With NFL free agency contract negotiation window opening March 9 at noon ET, CBS Sports is providing a position-by-position look at the free agent landscape. Though the traditional “middle” or “off-ball” linebacker role has declined in usage as teams turn to more hybrid linebacker/safety/slot looks, having a standout player in the middle to direct the defense is still valuable. This offseason, two such players in their mid-20s hit the market.
Top five free agent linebackers
2025 stats: 81 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 5 interceptions, PFF’s No. 3 linebacker (11th in run defense, 3rd in pass rush, 5th in coverage)
A former first-round pick, Devin Lloyd broke out in 2025, with his most memorable contribution being a 99-yard pick six in Jacksonville’s statement win over the Chiefs. Lloyd had a difficult rookie year, then showed significant improvement in 2023 and 2024, and made another leap in 2025. He moves well and can bring it in the run game — a true three-down player. He’ll be highly sought after.
2025 stats: 125 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, PFF’s No. 4 linebacker (9th in run defense, 4th in coverage)
Devin Bush was one of the NFL’s best under-the-radar bounce-back stories in 2025. He was the only player in the NFL with multiple interceptions returned for touchdowns, and his 164 interception return yards were also the most in the league. Bush went from top-three finisher in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 to hardly playing in 2023, but the last two years with the Browns show he has the athleticism and speed to get it done in the middle.
2025 stats: 58 sacks, 2 sacks, 1 interception, PFF’s No. 19 linebacker (23rd in run defense, 32nd in pass rush)
Leo Chenal bounces all around the formation and has been a solid contributor for the Chiefs the past three years. He’s at his best against the run, and he’s a solid tackler, too. Chenal is only 25 and should be in line for a multi-year deal. He’s best served in a defense where his athleticism and closing speed are on display.
2025 stats: 55 tackles, 4 sacks, PFF’s No. 43 linebacker (89th in run defense, 28th in coverage)
Pass rushing represents Nakobe Dean’s biggest strength. A dynamite blitzer who brings the boom against running backs trying to pick him up, Dean has seven sacks over the past two seasons, and he had an NFL-best 36% pressure rate last year. The coverage can be up-and-down, and the run defense was poor in 2025, but he is just 25 years old. Medicals are important here. He has dealt with a bevy of injuries.
2025 stats: 128 tackles, 2.5 sacks, PFF’s No. 76 linebacker (80th in run defense, 26th in pass rush, 69th in coverage)
Quay Walker’s free agency will be fascinating. A speedy, athletic former first-round pick, Walker gets downhill in a hurry and wraps up well. But he’s uneven in pass coverage and against the run. His ability to cover sideline-to-sideline is impressive. The tools are very much there, though, and perhaps a new home would bring out the best in him.
One more to keep an eye on
2025 stats: 107 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 interception, PFF’s No. 31 linebacker (73rd in run defense, 2nd in pass rush, 25th in coverage)
For my money, one of the more underrated linebackers in the sport, Kaden Elliss turned into a steady linebacker with outstanding pass-rushing ability. After hardly playing any defense in his first three seasons, he played every game in the last four years, and his 98 pressures over that span are the most of any off-ball linebacker. He’s not as good in coverage, but he still should hold high value to a team wanting to use his blitzing chops.
Remember, this class also features mid-30s options like Bobby Wagner and Demario Davis. Where will they land? How much do they have left?
Five teams to watch
- Should the Commanders lose Bobby Wagner, they should look to replace him. Washington needs upgrades all over its defense.
- The Jaguars will be a team to watch should they lose Lloyd.
- The Jets improved the interior of their defensive line and could look to fill the hole behind that group with a veteran who can head the defense.
- The Broncos have both Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad set to enter free agency. If they can’t keep at least one, they are a candidate to add a linebacker behind their tremendous defensive line and EDGE group.
- Lavonte David is 36 and set to hit free agency. He has been a very good player for a long time, and as a result, the Buccaneers haven’t had to look to fill that spot. That could change this offseason.
One big question
What happens with Devin Lloyd?
Lloyd is clearly the best linebacker in this class, coming off Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro selections. He’s one of the few off-ball linebackers who can be used as a weapon and truly stand out on the defense. He’s not Fred Warner, but he might be in the tier below him. The last free agent at this position to fetch a contract of over $15 million per year was Tremaine Edmunds ($18 million per year) in 2023. Lloyd could very well threaten that number, if not surpass it.
