While it is still early to tell who will hit the open market in Free Agency, there are plenty of teams that need to focus on gaining cap space before the League New Year in March. 10 such teams are anywhere from $5.4 million over the cap to to $58.1 million over their allotted cap room. As such, they are the most likely teams to lose their upcoming Free Agents to the open market, as they need to focus their energy on cap manipulation (restructures, extensions on current contracts, cuts/trades) to even
entertain retaining players.
Most of the Free Agents listed are from some of these teams in the red, others have openly expressed frustrations with the current management of their teams with their contract negotiations, and could be difficult to retain if relations have soured.
Trey Hendrickson, DE, Cincinnati Bengals
Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
Hendrickson reuniting with his longtime coordinator Lou Anarumo in Indianapolis would be an excellent fit. The Colts should pursue a trade signing with him to add to the pass rush and pair him with the young and growing Laiatu Latu.
There was earlier smoke with Hendrickson to the Colts trade rumors, as the Colts were interested and engaged the Bengals in trade talks while contract renegotiations broke down between them and their star pass rusher. However they wanted too much (premium draft capital and Grover Stewart) for Hendrickson who was on the last year of his deal and was 30 years old at the time (turned 31 in December).
Instead Hendrickson played out the final year of his deal without being traded, but his last year with the Bengals didn’t go to plan for him. He racked up 4 sacks and 21 pressures in the first 5 games before suffering what was initially diagnosed as a hip/pelvis injury in Week 6. He tried to play through it in Week 8 and reaggravated what was later diagnosed as a core muscle injury (hernia). Hendrickson ended the season with a core muscle surgery in December and being placed on IR. Thus the Bengals missed their opportunity to trade him once their season was fully derailed as he was injured leading up to the trade deadline and he wouldn’t have been able to pass the required physical at the time to be traded.
Assuming the Bengals don’t reach a new deal with Hendrickson, expect the Colts to be first in line in March to sign the pass rushing dynamo. Even with his age and his recent injury, the opportunity to sign a pass rusher of his caliber while having staff that can help lure him and be the perfect fit for him is rare.
Hendrickson was able to get $30 million in his final season with the Bengals, but per Spotrac his market value post injury has regressed to $25.4 million. If the Colts can nab Hendrickson at this lower cost, the move could provide a lot of value if he stays healthy. With Lou Anarumo from 2021-2024, Hendrickson sacked passer 57 times (14.25 sacks a season) along with 323 pressures (80.75 a season). In 2025 he was on pace for a 13.5 sack season with 71 pressures, marks that would still be around Top 10 in the NFL among all Defenders.
For a Colts team with 3 players hitting Free Agency and desperate for a pass rushing boost at Defensive End opposite of Laiatu Latu, the risk is certainly worth the reward to invest in one of the best pass rushers of the 2020s.
Leo Chenal, LB, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are the team most in the red in 2026, as no team is even within $14 million of their $58.1 million spending above the cap. As such, they are likely going to have some tough decisions on how to rework the cap before the season let alone to have enough to afford retaining key pieces.
Chenal is one such player who is likely to hit the market. He had 58 tackles in his 14 games in 2025 (12 starts) and has been a reliable tackler with only 6.3% – 8.2% missed tackle rate in each of the last 3 seasons. The 25 year old former Wisconsin Badger had his highest Coverage Grade of his career at 72.6 and provided 11 pressures and 2 sacks as a blitzer, showing strong utility in passing downs.
However Chenal’s season ended with a shoulder injury in Week 15, likely being the last time he suited up for the Chiefs. While he is another player dealing with an injury, unlike Hendrickson he is a young player who is still growing as a pro and could very well have his best football ahead of him. With the Colts potentially needing to add a new MIKE Linebacker and definitely needing to add the the WILL Linebacker position, Chenal’s experience at both could be a boon and help begin to rebuild the Colts defense in a younger and faster direction that Ballard said he wanted in his end of season press conference.
