With just one playoff game left—the San Francisco 49ers versus the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII—and 30 NFL teams preparing for the 2024 offseason, we look ahead over the next two months, with free agency beginning in March.
We asked the writers for NFL Nation to select one player from each team they cover whose contract situation will have the biggest impact on that team’s summer plans. A few quarterbacks who advanced their teams to the postseason, several elite running backs, a standout wide receiver from the AFC North, and a defensive tackle who won a Super Bowl but went on a protracted holdout in the offseason are all on this list.
Though Ed Oliver is the lone defensive tackle on the 53-man roster with a contract through 2024, this could just as easily be wide receiver Gabe Davis, who stated in March that he plans to look into free agency. Not to mention the several free agents on the defensive end. It would make sense to bring back Jones, who was a crucial starter alongside Oliver when healthy (Jones missed nine games because of a torn pectoral suffered in Week 5), but it might not be so simple given Buffalo’s tight cap position.
Though Ed Oliver is the lone defensive tackle on the 53-man roster with a contract through 2024, this could just as easily be wide receiver Gabe Davis, who stated in March that he plans to look into free agency. Not to mention the several free agents on the defensive end. It would make sense to bring back Jones, who was a crucial starter alongside Oliver when healthy (Jones missed nine games because of a torn pectoral suffered in Week 5), but it might not be so simple given Buffalo’s tight cap position.
General manager Brandon Beane stated, “We missed DaQuan when he got hurt in London, and I told him as much [Monday].” He has the right to examine his market and determine
The 2020 sixth-round pick is expected to earn a large salary since he has grown into a solid starter at right guard or right tackle. Championship teams, according to club owner Robert Kraft, have a good draft class, and Onwenu is a prime example of the kind of player the team has produced, therefore it should be easy for them to sign him to a second deal. The offensive line is already one of the team’s biggest areas of need, thus failing to do so would leave a gap that would need to be filled. — Michael Reiss
Whch athletes best embodied the off-season?
Huff, an undrafted free agent who joined the team four years ago, is probably requesting at least $15 million annually after racking up a career-high 10 sacks. The Jets intend to hold onto Huff, their most versatile edge player; nevertheless, in the last two first rounds, they selected edge rushers Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald IV. Keeping Huff around will be difficult because he wants to play every down. The franchise tag is not guaranteed. — Cimini Rich
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