NFL free agency can be an unforgiving place. The most promising players sign for significant, market-moving deals within 48 hours. The ones who miss out on those millions of dollars have a much harder time finding their new homes. While most of these notable players will end up securing some sort of opportunity, they'll be parachuting into an organization that isn't offering a multiyear guarantee for coaches who clearly didn't see them as an immediate priority.
Increasingly, the definition of "promising players" excludes veterans who have completed their second NFL contract (the deal a player signs after his rookie-scale contract ends). As I run through the 13 players who represent the best left in free agency -- though one signed on Wednesday afternoon -- nine are either already 30 or will turn 30 this year . Seven are first-time free agents, with many of those players having spent their careers as valued stars who earned extensions before ever hitting the open market.
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This is also a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, which might represent an opportunity. Many of the players here didn't have their best 2024 seasons because they were either impacted by injury or slowed by age. Could they represent potential bargains next season? Let's take a look at why each of these players has yet to find a new team and why each could still be useful in the right location. I'll also identify a few potential landing spots for each of them. And, naturally, it seems right to start with one of the league's most legendary players:
Jump to a section:
Allen | Cooper | Diggs
Dobbins | Gilmore | Hernandez
Jenkins | Judon | Robinson
Rodgers | Samuel | Simmons | White
Aaron Rodgers, QB
2024 team: Jets
Why he's still a free agent: It's now three full seasons removed from the last time Rodgers was an above-average quarterback.
Why teams should be interested: The season before that (2021) saw Rodgers win his second consecutive MVP award and his fourth such career honor. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer at the most important position in sports. And for whatever off-field disturbances he created during his time with the Jets, quarterbacks are going to get chance after chance to prove they still have something left in the tank.
At the same time, if Rodgers had led the Jets to playoff berths and posted numbers anything close to his career in Green Bay, he wouldn't be unsigned. The simplest reason he is still a free agent is performance. In 2022, he ranked 26th in Total QBR. In 2023, he tore his Achilles after four snaps. Last season, he returned from the injury and finished ... 25th in QBR, behind fellow free agents Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson, as well as Falcons financial hostage Kirk Cousins.