Buyer Beware: Which NFL Free Agents Should Teams Avoid in 2026?

The 2026 NFL free-agency class is a relatively weak one compared to some previous years, largely lacking the type of impact veterans capable of drastically shifting the league's landscape.

To make matters worse, several of the top players set to hit the open market have serious injury concerns and other red flags that should give teams pause when it comes to negotiating a market value contract.

While these players will still ink blockbuster contracts in a few months, it may not be long before their team begins to regret the signing.

With that in mind, here's a look at five impending free agents who clubs should be wary of committing to with a long-term, big-money deal.

QB Daniel Jones

AP Photo/John Raoux

Daniel Jones earned a much-needed new beginning with the Indianapolis Colts this past season. While he got off to a fast start and even looked like a potential MVP candidate in the early portion of the campaign, things didn't end too well for the former New York Giants star.

After besting Anthony Richardson for the QB1 role in training camp, Jones led Indy to a 7-1 record over his first eight starts. During that span, Jones completed an impressive 71.2 percent of his throws for 2,062 yards and 13 touchdowns. He added another 86 yards and four scores on 30 totes while only being intercepted three times and taking nine sacks.

The 28-year-old began to regress rapidly after that point, though. Between Weeks 9-14, the Colts won just one of five games—and needed overtime to accomplish that lone victory—with Jones struggling to keep his blistering pace from earlier in the season. His completion rate dipped to 62.4 percent, he had nearly as many interceptions (five) as touchdowns (six) and only managed a single rushing score in those contests.

After playing through a fibula injury that was clearly hindering his mobility, his season came to an end on December 7 when he tore his Achilles. Although there's hope he'll be cleared in time for training camp, it remains to be seen if the injury will have long-lasting effects.

It also remains to be seen where the 2019 No. 6 overall pick will even play next season. Although Colts GM Chris Ballard said "Jones has a really bright future here in Indianapolis," the market will ultimately decide where he winds up.

Spotrac estimates Jones' value to be nearly $45 million per year, a major salary commitment to an injury-prone quarterback who has appeared in 16 games during a season just once in his seven-year NFL career. 

If the Duke product returns to full strength and gets back to the level he was displaying prior to his injuries this past season, he could be a bargain for one of the many QB-needy clubs around the league.

If Jones is limited—much like Kirk Cousins was during his first season with the Atlanta Falcons following a season-ending Achilles tear three years ago—this could be one of the more regrettable free-agent signings in recent history.

TE Isaiah Likely

AP Photo/Nick Wass

Isaiah Likely has been a popular breakout candidate for several years, but the Baltimore Ravens tight end has mostly spent his NFL career working behind Mark Andrews in the team's pecking order.

Likely will finally get a chance to emerge from the three-time Pro Bowler's shadow in 2026. While he's a good bet to catch on as a primary pass-catching option for one of the many teams lacking a playmaker at the position, expectations should be tempered after he failed to realize the sky-high potential he displayed earlier in his career.

The 2022 fourth-rounder finished his rookie season with 60 targets, a mark that still stands as a career high. His most productive campaign came in 2024, but his 42/477/6 stat line on 58 targets doesn't jump off the page.

While Likely flashes his ability to be elite occasionally—most notably in the 2024 opener when he racked up a whopping nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets—he's been unable to contribute high-level production with any consistency. He followed up that breakout Week 1 performance last year by catching two of three looks for 26 yards with no touchdowns.

Despite the limited production, there have been reports that he is a franchise-tag candidate for the Ravens. With that tag worth a shade over $16 million for tight ends in 2026, he could earn significantly more than his $9.1 million Spotrac estimated market value.

It's a hefty price for Baltimore or any team to pay for a player who hasn't impacted the game at a high level with any consistency. The hope would be that Likely, who is still just 25 years old, makes a significant leap in 2026. Unfortunately, based on his past production and inability to capitalize on opportunities, this simply isn't likely to happen.

Edge Jaelan Phillips

AP Photo/Terrance Williams

Jaelan Phillips has been one of the more polarizing talents in the NFL ever since he was drafted on Day 1 in 2021. While he's an immense athlete who can blow by blockers with ease, he's been maddeningly inconsistent and prone to injury.

The 26-year-old put himself on the map as a rookie, recording 8.5 sacks in his first 17 games—instantly standing out as one of the better picks of his class and setting himself up as a foundational piece for the Miami Dolphins to build around.

Unfortunately, those 8.5 sacks remain the high-water mark of Phillips' career.

