{"id":895921,"date":"2026-05-20T00:24:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T00:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/895921\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T00:24:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T00:24:44","slug":"2026-nfl-free-agency-who-should-sign-the-biggest-names-left-on-the-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/895921\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NFL Free Agency: Who Should Sign The Biggest Names Left On The Market?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With NFL offseason programs well underway, including OTAs for teams with new head coaches, several big-name players remain available in free agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Where will they land? I take on the role of matchmaker, pairing 10 of the highest-profile names still on the market with teams that make the most sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Indianapolis Colts: WR Stefon Diggs<\/p>\n

Alec Pierce has been elevated to the Colts\u2019 WR1 slot, but they could still use more depth at wide receiver after trading Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Colts GM Chris Ballard said in April that Pierce could miss three months following offseason ankle surgery. The second-best wide receiver on Indianapolis\u2019 roster is currently Josh Downs, who had a career-low 566 receiving yards last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diggs had a comeback season last year with the New England Patriots, catching 85 passes for 1,013 yards. Yes, he’s 32 and has a lot of wear and tear, but he didn’t miss a game in 2025 and played in his first Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In his 11th NFL season, receiver Stefon Diggs played in his first Super Bowl, where he had three catches for 37 yards in the Patriots’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Matthew Huang\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cleveland Browns: DE Joey Bosa<\/p>\n

While Myles Garrett broke the NFL\u2019s single-season sack record last season (23.0), the Browns didn\u2019t have another edge rusher who reached six. So there\u2019s an opportunity to add more playmaking on what\u2019s already a strong defense. The 30-year-old Bosa, a five-time Pro Bowler with the Chargers, had five sacks and a league-high five forced fumbles with the Buffalo Bills in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Seattle Seahawks: WR Deebo Samuel<\/p>\n

The Seahawks shouldn\u2019t rule out more depth at wide receiver. Given that he\u2019ll have a full year with Seattle in 2026, midseason acquisition Rashid Shaheed should naturally step into the WR2 role alongside Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But Cooper Kupp is entering his age-33 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury and the 30-year-old Samuel overlapped in San Francisco from 2019-24, including for Samuel\u2019s first-team All-Pro season in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In his lone season with Washington, Deebo Samuel caught 72 passes for 727 yards and five touchdowns. (Photo by Kyle Ross\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers: LB Bobby Wagner<\/p>\n

At 35 years old, Wagner is well past his prime. But he remains a very cerebral and effective player in the run game, coming off his 10th straight season with at least 130 tackles. It\u2019s why he makes sense as a top backup option for the 49ers, who have injury concerns at both inside linebacker positions \u2014\u00a0former All-Pro Fred Warner is coming off a season-ending ankle injury, and Dre Greenlaw has played in just 10 games over the past two seasons combined.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wagner\u2019s longtime Seahawks teammate, KJ Wright, is also San Francisco\u2019s linebackers coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Houston Texans: TE Jonnu Smith<\/p>\n

The Texans don\u2019t have reliable pass-catching tight end behind starter Dalton Schultz, so that\u2019s a void Smith can fill. Houston offensive coordinator Nick Caley was also Smith\u2019s position coach with the Patriots from 2021-22.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs: WR Tyreek Hill<\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s status for 2026 remains unclear after dislocating his left knee and tearing multiple ligaments, including his ACL, last September. But after an unceremonious end to his Miami Dolphins\u2019 tenure, a return to the Chiefs makes sense, health-enabling. He would provide much-needed veteran depth for a wide receiver room that\u2019s seen uneven play since his departure from Kansas City in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tyreek Hill was a three-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler in his six seasons with the Chiefs to start his career. Could he be a go-to receiver for Patrick Mahomes again? (Tammy Ljungblad\/The Kansas City Star\/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Chicago Bears: DE Cam Jordan<\/p>\n

Following the draft, the Bears could still use more depth at edge rusher behind Montez Sweat. The 36-year-old Jordan, who had 10.5 sacks last season with the Saints, spent a decade with Chicago defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans (2015-24).\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers: DE\/OLB Jadeveon Clowney<\/p>\n

The Niners could use some insurance behind star edge rusher Nick Bosa (coming off a torn ACL), as their pass rush struggled in 2025 with Bosa missing 14 games. The 33-year-old Clowney, the first pick of the 2014 NFL Draft who’s now played for seven teams, has had at least 8.5 sacks in two of his past three seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Steelers: LT Taylor Decker<\/p>\n

With Aaron Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh, it\u2019s not the worst idea for the Steelers to load up on bodyguards for the 42-year-old quarterback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Starting left tackle Broderick Jones is coming off a season-ending neck injury. The Steelers drafted former Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor in the first round, but it\u2019s not uncommon for rookie offensive linemen to struggle. Decker, a longtime starter for the Detroit Lions, would give Pittsburgh veteran depth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[2026 NFL Free Agency Tracker<\/a>]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Atlanta Falcons: G Joel Bitonio<\/p>\n

Bitonio\u2019s former offensive line coach with the Browns, Bill Callahan, now has the same position with the Falcons, so Atlanta is a natural landing spot for him. The Falcons have starting guards in place with Chris Lindstrom and Matthew Bergeron, but offensive line depth is never a bad thing. Atlanta just saw Kaleb McGary, its starting right tackle from 2019-24, retire in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With NFL offseason programs well underway, including OTAs for teams with new head coaches, several big-name players remain…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":895922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2056],"tags":[1586,4994,254,1740,6867,391,54,1081,1705,7,221,253,2368,392,4893,2869,5736,7470,1509,54564,11808,1304,122,6,1515,57,3698,252,261,531,19192,222,1089],"class_list":["post-895921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston-texans","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-alec-pierce","tag-atlanta-falcons","tag-bobby-wagner","tag-cameron-jordan","tag-chicago-bears","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-cooper-kupp","tag-deebo-samuel","tag-football","tag-houston","tag-houston-texans","tag-houstontexans","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-jadeveon-clowney","tag-jaxon-smith-njigba","tag-joey-bosa","tag-jonnu-smith","tag-josh-downs","tag-max-iheanachor","tag-michael-pittman-jr","tag-myles-garrett","tag-national-football-league","tag-nfl","tag-nick-bosa","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-rashid-shaheed","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-stefon-diggs","tag-taylor-decker","tag-texans","tag-tyreek-hill"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/895922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}