Agent’s Take: Asking prices for 10 intriguing defensive players ahead of free agency

Target prices for 10 offensive players with expiring contracts were covered in an article earlier in the week. The focus now turns to defense. 

Things will get started on March 9 when the exclusive negotiating rights NFL teams have had with their impending free agents end. The agents of prospective unrestricted free agents are allowed to negotiate with teams beginning at noon ET on March 9 until 4 p.m. ET on March 11. Prospective UFAs who don’t have an agent can also negotiate with front office executives of teams. Players can’t sign deals with new clubs until the 2026 league year and free agency officially begin at 4 p.m. ET. A player’s ability to re-sign with his current club is allowed during the period. 

As a reminder, it was my responsibility while working on the agent side to create target or asking prices for the firm’s clients headed toward free agency regardless of whether I was the lead agent. Along those lines, I have set target prices with total contract value, overall guarantees, amount fully guaranteed at signing and first three years compensation (when applicable) for 10 intriguing defensive players who will be unrestricted free agents.

Players don’t necessarily sign for their target prices because free agency is a fluid process where adaptations must be made to changing market conditions. Some players are disappointed in free agency’s outcome because their market never develops for a variety of reasons (age, unrealistic contract demands, supply and demand at a playing position, etc.).

REMEMBER THE TARGET OR ASKING PRICES FOR THESE PLAYERS MAY BE ON THE HIGH SIDE AND AREN’T NECESSARILY WHAT THEIR ACTUAL DEALS WILL BE.

EDGE Trey Hendrickson 

• Contract package: $65 million/2 years ($32.5 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $47.5 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $35 million

Hendrickson’s five-year tenure with the Cincinnati Bengals appears to be coming to an end since he wasn’t given a $30.2 million franchise tag. A divorce seemed inevitable after contentious negotiations last year didn’t result in a contract extension. A big sticking point was Hendrickson’s insistence on guaranteed money in the second year of a new deal. He received a $13 million raise to his 2025 salary from $16 million to $29 million to end his training camp hold-in. 

Hendrickson missed the last nine games of the regular season with a core muscle injury that required surgery. He only had four sacks in the seven games he played last season. Hitting the open market at 31 after an injury-plagued season isn’t ideal.

Hendrickson was a beast in his last healthy seasons. He led the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024, which tied his career high set in the 2023 season. Hendrickson was the fourth player in NFL history to ever have consecutive seasons with 17.5 or more sacks joining Mark Gastineau, Reggie White and J.J. Watt. 

Houston Texans edge rusher Danielle Hunter, who is also 31, just agreed to a one-year, $40.1 million fully guaranteed contract extension running through the 2027 season. Hendrickson surely took note of this deal.

LB Devin Lloyd 

• Contract package: $76 million/4 years ($19 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $52.5 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $43.5 million

Lloyd seemed intent on proving that the Jacksonville Jaguars made a mistake in declining his $14.751 million fifth-year option for 2026. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September. His momentum was briefly slowed by a Week 6 calf injury. Lloyd didn’t miss a beat when he returned to action after a two-game absence. His five interceptions were tied for the second most in the NFL last season. Lloyd earned second-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his career in 2025.

The biggest payday ever for an off-ball linebacker in free agency belongs to Tremaine Edmunds. He received a four-year, $72 million contract, averaging $18 million per year with $50 million of guarantees, where $41.8 million was fully guaranteed at signing, from the Chicago Bears in 2023. Zack Baun couldn’t eclipse Edmunds’ $18 million per year last season despite being an NFL Defensive Player of the Year finalist in 2024. He returned to the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year, $51 million deal, averaging $17 million per year with $34 million fully guaranteed.

EDGE Jaelan Phillips 

• Contract package: $100 million/4 years ($25 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $70 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $52.5 million

Phillips bounced back from two straight injury-plagued seasons in 2025. He had played eight games in 2023 when a right Achilles tear ended his season. Phillips tore his right ACL four games into the 2024 season. He played 17 games in 2025.

Phillips helped fill a void created from losing edge rusher Josh Sweat to the Arizona Cardinals in free agency last year when the Philadelphia Eagles acquired him from the Miami Dolphins for a 2026 third-round pick ahead of the midseason trade deadline. He thrived in Philadelphia. His 41 quarterback pressures (combined sacks, quarterback hurries and quarterback hits) were for the league’s sixth most from Week 10 through the end of the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Eagles becoming one of the NFL’s best defenses coincided with Phillips’ arrival in Week 10. A league-best 14.5 points per game were allowed with Phillips in the lineup. Philadelphia had 17 sacks in eight games prior to trading for Phillips. In eight games with Phillips, the Eagles had 25 sacks.

Sweat got the top contract in 2025 free agency for an edge rusher. He signed a four-year, $76.4 million deal with $41 million in guarantees where $38 million was fully guaranteed at signing. The four-year, $88 million extension, averaging $22 million per year (worth up to $93 million through incentives), George Karlaftis received from the Kansas City Chiefs in July may be a more important data point for Phillips.

S Kevin Byard 

• Contract package: $27 million/2 years ($13.5 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $20 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $20 million

Byard had a career resurgence in 2025. He led the NFL with seven interceptions and was named a first-team All-Pro for the third time his career. The seven interceptions were his most since the 2017 season when he picked off eight passes to tie for the league lead. 

