NFL Free Agency 2025: Teams with Most Salary Cap Space Ahead of Thursday's Signings

NFL free agency officially opened at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. However, the day's relative lack of activity made it perfectly clear that we're now in free agency's second wave.

The legal-contact window opened on Monday, and many of this year's top free agents agreed to deals over the first 48 hours. For many franchises, the 4 p.m. deadline had more of a clerical impact, as that's when deals—and their respective impacts on the salary cap—could become official.

Of course, free agency is far from over. Dozens of starting-caliber players and potential free-agent bargains remain available and will find new homes in the coming days and weeks.

Which teams are well-positioned to take advantage? Let's examine where every team's salary cap situation stands heading into Thursday.

Updated 2025 Salary Cap Picture

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Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh

Los Angeles Chargers $83.9 million

New England Patriots $79.6 million

Tennessee Titans $76.2 million

Seattle Seahawks $57.5 million

Arizona Cardinals $57 million

Detroit Lions $53 million

Washington Commanders $42.7 million

Pittsburgh Steelers $41.7 million

Minnesota Vikings $38.2 million

Dallas Cowboys $36.8 million

Jacksonville Jaguars $35.5 million

San Francisco 49ers $33 million

Las Vegas Raiders $31.7 million

New York Giants $29.1 million

Kansas City Chiefs $26.4 million

Carolina Panthers $25.2 million

Cincinnati Bengals $22.5 million

Los Angeles Rams $21.8 million

New York Jets $19.9 million

Green Bay Packers $19.7 million

Denver Broncos $17.6 million

Philadelphia Eagles $17.2 million

Chicago Bears $14.7 million

Miami Dolphins $12.8 million

Cleveland Browns $7.6 million

Buffalo Bills $4.1 million

New Orleans Saints $3.7 million

Indianapolis Colts $1.9 million

Tampa Bay Buccaneers $1.1 million

Atlanta Falcons -$285,789

Baltimore Ravens -$309,374

Houston Texans -$3.9 million

*Cap information via Spotrac, as of 12 a.m. ET on 3/13

Cap and Free Agency Overview

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QB Aaron Rodgers

While many agreements were in place before Wednesday afternoon, the start of the new league year was quite meaningful.

For one, teams had to be under the salary cap of $279.2 million by 4 p.m. ET. To get there, we saw some teams make last-minute moves. The Kansas City Chiefs, for example, restructured the contracts of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce to create $49.4 million in additional cap room, according to ESPN's Field Yates.

The Buffalo Bills traded cornerback Kaiir Elam to the Dallas Cowboys, which cleared $2.5 million in cap space.

The 4 p.m. deadline also marked when teams could officially release players with a post-June 1 designation. The list of players released includes former New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

It's important to remember, though, that players released with a post-June 1 designation won't actually see their salaries come off the books until June.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp was also released with a post-June 1 designation on Wednesday.

Those players are now free to sign with other teams, however. Javon Hargrave, for example, was released at 4 p.m. and immediately agreed to a two-year, $30 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

We saw plenty of other free agents come off the board, including DeMarcus Lawrence, Jonathan Jones, Even Engram and Mac Jones

Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski provided grades for all of Wednesday's biggest moves.

Naturally, some teams boast more financial flexibility than others heading into the next wave of free agency. Teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals can afford to chase the top remaining free agents if they so choose.

Teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts will need to go bargain-hunting unless able to clear more cap space in the coming days.

There are still players worth pursuing too. The list of notable names who are still available includes Cam Robinson, Azeez Ojulari, Amari Cooper, Rasul Douglas and Asante Samuel Jr.

Of course, much of the buzz will revolve around the remaining quarterback market. Rodgers is expected to choose between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Russell Wilson could make a Pittsburgh return if Rodgers doesn't land there, and he's also in the mix for the Giants and Cleveland Browns.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Wilson will visit Cleveland on Thursday before visiting the Giants on Friday.

While the initial frenzy may have ended, free agency isn't even close to over.