The trade gavel has banged three times on major deals in the run-up to this week’s NFL free agency kickoff, and none of those closing strikes were close to sending Philadelphia Eagles wideout A.J. Brown to another NFL team.

That may change Monday. Or the Eagles’ continued asking price of a first-round draft pick for Brown could end up halting talks with teams until some free agency clutter clears out.

That mini quagmire in Philadelphia is one of the major storylines that has settled onto the doorstep of free agency, with three major trades getting consummated before the Eagles have gotten close to a deal for Brown. Among them: the Las Vegas Raiders sending edge rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens; the Kansas City Chiefs flipping cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams; and the Chicago Bears trading wideout DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills.

Interestingly, one of those deals also pulled back the curtain on one of the other storylines that now bears watching in the first week of free agency. Specifically, the Dallas Cowboys’ pursuit of Crosby, which included an offer of a first- and second-round pick for the star edge rusher. While the Ravens ultimately surrendered the two first-round picks that Las Vegas sought, the Cowboys’ aggressive involvement added some traction to the declaration of team owner Jerry Jones at the NFL’s scouting combine, when he told reporters Dallas would be willing to “bust the budget” in free agency and spend “more money than we have.”

The remarks predictably drew some eye-rolling in the Dallas fan base, which has heard Jones make big promises about free agency in the recent past, only to see the proclamations flop once the contracts started flying. But the Cowboys were clearly the other big bidder for Crosby, which should signal that Dallas will have some kind of presence in both the edge rusher and high-end player arenas — either in free agency or if another trade presents itself before the draft.

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That reality has made the NFC East rivals two spicy teams to watch, albeit for somewhat different reasons. While the Cowboys are coming in from a point of aggressive adding, the Eagles have to figure out what kind of subtraction is in order while also balancing some additions. And it doesn’t involve just the future of Brown, either. Two league sources told Yahoo Sports last week that the Eagles are at least open to listening to offers for defensive lineman Jalen Carter, who is entering his fourth season and is now projected to have a fifth-year team option that is expected to exceed $27 million in 2027.

For now, there are some economic factors weighing on Carter’s next potential deal with the Eagles. Among them, Philadelphia extended nose tackle Jordan Davis with a three-year, $78 million deal and are expected to begin working on massive extensions with cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean after the 2026 season. While already assumed to be a pair of expensive contracts, the Eagles’ task of getting Mitchell and DeJean extended in 2027 was put into some stark focus Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams signed McDuffie to a record-breaking four-year, $124 million deal at his position. That contract took the lid off a cornerback position that has been slowly creeping toward a “catch up” offseason that would put top end CBs onto a similar salary plateau as top-end wide receivers. That time is coming both this offseason and likely next. And the Eagles have two of the deals that will shape the market coming up when extension windows for Mitchell and DeJean open next offseason.

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After both earned first team All-Pro nods in 2025, Mitchell and DeJean are on track to sign elite cornerback extensions once the window opens one year from now. Add that future expense to the Eagles trying to get a deal done with edge rusher Jaelan Phillips in the coming days, too. Phillips will be a contract to watch, after the Eagles acquired him last season from the Miami Dolphins at the trade deadline for a third-round pick. The Eagles’ coaching staff and front office believe Phillips, who will turn 27 this offseason, still has an immense pass-rushing ceiling after finally playing a healthy season in 2025. He’ll draw interest on the open market, too, which could drive his next contract average over the $20 million per season mark.

It’s unlikely Carter would ever be dealt without a significant player or massive haul of draft picks coming back in return, but 2025 was also a season of regression as the 2024 second team All-Pro dealt with a lingering shoulder injury for much of the season. It put Philadelphia into an interesting crossroads this offseason — with Carter now eligible for his own extension, but some lingering concern about his injury saddled 2025 and what his value will look like if he has another similar season in 2026.

It wouldn’t be an offseason without general manager Howie Roseman making some big moves. What he’s doing with Brown and Carter — and whether he’ll get a deal done with Phillips — will all be at the top of that list.

Some other odds and ends as we head into free agency this week …

How tense will it get between Chiefs, Travis Kelce?

There’s some skepticism in both league and agent circles about Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce truly testing the market in free agency — but it’s also not being entirely ruled out, either.

What’s clear is the Chiefs would like to bring Kelce back at a salary that would be a paycut from the $17.125 million average from his most recent two-year extension. A reality working in the Chiefs’ favor is that Kelce turns 37 next season, is three seasons removed from his last All-Pro appearance, and isn’t expected to draw an elite level contract from a team that would motivate him to split with the Chiefs.

