As the NFL undergoes a transition in priority from veteran free agency to the incoming rookie class, this is a good time to take a look at what veteran contracts were terminated in preparation for and during the beginning of free agency–and see what trends can be identified.
The list
Here are all the players that saw a negative contract fate that resulted in salary due in 2025 that was shed by their former teams. All players saw their contracts terminated unless they are marked with an asterisk, which indicates the player agreeing to a pay cut–the amount of which is expressed in the Cash Saved column–or with a hashtag, indicating the player retired. The number on the left column represents the player’s rank on OTC’s 2025 Top 100 Possible Cut Candidates List.
| # | Player | Former Team | Pos. | 2025 Cash Due |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | Aaron Rodgers | Jets | QB | $37,500,000 |
| 87 | Davante Adams | Jets | WR | $36,250,000 |
| 15 | Joey Bosa | Chargers | EDGE | $25,360,000 |
| Javon Hargrave | 49ers | IDL | $20,750,000 | |
| Cooper Kupp | Rams | WR | $20,000,000 | |
| 24 | James Bradberry | Eagles | CB | $18,000,000 |
| Von Miller | Bills | EDGE | $17,500,000 | |
| 81 | Harold Landry | Titans | EDGE | $17,500,000 |
| 53 | Tyler Lockett | Seahawks | WR | $17,000,000 |
| 26 | Jonathan Allen | Commanders | IDL | $17,000,000 |
| 51 | Dre’Mont Jones | Seahawks | IDL | $16,510,000 |
| Bradley Chubb* | Dolphins | EDGE | $16,300,000 | |
| 90 | Grady Jarrett | Falcons | IDL | $16,250,000 |
| 58 | Darius Slay | Eagles | CB | $16,000,000 |
| 45 | Evan Engram | Jaguars | TE | $15,750,000 |
| Dalvin Tomlinson | Browns | IDL | $14,500,000 | |
| Preston Smith | Steelers | EDGE | $13,400,000 | |
| 32 | Marcus Williams | Ravens | S | $12,000,000 |
| Chidobe Awuzie | Titans | CB | $12,000,000 | |
| 71 | Za’Darius Smith | Lions | EDGE | $11,000,000 |
| Shaq Mason | Texans | IOL | $10,550,000 | |
| 20 | Sheldon Rankins | Bengals | IDL | $10,500,000 |
| 91 | Maliek Collins | 49ers | IDL | $10,000,000 |
| 12 | Sam Hubbard# | Bengals | EDGE | $9,600,000 |
| 2 | Gardner Minshew | Raiders | QB | $9,340,000 |
| Braden Smith* | Colts | T | $8,750,000 | |
| 44 | Leonard Floyd | 49ers | EDGE | $8,450,000 |
| 94 | Alex Cappa | Bengals | IOL | $8,000,000 |
| Andre James | Raiders | IOL | $7,120,000 | |
| 42 | Kendall Fuller | Dolphins | CB | $7,000,000 |
| 33 | Juan Thornhill | Browns | S | $7,000,000 |
| 28 | Larry Ogunjobi | Steelers | IDL | $7,000,000 |
| 14 | Miles Sanders | Panthers | RB | $6,700,000 |
| Roy Robertson-Harris | Seahawks | IDL | $6,600,000 | |
| 19 | Raekwon Davis | Colts | IDL | $6,490,000 |
| 17 | Gerald Everett | Bears | TE | $5,500,000 |
| 31 | Ja’Whaun Bentley | Patriots | LB | $5,500,000 |
| Rayshawn Jenkins | Seahawks | S | $5,400,000 | |
| 85 | DeMarcus Walker | Bears | EDGE | $5,250,000 |
| 62 | Garrett Bradbury | Vikings | IOL | $5,250,000 |
| David Andrews | Patriots | CB | $5,000,000 | |
| Jack Conklin | Browns | T | $5,000,000 | |
| 80 | Mitch Morse# | Jaguars | IOL | $4,650,000 |
| 79 | Kyle Juszczyk | 49ers | RB | $4,600,000 |
| 5 | Josh Reynolds | Jaguars | WR | $4,500,000 |
| 27 | Dane Jackson | Panthers | CB | $4,350,000 |
| 35 | C.J. Mosley | Jets | LB | $4,000,000 |
| 72 | George Fant | Seahawks | T | $3,800,000 |
| Andrew Wylie* | Commanders | T | $3,750,000 | |
| Matt Milano* | Bills | LB | $3,600,000 | |
| 25 | Shy Tuttle* | Panthers | IDL | $3,500,000 |
| Ronald Darby | Jaguars | CB | $3,500,000 | |
| Devin Duvernay | Jaguars | WR | $3,400,000 | |
| Durham Smythe | Dolphins | TE | $3,375,000 | |
| 68 | Tyrann Mathieu* | Saints | CB | $3,250,000 |
| Jamaal Williams | Saints | RB | $3,150,000 | |
| Gus Edwards | Chargers | RB | $3,125,000 | |
| Raheem Mostert | Dolphins | RB | $3,065,000 | |
| Sione Takitaki | Patriots | LB | $2,860,000 | |
| Arthur Maulet | Ravens | CB | $2,250,000 | |
| Sam Martin | Bills | P | $1,885,000 |
*player accepted a pay cut to stay with the team
#player has retired
This season, OTC’s Top 100 Possible Cut Candidates List identified 36 players that ended up on the list above. That is slightly down from the 38 identified in 2024. One improvement to the model that needs to be made for next season is that it did not find players who had previously taken pay cuts on a renegotiated contract. Otherwise, I think it would have been likely that Von Miller, Javon Hargrave, and Preston Smith would have made the Top 100 list.
