Who Are the Top Remaining NFL Free Agents?
The official opening of NFL Free Agency began about a month ago and saw dozens of players immediately snatched up for a huge bag of cash. However, there is a large group of players who remain unclaimed as we approach the 2025 NFL Draft occurring in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at the end of April. Each of the players that I will mention in this article has their own “baggage” per se, whether it is on-field regression, locker room difficulties, or injury mishaps. I will not be ranking these free agents as they have different abilities, play different positions, and vary in terms of age and experience, but they still possess the strength and ability to play at the professional level for a handful of clubs under a veteran minimum contract.
Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers is probably one of the most anticipated signings that fans are waiting to hear about. Rodgers could follow the path set by former Packers and Jets QB Brett Favre and join the Minnesota Vikings, which seems plausible but also unlikely based on reports of the Vikings wanting to stick with J.J. McCarthy and the Steelers reportedly are waiting on a decision from Rodgers himself. Rodgers left the Packers after the 2022 season, taking his talents to the New York Jets, but had his first of two seasons cut short on the first drive, tearing his Achilles in a Week One overtime win over the Bills. In year two with the Jets, Rodgers posted a disappointing 5-12 record, throwing 3,900 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, leading to the Jets moving on and eventually signing Justin Fields. Despite being 41 years old and not the player he once was, the 10-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champion is still the best remaining option at quarterback in terms of career success and potential as a bridge player for a younger quarterback who is willing to learn under someone who ranks seventh in all-time career passing yards.
Running Back: J.K. Dobbins and Nick Chubb
J.K. Dobbins, in a way, is coming off a career year after one season with the Los Angeles Chargers, posting career highs in rushing attempts, rushing yards, receptions, and receiving yards while matching his rushing touchdown total from his rookie year. The 2020 second-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens has had some unlucky injuries in his career, from an ACL tear that cost him the entire 2021 season, a knee sprain in 2022 that took half of the season from him, and an Achilles tear that took all but one game from him in 2023. While with the Chargers, he had another knee injury that sidelined him for four games, but he returned for the Wild Card Weekend loss versus the Houston Texans. Dobbins is turning 27 this December and is in jeopardy of failing to be signed based on his injury history. Teams may not look high on running backs unless they are named Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry. This positional turnover and injury history may end up costing Dobbins some money but may be beneficial for a team like the Raiders or Cowboys, who are in need of a running back and want to take a flyer on the former Raven and Charger.
Nick Chubb is a similar story to Dobbins, but also different in the sense that Chubb has been consistently a bruising Pro Bowl-caliber ball carrier for the Browns since he was drafted in 2018. Except in his rookie year when he had 996 yards in 12 games, Chubb was a 1,000-yard rusher in the next four seasons, earning a Pro Bowl invitation in each of those seasons. In 2023, Chubb suffered a gruesome knee injury that ended his season and cost him a few weeks of the 2024 season. In his return, over a year since his injury, Chubb scored two touchdowns, one being the go-ahead score giving the Browns a 24-19 victory on Thursday Night Football. Chubb suffered a broken foot a few weeks later, which ended his season and presumably the Nick Chubb era in Cleveland. Despite the injuries, Chubb is still young, turning 30 in December, and I believe he still has the potential to play for an NFL team that needs a goal-line bruiser for a cheap contract.
Wide Receiver: Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen
Amari Cooper has been a highly regarded receiver since coming into the league in 2015. Drafted fourth overall to the then Oakland Raiders, the product from Alabama recorded 1,000 yards and six touchdowns, earning himself a Pro Bowl selection in his rookie season. Cooper was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 for a first-round pick in the 2019 draft that the Raiders used on safety Jonathan Abram. The Cowboys easily won the trade, as Abram was one on the long list of Oakland/Vegas busts of the last decade. Cooper was traded again in 2022 to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-rounder and a sixth-round pick swap. While in Cleveland, Cooper played relatively well but suffered through mediocre QB play and was eventually traded another time to the Buffalo Bills, where he lost his role in the offense to Mack Hollins. Cooper is obviously not the same explosive player he was at the beginning of his career, but he still has the potential to create problems for secondaries as long he can create chemistry with an offensive coordinator and quarterback that will get him the ball. In 10 years, the five-time Pro Bowler has 10,033 career receiving yards and 64 total touchdowns.
