Category: 2025 free agency

Saints have already re-signed their first pending free agent for 2025

The New Orleans Saints have already re-signed their first pending free agent for 2025. Irish kicker Charlie Smyth will return to compete with Blake Grupe this summer:

The New Orleans Saints have a long list of pressing matters on their offseason to-do list, so it may be a little surprising to learn their first order of business was re-signing the backup kicker. But NFL Ireland’s Michael McQuaid first reported that Charlie Smyth was the first of the team’s pending free agents to put pen to paper on a new deal. It’s a two-year contract.

As for the timing? Smyth spent his rookie year on the Saints practice squad, so his contract expired after their final regular season game. We’ll see a wave of reserve/future contracts signed by players who were on the practice squad over the next week or two as the Saints work to retain them. Remember, these are league-minimum deals that effectively promise nothing more than an extended tryout at training camp. It’s standard practice for every team.

Hopefully Smyth can beat those expectations. The young pro has a big leg and he’s been hard at work refining his craft. He held his own in the preseason last summer and is poised to push Blake Grupe again in 2025. Grupe improved his accuracy on field goals (going from 81.1%, which ranked 25th last year; to 87.1%, which ranks 13th this season) but whiffed on a pair of extra point tries while extending his career-long to 57 yards. Grupe has earned some more trust but he’s not yet known for having ice water in his veins. We can’t rule out a rally by Smyth later this year.

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Cowboys will need free agents currently on the back end of roster

Did any bottom roster free agents earn a spot on the 2025 Dallas Cowboys roster with their performance in 2024? | From @cdpiglet

Most of the focus on Dallas Cowboys free agents will be on the bigger-name players with known pedigree. Some will be spent on guys who aren’t totally free to roam around the league, such as Kavontae Turpin.

The reality is a team can only go as far as the bottom of the roster takes them, and the Cowboys have other low-cost decisions that will need to be made in free agency. These players will likely hit the open market to see what is available to them, but Dallas may have a chance to bring some back on the cheap. Which will they choose to pursue?

Linval Joseph, Carlos Watkins, and Carl Lawson were all brought in this year to help with defensive line injuries. Some defensive tackles must be signed for Dallas to fill the position. Either Watkins or Joseph could work, but Lawson could be more difficult to bring back. He had an eye-opening bounce-back year with five sacks, 18 pressures, and 15 QB hits in 14 games. He could get a decent deal on the open market, but Dallas should want him back if the price tag doesn’t get too expensive.

Israel Mukuamu has played safety, boundary and nickel corner for Dallas, including an outstanding 2022 playoff performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Tom Brady, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin.

Dallas loves to reward players like Mukuamu with roster spots, and he shouldn’t cost much to bring back. Amani Oruwariye could also find a place in Dallas based on how he played this season. They may follow Al Harris if he goes elsewhere, but Dallas could get deals with these two defensive backs, which they use as depth pieces as insurance for Lewis leaving or Diggs being injured.

Brandin Cooks has been an excellent second receiver and mentor, but the Cowboys need to upgrade their receiving core with a more impactful veteran or a high draft choice to pair with CeeDee Lamb. Cooks isn’t likely to return. Chuma Edoga could be the swing offensive tackle again, but the ascension of Asim Richards could elevate him to that spot, and the Cowboys let Edoga move on to get younger.

Dallas has more work to do than it should because of its team-building approach. It needs to decide on its coaching direction quickly so that the front office can make the best decisions with all its free agents.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @mike-crum-cdpiglet.bsky.social

2025 Free Agency: Cowboys have intriguing mix of legends, RFAs, ERFAs, and coaches’ faves

Dallas free agency decision begin with their RFAs, ERFAs, injured Cowboys’ greats, and coaches faves. | From @cdpiglet

There are some huge decisions for the Cowboys to make with their long list of free agents. With the number of holes on Dallas’ roster, it will be difficult for the Cowboys not to bring back every pending free agent on a restricted rights or exclusive rights contract. In addition, they’ll need to decide whether to make an effort to get back long-time contributors who ended the year on IR and a group of players who seem tied to the current coaching staff.

