Tag: 2025 NFL Free Agency

Bengals projected to lose star to Cowboys in 2025 free agency

Are the Bengals in danger of losing a star to the Cowboys in free agency?

The Cincinnati Bengals losing B.J. Hill in 2025 free agency is a topic that keeps coming up in recent weeks.

And it’s not hard to see why, either. As the season has progressed, it has become more and more apparent the team will need to put big money into fixing problem areas like the secondary and pass-rush — on top of a big extension for Ja’Marr Chase and other items.

As such, Bleacher Report has projected that Hill could go join the Dallas Cowboys on the open market:

The seven-year pro has earned above-average grades for his run defense and pass rush from Pro Football Focus. Through Week 9 in 2024, he’s earned marks of 68.3 against the run and 73.1 as a pass-rusher.

Like we stress each time this comes up, the Bengals have planned for this, at least partially, with rookies Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson.

But for fans, it’s a point of stress considering, well, younger guys stepping into bigger roles hasn’t exactly worked out lately. Dax Hill didn’t cut it at safety and the Cam Taylor-Britt regression has been stunning to watch in real time.

The Bengals could end up going with youth on the interior, get Trey Hendrickson an extension and let Hill walk, for better or worse. Dallas, indeed, would be one of the teams interested on the open market.

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NFL insider updates Tee Higgins’ future outlook with Bengals

Will Tee Higgins be back with the Bengals after this season?

The future for Tee Higgins with the Cincinnati Bengals remains bleak.

As of now, the franchise-tagged star is just trying to get back on the field after missing a second set of games due to another soft-tissue injury this season.

Looking ahead to next offseason, ESPN’s Matt Bowen and Jeremy Fowler recently ranked Higgins the No. 1 upcoming free agent in the league and cast doubt on a long-term deal happening:

What we’re hearing: There’s little to no chance Higgins is in Cincinnati beyond 2024. People I’ve talked to feel pretty strongly about that, barring a major surprise. A second franchise tag would cost the Bengals around $26.2 million on a one-year rental.

What might be interesting here is that no insider has yet to say that Higgins’ latest wave of injuries has his free-agency future in doubt. He missed games to start this year with another hamstring injury, then has missed three in a row right now after injuring his quad-running routes in practice.

One would think that being unavailable so often, consistently, might make teams hesitate to give Higgins a market-resetting contract in free agency.

But for now, it sounds like things remain on the expected track — the Bengals are unlikely to be able to afford a re-up with Higgins while they still need to pay Ja’Marr Chase and address so many other holes on the roster.

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Bengals lose star to 49ers in 2025 free agency projections

This would be a pretty big setback for the Bengals.

When it comes to the 2025 offseason and free agency for the Cincinnati Bengals, the conversation seems to fixate on Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for obvious reasons.

Chase, of course, needs an extension, while Higgins could leave on the open market.

As such, it’s a little easy to forget about names like B.J. Hill.

Bleacher Report hasn’t — and just projected that Hill will leave the Bengals for the San Francisco 49ers in free agency:

Hill will turn 30 in April, but remains one of the league’s more disruptive interior defenders when fully healthy. He recorded 26 solo tackles and 4.5 sacks while starting all 17 games for the Bengals in 2023.

It would be a pretty big setback for the Bengals. The team hopes rookies Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson are the future on the interior, yes. But Sheldon Rankins has been a bust of a free-agency signing so far and depth beyond that is pretty much zero.

Yet, Hill could indeed be one of those guys they have a hard time bringing back, especially considering other factors like free agents such as Mike Hilton and a name like Trey Hendrickson possibly wanting an extension.

That’s all before considering major investments necessary to bolster the pass-rush and a disaster of a secondary, too.

So yes, the Bengals could lose Hill to a team like the 49ers. And it just joins the long list of potential issues to keep in mind ahead of a critical offseason.

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Trade deadline passed, fixing this position is Cowboys biggest priority

Will 2025 finally be the offseason the Cowboys address the DT in free agency? | From @ReidDHanson

Almost weekly one of my kids will approach me with unapologetic sadness on their face because their tablet has inexplicably died. Forced to now interact with society like a boomer, they express shock over how such a sad, regular-occurring event could have happened to them. Again.