Like Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen has been viewed as one of the top receivers in the entire NFL since coming into the league in 2013 to the Chargers. Despite struggling in training camp and starting the season low on the depth chart, injuries to Malcolm Floyd and Danario Alexander gave Allen a chance to prove his worth in-game. Immediately, Allen gained traction, breaking franchise records for most 100-yard receiving games by a rookie with five, most receptions by a rookie with 71, and most receiving yards by a rookie with 1,046. For the next three years, Allen would suffer injuries ending his seasons, most notably a torn ACL in the first half of a 2016 Week One game versus the Chiefs. Allen came back with a vengeance, earning 2017 Comeback Player of the Year and five consecutive Pro Bowl invites, averaging 101.8 receptions, 1,183.6 receiving yards, and 6.4 touchdowns during that span. Soon to enter his age 33 season, Allen looks to use his ball-catching abilities to continue adding onto his 11,000 career yards and bounce back from a lackluster year in Chicago catching passes from rookie Caleb Williams. Most, if not all, teams are confident in their receiving corps, so Allen and Cooper would be most effective as a wide receiver two or depth piece who can be responsible for 70+ receptions and at least 700 yards.
Offensive Line: Brandon Scherff
Brandon Scherff dealt with mediocre teams since being drafted fifth to the formerly known Washington Redskins, now Commanders, in the 2015 NFL Draft. Scherff made five Pro Bowls in seven years with Washington despite missing multiple games in all but two of those seasons. When he joined the Jaguars in 2021, Scherff found the fountain of youth and stayed healthy, playing in every possible game in his three years with the team. Scherff is a solid pass blocker, allowing zero sacks and a 2.9% pressure rate in 17 games, earning himself a 74.5 pass-blocking grade from PFF, ranking 19th among all active guards in the NFL. He has the ability to start, protect, and help win games for a team in need of an interior offensive lineman.
Defense: Von Miller, Asante Samuel Jr.
Von Miller is a guy who can play a mentor, bridge, and rotational edge rusher role for literally any team for one year and move on to a new team or retire. Miller, who just turned 36, was the second overall pick for the Broncos in the stacked 2011 draft behind Cam Newton and ahead of Patrick Peterson, A.J. Green, and J.J. Watt. Miller was a wrecking ball for the Broncos, recording 110.5 sacks in 10 years with the Broncos, along with a Super Bowl win and Super Bowl MVP in 2015. The eight-time Pro Bowler also won a Super Bowl for the Rams in the 2021 NFL season but only recorded 14 sacks over the next three years with the Bills, resulting in not re-signing him. The 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year is first among active players and 25th all-time in career sacks with 129.5, meaning one good year with a team in need of edge rushing help can push him into the top 10.
Asante Samuel Jr. is the opposite of all of the players I have written about so far. At 25 years old, Samuel Jr. is one of the youngest players remaining in free agency but has not been signed yet, which may have to do with the injury that cost him all but four games in 2024. The 2021 second-round pick out of Florida State recorded two interceptions in each of his first three seasons. In year four, Samuel Jr. suffered a shoulder injury that he attributes to shoulder and neck problems that he has been dealing with for a few years. Samuel Jr., the son of two-time Super Bowl Champion Asante Samuel, has some open-field tackling issues and is below average in size compared to other cornerbacks in the NFL. If Samuel Jr. can get the health issues cleared up before training camp, some teams with secondary needs may reach out and sign him to a one-year deal for significantly less money for someone who is only 25 years old.
Some of my concluding thoughts are that many of the premium free agents were signed early in the process. Even the ones who aren’t looked at as groundbreaking stars have been signed to smaller deals. The players I mentioned in this article are those who are former game wreckers who are aging or younger guys who have dealt with injuries, which is deterring some teams from giving them a second look. The draft is less than a month away, and we may see some of these seasoned players come off the board after the draft to teams who were not able to secure a young entry-level player within the seven rounds.