An exclusive rights free agent is a player with an expired contract and less than three accrued seasons in the NFL. A restricted free agent is a player with an expired contract, but only three accrued seasons in the league, keeping them from being unrestricted.

To keep a restricted free agent, Dallas has to offer him a predetermined one-year deal, known as a “tender.” If they do, the Cowboys can match any free agent deal the player signs for another team or receive draft compensation from the new team he signs with. Dallas could offer a first or second-round tender that would earn Dallas a subsequent draft choice from the team the player signed with. An original round tender would give the Cowboys a draft pick from the round he was originally drafted in, or they could offer a right to first refusal to match any offer the player agrees to.

Interior offensive lineman Brock Hoffman, safety Juanyeh Thomas, and defensive end Tyrus Wheat are all on exclusive rights contracts. Dallas only has to send a one-year qualifying offer for the league minimum based on each player’s experience level. This prevents the player from negotiating with other teams, ensuring their return.

Restricted rights free agents include pro bowl kick return specialist KaVontae Turpin, safety Markquese Bell, and much-maligned corner Andrew Booth Jr.  Dallas will need the first two back but could move on from Booth Jr., who hasn’t played well for them. Still, the roster is so thin that he could even return as a special teams player.

Meanwhile, the injured veteran front has two difficult decisions to make.

Demarcus Lawrence was still playing at a high level but is aging and coming off of another injury, but has already confirmed he plans to play next season. The team is already returning edge rushers Micah Parsons, Marshawn Kneeland, and Sam Williams, who will be returning from a serious injury himself.

Dallas will have a dead-money hit of nearly $7.5 million for Lawrence next season, so having him back on the roster would help justify the use of cap space, but he could get a final big payday elsewhere from a contender.

Guard Zack Martin will likely decide his own fate. If he wants to return for another season, the Cowboys are likely to bring him back. He has $27.7 million in dead money cap charges that can land across either one or two years.

Martin and Lawrence joined the franchise together and are now completing their 11th seasons with the club. With the club letting Tyron Smith go last season, it will be interesting to see what happens with the last remnants of the Tony Romo era.

Then there are these free agent signings who are a more simple concept.

Eric Kendricks signed in Dallas because of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. If Zimmer returns, so could Kendricks and Nick Virgil.

The specialists could go elsewhere if John Fassel doesn’t return as the unit coach. Punter Bryan Anger, long-snapper Trent Sieg, and gunner C.J. Goodwin could all need to be replaced this offseason.

Cooper Rush, Trey Lance, or even Will Grier as the backup to Dak Prescott likely depends on if Mike McCarthy returns as the head coach.

Coaching ties matter. When Dan Quinn left to coach the Commanders, he took with him multiple players who played for him in Dallas. The new coaches might have the players they want to bring in to teach their system to the rest of the players.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @mike-crum-cdpiglet.bsky.social

Decisions on these in-house contributors will be most significant part of Cowboys offseason

The most significant in-house free agents Dallas has to decide what to do with this offseason. | From @cdpiglet

The Dallas Cowboys were unhappy with how the 2023 season ended but did little to help change things in 2024. To fix it in 2025, They will need to hit on their draft picks and bring in outside contributors in free agency, but it all begins with how they handle their own players on expiring contracts.

Dallas has 20 unrestricted free agents, and they won’t be able to fill all those losses with undrafted free agents and the 2025 draft class. Who returns and who they move on from will depend on a multitude of factors. A trio of free agents played significant snaps and had productive seasons.

Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa has been an excellent player for the price of a third-round pick, but in a weak defensive tackle market, his price could skyrocket. Odighizuwa is slightly less productive than Nnamdi Madubuike of the Baltimore Ravens, but his projected market is in that same range. At $20 to $25 million, Odighizuwa won’t be worth the cost for Dallas, and the team will need to use an early draft selection for his replacement.

