There’s a lot of time between now and the start of the 2025 NFL season, which means there’s a lot of time for all 32 teams to continue tweaking their rosters. The start of free agency tends to bring most of the splashy moves, yes, but sometimes the final ingredients to a championship recipe only arrive deep into the offseason. Underscoring this reality is the fact two of the most accomplished quarterbacks of this year’s veteran market – Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson – still remain without teams for 2025.
A week after the official kickoff of free agency, however, we also have a pretty good idea of how most teams’ lineups will look come September. The heavy lifting of the veteran market is done, and now all eyes are on April’s draft, when remaining roster holes will be plugged even further. So which teams struck gold, in our eyes, during the early stages of offseason activity? Which signings and trades stand out as most likely to pay dividends? Here are 10 of our favorite player moves so far:
10. Charvarius Ward to the Colts
Contract: 3 years, $54 million Indianapolis may not be a wellspring of Super Bowl hope with Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson set to battle at quarterback, but the defense should be much more respectable defending the pass with Ward in tow as the new No. 1 cover man…
9. Sam Darnold to the Seahawks
Contract: 3 years, $100.5 million Don’t be too fooled by the money here. In some ways, Darnold feels less like an upgrade and more like a younger version of Geno Smith…
8. Geno Smith to the Raiders
Acquired via trade for: 2025 third-round pick Is Smith, 34, a long-term solution for a longstanding quarterback problem in Las Vegas? Unlikely…
7. Deebo Samuel to the Commanders
Acquired via trade for: 2025 fifth-round pick Samuel has durability issues, yes, and he may never fully replicate the multipurpose stardom that made him the apple of Kyle Shanahan’s eye…
6. Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders
Acquired via trade for: 2026 second-round pick, 2025 third-round pick Washington also swapped fourth-rounders with the Houston Texans to land Tunsil…
5. Zack Baun to the Eagles
Contract: 3 years, $51 million A year after bucking its own trends to lure Saquon Barkley on a lucrative running back deal…
4. Paulson Adebo to the Giants
Contract: 3 years, $54 million New York has big issues still unsolved…
3. Joe Thuney to the Bears
Acquired via trade for: 2026 fourth-round pick Thuney will turn 33 during the 2025 season…
2. Justin Fields to the Jets
Contract: 2 years, $40 million While other needy teams are still waiting around for old, greying free agents…
1. Davante Adams to the Rams
Contract: 2 years, $44 million It might not be long before Los Angeles is back in pure rebuild mode, this time on the offensive side, if Matthew Stafford ages ungracefully at 37…