Don’t be surprised if Kansas City plays this one tougher than expected and Kelce returns to the fold later into free agency.

3 teams in running for C Tyler Linderbaum

Offensive linemen, especially tackles (even marginal ones), are often flaunted over in free agency. It’s less often that you see it happen with a center, but that’s part of what is expected to shape some of the early headlines with multiple teams going after Tyler Linderbaum. Among those in the fray, the Raiders, Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens will be prominent. Don’t be shocked if a surprise team emerges and landed Linderbaum with the most lucrative deal for a center in NFL history. A multitude of teams could use Linderbaum to help anchor their line, and that’s going to make him one of the more intriguing free agency chases this week.

Other observations on Bears, Commanders, Alec Pierce and Kyler Murray

The Chicago Bears weren’t major players in the pursuit of Maxx Crosby, leaving open the question of how the franchise is going to attack its lack of an edge rush. Either the Bears have another player they’re confident in landing during free agency, or there is some optimism that the deep defensive line class of this NFL Draft will produce some hits for Chicago with their three top-60 picks. …

Indianapolis Colts wideout Alec Pierce is going to land a staggering deal in free agency, but one interesting player to keep an eye on is Green Bay’s Romeo Doubs. Some teams believe he can be a quality No. 2 wideout in the right system. Relative to his numbers (2,424 receiving yards and 21 touchdown catches) don’t be surprised if Doubs nets a nice intermediate wideout contract. …

One position that I’m certain will get filled by a free agent is the Commanders’ running back spot. The Commanders have been doing a lot of work on the class of running backs and seem intent on landing one of the top two or three on the market. …

And finally, one player who could be on the market for a while due to his own design is quarterback Kyler Murray. It sounds like his camp is more concerned with making sure he lands in the perfect spot to get his starting career back on the right track. If that takes longer than expected, it will be because of a push to study teams and see where some of them intend to go with quarterbacks in the draft, as well as scheme and coaching fits. Of course, beggars can’t be choosers and Murray may have to simply deal with the market he has rather than the one that would be most ideal.

Early in the week during the NFL’s annual scouting combine, a high-ranking AFC executive kicked off a clandestine lunch meeting with an interesting question about Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the prospective No. 1 pick in the forthcoming draft.

The executive is tasked with his team’s cross-checks on the 2026 quarterback class which is a position of long-term need for his franchise. Naturally, he arrived in Indianapolis at the end of last month eager to get into interviews with players like Mendoza, Alabama’s Ty Simpson and others, as well as take in the passing workouts from those who chose to take part. But even before the week’s events kicked off, he had started drilling down on Mendoza’s standing as a potential franchise quarterback.

“I’m not saying he’s not going to be a good player, but it’s not like there aren’t some things [to question],” he said. “He’s tough as s***. I can’t deny that. He’s really tough mentally and he made some big throws in big games. But he had a really strong running game [at Indiana]. He was throwing to three wide receivers [Omar Cooper Jr., Elijah Sarratt and Charlie Becker] that could all end up being taken in the top 60 picks by the time they get drafted. His offensive line was good. His defense was good. And they were one of the best coached teams in the country.”

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He went on, noting Mendoza essentially operated out of shotgun his entire college career; his passable-but-not-great athleticism; his lack of elite passing production in the middle of the field; a reliance on back-shoulder throws; and a suggestion that Mendoza’s tape from his 2023 and 2024 seasons at Cal was also good but not great. And then he pointed at Indiana’s 2024 starting quarterback, Kurtis Rourke, who put up his own banner college football season after transferring to the Hoosiers for that season.

After making the Rourke reference, the executive asked, “What if it’s a scheme and coaching that helps produce great quarterback stats?”

The layered point was that there’s a chance that someday we look back at Mendoza’s 2025 season and recognize that he caught far more green lights with the Hoosiers than we might have realized in the moment. It’s also a point that comes with a caveat: This AFC executive — like every other QB-needy organization not holding the first pick in the draft — won’t have a chance to select Mendoza in April. So, admittedly, there may be some motivation to view these views with a heavy dose of skepticism.

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In all of this, though, there was another underlying current. One that was strongly suggestive about the Las Vegas Raiders, who are poised to take Mendoza with the top pick. Something along the lines of:

Before and after the Raiders take Mendoza at the top of the draft, the organization shoulders the monumental task of rebuilding the entire team around him. First and foremost with an offensive line that doesn’t allow him to get destroyed as a developing player — which is not something the Raiders have done well in recent seasons.

