New Faces in Seattle and New York, a New England Flip, and Major Secondary Deals Mark Day One of NFL Free Agency
Despite a relatively underwhelming class, the 2025 NFL free agency period has gotten off to a hot start.
Editor’s Note: This article was written on Monday, March 10th. I apologize for publishing a day late, but everything should still be accurate. I would love to post articles written by others whenever I have the chance, so if there’s anything numbers-related that you’re interested in, just let me know if you want to write something for the site! -Henry
The beginning of NFL free agency always comes with fireworks. Before the official start of a new league year on March 12th, a period known as the legal tampering period begins, in which players can contact teams and begin constructing contracts for the upcoming season. Despite not yet being official contracts, the majority of large free agency deals occur during this two day window, with this year being no exception. This article will go through several of the key signings from day one of free agency, and discuss the implications of both the signing for the team and player, but also the result of the contract for the remaining free agency market.
Sam Darnold signs with the Seattle Seahawks: 3 Years-$105.5 million
Seattle has a new quarterback. Fresh off of trading their primary quarterback for the past three seasons, Geno Smith, Seattle entered the day with a gaping hole at the game’s most important position. However, Seattle quickly filled this gaping hole with one of last season's biggest surprises. Sam Darnold was one of the NFL’s biggest stories in 2024, leading the Minnesota Vikings to a surprising 14-3 record and playoff berth, followed by an unfortunate loss to the LA Rams in the wild card round of the playoffs. However, Darnold’s season-long heroics did not go unnoticed, as his incredible season led not only to a Pro Bowl nod, but also likely heavily contributed to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell winning the Coach of the Year Award. Now, Darnold relocates to the West Coast to play for second year head coach Mike Macdonald, alongside a Seahawks team that just narrowly missed out on a playoff appearance last season. The contract, paying an average of about 35 million dollars per season, ranks on the cheaper end of the recent quarterback contract scale. The deal ranks Darnold similarly to Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who similarly signed a 3-year contract following a big comeback season. If this contract pays off for Seattle and Darnold looks similar to his 2024 self, Seattle could be looking at a potential playoff season, despite its recent retooling.
Milton Williams signs the New England Patriots: 4 Years-$106 million
On occasion, the NFL sees a player switch his commitment from signing with one team to another during the legal tampering period, and this season was no exception. Within the first hour of free agency, it was announced that former Eagle and Super Bowl hero Milton Williams would be signing with the Carolina Panthers. However, this report was slowly walked back, until it was revealed that Williams would instead be signing a contract with the New England Patriots. While it didn’t entirely show up on the stat sheet, Williams’ impact on the Super Bowl winning Eagles could not be overestimated. Williams was a massive spark for the Eagles defensive line, and amassed 40 quarterback pressures, a career high. Williams’ dominance was evident in Super Bowl 59, where he amassed 2 sacks, including a crucial strip sack on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. An aggressive pursuit by New England for Williams led to a contract placing Williams third amongst defensive tackles in terms of average value per year, but if Williams can continue playing at the level he displayed in the Super Bowl, New England acquired an absolute game changer on the defensive line.
Justin Fields signs with the New York Jets: 2 years-$40 million
Another huge quarterback domino to fall on free agency day one was New York’s signing of former Pittsburgh and Chicago quarterback Justin Fields. After being the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, the Chicago Bears believed that they had found their quarterback of the future. Throughout 3 years for Chicago, Fields was among the most polarizing quarterbacks in the entire NFL. Despite displaying some of the league’s worst accuracy and failing to secure a single winning season for the Bears, Fields also nearly set the single season quarterback rushing yardage record in Chicago’s putrid 2022-2023 season and showed many flashes passing the football throughout his time in the Windy City. Following a trade with the Panthers which netted the Bears the first overall pick, the team sent Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 6th round pick, opting to use the first overall selection on USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Fields only started a few games for Pittsburgh last season, but had a very solid 4-1 record and played some of the most efficient football in his career. With a contract that’s fairly high for a volatile QB option, the Jets are taking a risk with this signing. However, if Fields can perform up to the potential that many still believe he contains, the Jets could finally be looking at a long-term solution for the quarterback position.
