With the 2024-2025 NFL season officially over, free agency draws near as teams prepare to fill in the gaps for the 2025-2026 campaign. This column goes over everything you need to know about the top defensive players in the 2025 free agency.
Josh Sweat heads into free agency, coming off one of his best seasonal performances. Looking at the regular season, the linebacker totaled 41 tackles, eight sacks and seven stuffs. In the playoffs, Sweat wrapped up 10 players and forced three tackles for a loss. To add on, the 27-year-old helped the Philadelphia Eagles play lights-out defense against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. The former Florida State player earned every postseason sack in the big game, as he took down Patrick Mahomes two and a half times. Sweat nearly achieved half of the team’s total sacks that night. Now, the talented linebacker searches for a new home and a big contract.
A potential landing spot for the Virginia native is the Arizona Cardinals, which would reunite him with the former Eagles’ defensive coordinator, Jonathan Gannon. Despite finding success with the Eagles, Gannon failed at transferring his defensive knowledge to his new team. In the 2024-2025 season, the Cardinals ended their campaign at No. 21 in total defensive rankings, per Fox Sports. With that said, the Cardinals hold the fourth-highest budget in 2025, according to PFF. This significantly increases the chances of Sweat moving to the NFC West.
Zack Baun signed a one-year deal with the Eagles during the 2024 free agency period and put on an excellent regular season. The linebacker recorded 151 tackles and tied for third in the league with 93 solo takedowns per ESPN. Furthermore, with five forced fumbles, Baun deadlocked with the Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin for second in the league, according to Fox Sports. However, the 28-year-old only got to the quarterback three and a half times and intercepted one ball. Despite that, the former Wisconsin Badgers’ dominance carried over into the playoffs. Baun tackled 33 players, stripped the ball, recovered two rocks and caught two interceptions. With the success Baun had, seeing him chase a bag should come as no surprise.
The Las Vegas Raiders could put their name in the hat for the linebacker market with players like Robert Spillane leaving. Like the Cardinals, the Raiders have a little more than $92 million in cap space, per PFF. Tom Brady, the newest member of the Raiders’ ownership, spoke very highly of Baun, calling him defensive player of the year, per Fansided. Moreover, the linebacker could go from one dominating defense to the next under new head coach Pete Carroll, who put together the Legion of Boom with the Seattle Seahawks.
Jevon Holland goes into the free agency market, coming off of a down year. The cornerback totaled 62 tackles, one sack and forced a change in possession in the 2024-2025 campaign. In 2023, Holland knocked down 74 players, forced three fumbles, recovered a ball and scored a 99-yard pick-six. However, one downside to Holland is that he’s injury prone. The last time the cornerback participated in all 17 games was in 2022, per ESPN. From past shows, the 26-year-old is an underrated pickup who could impact a team heavily.
The Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers may show interest in free agents. The Vikings lost Josh Metellus, who played a role in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ schemes, with 103 total tackles in 17 matches. Currently, the franchise holds the seventh-most cap space in 2025, with a little over $58 million, per PFF. The Chargers need to replace Derwin James, who dropped 93 players, sacked five and a half quarterbacks and snatched a ball in 2024. With that said, both teams could get a steal on Holland for a lower price than most corners due to injury issues and lack of performance.
Franchises can officially sign new players beginning March 12, 2025. In the meantime, everything can change as franchise tagging started on February 18. In addition, some players will sign new contracts with their current teams before free agency.