In the calmest, most matter-of-fact manor I can muster, I explain to them this is all because they didn’t take the necessary steps to prevent it the night before. If they addressed this extremely predictable issue earlier, it wouldn’t be a problem right now.

In many ways, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys represent my children in this illustration. Only instead of Jones forgetting to plug in his tablet night after night, Jones is neglecting to fix the same important position offseason after offseason.

Over the past two offseasons it’s been glaringly apparent the Cowboys have had an issue on their interior defensive line. Defensive tackle has headlined nearly every free agent wish list of theirs, yet the Cowboys have repeatedly turned up their nose like DT is somehow the mini tootsie roll of NFL positions.

Halfway through the 2025 campaign and it’s clear, DT is still a major issue in Dallas, and much like my kids and their battery-depleted tablets, the Cowboys have no one to blame but themselves.

It would take nearly an act of God to salvage the Cowboys DT this season. Mazi Smith has done nothing to alter his disappointing career trajectory, Osa Odighizuwa is approaching free agency and the numerous other band-aids and Bondo Dallas has plugged into the middle are extreme longshots to become long-term solutions at any point in their careers.

The same position that headlined the Cowboys wish list the last two offseasons, is the same position that’s likely to headline it again in 2025: DT

A good DT can be an anchor in the middle for other positions to play off of. Assessing the play of linebackers, safeties and edge players in 2024, has become almost an impossible task given the struggles at DT. The trickle-down effects of the poor DT play cannot be overstated.

Luckily for the Cowboys, DT is one of the easiest positions to fill in the offseason. Majority of the top-rated DTs in the league today have either hit free agency or switched teams through free agency at some point in their careers. While it’s a costly position to fill, it’s a position that’s readily available to DT-needy teams willing to spend and desperate for instant solutions.

DT is an unpredictable position to draft and often takes time to develop. Players rarely hit the ground running so if any position is worth paying for in free agency, it’s the one. But we’ve been down this road before. Recommendations, cause and effect explanations, and not-so-polite “I told you sos.”

At the end of the day, Jerry Jones just needs to charge his tablet.

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Despite Darrisaw’s new contract, Vikings have plenty of cap room in 2025

The Vikings have done well paying players with contracts that allow flexibility, look no further than the extension of Christian Darrisaw.

The salary cap is the boogeyman of the NFL world, it is only real if you make it real. The Minnesota Vikings have done a tremendous job paying players with contracts that allow the boogeyman to remain away at all times.

Look no further than the latest contract extension of Christian Darrisaw.

The team extended Darrisaw on Wednesday to a contract worth up to $113 million over four years. The deal is being tacked onto the end of his rookie contract which will allow the team to remain flexible in the salary cap next offseason.

They spent some money this year, shelling out over $130 million in contracts to their free-agent signings. Not to mention the $253 million they gave between Justin Jefferson and Darrisaw to extend them. Despite all of that, the team is expected to have somewhere in the neighborhood of $75 million to spend on free agent salaries in 2025.

According to Spotrac, that is good for the fifth-most cap space in the NFL.

The defense is expected to be the focus in terms any overhauls in the next offseason as the offense proved to be the focus this year. The secondary and defensive line have some big names in free agency the team may be able to pull away from rivals and future opponents.

Time will tell but it appear General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has set himself up nicely for the next offseason.

Takeaways and observations from Eagles restructuring Josh Sweat’s contract

We’re looking at takeaways and observations from the Philadelphia Eagles agreeing to a contract restructure with pass rusher Josh Sweat

The Eagles’ pass rotation will be much improved after the addition of Bryce Huff, but they’ll retain one of their own after agreeing to a restructured contract with pass rusher Josh Sweat.

Sweat finished his sixth NFL season with 6.5 sacks (second-best on the Eagles) and 43 tackles in 17 regular-season games.

With details of the restructure coming in, we’re looking at takeaways and observations.