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis might have priced himself out of Dallas with his play in 2024, but the injury to Treven Diggs might be enough to force the Cowboys’ hand. A multiyear contract will be necessary, and a cap hit of under three million isn’t enough this time. Lewis has shown an ability to perform in multiple defensive schemes, and Jerry Jones will find a way to keep him on the roster, if necessary, as Diggs insurance.

Rico Dowdle was given the role of top running back in Week 12 against the Washington Commanders. In the next six contests, he accumulated 605 yards on 120 attempts, an average of over five yards per carry. Being a 1,000-yard rusher without a ton of tread on his tires could give Dowdle a market, but he isn’t an explosive runner, and he has a lengthy injury history, so his market is unlikely to explode.

Dallas will probably bring him back on a deal similar to what Zack Moss signed last offseason for the Cincinnati Bengals, four to five million a season.

Chauncey Golston has had a breakout season, and while he doesn’t have the gaudy statistics, his play was invaluable for the injury-riddled Cowboys. His ability to stop the run as an edge defender helped the team improve defensively as the season progressed.

Golston is in the top 12 among defensive ends in run defense snaps, solo tackles, assisted tackles, and batted passes. He is in the top 20 in total snaps and run stops. His lack of pass rush will keep him from a huge payday, so if the defensive end market is down some, then it is possible the Cowboys can get him to return. A trade-off of losing Odighizuwa but keeping Lewis and Golston could be the plan for this front office.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @mike-crum-cdpiglet.bsky.social

Cowboys RB room forecasts to look significantly different in 2025

The Cowboys may embark on a complete rebuild at the RB position in 2025. From @ReidDHanson

Roster churn is nothing new in the NFL. Even before free agency came into existence back in 1993, rosters would change significantly every offseason. Changes were inevitable then just as they are today.

This unavoidable shakeup is especially true for the Dallas Cowboys’ running back room in 2025.

The Cowboys prefer phases for personnel turnover rather than sudden, drastic changes. Too many shakeups at one position group can cause quite the ruckus if done in a single offseason. Unfortunately, this offseason there may be no way of avoiding it at the RB position.

With Ezekiel Elliott already released, and Rico Dowdle set to hit free agency this March, the Cowboys could be looking at wholesale changes at the top of their RB depth chart.

Despite being the Cowboys’ unofficial breakout player of the year, Dowdle is a tough appraisal heading into free agency. For as impressive as Dowdle has been in 2024, he comes with a concerning injury history that stretches all the way back to his college days. It’s those injuries at South Carolina that led him to go undrafted in the first place and those injuries that cause hesitation over a large multiyear extension today.

It’s very possible the Cowboys lose Dowdle to a higher bidder in free agency and are therefore forced to rebuild the RB room completely in 2025. Even players further down the RB depth chart are cause for concern. Deuce Vaughn has struggled to prove he has the stature required to survive in a rotation. He doesn’t offer much in special teams and consequently could be done in Dallas as well. Hunter Luepke is a pretty safe bet to make the roster again in 2025, but his value lies in his ability to play fullback, tight end and H-back. With just 15 career rushing attempts in 32 games, how much of a running back is he really?

To make matters worse, practice squad RBs such as Dalvin Cook and Malik Davis have shown nothing to make anyone think they factor into Dallas’ 2025 plans at all. The way things look today, it could be a total rebuild at the RB position.

Normally this degree of churn would be cause for concern. Without veteran players carrying over from the previous year, there’s no one in the position room to help new additions digest the new offense they’ve walked into. But with the Cowboys coaching staff possibly churning themselves, that’s not really an issue because everyone could be learning a new offense regardless.

Normally this would be a concern heading into free agency as well. A team without a proven backstop on the depth chart could approach free agency desperately. The 2025 free agent class doesn’t appear particularly strong so RB-hungry teams like Dallas could find themselves in a bidding war. Then again, the Cowboys have seemingly devalued the position since amping up their analytics department over the past two years and may just see who slips through the cracks instead.

Normally this would put a truckload of pressure on the NFL draft since the Cowboys would no longer be able to take a best player available (BPA) approach and be forced to draft for need. But that draft philosophy really wouldn’t be much different than it’s been the last few years.