Alontae Taylor, CB, New Orleans Saints
Another player the Colts expressed interest in adding in 2025, the Colts engaged the Saints in trade talks at the deadline to acquire Cornerback Alontae Taylor. However they ended up pivoting to All Pro Sauce Gardner instead. Taylor on an expiring deal would have been more affordable, but didn’t come with the same pedigree as a top WR shadower at an All Pro level like Gardner.
Still Taylor does bring a lot to the table. He has split his snaps nearly 50-50 in his 4 year pro career with the Saints inside covering the slot and outside guarding the perimeter, giving the Colts simultaneously a potential succession plan for slot Kenny Moore II as he plays in his 30s and providing an outside partner to pair with Sauce Gardner.
Taylor is an aggressive corner, thriving in the press-man that Lou Anarumo loves to run with his corners and bump and run Cover 3. His physicality also shows up in the run, with 6-7 Tackles for loss in each of the last 3 seasons; as well as a blitzer with 16 pressures in 73 blitzes over the last 2 seasons. When the ball is in the air he is highly disruptive as well, with 11-16 Pass Deflections every year of his career. Due to these skills, he received All Pro Votes in 2025; albeit didn’t make either team.
The downside with Taylor is he isn’t the most fluid and agile corner, instead thriving in straight line speed and attacking downhill while disrupting the route early. In off coverage he has struggled, resulting in 20 Touchdowns allowed in his career. He is a very boom-bust player, able to make both high impact plays consistently but also allow too much successful plays in coverage more often than preferred if he wants to be in the upper echelon of Corners. He certainly can cause HAVOC plays and headaches for opposing defenses, which for a Colts team in need of finding support across from Sauce Gardner could very well be needed.
The Saints are also in a rough cap situation once again with $19.6m over the cap. They have routinely been in these situations since the Drew Brees days, though they are experienced in navigating it and finding ways to free up cap space in time for free agency.
Tariq Woolen, CB, Seattle Seahawks
If the Colts want a freak athlete at Corner, its hard to find freakier than the 6’4 205 lb. corner with 4.26 speed and elite explosion. He was also one of the better cover corners in the NFL with 11 INTs and 41 Passes Deflected in his first 3 seasons prior to 2025. The Seahawks do have a large amount of cap space at $69.9 million, so they can afford to retain Woolen if they wish. So why is he on this list?
Because of the contentious beginning of the season and the questionable fit with Mike MacDonald’s scheme.
Woolen’s 2025 season is a tale of two stretches. Early on the former UTSA Roadrunner star struggled in MacDonald’s zone heavy coverage scheme. He began losing snaps in the corner rotation, even going so far as being benched at the start of games for undisclosed violations of team rules. The relationship looked to be souring and the fit with the Seahawks became questionable.
Then from Week 7 onward, Woolen turned a corner. His man coverage dominance remained, but his zone coverage grade went from 45.7 to 68.1 as his completion percentage allowed went from 72.2% to 52% overall. The scheme concerns became reduced, though the Seahawks love of zone over man coverage is still suboptimal for Woolen’s strengths.
Should he want to pursue an opportunity for a scheme that fits him better and if he harbors any grievances for how the beginning of the season played out, Woolen could decide it is time to see what the market has in store for him. The Colts could be a tempting fit with Lou Anarumo embracing man coverage when he had corners he was confident in could play man (Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward) outside. The opportunity to play opposite of Sauce Gardner is also very appealing, as Woolen could play against opposing offenses 2nd best Wide Receivers and have more exploitable matchups than if he went elsewhere to be the top Corner for a new team.
If Woolen makes it to Free Agency, expect a strong market for his services.
Malik Willis, QB, Green Bay Packers
Daniel Jones is firmly in the Colts plans at Quarterback for 2026 and likely a bit beyond. But with his injury history and recovery from an Achilles, Anthony Richardson on the last year of his rookie deal after being plagued with injuries and trying to regain his full sight from his own freak accident injury, and Riley Leonard a promising but still inexperienced backup 6th Round 2025 rookie… depth and potential competition at the starting spot is needed. With Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen on the hot seat, expect the Colts to add at least one more person to the QB room to hedge their bets and try to avoid the season going sideways should injuries strike the position once again.