Although his seven-sack sophomore effort wasn't awful, the Miami product failed to build on the potential he displayed in Year 1. Things took a turn for the worse in 2023 when the edge-rusher was limited to just eight games due to an Achilles injury. His return the following season was marred by an ACL tear just four games in.

Phillips seems to have finally put those health woes behind, appearing in all 17 games during the 2025 season. Those contests were split between the Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles, the club that traded for him at the deadline to add some much-needed juice to its flailing pass rush.

Landing in the City of Brotherly Love did wonders for Phillips' free-agency stock. Although he only recorded two sacks in eight games with the Eagles, he tallied an impressive 17 pressures, four tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and fumble recovery in that span.

Suitors will now have to determine which version of Phillips they will get. Finding out won't be cheap, though.

Spotrac pegged his market value at $17.3 million per year, a bargain for a top-flight edge-rusher but potentially a massive overpayment for a player who couldn't stay healthy for several years and underwhelmed when he was on the field for a large stretch of his career.

While teams always need more talent on the edge to combat the elite quarterbacks consistently winning championships in the modern era, Phillips could set a franchise back significantly if he doesn't continue playing at the same level he displayed in Philly.

CB Alontae Taylor

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Alontae Taylor has been a fixture within the New Orleans Saints' defensive scheme over the last four seasons, spending the last three as a consistent starting cornerback.

He has logged a hefty 3,747 defensive snaps in that span, getting on the field for a career-high 96 percent of defensive plays in 2025.

While the six-foot, 199-pounder possesses the versatility to line up both on the outside and in the slot, he's prone to gambling in coverage—an issue that occasionally costs his team dearly.

Taylor's coverage skills have regressed in the years since he allowed a meager 48.5 percent completion rate and gave up zero touchdowns as a rookie. Opposing quarterbacks connected on 68.1 percent of throws made against him in 2025, a career-worst mark for the 27-year-old. He gave up a concerning 13 touchdowns over the past two seasons after allowing just four in his first two years.

While the Tennessee product is a decent tackler, a playmaker when his gambles pay off (he's recorded four interceptions and three forced fumbles in the NFL) and hasn't had any notable injury issues since entering the league, he's set to cash in on a deal that Spotrac estimates will pay him over $11 million annually.

That may be far from the type of money top corners like Derek Stingley Jr. and Jaycee Horn take home, but he'll likely net in the upper echelon of slot corner money despite the glaring drawbacks in coverage.

Once you factor in the depth of the defensive back market this year—the Bleacher Report Scouting Department has nine corners and safeties ranked inside the top 50 of their latest free-agency big board—it would be unwise to overpay for Taylor's services.

CB Riq Woolen

AP Photo/Abbie Parr

The Seattle Seahawks found a diamond in the rough when they drafted Riq Woolen in the fifth round of the 2022 draft.

Although he made an immediate impact for the club, even emerging as a Pro Bowler in his rookie season and holding down a starting job for his first three years in the league, there have been concerning indicators that should give GMs pause when it comes to signing the cornerback to a big contract.

Woolen may have reached his ceiling when he recorded six interceptions in his first NFL campaign. Rather than develop into a perennial Pro Bowler or All-Pro candidate, the UTSA product's ball skills regressed steadily while his decision-making and coverage skills began to get exploited by opposing quarterbacks.

With Woolen's interception count and playing time dipping in recent years—he only had a single pick while playing a career-low 78 percent of defensive snaps and starting just seven of the 16 games he appeared in during the 2025 season—any team hoping to land a star-level cornerback on the open market should be leery.

While the 26-year-old's unteachable assets such as the uniquely smooth athleticism he packs into a 6'4", 210-pound frame will always be in high demand, the defensive back's lack of scheme versatility and instincts could make him more of a liability than an asset in some systems.

Woolen is a strong option when it comes to playing man-to-man on the outside, but he has deficiencies in zone coverage—an issue that has forced him to the sidelines at times in Seattle's scheme—and is prone to making mistakes in coverage at critical times.

Spotrac estimates his market value at $15.7 million annually, but it would hardly be a surprise to see him earn upwards of $20 million per year if multiple teams get in a bidding war for an extremely athletic, lengthy corner who won't turn 27 years old until May.

That type of deal could pay dividends if Woolen ends up in a defensive system that maximizes his talents and limits his vulnerabilities, but it could also end up going down as one of the worst signings of the offseason if he fails to fit and ends up as a highly-paid depth option.