The Cowboys have been extremely transparent in their position targeting as of late. They leave massive holes heading into the draft and act aggressively to fill those holes with their picks. It may not be the wise thing to do but at least it’s familiar to this front office.

Hunting for a rookie RB capable of starting on Day 1 is well within their ability, especially since the 2025 NFL draft class is deep at the RB position. The Cowboys don’t have to panic and pick one with their first pick, they can wait a few rounds for value to come to them. Each round will inevitably signal a rise in panic levels across the fanbase but it’s not impossible to find starting RBs in the later rounds of the draft.

Everything is setting up for major changes at the RB position in Dallas but given the potential turnover in the coaching ranks and the depth in the draft, there’s reason to believe the Cowboys can handle it.

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Saints already connected to another Chiefs LB in 2025 free agency

The New Orleans Saints have already been connected to another Chiefs linebacker in 2025 free agency. Maybe Nick Bolton could be a worthy successor to Demario Davis:

The New Orleans Saints sit at 5-11 and don’t have a great draft pick to show for it. Their best chance for improvement next year will be by making some moves in free agency.

Bleacher Report recently released a 2025 overview, which included a potential free agent for the Saints to consider this offseason. That player was linebacker Nick Bolton, of the Kansas City Chiefs. Here is what they had to say about Willie Gay Jr.’s former teammate:

“Demario Davis turns 36 years old this summer and will be entering the last year of his contract. According to Over The Cap, New Orleans can get out of his contract and save $4 million of cap space with a post-June 1 cut, so Davis might be on his way out and the defense could afford to add a young linebacker.”

Bolton would certainly be an interesting player to watch in the New Orleans defense, especially if Demario Davis is on his way out. But you have to think he’d choose to retire rather than be released like this.

The 24-year-old already has 458 tackles with 32 going for a loss. He also has five sacks, showing he can get to the quarterback if he needs to. The Saints like to blitz their quarterbacks and he could fit the scheme if they go with a familiar face at head coach.

His run stopping skills are a little bit better than his aptitude in coverage, but he does have four career interceptions and eight passes broken up. Maybe he could help cover the tight ends that have plagued New Orleans’ secondary.

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Benched and Burned: How Trey Lance became a victim of Cowboys’ indecision

Trey Lance’s story is cautionary tale of how easily NFL players lose value and how little it matters whose fault it is when that happens. | From @BtchesLuvSports

It was just three offseasons ago when Trey Lance entered the NFL as a walking highlight reel—a quarterback dripping with potential and hype. Development now stalled, Lance is stuck on the Dallas Cowboys’ bench as the 2024 season winds down; reputation bruised and financial prospects bleak.

The $22.4 million fifth-year team option from his rookie deal? Forget it.

Even this year’s $5.3 million base salary has been labeled an overpayment. From a value-theory perspective, one has to wonder: Is Lance depreciating due to his own shortcomings, or has institutional neglect fostered his fall?

Trey Lance: A Gamble Gone Wrong or Neglected Potential?

Drafted third overall in 2021, Lance was a gamble from the start. Critics warned of his raw mechanics and limited experience at North Dakota State, but NFL analysts couldn’t resist his rocket arm and dual-threat potential.

Zack Hicks hit the nail on the head; “If he is rushed into action with a weak supporting cast, it could kill his NFL career. If he ends up in a good situation that takes the time to develop him and work with him and has a proper plan in place… he could be outstanding.”

San Francisco seemed to have such a plan in place—until injuries and the Brock Purdy Cinderella story shoved Lance aside. The trade to Dallas was supposed to be a fresh start. Instead, it’s been more of a slow fade.

Despite Mike McCarthy’s sermon about the importance of game reps and building chemistry with receiving targets for a quarterback’s development, Lance’s opportunities have been virtually nonexistent.

With the Cowboys limping out of playoff contention, Dak Prescott sidelined for the season, and Cooper Rush serving as a serviceable-but-meh QB1, the stars seemed aligned for Lance to finally get some meaningful snaps. Instead, what Lance got was the equivalent of crumbs—and stale ones at that.

