2024 NFL All-Free Agent Team: Antoine Winfield Jr., Chris Jones help defense headline top available veterans

Starting March 11, all 32 NFL teams can begin negotiations with unrestricted free agents. A handful of the best talent will come off the market before then, thanks to teams exercising the franchise tag or reaching long-term extensions. But this year’s crop of veterans is chock-full of Pro Bowl-caliber starters on both sides of the ball, promising some splashy activity.

Which free agents are the best at their respective positions? We’ve sorted through all the big names to assemble a 2024 All-Free Agent Team — a full starting lineup consisting solely of standouts with expiring deals:

Offense

Note: Player ages are as of Sept. 1, 2024.

One glaring absence: Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins, who was the first unrestricted vet to receive the franchise tag this offseason. Barring an extended holdout resulting in a trade, Higgins is tied to his team through 2024.

Between the offensive and defensive “starters” here, the offense is expected to send a clear majority to the actual market; in other words, most of these players should legitimately reach free agency and field offers from around the NFL. Only Pittman has been widely circulated as a surefire candidate to join Higgins on the tag, which would tie him to Indianapolis for at least another year.

Cousins is naturally the biggest domino, playing the game’s most important position, and while both he and the Vikings would like to stick together, both sides also have good reason to explore alternatives. It’s not often a starting QB of his caliber approaches the open market, and even coming off a serious injury, Cousins’ track record as both a player and businessman suggests he’ll still command a top-level contract — perhaps from a QB-needy suitor like the Atlanta Falcons.

Longtime Philadelphia Eagles stalwart Jason Kelce is technically the standard-setter at center, but if he doesn’t retire, he’s all but a lock to re-up in Philly, hence his omission along the O-line. As with many years, though, it’s slim pickings in the trenches, where aging or injury-prone tackles still cracked this lineup. Teams simply don’t let their sterling blockers shake loose.

The other unusual spot: Running back, where a rich crop of players with big names but uneven reputations will be vying for attention in a depressed market at that position. Barkley remains a dynamic multipurpose threat, though his spotty durability means you could make a case for the aging but supersized Derrick Henry, or the inconsistent but explosive Josh Jacobs, as the No. 1 ball-carrier here. Each of those backs, plus D’Andre Swift, could easily be plug-and-play stars. But their shelf life is debatable.

Defense

Note: Player ages are as of Sept. 1, 2024.

If the offense is likely to send most of its top free agents to the market, the defense is another story entirely. It wouldn’t be shocking if seven of these 11 (or more than 60%) were restricted from testing the market, either via tag or extension. It speaks to the level of high-profile talent set to be available on this side of the ball, particularly in the front seven.

Fortunately for teams doing the shopping, there are plenty of viable “backups” at edge rusher and D-line who figure to draw heavy interest in the event All-Pro weapons like Allen, Jones and Madubuike remain with their current clubs. Danielle Hunter, Leonard Williams, Bryce Huff and Christian Wilkins are among other front-seven difference-makers on track to be available. And Burns, despite the possibility of a tag in Carolina, is a logical trade candidate as the Panthers look to replenish offensive weaponry.

Something to monitor with some of the top free agents here: How do clubs with multiple top-tier FAs prioritize their own? The Kansas City Chiefs, for example, could tag Sneed if they reach a long-term deal with Jones. But what if the latter doesn’t happen? Jones would likely be the priority, leaving Sneed to command lucrative money from corner-needy teams elsewhere. And the Buccaneers probably value Winfield above even Evans on the other side of the ball, but with Baker Mayfield also requiring a new deal, one of those three is likely to hit the market.

Special Teams

Note: Player ages are as of Sept. 1, 2024.

Free agency doesn’t tend to produce many splashy moves on special teams, where teams are often content to use the draft (and undrafted-rookie market) to refill these spots. But Fairbairn has been extremely steady across eight seasons with the Texans, ranking seventh among active kickers in career field-goal conversions (87%), and he’s coming off a 2023 campaign that saw him drill a personal-best 96.4% of his three-point tries. Townsend, meanwhile, is an All-Pro honoree whose timely work has coincided with two Super Bowl runs in Kansas City.