In many respects, free agency in the NFL is like a game show. The only things missing are the host and the studio audience.
NFL general managers bid on available players and hope to get the price right without overpaying, just like in The Price is Right. Teams do enough haggling and wheeling and dealing to make Monty Hall of Let's Make a Deal fame blush. Quite a few front offices will be phoning a friend to get information on a free-agent target, ala Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
And at the end of the day, teams step up to the free agency board, press the big red button, and hope for big bucks and no whammies—just like Press Your Luck.
That never gets old.
Unfortunately, linebackers generally don't reap the windfalls in free agency that other positions do. There are only two off-ball linebackers in all of the NFL who make more than $20 million a season—Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers and Roquan Smith of the Baltimore Ravens.
However, just because linebackers don't make crazy money doesn't mean that free agent linebackers can't have a big impact. Robert Spillane led the AFC champion New England Patriots in tackles last year, and Ernest Jones IV was in just his second season with the Seattle Seahawks.
Yes, that was a trade. I know. Shut it. I'm making a point.
In IDP leagues of course, linebackers are the lifeblood of fantasy success. And two of the top-10 linebackers in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring last year (Nate Landman of the Los Angeles Rams and Devin White of the Las Vegas Raiders) were in their first seasons on those teams.
This year's free agent class at linebacker may be short on star power, but it's a deep group—so much so that there are over a dozen players at the position about to hit the open market who could have IDP relevance in 2026 and beyond.
I'll try not to ramble.
Quay Walker, Green Bay Packers
Walker didn't blossom into the superstar the Packers had hoped when they drafted him 22nd overall back in 2022. But Walker has topped 100 total tackles in all four professional seasons (including 128 stops in 2025), he's a capable every-down linebacker, and as the best free agent available at the position, the 25-year-old should land somewhere that keeps him on the IDP LB2 radar in 2026.
Projected Landing Spot: Las Vegas Raiders
Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville Jaguars
Lloyd was fantastic in coverage last year—he intercepted five passes and posted a passer rating against of just 57.1 in 2025. But per ESPN's Bill Barnwell, Lloyd took longer to make tackles on run plays (5.1 seconds) than any starting off-ball linebacker in the league, and his tackle numbers were down a year ago relative to his first three seasons. His IDP ceiling is likely LB3 territory, but he'll be drafted too soon by fantasy managers enamored with his new contract.
Projected Landing Spot: Cincinnati Bengals
Bobby Okereke, New York Giants
Okereke was outstanding in his first season with the Giants in 2023, but after an injury-marred 2024 season and a so-so 2025 campaign, Okereke was released this week by the Giants in a cap-cutting move. Okereke was sixth among all linebackers in fantasy points back in 2023, and even in that "down" 2025, he was ninth at the position. He should garner plenty of interest—and could have LB1 upside in the right spot.
Projected Landing Spot: Dallas Cowboys
