2026 NFL Free Agents With the Most to Prove in the Playoffs

There will be 742 players still in action when the 2025-26 NFL playoffs kick off Saturday in Carolina. All of those players share one primary goal—make it to (and win) Super Bowl LX.

However, that's not the only goal for some of the players who will be taking the field. Quite a few will see their contracts expire after the season ends. They aren't just playing for glory, they are playing for their next paycheck.

For some, it's not an issue. If Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wants to continue playing, he's likely going to get whatever he asks for (within reason). Philadelphia Eagles edge-rusher Jaelan Phillips is headed for a monster payday despite so-so stats in 2025.

For quite a few who play in the Wild Card Round, however, how they finish the campaign could be almost as important as the regular season that came before it.

Just ask Josh Sweat. His eight sacks in the regular season last year were solid, but his 2.5 sacks in the Super Bowl helped him cash in in a big way.

RB Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

AP Photo/John Raoux

Not that long ago, there was talk Travis Etienne Jr. wouldn't even be the starting running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025. Some were talking up Tank Bigsby, and others were extolling the virtues of rookie Bhayshul Tuten.

Now, Bigsby is in Philadelphia while Tuten carried the ball just 83 times and averaged 3.7 yards per carry. And Etienne posted the second 1,100-yard season of his four-year career and finished the season 11th in the NFL in rushing.

However, for all the success Etienne had this year, he has cooled off of late. He has just one game with 75 rushing yards over the past month. He last found the end zone in Week 14, and the 26-year-old hasn't topped 100 rushing yards in a game since September.

Running back isn't an easy position for players to earn big bucks at—teams are reluctant to commit significant resources to the position. But if Etienne can help carry the Jaguars to a deep postseason run, Jacksonville would feel a lot better about re-upping him next year, or a team with a need in the backfield could come calling.

Opening the postseason against a Bills team that ranks in the bottom five in run defense is a good place to start.

WR Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers

AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

With the San Francisco 49ers blasted by injuries last season, Jauan Jennings had something of a coming-out party in his fourth season.

He saw over 100 targets for the first time and set a career-high in receptions (77), receiving yards (975) and receiving scores (7). After angling for a new contract, he got a reworked, incentive-heavy deal for 2025.

He didn't hit most of those incentives.

To his credit, Jennings did set another career-high with nine scores. But despite Deebo Samuel leaving and Brandon Aiyuk playing exactly zero snaps, Jennings managed just 55 catches for 643 yards. His 11.7 yards per catch was a career-low. His catch percentage of 61.1 was the second-worst of his career.

With over $37 million in cap space per Over the Cap, the 49ers have the resources to bring Jennings back—at a reasonable price. Given the state of their wideout corps, the team likely has the desire as well.

But Jennings is also one of the better wide receivers slated to hit the open market next year, and if he goes on a tear and helps the Niners make a run toward playing in a "home" Super Bowl, he could see his annual salary approach $20 million in a new deal.

OT Rasheed Walker, Green Bay Packers

AP Photo/Duane Burleson

Offensive tackles regularly make ridiculous money in free agency.

The Tennessee Titans gave Dan Moore $20 million per season a year ago, and he has not consistently performed at that level. Cole Van Lanen just got $17 million a year from the Jacksonville Jaguars—after three career starts prior to this season.

Rasheed Walker of the Green Bay Packers has an opportunity to be the next tackle to cash in big in free agency and establish himself as the top player available at a premium position.

The 25-year-old has started at least 15 games for the Packers in each of the past three seasons, including 16 games in 2025. His numbers are good but far from great—per PFF, he allowed five sacks and committed nine penalties in just under 1,000 snaps, and he was a liability in run blocking.

However, Green Bay's hopes of upsetting the rival Bears this week hinge largely on getting running back Josh Jacobs going, and the playoffs offer Walker an opportunity to show he's a better tackle than the stats indicate.

If he can do that, he could earn a deal even bigger than Moore's, because solid blindside protectors who haven't turned 26 yet get paid.

OL Cade Mays, Carolina Panthers

AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman

It has been a season of surprises for the Carolina Panthers, a team few people expected to be playing in the postseason. Fourth-year center Cade Mays has been one of those surprises.

When the Panthers inked the 26-year-old to a one-year, $3.4 million extension last offseason, it was with the belief that he would back up Austin Corbett at center this year. However, Corbett went down early in the season with a knee injury, and Mays was thrust into the starting lineup.

Mays has missed time as well with an injured ankle, but when in the starting lineup he has been solid. Per Pro Football Focus, the 6'6", 325-pounder has not allowed a sack in 726 snaps this year.