That’s what should have been on the minds of Raiders fans Friday night, when Las Vegas deftly squeezed two first-round picks out of the Baltimore Ravens for star defensive end Maxx Crosby. Picks that will fall at No. 14 overall in this year’s draft, and then in the first round of what is expected to be an exceptionally talented 2027 pool of prospects. It’s a trade that, by all accounts, was leveraged against interest from the Dallas Cowboys, laying the foundation for a ramped-up rebuild around Mendoza.

Make no mistake, the Crosby trade was officially the first cannon shot signaling the start of this effort. It now gives the Raiders the flexibility to add multiple offensive linemen in the next two drafts — with four picks in the top 67 (Nos. 1, 14, 36 and 67) in 2026, and at least three picks in the top 64 (two first-rounders and one second-rounder) in 2027. Now accentuate that reality with the Raiders currently projecting to have hundreds of millions in salary cap space over the next two offseasons, two budding stars in tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty, and an offensive-minded head coach in Klint Kubiak taking the controls.

While nothing is guaranteed, this certainly has the potential to engage the lasting pivot point the Raiders have been chasing for more than two decades — if not the past 40+ years. It also takes at least some stink off a recent report that the Raiders are again riding the very fine edge of being a monumental mess under the occasionally watchful eye of minority owner Tom Brady and his organizational consigliere/mole/wellness coordinator Alex Guerrero.

It was the kind of trade that set the league on fire Friday night. Not only did it bring into focus the Ravens making an all-in commitment to at least the final two years of Lamar Jackson’s contract (which currently runs through 2027), but it also showcased that the Cowboys, who reportedly finished as the second bidder for Crosby, are serious about adding some other major pieces this offseason. Apparently lending some credence to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones suggesting he’d “bust the budget” this offseason to maximize whatever window Dallas currently has.

That’s all interesting context for a wider vantage of the NFL as it edges closer to free agency Monday. But none of it is more meaningful than what the Raiders are setting up to do. Their intentions were signaled first with the future release of 2025 starter Geno Smith, who will have his bridge quarterback role for the Raiders absorbed by another cheaper veteran free agent (with some starting experience) this offseason. Then next with the expected release of veteran guard Alex Cappa, who was part of a woefully underperforming offensive line last season. And finally, the cannon shot on Friday night, which adds momentum into the turn toward Mendoza.

It was a moment that one NFC talent evaluator noted late Friday, remarking the Raiders’ haul over the next two drafts.

“A lot of [draft] choices,” he said. “ They just have to make the right picks. That’s where the pressure comes into play.”

Before and after Mendoza is chosen No. 1 overall in April.

INDIANAPOLIS — As the NFL scouting combine spun down Sunday night and moving trucks began loading the remnants of the event, a sizable slice of free agency felt as if it was solidly unpacked.

Specifically: Quarterback Malik Willis. The mystery salary figure that will take to sign him. And finally, the destination where he’ll be starting in 2026.

Talking with a prominent league source Monday morning — who will be involved in this offseason’s quarterback market and has been part of several prominent QB negotiations over several decades — it felt as if a pecking order for the Willis chase had emerged over the course of combine week.

“I think it will be Arizona, Miami and Pittsburgh in the weeds, depending on what happens with Aaron Rodgers,” the source said. “The Jets, too.”

And the contract?

“Two years at 50 [million], with $25 to $35 million guaranteed — probably closer to the $35 million.”

Patrick McDermott via Getty Images

Of course, all of those potential destinations — aside from the Jets — have some sort of contingency to work out with their 2025 starting quarterback. The Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins will likely have to release Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa, respectively, in the coming days. And the Pittsburgh Steelers will either have to get some kind of commitment (or de-commitment) from Aaron Rodgers about next season — or simply move on without having the necessary clarity. The Dolphins and Cardinals will also have to do some salary cap and roster gymnastics in the coming days to absorb the dead cap charges associated with Murray and Tagovailoa.

The rub for each team:

Arizona — The Cardinals can make a contract work for Willis and have some high-end familiarity. General manager Monti Ossenfort was the director of player personnel for the Tennessee Titans when that franchise drafted Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur is the younger brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, whose scheme and coaching revived Willis as a starting quarterback candidate. And Arizona’s offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, was on Green Bay’s staff last season as a defensive analyst. There’s little the Cardinals won’t know about Willis’ makeup or what made him successful in his limited starts for the Packers. Arizona also already has a surrounding foundation that is attractive, including first-team All-Pro tight end Trey McBride, and wideouts Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson.

Miami — The Dolphins have their own head coach and front-office ties to Willis, with new head coach Jeff Hafley having served as the Packers’ defensive coordinator last season, and new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan having served in a multitude of front-office roles in Green Bay dating to 2004.

