Best NFL Team Fits for Aaron Jones, Marshon Lattimore, Other Cap Casualties

Now that the scouting combine is in the rearview, NFL front offices have begun a frenzy of transactions to prepare for the new league year. With teams having just over a week left to get cap compliant, a flurry of cuts is starting to reshape the league's landscape.

While many of the players who have been released (or informed of their impending release) were obvious cut candidates, there have also been a few surprises. Many more are sure to follow in the coming days as teams desperately work to shed salary and free up finances before free agency gets underway.

Many of these cap casualties will have their fair share of suitors on the open market. Some of these veterans may be past their prime or dealing with a recent rash of injuries, but still have the potential to be impact contributors for contending squads. It certainly doesn't hurt that they are likely to be far more affordable on their next deals than they were on their previous contracts.

With that in mind, here's a look at some of the bigger cap casualties so far and the best potential landing spot for each of them.

QB Kirk Cousins

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Best Fit: Minnesota Vikings

The Atlanta Falcons' Kirk Cousins saga will finally reach what has long seemed to be its inevitable conclusion when the new league year begins.

With such a thin class of quarterbacks available in the upcoming draft—projected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza is the only QB found in the top-25 of the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's latest big board—Cousins will be a popular free-agent target for any team seeking a major shakeup under center.

Although he opened 2025 as a backup to Michael Penix Jr. following a disappointing 2024 showing, Cousins wound up starting over half the season in place of the injured starter. In the 10 games he appeared in, Cousins completed 61.7 percent of his throws for 1,721 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Falcons were competitive with Cousins in the mix, going 5-3 across his eight starts and helping the club finish in a three-way tie for the NFC South title.

A team that already has many of the pieces in place to contend outside of a quarterback could do far worse than kicking the tires on Cousins. It would be especially helpful if Cousins had a familiarity with the team's offensive scheme and roster, bonuses that would help make the transition to the 37-year-old go smoothly.

The Minnesota Vikings fit the bill. While Minnesota did have success after moving on from Cousins after the 2023 campaign, thanks to the rise of Sam Darnold, the squad regressed significantly in 2025 with J.J. McCarthy as the primary starter.

While it's too soon to declare McCarthy a bust, it's imperative for the Vikings to add a competent quarterback this offseason who can push the young signal-caller for the QB1 role. Picking up Cousins could even spur the Vikings back into contention following a down year.

Cousins looked sharp running Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell's system in the past. The quarterback made the last of his four career Pro Bowls during O'Connell's first season—a campaign in which the Vikings went 13-4—and was trending towards another in 2023 before suffering an Achilles tear in Week 8.

Given the familiarity with the coaching staff, the strength of the supporting cast, and a high chance of earning the starting role, Cousins would be wise to sign with Minnesota if the opportunity arises this offseason.

RB Aaron Jones

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Best Fit: Washington Commanders

The Minnesota Vikings are prepared to move on from Aaron Jones. While the veteran had been a reliable starter for the better part of two seasons, his injury woes and a slight regression, coupled with a sizable cap hit, make it financially prudent to release the running back if a trade doesn't materialize.

Jones shouldn't have too much trouble finding a place to play in 2026.

Although he's entering an age-32 campaign, Jones has remained an effective option out of the backfield. Although it seemed he was slowing down towards the end of his seven-year tenure with the Green Bay Packers, Jones proved he wasn't washed by racking up 1,546 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns during his first season in the Twin Cities.

Injuries kept Jones from repeating that type of performance in 2025. He missed five games—the second time in the past three years he's missed at least that many contests—due to a hamstring issue and saw his workload vastly reduced when he was on the field.

While Jones didn't eclipse the 100-yard mark in any game and only breached the 20-carry mark once, he can still be a valuable contributor as a rotational piece in a contender's backfield. His 4.2 yards per carry average was solid given Minnesota's quarterback woes and he continued to flash the hands that helped him become one of the league's most versatile and reliable backs of the past decade.

Jones would fit well with the Washington Commanders as an early-down, tone-setting rusher who can identify holes and hit them with power, generating consistent offense and moving the chains.

The Commanders may have Jacory Croskey-Merritt in the mix, but the breakout rookie is best deployed as a dynamic change-of-pace option who can provide the lightning to Jones' thunder in a backfield platoon.

Washington was missing a competent running mate for Croskey-Merritt last year, having traded Brian Robinson Jr. before the 2025 season kicked off and subsequently losing Austin Ekeler to a season-ending injury in Week 2.

Jones would be an ideal starter who could handle approximately 10 touches a game to keep defenses honest and set the table for Croskey-Merritt home runs.

OT Jawaan Taylor

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Best Fit: New England Patriots

Jawaan Taylor was a marquee pickup for the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2023 offseason. While the tackle did help the club win a Super Bowl in his first year with the club, he's trended downwards over the past two seasons, leading to the Chiefs releasing him.

