NFL Free Agency Tracker: Start date, cap space, top available players

Everything you need to know before 2022 NFL free agency originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

The offseason can be nearly as exciting as the on-field action, with trades, free agency and the draft consuming the spring and summer months.

That excitement, of course, has only been heightened in 2022 with several high-profile quarterbacks in the news.

Less than a month after the Super Bowl, three major quarterback dominos have fallen. Tom Brady retired, Aaron Rodgers re-signed with the Packers and Russell Wilson was traded from the Seahawks to the Broncos.

Here’s a full preview before NFL free agency, including information on the salary cap and some of the top available players:

When does NFL free agency start?

Free agency in the NFL begins immediately when the new league year begins. This year, that falls on March 16, 2022, at 4 p.m. ET.

Teams can begin speaking with free agents two days before free agency begins during the legal tampering period. Beginning on Monday, March 14, 2022, at 12 p.m. ET, clubs can contact and negotiate with players who will become unrestricted free agents two days later. Players and teams can agree to deals, but they can’t be signed until the new league year begins.

Which NFL teams have the most cap space?

The salary cap is a tricky thing in the NFL. Unlike the NBA, football players do not have fully guaranteed salaries. Between bonuses, incentives and void years, there are plenty of loopholes that teams use to clear cap space.

As of March 9, here’s a look at the 10 teams with the most top-51 salary cap space (per Spotrac):

1. Los Angeles Chargers: $57,530,555

2. Seattle Seahawks: $51,365,749

3. Miami Dolphins: $49,216,642

4. New York Jets: $44,728,732

5. Indianapolis Colts: $41,731,936

6. Jacksonville Jaguars: $40,139,704

7. Cincinnati Bengals: $35,867,062

8. Carolina Panthers: $31,307,899

9. Washington Commanders: $30,354,046

10. Pittsburgh Steelers: $29,621,950

Plenty of teams aren’t in a good position entering free agency, as eight teams are above the cap. Here are the 10 teams with the least amount of top-51 cap space as of March 9:

1. Green Bay Packers: -$49,235,758

2. New Orleans Saints: -$42,489,119

3. Minnesota Vikings: -$14,725,024

4. Los Angeles Rams: -$13,172,364

5. Dallas Cowboys: -$8,998,140

6. Tennessee Titans: -$6,905,413

7. New York Giants: -$5,841,002

8. Kansas City Chiefs: -$4,458,851

9. Buffalo Bills: $557,311

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $2,131,280

Who are the best NFL free agents for 2022?

Like every year, there are a number of difference-making free agents. How many of them actually reach the open market remains to be seen, as teams can use the franchise tag or negotiate a new deal before the legal tampering period in March.

Here’s a position-by-position look at the best players set to hit free agency:

Quarterbacks

• Jameis Winston, Saints

• Teddy Bridgewater, Broncos

• Ryan Fitzpatrick, Washington

• Cam Newton, Panthers

• Marcus Mariota, Raiders

• Mitch Trubisky, Bills

• Jacoby Brissett, Dolphins

• Andy Dalton, Bears

• Tyrod Taylor, Texans

• Trevor Siemian, Saints

• Brian Hoyer, Patriots

Running backs

• Chase Edmonds, Cardinals

• James Conner, Cardinals

• Cordarrelle Patterson, Falcons

• Devonta Freeman, Ravens

• Damien Williams, Bears

• Melvin Gordon, Broncos

• David Johnson, Texans

• Marlon Mack, Colts

• Darrel Williams, Chiefs

• Sony Michel, Rams

• Brandon Bolden, Patriots

• James White, Patriots

• Jordan Howard, Eagles

• Alex Collins, Seahawks

• Rashaad Penny, Seahawks

• Jeff Wilson, 49ers

• Raheem Mostert, 49ers

• Giovani Bernard, Buccaneers

• Leonard Fournette, Buccaneers

• Ronald Jones, Buccaneers

• D’Onta Foreman, Titans

• J.D. McKissic, Washington

Wide receivers

• A.J. Green, Cardinals

• Christian Kirk, Cardinals

• Sammy Watkins, Ravens

• Emmanuel Sanders, Bills

• Isaiah McKenzie, Bills

• Allen Robinson, Bears

• Cedric Wilson, Cowboys

• Michael Gallup, Cowboys

• Davante Adams, Packers: The Packers used the franchise tag on Adams for one year, $20.415 million.

• Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Packers

• Danny Amendola, Texans

• T.Y. Hilton, Colts

• D.J. Chark, Jaguars

• Byron Pringle, Chiefs

• Demarcus Robinson, Chiefs

• Mike Wiliams, Chargers: Williams re-signed with the Chargers for three years, $60 million.

• Odell Beckham Jr., Rams

• Zay Jones, Raiders

• Will Fuller, Dolphins

• Tre’Quan Smith, Saints

• Braxton Berrios, Jets

• Jamison Crowder, Jets

• JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers

• Antonio Brown, Buccaneers

• Chris Godwin, Buccaneers

• Adam Humphries, Washington

Tight ends

• Zach Ertz, Cardinals

• Maxx Williams, Cardinals

• Hayden Hurst, Ravens

• Jimmy Graham, Bears

• C.J. Uzomah, Bengals

• David Njoku, Browns

• Dalton Schultz, Cowboys: The Cowboys used the franchise tag on Schultz for one year, $10.931 million.

