2026 NFL Free Agency Contracts We Wish We Would Have Seen

The initial waves of free agency have come and gone, leaving in their wake a series of landscape-shifting contracts that have altered the power structure of the NFL.

While this wasn't the most loaded free-agent class of all time, it did contain several established stars and plenty of potential up-and-coming ones. Most of these marquee free agents signed the most lucrative offer they had on the table—or settled for the franchise tag—but those deals don't all coincide with the best opportunity these players had to maximize their skillset.

With that in mind, let's highlight five ideal free-agent deals we wish we would have seen that unfortunately didn't come to fruition during the 2026 offseason.

Mike Evans

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

The Contract Evans Signed: Three years, $42.5 million with the San Francisco 49ers

The Contract We Wish Evans Signed: Four years, $60 million with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mike Evans' free-agency defection marked the end of an era for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The longtime receiver had spent the first 12 years of his NFL career with the club that drafted him in the first round of the 2014 draft, helping bring another Super Bowl to the city and breaking plenty of records along the way.

Evans was the picture of consistency during his tenure with the Bucs, eclipsing the 1,000-yard receiving mark in each of his first 11 seasons. He was one of the key reasons Tom Brady elected to sign with the club as a free agent in 2020, a move that resulted in a championship that same year.

While Evans' star began to fade in recent seasons, he still managed to be a lynchpin for a squad that made five consecutive playoff berths and won four straight NFC South titles.

Injuries limited him to just eight games and a career-low 368 receiving yards in 2025, which not coincidentally marked the first year the Bucs missed the postseason since 2019.

Rather than attempt to bounce back in 2026 and finish out his storied career in Tampa, Evans took his talents to the Bay Area this offseason. The 32-year-old inked a three-year, $42.5 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers, but admitted "it was never about the money." Reports that the Buccaneers had even made a stronger offer only reinforced that claim.

It became clear that Evans desired a realistic chance to capture another ring. Tampa's decision to retain head coach Todd Bowles—who has gone 35-33 in the regular season and 1-3 in the playoffs since taking over for Bruce Arians in 2022—and poor roster construction reportedly factored into the decision as well.

Regardless of the reasons, it's a shame Evans and the Bucs couldn't work things out. He's left a strong legacy and will go into the Hall of Fame as a member of the organization, but it would have been ideal to see one of Tampa's all-time greats remain with the organization for his entire career.

Trey Hendrickson

AP Photo/Jeff Dean

The Contract Hendrickson Signed: Four years, $112 million with the Baltimore Ravens

The Contract We Wish Hendrickson Signed: Two years, $55 million with the Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys made some massive defensive changes over the past year, headlined by a franchise-altering deal that sent homegrown superstar Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers.

The move backfired when Dallas' defense struggled badly over the first half of the season, but schematic adjustments and trade deadline acquisitions such as Quinnen Williams helped transform the unit into a slightly more respectable one.

Despite the improvements in the back half of the 2025 campaign, the Cowboys came into the offseason needing to make a splash with some defensive additions. They managed to bolster the secondary with pickups of Jalen Thompson and Cobie Durant, but didn't land anything more than rotational-level talent for the defensive front.

The Cowboys would have benefited from adding Trey Hendrickson to the mix. The veteran edge defender fills a major hole on the roster, offering a pass-rushing skillset that the team largely lacked last year. Dallas accumulated a meager 35 sacks on the season—tied for the seventh-worst mark in the league—and had just two players record more than 3.5 sacks.

Although he missed most of the 2025 campaign with a core muscle injury, Hendrickson still managed to record four sacks in the seven games he did play. In the two seasons prior, he racked up a whopping 35 sacks and proved he can be one of the most game-changing players in the NFL at his best.

Even with the injury woes and his advancing age, the 31-year-old was one of the crown jewels of the 2026 free-agent class, ranking No. 2 on the B/R Scouting Department's Big Board.

The Baltimore Ravens ultimately snapped Hendrickson up on a four-year, $112 million deal that would have been difficult for the cash-strapped Cowboys to match, but making the necessary transactions to free up that type of money for the pass-rusher could have vaulted Dallas' defense to the league's upper echelon.

Jaelan Phillips

AP Photo/Chris Szagola

The Contract Phillips Signed: Four years, $120 million with the Carolina Panthers

The Contract We Wish Phillips Signed: Three years, $75 million with the Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles were desperate to shake things up at the 2025 trade deadline. The reigning Super Bowl champs were 6-2 heading into their midseason bye, but weren't looking like the same dominant team that waltzed to a banner a year prior.

The club decided to take a big swing on Jaelan Phillips, trading a third-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for the edge-rusher. While the move helped stabilize a shaky defense—Philly ranked No. 23 in total defense at the time of the trade and finished the season at No. 13—it didn't result in the type of playoff success the team was hoping for.