The Chicago Bears are reportedly trying to re-sign Byard, who is one of the NFL’s oldest starting safeties. He will be 33 before the 2026 regular season starts. Harrison Smith remained with the Minnesota Vikings at 36 last year on a one-year, $10.25 million contract worth up to $14 million through incentives. Another relevant data point could be Devin McCourty’s two-year, $23 million deal, averaging $11.5 million with the New England Patriots in 2021. McCourty turned 33 prior to the 2021 regular season starting.

EDGE Odafe Oweh 

• Contract package: $70.5 million/3 years ($23.5 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $57.5 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $50 million

A change of scenery worked out well for Oweh. He was having a contract year to forget before the Baltimore Ravens traded him to the Los Angeles Chargers. He didn’t have any sacks in five games with the Ravens. Oweh had 7.5 sacks after the trade. He made a great closing statement with three more sacks in a wild card playoff game loss to the New England Patriots. George Karlaftis’ $22 million-per-year extension worth up to $23.25 million with the Kansas City Chiefs should be relevant.

DT John Franklin-Myers

• Contract package: $80 million/4 years ($20 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $55 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $45 million

Franklin-Myers is the best of a mediocre crop of free agent interior defensive linemen. He has the versatility to play multiple spots along the defensive line. Franklin-Myers had a career-high 7.5 sacks in 2025.

CB Riq Woolen

• Contract package: $54 million/3 years ($18 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $35 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $35 million

Woolen, a 2022 fifth-round pick, tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions and earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie. Inconsistency has plagued Woolen since his impressive rookie campaign. He bounced back from early struggles in 2025. Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider recently said Woolen had a nice season after a shaky start.

Woolen’s rare size (6-4 and 210 pounds) and speed (4.26 seconds in the 40-yard dash) for a cornerback could make him an intriguing option in free agency. There are some red flags. Woolen’s nine penalties, including three for taunting, were tied for fifth most among cornerbacks last season.

Multiple cornerbacks (Paulson Adebo-New York Giants; Carlton Davis-New England Patriots; Byron Murphy Jr.-Minnesota Vikings; Charvarius Ward-Indianapolis Colts) signed three-year, $54 million contracts, averaging $18 million per year, in free agency last year. The maximum value of these deals ranged from $57 million to $66 million. The guarantees were between $34.5 million and $38.5 million. Davis led cornerbacks with 13 penalties in 2025.

LB Nakobe Dean

• Contract package: $40.5 million/3 years ($13.5 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $28 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $28 million

Dean didn’t show any ill effects after returning from rupturing the patellar tendon in his left knee during the 2024 playoffs six games into the 2025 season. Jihaad Campbell was an early-season NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate while replacing Dean. Campbell, the 31st overall pick in 2025, saw limited action with Dean back in the lineup. The ruptured patellar tendon isn’t Dean’s only significant injury. Foot injuries limited Dean to five games in 2023. Durability concerns could depress Dean’s market. Conventional wisdom suggests the Dallas Cowboys could be a landing spot for Dean. New Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker was the Eagles’ pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach for the last two seasons.

CB Nahshon Wright

• Contract package: $60 million/4 years ($15 million per year)
• Overall guarantees: $37.5 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $31 million

The Bears had no idea that Wright would play such a prominent role on their defense when he was quickly signed to a one-year contract at his $1.1 million league-minimum salary after the Minnesota Vikings released him last April from the same contract. He spent the 2024 season on Minnesota’s practice squad after being acquired during that preseason from the Dallas Cowboys for cornerback Andrew Booth.

Wright seized an opportunity created by multiple injuries at cornerback to have a breakout season. He was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November. Wright led the NFL with eight takeaways (five interceptions and three fumble recoveries). 

During the latter part of the season, Wright indicated he would like to remain in Chicago. The Bears already have significant financial commitments at cornerback though. Jaylon Johnson is in the second year of the four-year, $76 million deal, averaging $19 million per year, he signed in 2024. Kyler Gordon signed a three-year, $40 million extension, averaging $13,333,333 per year, last April. 

Wright’s limited track record could affect him in free agency. Prior to last season, he was primarily a special teams player who had only been on the field for 269 defensive snaps throughout his NFL career. Wright will need other teams to view the 2025 season as a sign of things to come rather than an outlier.

S Bryan Cook 

• Contract package: $50 million/3 years ($16,666,667 per year)
• Overall guarantees: $35 million
• Fully guaranteed at signing: $35 million

Cook picked the right time to play the best football of his four-year NFL career. His versatility could benefit him on the open market. Cook can play deep middle or in the box. The going rate for the top free agent safeties (Talanoa Hufanga-Denver Broncos; Camryn Bynum-Indianapolis Colts; Jevon Holland-New York Giants; Trevon Moehrig-Carolina Panthers) last year was between $13 million per year and $17 million per year. The total guarantees were typically above $30 million. Kam Curl is the first safety with an expiring contract off the board. He is re-signing with the Los Angeles Rams reportedly for $36 million over three years worth up to $39 million with $24 million in guarantees.