• Robert Tonyan, Packers

• Mo Alie-Cox, Colts

• Jared Cook, Chargers

• Mike Gesicki, Dolphins

• Tyler Conklin, Vikings

• Evan Engram, Giants

• Gerald Everett, Seahawks

• Will Dissly, Seahawks

• O.J. Howard, Buccaneers

• Rob Gronkowski, Buccaneers

• Anthony Firkser, Titans

• Ricky Seals-Jones, Washington

Offensive tackles

• Riley Reiff, Bengals

• Eric Fisher, Colts

• Cam Robinson, Jaguars: The Jaguars used the franchise tag on Robinson for one year, $16.662 million.

• Orlando Brown, Chiefs: The Chiefs used the franchise tag on Brown for one year, $16.662 million.

• Andrew Wylie, Chiefs

• Joseph Noteboom, Rams

• Trent Brown, Patriots

• Terron Armstead, Saints

• Morgan Moses, Jets

• Duane Brown, Seahawks

Offensive guards

• Max Garcia, Cardinals

• Ike Boettger, Bills

• James Daniels, Bears

• Connor Williams, Cowboys

• Andrew Norwell, Jaguars

• Michael Schofield, Chargers

• Austin Corbett, Rams

• Ted Karras, Patriots

• Will Hernandez, Giants

• Trai Turner, Steelers

• Laken Tomlinson, 49ers

• Alex Cappa, Buccaneers

• Brandon Scherff, Washington

Centers

• Bradley Bozeman, Ravens

• Matt Paradis, Panthers

• Austin Blythe, Chiefs

• Brian Allen, Rams

• Billy Price, Giants

• Ethan Pocic, Seahawks

• Ryan Jensen, Buccaneers

• Ben Jones, Titans

EDGE rushers

• Chandler Jones, Cardinals

• Dante Fowler Jr., Falcons

• Justin Houston, Ravens

• Pernell McPhee, Ravens

• Jerry Hughes, Bills

• Hasson Reddick, Panthers

• Jadeveon Clowney, Browns

• Takkarist McKinley, Browns

• Randy Gregory, Cowboys

• Alex Okafor, Chiefs

• Melvin Ingram, Chiefs

• Uchenna Nwosu, Chargers

• Von Miller, Rams

• Emmanuel Ogbah, Dolphins

• Everson Griffen, Vikings

• Derek Barnett, Eagles

• Ryan Kerrigan, Eagles

• Rasheem Green, Seahawks

• Jason Pierre-Paul, Buccaneers

• Harold Landry, Titans: Landry re-signed with the Titans for five years, $87.5 million with $52.5 million guaranteed.

Defensive linemen

• Brandon Williams, Ravens

• Calais Campbell, Ravens

• Akiem Hicks, Bears

• B.J. Hill, Bengals

• Malik Jackson, Browns

• Jarran Reed, Chiefs

• Linval Joseph, Chargers

• Sebastian Joseph-Day, Rams

• Gerald McCoy, Raiders

• Solomon Thomas, Raiders

• Sheldon Richardson, Vikings

• Danny Shelton, Giants

• Folorunso Fatukasi, Jets

• Al Woods, Seahawks

• Ndamukong Suh, Buccaneers

Linebackers

• Foyesade Oluokun, Falcons

• Alec Ogletree, Bears

• Keanu Neal, Cowboys

• Leighton Vander Esch, Cowboys

• Kenny Young, Broncos

• De’Vondre Campbell, Packers

• Christian Kirksey, Texans

• Kamu Grugier-Hill, Texans

• Kyzir White, Chargers

• K.J. Wright, Raiders

• Dont’a Hightower, Patriots

• Ja’Whaun Bentley, Patriots

• Jamie Collins, Patriots

• Kwon Alexander, Saints

• Bobby Wagner, Seahawks

• Rashaan Evans, Titans

• Jon Bostic, Washington

Cornerbacks

• Levi Wallace, Bills

• Stephon Gilmore, Panthers

• Bryce Callahan, Broncos

• Kyle Fuller, Broncos

• Rasul Douglas, Packers

• Xavier Rhodes, Colts

• Charvarius Ward, Chiefs

• Casey Hayward, Raiders

• Chris Harris Jr., Chargers

• Darious Williams, Rams

• Justin Coleman, Dolphins

• Patrick Peterson, Vikings

• J.C. Jackson, Patriots

• Joe Haden, Steelers

• D.J. Reed, Seahawks

• Sidney Jones, Seahawks

• Carlton Davis, Buccaneers

• Richard Sherman, Buccaneers

• K’Waun Williams, 49ers

Safeties

• Duron Harmon, Falcons

• Tashaun Gipson, Bears

• Jessie Bates III, Bengals: The Bengals used the franchise tag on Bates for one year, $12.911 million.

• Jayron Kearse, Cowboys

• Kareem Jackson, Broncos

• Justin Reid, Texans

• Tyrann Mathieu, Chiefs

• Devin McCourty, Patriots

• Marcus Williams, Saints

• Jabrill Peppers, Giants

• Marcus Maye, Jets

• Rodney McLeod, Eagles

• Anthony Harris, Eagles

• Quandre Diggs, Seahawks

• Jordan Whitehead, Buccaneers

• Bobby McCain, Washington