Mays played so well that once Corbett returned from injury, Mays stayed in the middle of the offensive line, while Corbett moved to guard.

Despite beating the Los Angeles Rams in Charlotte just over a month ago, the Panthers are massive underdogs at home Saturday. For Carolina to have a chance at an upset, the offensive line has to play well against a stout Rams front seven.

A big game from Mays in that upset win would drive up his asking price on the open market.

Edge Boye Mafe, Seattle Seahawks

AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

There was a time when Seattle Seahawks edge-rusher Boye Mafe appeared headed for stardom. After being drafted in the second round by Seattle in 2022, he surpassed 50 total tackles and logged nine sacks.

Since then, though, the 27-year-old has regressed. In 2024, he registered a so-so six sacks. Despite the Seahawks fielding one of the best defenses in the NFL this season, he had just two sacks, which was less than linebacker Drake Thomas and safety Nick Emmanwori.

Mafe was on the field for 50 percent of Seattle's snaps just once after Week 14.

That downturn would appear to have the Minnesota product headed toward a relatively modest, short-term deal, whether it's in Seattle or elsewhere. But we are talking about a player who has shown flashes of game-changing potential and is relatively young.

If the Seahawks are able to pay off on their No. 1 seed in the NFC, it will be with the defense leading the way. And if Mafe can get on a hot streak and peel off a few sacks in the postseason, it could add quite a bit of cash (and maybe another year or two) onto his next contract.

Edge Odafe Oweh, Los Angeles Chargers

AP Photo/William Liang

Like Boye Mafe, Odafe Oweh was once a highly regarded prospect.

In 2021, the Baltimore Ravens selected the former Penn State standout in the first round. And when Oweh racked up 10 sacks last year, it appeared the lightbulb had come on.

However, the Ravens decided he was not part of their long-term plans, and after five games (and two starts) without a sack in 2025, he was shipped to the Los Angeles Chargers for safety Alohi Gilman and a Day 3 pick swap.

The 27-year-old has made just two more starts since joining the Bolts, slotting as a rotational pass-rusher behind Tuli Tuipulotu and Khalil Mack. But Oweh has made the most of his 347 snaps in Los Angeles, logging 7.5 sacks.

If the Chargers wish, they certainly have the money to re-up Oweh—their $103 million and change in projected cap space is the most in the NFL. Tuipulotu broke out this season with 13 sacks, but Mack is 34 years old and nearing the end of the line.

But if the Chargers can knock off the Patriots in the Wild Card Round and Oweh continues his regular-season per-snap productivity, he could be one of the NFL's most coveted free agents at a premium position.

CB Nahshon Wright, Chicago Bears

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Heading into the 2025 season, no one expected Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright to be playing his way into a significant payday in January. He was on his third team in five NFL seasons and had started just three games over his first four years.

Things have changed, though.

The 27-year-old had easily the best season of his professional career in his first season in Chicago. He started 16 games for the NFC North champions, logged over twice as many total tackles as in his first four seasons combined and picked off five passes—tied for second in the NFL. His passer rating against was a respectable 86.8.

Maybe that's just the classic contract year "breakout," or maybe Wright just needed a chance to play more. After never playing 150 snaps in a season, he surpassed 1,000 in 2025.

The question now becomes what a team might be willing to pay for that quality starter at a position that garners big checks on an annual basis. If Wright can continue to play well into the postseason against improved opposition, he could significantly exceed his 2025 earnings.

DB Coby Bryant, Seattle Seahawks

AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough

Over his four seasons in Seattle, Coby Bryant has played just about everywhere in the Seahawks' secondary—and done so well. He has played both inside and outside and manned both the deep and box safety spots.

The 26-year-old started 15 games for the Seahawks this season, mostly as a deep safety. His 66 total tackles aren't a gaudy number, but he nabbed a career-high four interceptions and posted the best coverage numbers of his career—the best completion percentage against (59.0) and passer rating against (54.0) of his career.

Bryant is healthy again after two missed games and will be starting for the defense that propelled the Seahawks to the NFC's best record and most successful regular season in franchise history.

The Seahawks have a hefty amount of salary-cap space—just over $66 million—so retaining their defensive free agents isn't out of the question. But there are multiple starters about to hit the open market, from Mafe and Bryant to cornerback Riq Woolen.

And if Seattle's defense plays in the postseason like it did over the past 17 contests, not one of them is going to be cheap, because Bryant's versatility and coverage skills are going to appeal to 31 other teams.