STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES of the 2026 NFL Free Agent Class

Free agency might begin next week, but we already have plenty of player movement news to tackle. The Bears are surprisngly in th emarket for a tackle after Drew Dalman's sudden retirement. The Cardinals will be shopping for a new quarterback next week, and Kyler Murray will be looking for a new home. Daniel Jones (most likely) and Breece Hall are staying put. Thats' where Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman kick off this episode of The Athletic Football Show. After that, the guys dig into the contours of this free agent class, focusing on the positions where needy teams can find answers, and those at the opposite end of the spectrum.

0:00 Welcome to the show
1:05 A+ analogy from Dave
3:12 Drew Dalman retires
3:26 Noted Chicago Bears fan Robert is having a normal time
6:15 Bears & Tyler Linderbaum
6:48 Bears & Tyler Biadasz
7:41 Other options for Bears
10:08 Indianapolis Colts transition tag Daniel Jones
10:23 Why the transition tag for Jones?
12:04 Jones injury impact
13:15 Is there a better option than Jones?
16:03 Colts lack of options
18:22 New York Jets tag Breece Hall
18:44 Dave has a take
19:54 Downsides of tagging Hall
21:21 We don’t do math here
22:45 Minnesota Vikings open to trading Jonathan Greenard
24:09 Best fits for Greenard
26:59 Lack of big ticket free agents in 2026 class
30:56 Positions of value in this class
32:28 Linebacker
33:08 Running back
33:18 Tyler Allgeier = Michael Turner? (Derrik is young)
35:31 Tight end
39:02 Safety
47:33 Arizona Cardinals to release Kyler Murray
49:50 Colts & Kyler Murray?
50:10 Interior offensive line
52:40 Edge rushers
55:05 The less impressive free agent classes
55:21 Wide receiver
59:50 Tackle
1:01:15 Interior defensive line
1:05:11 Big Monday coming up

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