While Taylor struggled with injuries—missing multiple games for the first time in his career—and inconsistency in 2025, he's still a capable right tackle who could help stabilize several offensive lines around the league.

It's likely the Chiefs would have retained Taylor if he didn't have a massive cap hit entering the final season of a four-year, $80 million extension. His release will save the cash-strapped club $20 million.

It won't be long before Taylor agrees to a new contract with a club looking to beef up in the offensive trenches.

The New England Patriots should be one of the teams expressing interest in Taylor's services after their offensive line was shaky for much of the 2025 campaign and the subsequent playoffs, before being completely exposed in Super Bowl LX.

While the Pats allowed Drake Maye to be sacked a concerning 47 times during the regular season, they simply couldn't keep the star quarterback upright during the playoffs. Maye set an NFL record by taking a whopping 21 sacks during a four-game postseason run.

Although Taylor had issues with penalties this past season—drawing 13 flags (the fifth-most of any tackle last year) in just 12 games according to Pro Football Focus—he was still a positive force in pass protection. He conceded only three sacks across his 517 pass blocking snaps in 2025.

New England shouldn't have any issues squeezing a new deal for Taylor under the cap either. According to Spotrac, the club already has over $35 million in available finances to spend this offseason and could free up even more via restructures and releases in the coming days.

The Pats may have come up short in their first Super Bowl appearance of the post-Tom Brady era, but they'll be a strong bet to return in the coming years if they can adequately protect Maye. Adding a tackle of Taylor's caliber will go a long way towards achieving that goal.

DL Javon Hargrave

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Best Fit: New York Jets

Javon Hargrave was one of the Minnesota Vikings' marquee offseason additions last year, but the defensive tackle failed to live up to the two-year, $30 million deal he signed. He's been informed of his impending release, one that will allow him to get a fresh start as he tries to prove he can still perform at a high level in the NFL.

While Hargrave's star has faded slightly since he suffered a triceps tear early in the 2024 season, he could still be an asset in the defensive trenches for a team light on grizzled veterans.

The New York Jets are an ideal landing destination for Hargrave.

After parting ways with perennial Pro Bowler Quinnen Williams at last season's trade deadline, Gang Green came into the offseason needing to beef up in the middle of the defensive trenches.

The team already scored one missing piece in the form of T'Vondre Sweat, the nose tackle who the team traded for last week. Adding Hargrave to the mix would help further overhaul a defense that slipped significantly in 2025 following three consecutive years in the top five.

While Hargrave had a trying season as well—the 3.5 sacks he collected marked his fewest during a healthy season since a 2017 sophomore campaign—he's a prime bounce-back candidate in 2026.

Hargrave is only two seasons removed from the most recent of his two Pro Bowl nods. He tallied a whopping 25.5 sacks during a three-year stretch between 2021-23, a span he spent with both the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.

Although Hargrave was able to suit up and play 16 games for the Vikings in 2025—the ninth time in his 10 NFL seasons he participated in 15 or more contests—he wasn't his usual impactful self on the field.

Although it's unlikely he'll return to his peak form at the age of 32, Hargrave could still become a critical part of Gang Green's d-line rotation while playing on a budget contract.

CB Marshon Lattimore

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Best Fit: Pittsburgh Steelers

Marshon Lattimore was once considered one of the NFL's premier cornerbacks. After being selected No. 11 overall in the 2017 draft by the New Orleans Saints, he went on to make his first Pro Bowl as a rookie and earned three more nods within his first five seasons.

Although Lattimore has struggled to stay healthy over the past four years, he's still a competent corner when he is on the field. If he can finally shake the injury bug, the proven veteran should still have something left to offer teams during an age-30 campaign in 2026.

The Pittsburgh Steelers would benefit from Lattimore's presence in their secondary. The Steelers are entering a new era after hiring head coach Mike McCarthy and need to reinforce multiple areas of the roster this offseason. Cornerback is an area of clear concern after Pittsburgh ranked in the bottom five in pass defense this past season.  

Lattimore's ties to the Steelers' new coaching staff could result in him signing with the organization as a free agent. The cornerback established relationships with Pittsburgh's defensive backs coach Jason Simmons and secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. during their joint tenure with the Commanders.

Lattimore didn't have his best years in Washington. He was limited to just 11 total games with the organization. An ACL tear in Week 9 of this past season cost him any chance of turning things around and led to his impending release.

Lattimore had shown signs of regression prior to the knee injury, but he was able to hold opposing quarterbacks to a respectable 59.5 percent completion rate in coverage last season—three percentage points more than his career average.

If he can make a full recovery from that ACL tear, Lattimore can still contribute as a high-level backup, potentially even winning one of the starting jobs on the outside for a Steelers team that may soon become desperate for cornerback help.