require.config({“baseUrl”:”https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-483/bundles/sportsmediajs/js-build”,”config”:{“version”:{“fly/components/accordion”:”1.0″,”fly/components/alert”:”1.0″,”fly/components/base”:”1.0″,”fly/components/carousel”:”1.0″,”fly/components/dropdown”:”1.0″,”fly/components/fixate”:”1.0″,”fly/components/form-validate”:”1.0″,”fly/components/image-gallery”:”1.0″,”fly/components/iframe-messenger”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more-article”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more-scroll”:”1.0″,”fly/components/loading”:”1.0″,”fly/components/modal”:”1.0″,”fly/components/modal-iframe”:”1.0″,”fly/components/network-bar”:”1.0″,”fly/components/poll”:”1.0″,”fly/components/search-player”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-button”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-counts”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-links”:”1.0″,”fly/components/tabs”:”1.0″,”fly/components/video”:”1.0″,”fly/libs/easy-xdm”:”2.4.17.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.cookie”:”1.2″,”fly/libs/jquery.throttle-debounce”:”1.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.widget”:”1.9.2″,”fly/libs/omniture.s-code”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init”:”1.0″,”fly/libs/jquery.mobile”:”1.3.2″,”fly/libs/backbone”:”1.0.0″,”fly/libs/underscore”:”1.5.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.easing”:”1.3″,”fly/managers/ad”:”2.0″,”fly/managers/components”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/cookie”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/debug”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/geo”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/gpt”:”4.3″,”fly/managers/history”:”2.0″,”fly/managers/madison”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/social-authentication”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/data-prefix”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/data-selector”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/function-natives”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/guid”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/log”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/object-helper”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/string-helper”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/string-vars”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/url-helper”:”1.0″,”libs/jshashtable”:”2.1″,”libs/select2″:”3.5.1″,”libs/jsonp”:”2.4.0″,”libs/jquery/mobile”:”1.4.5″,”libs/modernizr.custom”:”2.6.2″,”libs/velocity”:”1.2.2″,”libs/dataTables”:”1.10.6″,”libs/dataTables.fixedColumns”:”3.0.4″,”libs/dataTables.fixedHeader”:”2.1.2″,”libs/dateformat”:”1.0.3″,”libs/waypoints/infinite”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/inview”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/jquery.waypoints”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/sticky”:”3.1.1″,”libs/jquery/dotdotdot”:”1.6.1″,”libs/jquery/flexslider”:”2.1″,”libs/jquery/lazyload”:”1.9.3″,”libs/jquery/maskedinput”:”1.3.1″,”libs/jquery/marquee”:”1.3.1″,”libs/jquery/numberformatter”:”1.2.3″,”libs/jquery/placeholder”:”0.2.4″,”libs/jquery/scrollbar”:”0.1.6″,”libs/jquery/tablesorter”:”2.0.5″,”libs/jquery/touchswipe”:”1.6.18″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.draggable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.mouse”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.position”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.slider”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.sortable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.touch-punch”:”0.2.3″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.autocomplete”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.accordion”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.menu”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.dialog”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.resizable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.button”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tooltip”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.effects”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.datepicker”:”1.11.4″}},”shim”:{“liveconnection/managers/connection”:{“deps”:[“liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4″]},”liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4”:{“exports”:”SockJS”},”libs/setValueFromArray”:{“exports”:”set”},”libs/getValueFromArray”:{“exports”:”get”},”fly/libs/jquery.mobile-1.3.2″:[“version!fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init”],”libs/backbone.marionette”:{“deps”:[“jquery”,”version!fly/libs/underscore”,”version!fly/libs/backbone”],”exports”:”Marionette”},”fly/libs/underscore-1.5.1″:{“exports”:”_”},”fly/libs/backbone-1.0.0″:{“deps”:[“version!fly/libs/underscore”,”jquery”],”exports”:”Backbone”},”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core”,”version!fly/libs/jquery.widget”],”libs/jquery/flexslider-2.1″:[“jquery”],”libs/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/dataTables”],”libs/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/dataTables”],”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js”:[“https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js”]},”map”:{“*”:{“adobe-pass”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js”,”facebook”:”https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js”,”facebook-debug”:”https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all/debug.js”,”google”:”https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js”,”google-csa”:”https://www.google.com/adsense/search/async-ads.js”,”google-javascript-api”:”https://www.google.com/jsapi”,”google-client-api”:”https://accounts.google.com/gsi/client”,”gpt”:”https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js”,”hlsjs”:”https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/hls.js/1.0.7/hls.js”,”recaptcha”:”https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit”,”recaptcha_ajax”:”https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/js/recaptcha_ajax.js”,”supreme-golf”:”https://sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com/search/assets/js/bundle.js”,”taboola”:”https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/cbsinteractive-cbssports/loader.js”,”twitter”:”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”video-avia”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/player/avia.min.js”,”video-avia-ui”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/ui/avia.ui.min.js”,”video-avia-gam”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/gam/avia.gam.min.js”,”video-avia-hls”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/hls/avia.hls.min.js”,”video-avia-playlist”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/playlist/avia.playlist.min.js”,”video-ima3″:”https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js”,”video-ima3-dai”:”https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3_dai.js”,”video-utils”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js”,”video-vast-tracking”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/sb55/vast-js/vtg-vast-client.js”}},”waitSeconds”:300});