Take the Texans loss, for example. Mike McCarthy admitted after the game that he regretted not giving Lance even a single series. Regret is nice, but it didn’t change the trend: Lance sits while the Cowboys fumble opportunities to develop him.

Week 17 against Philadelphia was the tipping point. No playoff hopes. Cooper Rush struggling. An offense producing nothing but turnovers. It was the perfect moment to give Lance a real shot. Instead, he got three garbage-time snaps in a game that was long lost. Fans had tuned out before he ever hit the field, and who could blame them?

McCarthy expressed regret, once again, claiming he considered inserting Lance one series earlier. That still would’ve been too little, too late.

Besides, the real question isn’t about Sunday’s game but the recurring refusal to give Lance the reps he so desperately needs to develop.

A Bleak Free Agency Ahead

It’s not just about this week or this season. The lack of playtime has far-reaching consequences. Lance is now seen as a “bust” not because of what he’s done but because of what he hasn’t been allowed to do.

Sure, entering the draft with so little college experience was a gamble on his part. And yes, his five interceptions in his only preseason start with the Cowboys didn’t help his case.

But when NFL teams bring in a raw talent like Lance with no real plan for development, the responsibility shifts. One could say the system failed him, but the existence of that system in the NFL is looking more and more like a myth.

What will this mean for the soon-to-be free agent? The promise of professional opportunity and financial gain that likely lured him to declaring for the draft in the first place is slipping away.

As he heads toward unrestricted free agency in March, Lance’s story becomes a cautionary tale of how easy it is for NFL players to lose value and how little it matters whose fault it is when that happens.

There’s one last chance for Lance to get meaningful reps and remind NFL fans—and front offices—that he still has potential: Sunday’s season finale against the Washington Commanders.

When asked in Sunday night’s press conference who would lead the offense, Mike McCarthy played coy. For Lance’s sake, let’s hope his decision doesn’t lead to yet another postgame presser with words of regret.

This Saints free agent is expected to ‘break the bank’ in 2025

Chase Young has done well for himself since signing with the Saints. NFL.com expects him to ‘break the bank’ as a free agent in 2025:

The New Orleans Saints signed defensive end Chase Young to a prove-it deal this past offseason and some believe he has done enough to cash in once he hits free agency again in 2025.

Bucky Brooks of NFL.com recently highlighted seven impending free agents that he believed would ‘break the bank’ next season with new contracts and Young was among the players named. This is what Brooks had to say about his prediction.

“Pass rushers are always highly coveted, especially those with prototypical dimensions and dynamic traits. Though Young hasn’t played to expectations as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the 6-5, 264-pounder flashes enough disruptive potential to entice a needy team to gamble on his upside and potential. Given his 22 career sacks (including 5.5 in 2024) and seven forced fumbles — not to mention the fact that he’s still just 25 — Young is an enticing boom-or-bust prospect in a league that’s always hungry for QB hunters.”

Young has been an interesting case. He has generated the most pressure of anyone on the defense, and the second-most of his career, but it is still hard to really consider this year a win for him. The Ohio State Buckeyes product has had issues closing out on that pressure with only 5.5 sacks this season.

The former second-overall selection is still young and has at least shown flashes of brilliance over the past two seasons, so maybe a team will truly believe that they can be the ones to finally unlock his talents.

He had one of the best games of his career this past season against the woeful New York Giants offensive line. He picked up 12 of his 58 pressures that week per Pro Football Focus. Expect Young’s agent to point to highlights from that game when negotiating with teams this spring.

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Biggest dead money cap hits illustrate Cowboys’ decision-making mistakes

The Cowboys have repeatedly gambled and lost when signing sub-superstar talent on speculative deals

Contrary to popular belief, signing superstar players to big deals rarely gets an NFL team in trouble. No matter what the Cowboys front office tries to say, there’s always room for talent under the salary cap.

