2025 NFL QB market: Top free agents, best team fits, projected contracts for Aaron Rodgers, other key veterans

CBS Sports | American Football | 02/24/2025

Getty Images

The 2025 NFL offseason is underway. Pending free agents can begin negotiating with other teams through their agents beginning March 10, and signings and trades can become official starting March 12, but already all 32 teams are permitted to apply franchise and transition tags.

Unsurprisingly, quarterback is the position bound to get the most attention in the coming weeks. But there’s good reason for that: This year’s market figures to include close to a half-dozen veteran starters, including a recent Comeback Player of the Year candidate.

Here, we’ve identified the best signal-callers set to be available, plus potential team fits and projected contracts and landing spots.

Note: Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins technically remain under contract with their current teams, but both are widely expected to be released ahead of free agency.

Quarterback’s listed ages are as of Sept. 4, the start of the 2025 NFL season.

5. Kirk Cousins

Age: 37 | Season: 9th | Current Team: Atlanta Falcons

Benched for Michael Penix Jr. late in 2024, Cousins was meant to be the missing piece for a playoff contender in Atlanta, but he proved unusually streaky coming off a torn Achilles. Another year removed from the injury might help him rediscover his touch, but it’s safe to wonder how much juice he has left in his arm. More steady than spectacular during a six-year run with the Minnesota Vikings, he’s at least likely to come at a discount, given the Falcons will be absorbing a hefty price if/when they release him.

Projected AAV: $1 million-$1.5 million
Best fits: Browns, Colts, Jets
Prediction: Signs one-year, $1.5 million deal with Cleveland Browns

4. Russell Wilson

Age: 36 | Season: 14th | Current Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

His days of dominating the highlight reel as the dual-threat star of the Seattle Seahawks are long gone, but Wilson at least flashed some of his trademark deep-ball touch midway through 2024. By the end, of course, the sluggishness that marked his ill-fated Denver Broncos pitstop had reared its head again. He’s clearly still a functional play-action passer, but without the elusiveness of his youth, it’s hard to see anyone betting on him as more than a one-year rental, and even then, he’ll likely need to compete for the job.