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The 2025 NFL free agency period has seen its fair share of surprises. Teams are scrambling to improve their roster heading into April’s draft. It’s led to some puzzling deals across the league. Let’s look at five deals teams agreed upon with free agents that left us scratching our heads in confusion:
DE Javon Kinlaw (Commanders)
In one of the most shocking moves during Day 1 of free agency, the Washington Commanders inked Javon Kinlaw to a multi-year deal worth up to $45 million. An ascending team handing out $30 million in guarantees to a player with 9.5 career sacks in 58 games. Kinlaw, a former first-round pick, hasn’t lived up to expectations. Washington GM Adam Peters is familiar with the South Carolina product from their time in San Francisco. Peters was on the staff when Kinlaw was selected 14th overall in 2020. Kinlaw will have some massive shoes to fill after Washington allowed longtime defensive stalwart Jonathan Allen to walk in free agency.
WR Darius Slayton (Giants)
Darius Slayton isn’t a bad player, by any means. He’s an elite field stretcher who has been misused on a Giants offense that hasn’t had consistent QB play. Slayton has value as a 6-foot-1 speedster who can take the top off of defenses. However, there’s no telling who will be playing quarterback for the Giants in 2025. It will likely be a washed-up veteran (Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson) or a rookie. The real issue here for the Giants front office is that Slayton received nearly the exact same deal that Saquon Barkley got last offseason from the Philadelphia Eagles (3 years, $37 million). In a way, the Giants chose to keep Slayton — career-high of 770 receiving yards — at the same price over Barkley who just ran for 2,000 yards, won Offensive Player of the Year, and is a Super Bowl champion. The optics aren’t good with this one.
TE Juwan Johnson (Saints)
Every offseason NFL fans ask themselves the same question: What are the Saints doing? GM Mickey Loomis has created one of the most dire cap situations the league has seen. The team doesn’t seem to be that enthused with having Derek Carr as their QB, but recently restructured his deal and he will be the team’s starter in 2025. Despite the cap space conundrum, the Saints extended Chase Young with a three-year deal and signed two-time Super Bowl champion safety Justin Reid. Young had a solid season rushing the passer last year, and Reid is a proven player at a position of need who is still just 28 years old. However, the Juwan Johnson deal doesn’t make much sense. Johnson led the team in receiving last year — only because Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed missed extended time — and was arguably the third-most impactful TE on New Orleans’ roster (Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau both finished with more touchdowns). The Saints are waiting for Johnson’s breakout, but it doesn’t seem like that is in the cards for the veteran tight end.
DE DeMarcus Lawrence (Seahawks)
The Seahawks have had one of the most puzzling weeks in recent memory. They released longtime Seahawk Tyler Lockett, shockingly traded QB Geno Smith to the Raiders, and then shipped star wideout DK Metcalf to the Steelers. It seemed like the team was ready to embrace a full rebuild, which makes signing a 32-year-old DeMarcus Lawrence all the more puzzling. Lawrence is coming off a foot injury which cost him the last 13 games of the 2024 season. He hasn’t had more than 6.5 sacks since 2018 but was named a Pro Bowler in ’22 and ’23. Lawrence is still capable of being a good football player, but he doesn’t seem to match this team’s timeline at all.
QB Sam Darnold (Seahawks)
It feels mean to just pick on the Seahawks, but they’ve made some head-scratching moves. After news of the Geno Smith trade surfaced, speculation began on who Seattle’s next quarterback might be. Some considered the chance that the Seahawks had become enamored with one of the QBs in this year’s draft class, and were prepared to develop a rookie passer alongside a young roster. Instead, the Seahawks reached a deal with the best free agent QB on the board. Darnold is coming off a career year with the Vikings, but he’s not set up for success in Seattle. The former USC standout crumbled behind Minnesota’s offensive line at the end of the 2024 season. Seattle’s offensive line is even worse, and he doesn’t have a WR like Justin Jefferson or a play-caller like Kevin O’Connell to bail him out.