While the Dolphins also have some offensive talent on their roster, the offloading of Tagovailoa is going to put the franchise in the precarious position of having to either trade or release some players. They may also have to hold off on some contract extensions or get creative with deal structures to get beyond an NFL-record $99.2 million dead cap charge that is expected to be split between the 2026 and 2027 seasons. In both the respects of the roster and financial pliability, the Dolphins have an uphill climb.

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Pittsburgh — Everyone is waiting on Rodgers, but it’s worth noting that new head coach Mike McCarthy still has friends in Green Bay’s building and certainly has the ability to get a handle on Willis beyond the game tape. A $35 million guarantee might be a bit of a stretch for ownership, which hasn’t exactly been wildly loose with cash commitments at the quarterback spot since the end of the Ben Roethlisberger era. But part of the Willis and Steelers buzz at the combine was two fold: McCarthy’s age (62) and his veteran rosters strap him with a win-now task. He’s also tasked with finding and developing a young quarterback simultaneously. If Rodgers returns, that’s a two-player balance for McCarthy. But if Willis is signed, it’s realistically the only QB option on the open market who can accomplish winning and grooming all in one player.

New York Jets — This is an every-option-on-the-table franchise when it comes to the quarterback spot this offseason. With Fernando Mendoza out of reach, the Jets really have no other choice when it comes to a potential long-term starter. Landing Willis would help the Jets take a major step in their reboot now, but it might take paying Willis more than a two-year, $50 million deal (and $35 million guarantee) to get it done. Team owner Woody Johnson threw last year’s starter, Justin Fields, under the bus in a very public and terrible-looking manner last season. And the overall roster is in a state of rebooting, with a significant amount of traction in the 2027 draft, which includes a haul of three first-round picks. That latter reality could result in patience for the Jets, who could test run a bridge starter like Murray for a season and then have the quarterback-rich 2027 draft as their backstop.

The big question here will be whether Willis wants to gamble on the Jets and less-than-ideal ownership, and what other options the Jets can pursue.

All of these pursuits are expected to hit the ground running when the legal tampering period begins in free agency on March 9. But one of the first significant markers about how this will unfold could come out of Pittsburgh — if and when Rodgers lets the Steelers know his plans for 2026. If the Steelers and Rodgers are going their separate ways, the Willis market could get heated quickly.

Some other odds and ends from the conclusion of combine week …

• I came into the week believing the Minnesota Vikings were looking for someone to compete with J.J. McCarthy.I exited it believing they’re really looking for someone to come in and be the team’s starter in 2026. The ankle injury that McCarthy sustained last season — and the lingering amount of time it took for him to return — had a lot to do with McCarthy suddenly becoming such a questionable bet moving forward.
  

• I don’t think the San Francisco 49ers are trading Mac Jones unless there is an offer they couldn’t refuse and there’s also a backup QB available whom they trust. There’s too much on the line with Brock Purdy’s injury history and Jones was too valuable to sacrifice for a middle-round pick.
  

• I’ll be interested to see if anyone bites on the Anthony Richardson Sr. trade availability. The tough spot for interested teams is that Richardson’s fifth-year option is going to be declined by whoever would deal for him, giving an acquiring team nothing but one season to look at him. For any interested team, the starting quarterback spot would have to be monumentally shaky — to the point of potentially giving Richardson a long look as a starter in 2026. It’s worth noting that the Cleveland Browns’ front office was high on Richardson’s ceiling when he came into the league.
  

• I think it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the Las Vegas Raiders hold onto Geno Smith for a while this offseason. I’ve heard the Raiders want to keep their options open with pushing Fernando Mendoza immediately into a starting role, keeping the door open to giving him time to get his feet under him if he needs it. Secondly, there’s a chance that a trade market for Smith materializes once someone gets left without good options. Even if a trade market for Smith doesn’t come together (and I think it might), the Raiders could hold onto Smith. Think along the lines of what the New England Patriots did with Drake Maye during his rookie season, when veteran Jacoby Brissett made five starts for the franchise. It’s possible the Raiders could prioritize taking their time with Mendoza until the offense can come together a bit in the scheme of new head coach Klint Kubiak. That might be what fans want to see, but it definitely helped Maye’s transition into New England’s starting role in 2024.
  

• Last but not least, I think Kirk Cousins will sit back in the early stages of free agency and see what kind of market comes to him. There could be as many as nine starting quarterback changes this offseason, and it doesn’t seem like there are nine Day 1 starters out there unless someone forces it with Alabama’s Ty Simpson in the draft. Cousins could end up finding some solid value late in the migration process, as teams see options dry up and need a veteran starter. I don’t think Cousins’ starting days are over.