We are just a couple of days away from the start of the Divisional Round of the 2024 NFL Playoffs, and there are some marquee games on the slate over the course of two days this weekend. Four teams will move on to their respective Conference Championship games, while the other four will begin their off-seasons as we head into the final full week of January.
NFL: 3 Impending Free Agents Playing This Weekend
Mike Evans is a Buccaneers legend 🏴☠️ pic.twitter.com/AhKszkyNai
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) January 16, 2024
And for some players on those teams, it will be the final time that they suit up in their current colors. There are more than a handful of guys playing this weekend who are set to become free agents this spring, and could be looking to make a few extra dollars by putting up solid performances at the most important of times.
Which are the biggest names that are impending free agents? Here are three of them that will be taking part in the NFL action this weekend:
1. Chris Jones – Chiefs – DT
The Chiefs signed Jones to a one-year deal before the start of the season, ending a hold out by one of the top defensive linemen in the game. He is set to become a free agent this off-season, and Kansas City still has the option of placing the franchise tag on him. They would have to fork over more than $32 million in order to do it, which would make Jones the highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL for 2024.
Chris Jones finished the 2023 season with 10.5 sacks, made First Team All-Pro, and was voted into the Pro Bowl.
2. Antoine Winfield Jr. – Buccaneers – S
He figures to be the best defensive back that will be on the open market this off-season, as First Team All-Pro selection Antoine Winfield Jr. will become a free agent for the first time in his career. He has become one of the best safeties in the game, as he defended 12 passes, picked off 3, forced 6 fumbles, and finished with 122 tackles, second on the team.
Winfield will be the subject of plenty of franchise tag talks as contract his negotiations wear on this spring.
3. Mike Evans – Buccaneers – WR
Evans may be one of the most underrated wide receivers that we have ever seen in the NFL. He has eclipsed 1,000 yards in each of his first 10 seasons in the league, which is a record, and 4 more than the next-highest (Randy Moss). He has done so with a long list of different quarterbacks throwing him the ball, including the latest in Baker Mayfield.
The market for Evans will be questionable, given that there isn’t a lot of free agent competition at the position. And how much will a team be willing to fork over for an aging wideout, no matter how well his first decade in the league went?
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