him last year.
Neal was drafted by the Falcons with the 17th overall pick in the 2016 draft and he spent five seasons in the Atlanta secondary. Neal helped the Falcons to the Super Bowl as a rookie and made the Pro Bowl in 2017, but his career hit a rough spot with a torn ACL and torn Achilles over his next two seasons.
Neal also played for the Cowboys and Buccaneers. He had 523 tackles, four interceptions, eight forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries during his career.
A new addition to the Buccaneers’ coaching staff is a familiar face in Tampa.
The Bucs announced that Mike Caldwell will be their inside linebackers coach in 2025. Caldwell had the same job on Bruce Arians’s staff from 2019-2021 and then moved on for two years as the defensive coordinator in Jacksonville. He spent last season on the Raiders’ staff as their run game coordinator and linebackers coach.
The team also confirmed several previously reported moves. Charlie Strong has been hired as their defensive line coach in the wake of Kacy Rodgers’s departure.
Offensive line coach Kevin Carberry was promoted to run game coordinator after being blocked from interviewing with the Jaguars and Brian Picucci has been bumped up to offensive line coach.
The Bucs have also hired Kefense Hynson as the pass game coordinator. Josh Grizzard held that role before being promoted to offensive coordinator. Jordan Somerville will be the pass game specialist and assistant quarterbacks coach while Jeff Kastl has been promoted to assistant tight ends coach.
The crime spree involving burglaries at the homes of professional athletes included a previously unknown heist.
The report from ABC News regarding federal charges filed against seven men from Chile mentions that thieves burglarized the home of a player from the Buccaneers during a game against the Ravens.
Tampa Bay hosted Baltimore on Monday, October 21.
The Bucs player had $167,000 in property taken from his home, per the criminal complaint.
That specific robbery created the opening for the filing of all charges in a Florida federal court.
To date, the identity of the Bucs player whose home was robbed has remained under wraps. It’s unclear how long that will be the case. Now that the cat is generally out of the bag, it seems inevitable that someone will say something to someone whose job duties include finding out things that aren’t currently known by the general public.
