Monday marks the first day of the legal tampering period of 2026’s NFL free agency. Though the moves can’t be finalized or announced by teams until the start of the new league year on Wednesday, this is essentially the first day of free agency.
Moves have been pouring in since the negotiation window opened at noon on Monday. PFSN takes a look at which signings look like they could be potential steals, as well as which signings stand out as the biggest overpays.
Steal: Jamel Dean, Pittsburgh Steelers
3 years, $36.75 million deal
After seven successful seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jamel Dean will be heading to the Pittsburgh Steelers to pair with Joey Porter Jr. in their secondary. Not only is that a strong addition that should boost their defense, but they also got Dean on an extremely team-friendly contract.
Dean was the sixth-best cornerback in the NFL by the PFSN NFL CB Impact (CBi) score this past season, and he’s been a top-20 performer in four of his last five seasons with the Buccaneers. With three interceptions in 14 games, he allowed a targeted passer rating of just 46.9 in 2025.
PFSN projected Dean to make $17.3 million in annual average salary on his next deal, and the Steelers landed him for just over $12 million a year. That salary means that Dean ranks among the top 25 highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL now, and one could certainly argue he’d rank higher than that if you had to rank every cornerback in the league.
James Pierre, Minnesota Vikings
2 years, $8.5 million
Though the Steelers landed a star cornerback at a team-friendly deal in Dean, they also lost a key contributor in free agency to another team-friendly deal. James Pierre signed with the Minnesota Vikings, giving them an upgrade in their porous secondary heading into 2026.
Pierre had the second-highest CBi Score in the NFL this past season, at 91.6. He allowed a passer rating under 60 and recorded 11 passes defended in 14 games for Pittsburgh in the best year of his six-year career to this point. To get that level of play for only $4.25 million a year is a great value for Minnesota.
Granted, Pierre has never been a full-time starting cornerback in the NFL, and going to the Vikings will likely see him take on his biggest role yet. But he proved himself as an impact player with the Steelers this past year, and for a team in need of upgrades at cornerback, this is a low-risk, high-reward move.
Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
3 years, $67.5 million
Depending on which person you ask, the price the Miami Dolphins ended up paying Malik Willis might actually be an overpay. After all, he has limited passing experience in four years in the NFL, and his price is heavily influenced by the small sample size he displayed with the Green Bay Packers.
That said, I’m choosing to view Willis’ new contract through the lens of his position. His new $22.5 million annual average salary ranks just No. 21 at the quarterback position heading into 2026. Among projected starters who aren’t on their rookie contracts, Willis’ salary exceeds only that of Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
Assuming Willis is Miami’s answer at quarterback for at least this coming season, betting on his strong play with the Packers could pay off very well for them. With veterans like Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and Baker Mayfield rebounding into strong starting QBs in recent years, Willis projects as a strong candidate to do the same.
Overpay: DE Jaelan Phillips, Carolina Panthers
4 years, $120 million
Placing Jaelan Phillips in the “overpay” category hardly means that he’s a bad player. In fact, he is objectively a good starting edge rusher. He’s ranked in the top 25 in PFSN’s EDGE Impact Scoring in each of his last three healthy seasons, and he was No. 11 in terms of pressures generated off the edge with 46 this regular season.
However, the Carolina Panthers are now forking over an exuberant amount of money to have Phillips on their defensive line. He’s certainly an upgrade for them off the edge, but his current annual average salary of $30 million makes him rank eighth in the league among edge rushers.
In his five years in the NFL, Phillips has yet to reach double-digit sacks in a single season. He also missed significant time between 2023 and 2024 due to consecutive season-ending injuries, as well as his extensive injury history from college. Phillips is a talented defender, but this feels a bit too steep given what he’s proven thus far in his career.
Zion Johnson, Cleveland Browns
3 years, $49.5 million
According to PFSN’s calculations, guard Zion Johnson was worth roughly $6.8 million a year on his next contract after his rookie deal expired with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Cleveland Browns signed him to a deal worth $16.5 million a year on Monday.
With a 76.5 PFSN Player OL Impact Score in 2025, Johnson ranked as the No. 39 guard in the NFL this past season. He hasn’t finished with a top-32 grade in any of his four years in the league, putting him in below-average starting territory. Still, his new deal makes him the No. 14 highest-paid guard in the league.
Johnson has allowed 21 total sacks in his NFL career thus far, making him an inconsistent pass protector at this stage in his career. The Browns had a massive need on their offensive line, and at 26, there’s still a shot Johnson lives up to his former first-round billing. But Cleveland is placing a lot of eggs in the basket that he’ll be a late bloomer.
Tyler Linderbaum, Las Vegas Raiders
3 years, $81 million
Let’s get two things straight: Tyler Linderbaum is a tremendous football player, and the Las Vegas Raiders needed to spend money. This move reflects both being true. Linderbaum set out to reset the center market in free agency, and now, with an average salary of $27 million a year, it’s safe to say he’s done that.
Linderbaum has been graded as a top-ten center by OLi Metric in each of his four seasons in the NFL, so the fact that he became the highest-paid center isn’t egregious. However, his $27 million AAV is now $9 million higher than Creed Humphrey’s, who was the previous first-place holder.
The Raiders had a directive to protect presumptive No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, and bringing in a Pro Bowl center in Linderbaum will help them do that. His contract is just so over the top, however, that it’s hard to say that such a massive deal is worthy of the center position.