The Free Agent QB market is admittedly not great. It is filled with aging former starting QBs that are far from their prime, early Round 1 QB draft busts, and career backups. However Malik Willis is the one young QB in the latter category that could be ascending into a starting NFL QB after his highly efficient play in Green Bay.
Willis has just 6 NFL starts to his name in his 4 year career. 3 of them were with the Tennessee Titans, where he struggled mightily as a passer and didn’t look like he belonged in the NFL at all (outside of his dynamic rushing ability). Granted the Titans had little to no support around Willis with porous pass protection, and little to no passing weapons (just Derrick Henry in the backfield to consistently threaten Defenses), but even then the level of play was awful.
But once he got to Green Bay, things changed. Surrounded by a talented core of pass catchers, a solid pass protecting line, still having a good run game, and most importantly going under the wing of Head Coach Matt LaFleur a known strong QB developer and play-caller… things changed.
Willis developed as a passer, showing much improved accuracy, touch, pre-snap recognition, better pocket movement, quicker processing, and better decision-making post-snap. The scheme around him provided a blueprint for his success, RPO and Play Action concepts with quick reads and room to improvise afterward with scrambles and moving platform throws. Throw in some QB designed run plays and you got a recipe for success so far in his career.
Willis still is highly inexperienced so his market value is at $10.4 million from Spotrac and some have thrown around a $13 million valuation for him per year. However with the lack of Day 1 starting QBs available both in the Draft (Fernando Mendoza, maybe Dante Moore if he declares, then a large tier drop off to inexperienced QBs Ty Simpson and Trinidad Chambliss if his appeal for extended eligibility fails) and in Free Agency, Malik Willis is likely to command well above market valuation by some team with a belief in his flashes.
If the Colts want another QB but don’t want to spend their reduced draft capital on a QB, Malik Willis is their best bet to find a young starting caliber QB in Free Agency. If Willis wants to go to another team with a talented group of pass catchers, a strong Offensive Line, one of the better play callers in the NFL, and have a potential opportunity to start with an actively and oft-injured incumbent QB… the Colts represent one of the better fits for Willis. Steichen has shown the ability to develop QBs in the past and has helped get Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, and Daniel Jones to play at their highest levels in the NFL, while also being able to create a scheme that can maximize a dual threat QB’s impact in the run game (Anthony Richardson and Jalen Hurts).
Willis could find other teams with more open starting QB jobs elsewhere, and potentially for more money than the Colts are willing to offer. But if he wants to continue his development in a strong situation and try to become a franchise QB able to make the real big bucks long term, Indianapolis might be the place to be.
The Packers don’t have the cap space to retain Willis ($10.2 million over the cap) and have their starting QB already in Jordan Love. Willis will be on the move in 2026, just a question of where he lands.
Jadeveon Clowney, DE, Dallas Cowboys
If the Colts want to add a lower cost but high upside pass rusher, bringing Jadeveon Clowney back to the AFC South makes sense. Over the last 3 seasons Clowney has been with the Ravens, Panthers, and Cowboys respectively, Clowney has made an impact at each stop with strong run defense and efficient pass rushing.
The 2014 1st Overall pick still has some production left to squeeze out in his NFL career. This pass rushing mercenary might be tempted to get some revenge on the Texans after a contentious contract negotiations ended on them trading him to the Seahawks.
At soon-to-be age 33 Clowney likely isn’t going to be an every down starter in 2026. His snap counts have decreased in each of the last 3 years from 757, 650, to 372. Still in that span he has been worth just $2.5 million to $6 million in cap space, with age and injuries of yesteryear lowering his cost.