Although the Eagles were eliminated in the Wild Card Round, Phillips showed enough promise in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's system that he should have been a top priority to retain during the offseason.

Phillips had not only stayed healthy after playing in just 12 games combined across the 2023-24 seasons, but also contributed a respectable two sacks and 17 pressures during his eight-game stint in the City of Brotherly Love. The 2021 first-round pick was one of the Eagles' bright spots in the playoffs too, chipping in a hefty nine tackles, three pressures, two QB knockdowns and a half-sack against the San Francisco 49ers.

Despite investing a Day 2 pick into acquiring him, coupled with some promising contributions and the potential for far greater production from a full offseason learning Fangio's scheme, Philadelphia failed to make a strong enough push to retain Phillips. The 26-year-old went on to sign a four-year, $120 million deal with the Carolina Panthers.

While Phillips revealed that the Eagles "definitely did" want him to return, he admitted Carolina's brass made a "more attractive offer" that he couldn't refuse.

It's understandable why the Eagles elected not to match a $30 million per year contract for a player whose production thus far hasn't correlated to that type of money, but Phillips could have been special for the club and taken a massive leap in Year 2.

George Pickens

AP Photo/Jeff Lewis

The Contract Pickens Signed: One-year, $27.3 million (Franchise Tag) with the Dallas Cowboys

The Contract We Wish Pickens Signed: Four years, $129 million with the Buffalo Bills

George Pickens was widely regarded as one of, if not the top overall free agent in the 2026 class.

Although he was ultimately franchise tagged by the Dallas Cowboys, it would have been a bit more exciting to see the blossoming superstar sign a megadeal with a top Super Bowl contender that boasts arguably the league's best quarterback: the Buffalo Bills.

Pickens exploded for 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 93 catches last year. He would have immediately become the top target on a Bills squad that has lacked a true No. 1 option in the receiving corps since the departure of Stefon Diggs during the 2023 offseason.

Despite the lack of elite pass-catchers on the roster, Buffalo still managed to win 25 games over the past two seasons—tying the Philadelphia Eagles for most in the league during that span—due in no small part to some immense contributions from Josh Allen.

Allen was named NFL MVP for his herculean efforts in 2024 and remained in the discussion for the award last season while earning a fifth career Pro Bowl nod. Despite his efforts, Buffalo has continually come up shy of a Super Bowl and was recently eliminated before the Super Bowl for the seventh consecutive year.

The Bills made some sweeping changes this offseason to try and give the squad a much-needed postseason jolt, including firing longtime head coach Sean McDermott and promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady. The team also loaded up on defensive weapons in free agency, signing veterans such as Bradley Chubb, Dee Gardner and C.J. Gardner-Johnson to improve on that side of the ball.

Buffalo's biggest transaction was a trade for D.J. Moore—a talented but inconsistent receiver who regressed in each of the last two years following a stellar first season with the Chicago Bears—but it remains to be seen if the pass-catcher coming off a 682-receiving yard campaign can move the needle like Pickens could have.

Malik Willis

AP Photo/Jim Rassol

The Contract Willis Signed: Three years, $67.5 million with the Miami Dolphins

The Contract We Wish Willis Signed: Four years, $80 million with the Cleveland Browns

Malik Willis was one of the most intriguing free agents available in the 2026 class.

After a rough start to his career, the quarterback massively improved his standing in league circles with some impressive showings with the Green Bay Packers over the past two seasons.

Those tantalizing performances as Jordan Love's backup led the Miami Dolphins, fresh off their decision to part ways with Tua Tagovailoa, to offer a three-year, $67.5 million deal to the QB.

While Willis is expected to start under new head coach Jeff Hafley—who became familiar with the signal-caller during their joint tenure in Titletown—it would have been more exciting for the up-and-coming signal-caller to join Todd Monken's Cleveland Browns.

Although Monken oversaw a system that resulted in some of the league's top offenses during his time as offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, significant adjustments will be needed in Cleveland.

The Browns lack the type of dynamic playmaker under center that the Ravens had with Lamar Jackson. Shedeur Sanders showed promise as a rookie, but he's not in the same stratosphere as Jackson when it comes to creating offense with his legs.

Willis would have been a more natural fit for a Monken offense, as he's displayed the potential to be a Jackson-esque player who can impact a game as both a passer and rusher.

Willis flashed elite dual-threat talent in Green Bay, completing a blistering 78.7 percent of his throws for 972 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions and picking up 261 yards and three scores on 42 totes. Even in Tennessee, where he barely completed more than half of his passing attempts, Willis still picked up a respectable 123 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries as a rookie.

Given the success Jackson had under Monken—which included an NFL MVP award in 2023 and orchestrating the league's No. 1 offense the following season—it would have been interesting to see what the coach could have gotten out of Willis.