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NFL free agency was a blur of moves across the league on Monday. Even before the fun began, teams made significant trades that altered the landscape of the NFL to bring a new level of intrigue to the 2025 season.
More than a third of the NFL has spent more than $100 million in the first three days of free agency, per OverTheCap figures. Top signee Milton Williams went to the New England Patriots on a four-year, $104 million deal, making him the third-highest-paid interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
He wasn’t the only one to break $100 million on his new contract. Quarterback Sam Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract to join the Seattle Seahawks as the franchise overhauls its offense in year two under coach Mike Macdonald.
Plenty of big contracts were handed out at positions across offense and defense. Some made sense like the Baltimore Ravens retaining left tackle Ronnie Stanley and the Arizona Cardinals paying up to secure top edge rusher Josh Sweat.
But some deals left us scratching our heads for one reason (or multiple). These five signings may not be bad deals, but they left us confused in the first few days of free agency.
Most head-scratching NFL free-agent contracts
All contract information via OverTheCap.
DL Javon Kinlaw
- Team: Washington Commanders
- Contract: Three years, $45 million, $30 million guaranteed
The former first-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2020 NFL draft hit free agency after a career-high 4.5 sacks for the New York Jets last season. This deal puts him 15th in the NFL in guaranteed money for the position.
This is surprising, given his health and production. Kinlaw’s played just 58 of 84 possible games (70%) since being drafted in 2020. In those 58 career games, he has 9.5 sacks, 74 pressures, seven passes defensed, and two forced fumbles. That’s a lot of money for someone with that level of production, especially considering how deep the 2025 NFL draft is at interior defensive line.
There is the added wrinkle that Commanders general manager Adam Peters was in San Francisco when the 49ers picked Kinlaw as the successor for DeForest Buckner. Peters and Commanders coach Dan Quinn could be convinced they could unlock Kinlaw’s potential.
G Aaron Banks
- Team: Green Bay Packers
- Contract: Four years, $77 million, $27 million guaranteed
Banks entered free agency as one of many guards looking for a second contract. At time of publishing, he received the second-largest contract in terms of total value at the position only behind Vikings signee Will Fries’ $88 million deal. He’s now the seventh-highest-paid guard in the NFL.
Banks ranked 50th out of 135 qualifying guards by Pro Football Focus (PFF) in 2024. Sports Information Solutions (SIS) data ranked Banks as the worst starter on the 49ers’ offensive line in 2024 (minimum 700 snaps).
The Packers struggled in the NFC wild-card playoff game once guard Elgton Jenkins went down with an injury against eventual champion Philadelphia. This seems like an overcorrection, given the dollar amount and considering the depth of talent at guard in the 2025 NFL draft, similar to Washington’s overpay for Kinlaw.
S Talanoa Hufanga
- Team: Denver Broncos
- Contract: Three years, $45 million, $20 million guaranteed
Yet another former 49ers player, Hufanga became expendable for San Francisco after the emergence of fourth-round rookie safety Malik Mustapha in 2024. In a relatively deep free-agent safety class, Hufanga was an option for teams looking for experience and production in the secondary.
Denver handed him a deal that makes him the ninth-highest-paid safety in the league by average annual value. He has more guaranteed money on this deal than Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker.
Hufanga won’t be expected to lead the secondary so long as reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II remains healthy. It’s a good fit for Hufanga’s skillset, but his health is why this is a head-scratcher. He’s played one full season since being selected in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2022 but since then he’s played in just 17 of a possible 34 games.
CB Brandon Stephens
- Team: New York Jets
- Contract: Three years, $36 million, $23 million guaranteed
Multiple cornerbacks signed new contracts in the first 48 hours of free agency. Charvarius Ward, Byron Murphy, Paulson Adebo and Carlton Davis have new homes for 2025.
Stephens’ contract stands out among the rest, considering how he played in 2024. The former Baltimore Raven was ranked 153rd out of 223 qualifying cornerbacks by PFF last season and was Baltimore’s worst-ranked cornerback by SISdata (minimum eight games played).
The Jets gave Stephens more guaranteed money than Green Bay gave fellow free agent cornerback Nate Hobbs (four years, $48 million, $16 million guaranteed), who ranked better in most metrics in 2024. Stephens was one of the younger cornerbacks in free agency entering his age-28 season but this is banking on new head coach Aaron Glenn turning things around for the former Raven.
DE DeMarcus Lawrence
- Team: Seattle Seahawks
- Contract: Three years, $42 million, $18 million guaranteed
To be clear, Lawrence is a good player. The longtime Dallas Cowboys defensive end notched 13 sacks in his last 38 games and made the Pro Bowl in 2022 and 2023.
However, Lawrence is coming off of a season-ending foot injury in 2024 that limited him to just four games and will turn 33 before suiting up for the Seahawks. Seattle already has veteran Leonard Williams in-house and is armed with the most top-100 picks in the 2025 NFL draft. For another three million dollars per year, the Seahawks could’ve had Chase Young, who is seven years younger.
If the Seahawks wanted a proven veteran in the building, the likes of Za’Darius Smith and Von Miller are still available at time of publishing. If they wanted a younger player to develop, edge Azeez Ojulari is also available entering his age-25 season.
This seems like an overpay given Lawrence’s age, recent injury history and the market as a whole.