His end of season play likely ups his next contract’s value a good amount. Considering the Colts paid Kwity Paye $13.4 million off of his 3rd year option and kept Samson Ebukam coming off of his Achilles injury and costing $10.9 million, its safe to say the Colts are willing to invest in Edge Rusher based off of potential and in spite of injuries and age (Ebukam was 30 in 2025). Signing an actively health
The Colts could find a potential bargain in Clowney for the short term and it wouldn’t bar them from pursuing other Defensive Ends in the Draft or Free Agency. Establishing a strong rotation of Defensive Ends is often a cornerstone of some of the best pass rushes in the NFL, and Clowney still has enough juice to be part of an ensemble of rushers.
Bryan Cook, S, Kansas City Chiefs
As previously mentioned, the Kansas City Chiefs are in the worst cap situation in the NFL right now. Expect several departures from the former champions this offseason barring a dramatic and aggressive cap restructuring, which isn’t likely with star QB Patrick Mahomes sidelined and his 2026 season in doubt.
Another such player is Bryan Cook, a versatile Safety who Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has used in a variety of ways. He can lineup as a Single High Free Safety, load up the box as a Strong Safety, or at times cover the slot.
Cook is a high IQ player who was able to fit in multiple schemes in college as well, displaying strong coverage instincts and range. He reacts quickly to the ball in the air and has improved his hip fluidity over time to improve his coverage abilities in man. He can fly to the ball and is a physical hitter. Overall his tackling has improved a lot in the pros going from a 15.6% missed tackle rate in 2023 to a 5.6% in 2025. His biggest issues are mostly in ball skills, as he doesn’t rack up INTs but more so deflections.
Still only 26 years old and showing a lot of desirable traits, Cook should be a well sought after player in Free Agency. If the Colts want to move in a different direction from the highly athletic and strong run supporter but still fine tuning his coverage instincts Nick Cross to a more polished and developed safety to pair with Cam Bynum in Lou Anarumo’s scheme which asks a lot from it’s safeties mentally, Cook could be a natural replacement.
He won’t come cheap as his Spotrac Market Value is projected at $14.6 million and at his age he will likely be looking for a longer term deal. If the Colts want to complete their Defensive Backfield remodel with another investment, Cook is potentially the best one on the market to pursue.
Al-Quadin Muhammad, DE, Detroit Lions
Another veteran pass rusher, Al-Quadin Muhammad is a name Colts fans should remember. Previously he played for the Colts under Matt Eberflus’ scheme, filling the role of a run stopping Defensive End who didn’t offer much in pass downs (11 sacks in 4 years, 7.3% Pressure Rate). Despite this, Muhammad earned major snaps in Eberflus’ Defense, from as low as 483 in 2019 to as much as 800 in 2021 when he started the entire season, much to the frustration of Colts fans and analysts who wanted to see more snaps for Kemoko Turay (when healthy), Denico Autry, Justin Houston, and later Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo.
But the funny thing about development is, it doesn’t always happen in the timeframe you expect.
At age 30, he is now the 2nd leading sacker for the Detroit Lions in 2025 behind only Aidan Hutchinson with 11 sacks. His pressure rate is 15%. He is doing all of this pass rush production coming off the bench without starting a single game for the Lions.
Suddenly a reunion in Indianapolis sounds nice.
Was 2025 a one year wonder for AQM? Or did Dan Campbell do a strong job at developing the veteran Defensive End into a pass rushing force going forward in his career? Did Aidan Hutchinson open things up for him with his double teams
Because of the small sample size of effective pass rushing at his age, teams will have hesitation to back up the brinks truck for Al-Quadin Muhammad, making him another opportunity for the Colts to add to their pass rushing rotation without breaking the bank. He still wants to be rewarded for his breakout season naturally, but this hesitation has his Spotrac valuation at $8.2 million, a real bargain for teams looking to get a potential 10+ sack Edge. Expect him to get a short term deal somewhere for roughly that amount per year (maybe more if a bidding war develops).
