Mar 08, 2025 - 03:15
By espn.com

2025 NFL free agency: Top players, team predictions, more - ESPN

NFL free agency officially begins at 4 p.m. ET March 12, but teams can start negotiating with players on March 10. We have you covered with everything you need to know. That includes a preview of what to expect, a look at the best available players, key teams to watch, quarterbacks who could be on the move, perfect player-team fits, bold predictions and interesting sleepers.

We also picked out free agents who could break the bank and asked one big question to our Patriots, Bengals and Saints reporters. Finally, we wrap it all up with an evaluation of how deals could impact April's NFL draft and next season's fantasy football landscape.

Here's what you need to know about free agency. (Salary cap figures are via Roster Management System as of March 5.)

Quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams reached an agreement on a contract adjustment, which created a trickle-down effect for all quarterback-needy teams — the Raiders, Giants, Steelers and Browns. The most notable quarterbacks in free agency are Sam Darnold, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers (whom the Jets are expected to release).

With the salary cap increasing by $23.8 million to a record $279.2 million, many teams will have plenty of cap space to shop with when the negotiating window opens at noon ET on Monday.

On offense, some moves ahead of the franchise-tag deadline and negotiation window reshaped the class of receivers available. The Bengals tagged Tee Higgins, who would have been the top receiver in free agency, for a second consecutive