The new NFL league year – and start of free agency in 2026 – doesn’t begin until next week. But player migration is already well underway – DJ Moore, Trent McDuffie and Tytus Howard among the players set to move, all of them involved in trades this week that will become official on March 11. Several other notable names have already been released or will be after 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
But then the big one hit, the Raiders agreeing to send DE Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens on Friday night in exchange for two first-round selections. Talk about maxing out.
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So who else is really going to be shuffling the deck in notable ways this offseason? The NFL draft, which kicks off on April 23, is the next significant player acquisition opportunity once the free agent market is fully picked over and is also a defining aspect of roster construction every spring. Here are seven teams to watch in the coming weeks given their potential to make massive splashes over the next two months (salary cap projections courtesy of Over The Cap):
Perhaps you’d heard they secured the No. 1 pick of the 2026 draft – a selection that’s expected to finally reboot this franchise with the anticipated arrival of Heisman Trophy-winning QB Fernando Mendoza. Maybe you just heard they’re offloading Crosby, though the payout should go a long way toward alleviating the burden on Vegas’ new QB1.
Beyond that – just in case you’re not impressed by the star of the national champion Indiana Hoosiers? The Silver and Black will also be picking near the top of nearly every round of the draft − and twice in the first − and currently have a total of 11 selections. Also, a team that just hired coach Klint Kubiak from the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks’ staff, is projected to have more than $120 million in salary cap space – a figure further boosted with Crosby’s salary off the books. Now, it’s worth wondering if Kubiak will be targeting some of those Seahawks, pending free agents like WR/KR Rashid Shaheed and LB Boye Mafe among the possibilities.
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2026 NFL MOCK DRAFT: DJ Moore, Trent McDuffie trades shuffle first-round outlook
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: Maxx Crosby #98 of the Las Vegas Raiders rushes Cam Ward #1 of the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter in the game at Allegiant Stadium on October 12, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
With the No. 4 pick of the draft, could they target Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, arguably the best college player available? Stay tuned, but the former Irish star and second-year QB Cam Ward could form quite the backfield. Yet well before the draft arrives, Tennessee should enjoy a major influx of talent given GM Mike Borgonzi has nearly $93 million worth of free agency funds at his disposal, currently the third most in the league – and the Titans certainly have numerous holes to fill.
Perhaps no team has more collective ability to influence free agency and the draft, during which the NYJ are scheduled to have four of the top 44 selections (two apiece in the first and second rounds) thanks to last year’s trade deadline deals of Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys and Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts. (Those transactions will also afford the Jets three first-round picks in 2027, which will also likely have a great deal of determination for how they operate this year.) Beyond that? Gang Green is also projected to have nearly $74 million in cap space, currently fifth most in the league. Little doubt the team’s roster should be significantly re-shaped in the coming months. The bigger question might be the Jets’ holistic approach given their reconstruction is clearly a multi-year process and likely won’t include the arrival of their next presumed franchise quarterback for another year.
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Their decision to send McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams caused the biggest pre-Crosby splash of this week, K.C. getting a first-round selection in return as part of the compensation. McDuffie’s departure amplifies a need at cornerback for the Chiefs, who could also lose Jaylen Watson in free agency. But having three of the top 40 picks also provides a fresh runway to reimagine this roster as needed – bolstered protection for QB Patrick Mahomes, who’s coming off December’s torn ACL, surely part of the calculus. GM Brett Veach has a middling $25 million or so in cap space, though a chunk of that would presumably go to TE Travis Kelce … if he agrees to return for a 14th season.
Fairly rare to see a team coming off consecutive playoff appearances have nearly $100 million in available cap space – yet the Bolts did, GM Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh are flush with cash spilling out of their free agency war chest − even following Friday’s signing of C Tyler Biadasz. Expect the purse strings to be further loosened given this team is currently in need of two starting guards and faces the prospect of losing OLBs Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh.
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When isn’t EVP/GM Howie Roseman embedded in the roster-churning trenches? He currently has four picks among the draft’s top 100, including No. 23 overall and a pair in Round 3. But his haul would likely look significantly different if Philly trades WR A.J. Brown, Roseman reportedly seeking a first- and second-round pick in a compensation package. Unloading Brown’s contract, as it’s currently structured – his final guarantees due this year – would further hinder Philly’s ability to spend in free agency from a cap perspective, the Eagles only with about $12 million at present. But Roseman historically tends to prefer importing youngsters out of college rather than investing heavily in outside free agents, aside from some targeted exceptions.
Last year’s offseason champs rode that mythical title all the way to Super Bowl 60. Expect the AFC champs to be active again as they try to further upgrade the supporting cast around league MVP runner-up Drake Maye – and, after all, that newly created void caused by WR Stefon Diggs’ release isn’t going to fill itself … and why the Pats have been heavily linked to Brown, given their need and coach Mike Vrabel’s pre-existing relationship with him from Tennessee. New England doesn’t have the same draft or financial capital that it did a year ago but is still in the top 10 in terms of cap space (nearly $44 million following the trade of C Garrett Bradbury to the Chicago Bears) along with, at present, 11 draft picks, though only two are among the top 90.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maxx Crosby trade, NFL free agency, draft should benefit Raiders, Jets