Good players who meet or exceed the expectations of their contract are value-added, pure and simple. They take on a bigger proportion of the cap, but they also often take heavier snap counts and make bigger contributions. Teams can save money in rotations and at other positions if highly paid players simply live up to their billing.

Best of all, superstars are usually no brainers. Dak Prescott was an obvious re-signing this past summer. CeeDee Lamb was also an obvious re-signing this past summer. Micah Parsons and Tyler Smith will be obvious re-signings in the near future, while DaRon Bland and DeMarvion Overshown are trending to be obvious re-signings soon after. Health permitting, they will all be well worth the price of doing business.

Where teams get themselves into trouble is by signing players who underachieve and don’t live up to the expectations of their contracts. That’s what really kills the salary cap. Many of these bad contracts are speculative in nature. They involve middleclass players who have shown enough to indicate they could be great but just haven’t done so consistently enough to make it a sure thing. They are calculated gambles by the front office. It’s here where the Cowboys have struggled.

In recent seasons the Cowboys gambled on players like Michael Gallup and Terence Steele. Both offered inconsistent performances throughout their careers, and both were coming off major injury. They represented significant speculation from the Cowboys front office when they were re-signed and now stand as cautionary tales moving forward.

Looking at things today, the biggest dead money cap hit the Cowboys face is from Gallup. Signed to a five-year, $57,500,000 contract in 2022, Gallup fell well short of the expectations implied in the deal. After contributing just 73 receptions for 842 yards, Gallup was released two years into the deal. The contract was a gamble from the start since Gallup had only once posted a thousand-yard season and he was now coming off a significant knee injury. He represents $4,350,000 in dead money this season and a team-leading $8,700,000 in 2025.

Steele is another player the Cowboys seemingly gambled on and lost. After suffering a major knee injury late in 2022, the Cowboys signed him to a five-year, $87,500,000 extension to be their cornerstone at right tackle. Like Gallup, Steele was gamble from the start. His last ten games of 2022 he showed he was a dominant force in the running game but his game play in the years leading up to that were far more pedestrian. In fact, his pass protection was some of the worst in the NFL.

Steele now potentially faces the axe in 2025. At a cap charge of over $18 million next season, Steele is one of the highest paid players on the Cowboys roster. He has an out in his contract in 2025, but it would come with an immediate cap charge of $13,500,000 in dead money. The Cowboys could designate him a post June 1 cut but that would only push more dead money into future years.

The lesson to be learned is sub-superstar contracts that involve speculation are far riskier than max-level contracts that simply demand health and a continued level of play. The Cowboys have a poor track record when it comes to speculating the future of their own midlevel performers and it’s come back to bite them over and over again.

Does this mean the death of midlevel contracts going forward?

Possibly. With so many star players set to make star money, the Cowboys may just round out their roster with rookie contracts and bargain bin pickups. It could mean non-superstar players like Osa Odighizuwa, Chauncey Golston and Rico Dowdle (all pending free agents in 2025) are too expensive and/or risky to bring back.

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Saints listed as one of six teams in QB disarray entering offseason

Forget whether Spencer Rattler is the Saints’ QB of the future. This NFL writer says neither he nor Derek Carr should be the starter in 2025:

Derek Carr was never going to be the quarterback of the future. He was supposed to elevate the New Orleans Saints in the immediate future, but he wasn’t the long-term answer. Unfortunately, Carr hasn’t elevated the Saints during his two years as the starter.

Around the NFL writer, Nick Shook, says it’s time to end the Derek Carr experiment. Shook doesn’t believe Carr should be the Saints starter next year. What about Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener? Have they shown enough to make Shook want to take a chance on them next year?

Nope.

Shook tagged New Orleans as one of six teams who doesn’t have their starting quarterback for next season on the roster. He doesn’t even mention Haener as an option.

Instead, the writer called releasing Carr “the sledgehammer move they need.” Shook acknowledges there have been flashes from Rattler but not enough for a season’s worth of confidence.

The offseason is quickly approaching for New Orleans, and Shook believes “the Saints could truly go in any direction in 2025.”

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