Top NFL Free Agents Teams Need to Let Walk Away in 2024 Offseason
The upcoming NFL offseason is shaping up to be a riveting one, due in no small part to how the free agency signing period could shake out. There are plenty of elite talents seeking a new deal, and many of these players are tracking to wear a different uniform during the 2024 NFL season.
There are a variety of reasons for this impending frenzy of player movement. Some of these—such as slipping production or fading athleticism—fall more directly on the player, while others, including salary-cap constraints and schematic shifts, are largely out of their control. Front offices will need to take all these factors into account when evaluating talent and negotiating deals to shore up holes in their lineups.
With that in mind, here are five of the top free agents whose current employer should allow them to walk at the start of the new league year.
Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Cincinnati Bengals
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The Cincinnati Bengals have invested heavily into their secondary over the past two NFL drafts, expending four picks between Rounds 1 and 3 on defensive backs in that span. That series of selections—which includes a pair of cornerbacks taken at No. 60 overall in Cam Taylor-Britt in 2022 and D.J. Turner in 2023—should render incumbent starter Chidobe Awuzie expendable this offseason.
While Awuzie was originally a strong value pickup by Cincinnati after the club signed him to a budget three-year, $21.8 million deal ahead of the 2021 campaign, the No. 1 cornerback tore his ACL midway through the 2022 season and hasn't looked the same since. After earning a sterling 83.3 PFF grade in his first year with the Bengals, Awuzie regressed to score a far more pedestrian 62.6 this past season.
Awuzie's recent ACL tear was the second major injury of his career, following a hamstring strain that sidelined him for seven games during the 2020 season—his last with the Dallas Cowboys. While he's generally been productive when he's on the field, these ailments have limited him to 45 games with 38 starts over the past four seasons.
Rather than paying Awuzie market value—estimated by Pro Football Focus to be $21 million over the next two years—the Bengals should instead prioritize getting their younger, homegrown draft picks more playing time. This will also free up cash the team can use to retain more critical free agents such as wideout Tee Higgins.
Considering Higgins is projected to earn over $18 million per year on his next deal, those savings could be the difference between losing the star wideout and keeping him around on a second contract.
Marquise Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals
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The Arizona Cardinals made a draft-day splash two years ago, sending the Baltimore Ravens their first-round pick in exchange for Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and a third-round selection. The move was expected to round out Arizona's receiving corps, injecting a dynamic slot receiver into a unit headlined by DeAndre Hopkins.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the trade hasn't exactly panned out as they likely hoped. Brown came over to the club following a career-best 91-catch, 1,008-yard season, but he regressed to reel in 67 passes for 709 yards and three scores. Injuries, including a foot fracture that cost Brown five games and star quarterback Kyler Murray's season-ending ACL tear, derailed any hopes of Arizona making it back to the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
Things went from bad to worse for Brown in 2023. Although he no longer had to contend with Hopkins for looks following the No. 1 wideout's release, Brown's production slipped to a meager 51 catches for 574 yards—both career-low marks—and four touchdowns on 101 targets over 14 games.
After two seasons in two different offensive systems, it's become clear that Brown isn't a great fit for the Cardinals. The team should be willing to part with the diminutive receiver not only because of his middling on-field contributions, but also the emergence of Michael Wilson.
Wilson was a bright spot for the Cardinals in his first NFL season, nearly matching Brown's output despite seeing just a shade over half his looks. With the 23-year-old tallying up 565 yards and three scores on 38 catches, Arizona should feel comfortable forging ahead with a pass-catching nucleus led by Wilson and breakout tight end Trey McBride.
Factor in that Brown is projected to earn a contract valued by Spotrac at nearly $15 million per season, and it shouldn't be too difficult for the Cardinals to let him walk this spring.
Kirk Cousins, QB, Minnesota Vikings
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Kirk Cousins may be one of the better NFL quarterbacks out there, but his time with the Minnesota Vikings hasn't resulted in much postseason success. During Cousins' six seasons in the Twin Cities, Minnesota has only reached the playoffs twice and won just a single game during those appearances.
