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NFL free agency is a year-round process, as teams scout opposing players in an effort to defeat them during the year and perhaps sign them in the offseason.
Now that we’re at the end of the 2024-25 NFL season, the free agency picture is coming into focus, and teams are beginning to identify potential targets to improve their roster weaknesses.
Here are the top linebackers slated to hit free agency in 2025. Click here for PFF’s full list of the top 100 free agents.
1. LB Dre Greenlaw, San Francisco 49ers
2025 Free Agent Rank: 18
Greenlaw worked his way back from an Achilles injury he suffered in the Super Bowl last February but was shut down after only 34 snaps in 2024. He will still likely see a lot of interest in free agency. He excels in coverage, having earned PFF coverage grades of 82.6 and 79.5 over the past two seasons.
Top free agent comparison: Nick Kwiatkoski, 2020
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Dre Greenlaw | 71.8 | 69.8 | 2.7% | 6.2% | ? |
| Nick Kwiatkoski | 69.3 | 64.8 | 4.7% | 7.7% | 3.5% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
2. LB Nick Bolton, Kansas City Chiefs
2025 Free Agent Rank: 34
The Chiefs have consistently cycled through rookie contract players in the back seven of their defense and generally let them hit free agency, with Willie Gay Jr. the latest example at off-ball linebacker last offseason. That said, Gay was a part-time player, whereas Bolton has been a staple at the middle linebacker spot almost from day one. Bolton is a bit stiff when flipping his hips and can get picked on at times in coverage, but he is an absolute bruiser coming forward in the run game.
Top free agent comparison: Dannell Ellerbe, 2013
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Nick Bolton | 72.6 | 54.4 | 3.4% | 8.8% | ? |
| Dannell Ellerbe | 75.7 | 38.7 | 2.3% | 8.6% | 5.7% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
3. LB Bobby Wagner, Washington Commanders
2025 Free Agent Rank: 45
The ageless wonder that keeps going, Wagner was one of the few bright spots on a dismal Commanders defense during the regular season. He’s posted an 82.4 PFF overall grade or better in each of the past three seasons and is even finding new ways to improve: His 91.0 pass-rushing grade this season is tied for his career-best mark.
Top free agent comparison: Daryl Smith, 2016
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Bobby Wagner | 93.2 | 59.4 | 5.8% | 9.1% | ? |
| Daryl Smith | 77.2 | 62.7 | 5.0% | 8.5% | – |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
4. LB Ernest Jones, Seattle Seahawks
2025 Free Agent Rank: 58
The Rams traded Jones to the Titans before the season, and the Titans sent him to the Seahawks before the trade deadline. Entering Week 18, a report from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport stated Jones and Seattle had been discussing an extension but decided to “amicably” pause. Jones is a productive thumping linebacker but, for whatever reason, couldn’t get his third team in the same season to pull the trigger on an early extension ahead of free agency.
Top free agent comparison: Avery Williamson, 2018
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Ernest Jones | 84.6 | 51.8 | 4.8% | 9.8% | ? |
| Avery Williamson | 90.5 | 61.7 | 3.9% | 10.0% | 4.2% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
5. LB Zack Baun, Philadelphia Eagles
2025 Free Agent Rank: 61
We seemingly write this blurb every year for the free-agent rankings, so stop us if you’ve heard this before: The Eagles bought low on a talented but under-utilized off-ball linebacker who went on to have a career year in Philadelphia. Will they extend Baun, the latest example, and keep him in the fold? That’s the blurb we never write. Focusing on Baun, there was nothing fluky about his production in 2024 and little reason to think he can’t continue to play at an extremely high level in a newer role, plus he’ll always have some pass-rush chops to boot.
Top free agent comparison: N/A
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Zack Baun | 75.8 | 90.7 | 2.4% | 9.4% | ? |
| – | – | – | – | – | – |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
6. LB Jamien Sherwood, New York Jets
2025 Free Agent Rank: 66
Sherwood burst onto the scene in a full-time role as injuries continued to hamper veteran C.J. Mosley, with a similar hair-on-fire playing style to fellow Jets linebacker Quincy Williams. Sherwood’s emergence as a safety-to-linebacker convert was a rare bright spot in a disappointing year for the team from top to bottom. If the presumed departure and/or retirement of Mosley comes to fruition, perhaps Sherwood can stick around heading into 2025.
Top free agent comparison: Todd Davis, 2018
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Jamien Sherwood | 80.8 | 57.6 | 4.4% | 7.2% | ? |
| Todd Davis | 85.3 | 52.5 | 2.6% | 9.1% | 2.8% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
7. LB Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2025 Free Agent Rank: 68
David is finally starting to show some signs of slowing down after a decade as perhaps the most underrated linebacker in the NFL, with sideline-to-sideline abilities that rivaled any player at the second level of a defense. That said, in the wild-card round, he was one-on-one to the boundary with Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, one of the fastest and shiftiest players in the NFL, and chased him down for a loss, showing he still has some serious juice when it counts.
Top free agent comparison: Danny Trevathan, 2020
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Lavonte David | 80.0 | 64.9 | 5.3% | 9.4% | ? |
| Danny Trevathan | 74.7 | 65.3 | 2.9% | 9.4% | 3.6% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
8. LB Robert Spillane, Las Vegas Raiders
2025 Free Agent Rank: 89
Spillane was a top-five linebacker in snaps played and total tackles in 2024, with a strong 87.3 PFF run-defense grade. He’s at his best coming downhill and can get picked on in coverage when he has to backpedal or sharply change direction, but five interceptions over the past two years is nothing to scoff at. Over the past two seasons Spillane’s 114 solo tackles, 66 stops and 21 tackles for loss or no gain against the run are all top-10 marks among linebackers, and he’s the only linebacker in the top 15 of any of those categories with a missed tackle rate of 5% or lower.
Top free agent comparison: Alex Singleton, 2024
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Robert Spillane | 91.2 | 51.3 | 3.8% | 7.9% | ? |
| Alex Singleton | 84.9 | 51.3 | 2.5% | 9.4% | 2.7% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
9. LB Tyrel Dodson, Miami Dolphins
2025 Free Agent Rank: 91
Dodson signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks in last year’s free agency period, and despite ranking in the top 15 in defensive stops through Week 9, with two sacks to boot, he was waived by the team due to struggles in the run game. The Miami Dolphins claimed him, and Dodson had three interceptions over just 251 snaps with the team to close out the year, highlighting further how he’s a feast-or-famine player who can make a splash or give up a big gain.
Top free agent comparison: Kyzir White, 2023
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Tyrel Dodson | 65.7 | 81.4 | 5.0% | 8.7% | ? |
| Kyzir White | 64.8 | 67.0 | 4.4% | 7.8% | 2.2% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
10. LB Eric Kendricks, Dallas Cowboys
2025 Free Agent Rank: 98
Kendricks reunited with his longtime head coach Mike Zimmer, who stepped in to serve as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator after a brief stint outside the league, and Kendricks had a bounce-back year despite the defensive line ahead of him suffering a rash of injuries and often getting pushed off the line to create major holes for opponents rushing attacks.
Top free agent comparison: Daryl Smith, 2016
| Player | Run-defense grade | Coverage grade in the box | Forced incompletion rate | Run-stop rate | APY as % of Cap at signing |
| Eric Kendricks | 80.1 | 69.2 | 3.0% | 8.6% | ? |
| Daryl Smith | 77.2 | 62.7 | 5.0% | 8.5% | 1.6% |
*All data in tables reflects two years prior to UFA contract signing
Contract projection: Available in PFF’s free agency rankings