However, among the 48 players that were due at least $3.75 million in 2025, 34 were on the Top 100 list. That makes up the grand majority of such players at 70.8%, and while that is down from 2024’s number of 76%, I still do believe that the model is doing well in identifying the broad swath of players who end up being cut or have their contract adjusted downward.
Two other players that are not in the list above but were on the Top 100 list deserve to be mentioned as well. They are Deebo Samuel (#50) and Christian Kirk (#6), who were instead traded. In Kirk’s case, it had been reported that he was going to be cut by the Jaguars, until the Texans swooped in and offered to take his contract via a trade.
2025 Cash Saved By Team and Position
| Team | 2025 Cash Saved | # |
|---|---|---|
| Jets | $77,750,000 | 3 |
| Seahawks | $49,310,000 | 5 |
| 49ers | $43,800,000 | 4 |
| Eagles | $34,000,000 | 2 |
| Jaguars | $31,800,000 | 5 |
| Dolphins | $29,740,000 | 4 |
| Titans | $29,500,000 | 2 |
| Chargers | $28,485,000 | 2 |
| Bengals | $28,100,000 | 3 |
| Browns | $26,500,000 | 3 |
| Bills | $22,985,000 | 3 |
| Commanders | $20,750,000 | 2 |
| Steelers | $20,400,000 | 2 |
| Rams | $20,000,000 | 1 |
| Raiders | $16,460,000 | 2 |
| Falcons | $16,250,000 | 1 |
| Colts | $15,240,000 | 2 |
| Panthers | $14,550,000 | 3 |
| Ravens | $14,250,000 | 2 |
| Patriots | $13,360,000 | 3 |
| Lions | $11,000,000 | 1 |
| Bears | $10,750,000 | 2 |
| Texans | $10,550,000 | 1 |
| Saints | $6,400,000 | 2 |
| Vikings | $5,250,000 | 1 |
| Row Labels | 2025 Cash Saved | # |
|---|---|---|
| IDL | $129,100,000 | 11 |
| EDGE | $124,360,000 | 9 |
| WR | $81,150,000 | 5 |
| CB | $71,350,000 | 9 |
| QB | $46,840,000 | 2 |
| IOL | $35,570,000 | 5 |
| TE | $24,625,000 | 3 |
| S | $24,400,000 | 3 |
| T | $21,300,000 | 4 |
| RB | $20,640,000 | 5 |
| LB | $15,960,000 | 4 |
| P | $1,885,000 | 1 |
In the team column to the left, 25 teams shed $597.18 million in 2025 salary. The Broncos, Bucs, Cardinals, Chiefs, Cowboys, Giants, and Packers were the seven teams that did not conduct any major veteran cuts. The Seahawks and Jaguars led the way in quantity with 5 players, while the Jets leading far and away in salary shed is almost entirely due to Aaron Rodgers (due $37.5 million) and Davante Adams (due $36.25 million).
By position, this season it was the defensive front that took the biggest hits, with salary shed among interior defensive linemen and edge rushers each seeing those numbers in the nine digits. Wide receiver and cornerback continue their trend of having a high amount of salary shed as well, coming in at 3rd and 4th. The high figure at quarterback this season is again due to Rodgers being cut.
Running back and linebacker were exceptionally low, possibly indicating that the market correction on those positions has stabilized. The same could be true of safety, which saw much less disruption than the devastation the position saw last season.