As great as Cousins has been during the regular season—he'd made Pro Bowl appearances in three of his last four healthy seasons and was trending toward another nod before an Achilles tear cut his 2023 campaign short after eight games—the lack of meaningful victories is quite telling.
Although Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has publicly stated his intention to retain Cousins, the team should be willing to back off that claim. Going into his age-36 season, coming off a serious injury and set to earn another massive pile of cash, it's time for Cousins and Minnesota to part ways.
While the Vikings don't have an heir-apparent lined up, the franchise would be better served saving the nearly $40 million per year Spotrac expects Cousins to earn on his next deal and allocating it to other areas of the roster while trying to find a younger, cheaper option to build around for the long haul.
Minnesota could look to the 2024 draft to find Cousins' successor. The Bleacher Report Scouting Department had the team tapping LSU's Jayden Daniels with the No. 11 pick in one of its recent mock drafts, while Oregon's Bo Nix could also be an option when the Vikings are on the clock in April.
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Chris Jones, DT, Kansas City Chiefs
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The Kansas City Chiefs may be on top of the world following their second successive Super Bowl victory, but the front office will soon be tasked with making some agonizing roster decisions.
The toughest of these will be choosing which of the team's two standout defensive stars should be retained on a long-term deal and which should be allowed to sign elsewhere this offseason. With both Chris Jones and L'Jarius Sneed set to become free agents, the cash-strapped organization simply cannot afford to dole out market value contracts to each.
Considering neither player has intimated a willingness to give the Chiefs a significant discount during contract negotiations, Kansas City's brass must pick one to commit to. While it will be a heart-wrenching choice, letting Jones—one of only three Chiefs players to start in all three of their Super Bowl victories over the past half-decade—go is ultimately the best choice.
While Jones is coming off a second consecutive All-Pro campaign and is a generational talent, he will be on the wrong side of 30 come July. The defensive tackle's production already slipped this season—Jones' 10.5 sacks in 2023 were well off the career-best 15.5 sacks he recorded the previous year—but he's still likely to cash in a record-breaking contract or close to one when he signs this spring.
The Chiefs must consider that Sneed is 2.5 years younger than his defensive lineman teammate and is only going to be entering his fifth NFL season in 2024. He's a sound long-term investment for Kansas City, especially with Spotrac projecting Sneed will make $16.3 million annually on his next contract. That is a magnitude less than Jones' market value of $28.4 million per year.
That extra cash could go a long way for Kansas City, allowing the organization to shore up other weak points of the roster as it tries to become the first team in league history to win three consecutive Lombardi Trophies.
Patrick Queen, LB, Baltimore Ravens
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The Baltimore Ravens have a long history of bringing some of the NFL's top off-ball linebackers up through their ranks. Patrick Queen is one of the latest in a storied line of elite players to man that position for the squad, but it remains to be seen how much longer he'll be with the organization now that he's due for a new contract.
Queen has been a great pickup for the Ravens ever since the organization drafted him No. 28 overall in 2020. Despite the heavy investment into his services four years ago, Baltimore will be hard-pressed to afford both Queen and Roquan Smith going forward. Smith notably earned a five-year extension worth a record-setting (for the position) $100 million just last year, a deal that will keep him in Charm City through the 2027 campaign.
While Queen rarely leaves the field (he logged 97 percent of the Ravens' defensive snaps this past season) and contributes heavily as both a strong run-stuffer and pass-rusher—he ranks No. 2 in the league among off-ball linebackers in both sacks (8) and pressures (48) over the past two seasons—his estimated market value of $18.5 million per season should price him out of Baltimore's reach.
The Ravens are coming off a painful defeat in the AFC Championship Game and have several more pressing needs to address this offseason. With defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, guard Kevin Zeitler, edge Jadeveon Clowney, safety Geno Stone and wideout Odell Beckham Jr. all set to test the market, Baltimore should let Queen walk and use a draft pick to unearth a much cheaper replacement.
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