Carlton Davis signs with the Patriots: 3 years-$60 million
Now this… is an odd contract. At one point in his career, Carlton Davis was regarded as one of the better young cornerbacks in the NFL. During this time, playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and a year following Tampa’s Super Bowl victory, Davis signed a 3-year extension worth $45 million to stay in Florida. However, 2 years into this contract, Tampa decided that the price tag was no longer worth the play of the declining cornerback, and sent him to play for the up and coming Detroit Lions in exchange for a solid draft selection. Davis had a solid rookie season in Detroit, and entered the market as a decent option at the cornerback position. However, the contract that Davis ended up signing with the Patriots was rather lucrative, ranking him as the 7th highest paid cornerback in the NFL. While cornerback was a need for the Patriots, and New England came into the day with easily the most money to spend, it’s hard to justify this high of a price for an aging cornerback on the decline. New England needs to hope that Davis slows his decline and proves to be a valid fill to the cornerback hole, or else this could result in a disastrous signing for the Patriots.
Charvarius Ward signs with the Indianapolis Colts: 3 years-$60 million
The same contract as Carlton Davis received with New England, but this one comes with a bit more upside. Following his departure from the Chiefs and signing with the 49ers in 2022, Charvarius Ward ranked as one of the best cornerbacks in man coverage for two consecutive seasons from 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 per PFF, even being named an NFL All-Pro in 2023. However, in the middle of this past season, Ward’s 1-year-old daughter tragically passed away. Ward has stated that after this, both he and his wife were seeking a new start outside of California, and settled in Indianapolis. Despite coming off of a down season, obviously at least partially due to reasons outside of football, Ward brings some huge upside to Indianapolis. Despite the expensive contract, there is optimism that this could be a home run signing for the Colts, who are in dire need of secondary help.
Chris Godwin signs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 years, $66 million
Tampa brought back their guy. After an electrifying start to the 2024-2025 season, ranking 6th among wide receivers in yards per game, and 5 touchdowns in 7 games. However, Godwin unfortunately dislocated his left ankle late in a game against the Baltimore Ravens, ending his season. If Godwin continued on pace with his statistical averages, he was well on his way to a career season in both yards and Touchdowns. Entering free agency, both Davante Adams and DK Metcalf, perceived as two of the top wide receivers available in the offseason, had both already found new homes. Godwin entered the first day of the legal tampering period as the best available wide receiver, and would see the market to prove it. However, both Godwin and Tampa Bay had a desire for the star receiver to return. Per Ian Rappaport, Godwin turned down an offer from the New England Patriots with an additional $20 million to stay with the Buccaneers, proving that even with a huge market, some players would just prefer to stay where they already play. Godwin returning to Tampa Bay is a good omen for their already explosive passing offense, which ranked third despite Godwin missing over half of the season. Taking another top receiver off of the board also led to several key WR contracts later on in the day, such as Dyami Brown signing for $10 million with the Jaguars and Josh Palmer signing for a whopping $36 million with the Bills.
An Additional Signing Recap:
While there isn’t quite room for every key signing to earn a full description, several more pave the way for the remainder of free agency and deserve a mention:
The Chicago Bears made several key moves, signing center Drew Dalmon, Edge Rusher Dayo Odeyingo, and Defensive Lineman Grady Jarrett, all of which secured positions of need for the Bears.
The Arizona Cardinals signed Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat, another key Super Bowl contributor who could make waves with a new team.
The Denver Broncos signed a pair of former 49ers defenders, signing linebacker Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga each to 3-year, $45 million contracts. Each of these signings should help secure an already elite Denver defense.
The Green Bay Packers signed a pair of contributors, signing cornerback Nate Hobbs and guard Aaron Banks, each hopefully adding to the Packers playoff roster. Each signing came with a high cost, but both bring new attributes that should hopefully aid the Packers in the quest of becoming a true contender.
And one more key move to mention despite not being a contract signing: The Washington Commanders traded several mid and late round draft selections to the Houston Texans in exchange for tackle Laremy Tunsil. Laremy Tunsil has consistently ranked among the best tackles in the NFL the past several seasons, boasting an impressive resume featuring 5 pro bowl nods. Coming off of a run to the NFC Championship game, the Commanders made a big swing by securing Jayden Daniels’ blindside.
Several key swings always happen during the first day of the legal tampering period. While it remains to be seen how successful each signing will become for the teams making them, each brings a new, potentially game-changing face to the franchise they will be joining.
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