The 2026 NFL offseason is moving at a pace nobody has seen before. With the salary cap jumping to $301.2 million per team, a $22 million increase from last year and the highest figure in league history, teams entered the legal tampering window on Monday with more spending power than ever. The result has been a wave of record contracts, blockbuster trades, and franchise-altering moves that have already reshaped the power structure of the league before a single snap of the 2026 season is played.

The league year officially opens Wednesday, March 11 at 4 p.m. ET. Here is everything that has happened and what it means.

The Record Cap and What It Means

The $301.2 million cap is not just a number. It is the engine powering every major deal you are seeing. When the cap goes up by $22 million across 32 teams, that is over $700 million in new spending capacity entering the market simultaneously. Teams that were projected to be quiet suddenly have room to swing. Veterans who might have been priced out of contenders are now affordable additions. And the top players on the market are extracting contracts that would have seemed impossible two or three years ago.

The teams with the most cap room heading into free agency were the Los Angeles Chargers at $99.5 million, the Tennessee Titans at $89.3 million, the Las Vegas Raiders at $84.7 million, the Washington Commanders at $83.3 million, and the New York Jets at $73.8 million. That group is spending accordingly.

The Biggest Trade of the Offseason: Maxx Crosby to Baltimore

Before a single player officially signed anywhere, the trade that reset the AFC came down. The Las Vegas Raiders sent five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for Baltimore's No. 14 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a 2027 first-round pick.

This is the biggest trade in Ravens franchise history. In 31 years of existence, Baltimore had never given up a first-round pick to acquire a veteran player. They gave up two for Crosby, and the reasoning is clear. The Ravens totaled just 30 sacks in 2025, the fewest in 15 years, while building a roster around two-time MVP Lamar Jackson that was supposedly capable of a Super Bowl run. Under new head coach Jesse Minter, the Ravens needed a pass rush anchor. Crosby, 28, has produced 360 quarterback pressures since 2019, the most in the NFL over that span by 29 more than the next-closest player.

For the Raiders, this is a teardown moment. By trading Crosby, Las Vegas saves $30.69 million in cap space and adds two first-round picks to a rebuild centered around the No. 1 overall pick in April, where they are expected to select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Crosby gave the Raiders everything he had across seven seasons, logging 69.5 career sacks through constant losing, five head coaches, four general managers, and nine different starting quarterbacks. He deserved better, and now he gets a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl alongside Lamar Jackson.

The Quarterback Market: Chaos at the Most Important Position

No position is moving the needle more this offseason than quarterback, and the moves happening right now are reshaping the landscape of multiple franchises.

The Atlanta Falcons are releasing Kirk Cousins, a decision that caps one of the most expensive failed quarterback experiments in recent NFL history. Cousins was given $100 million guaranteed when he signed with Atlanta, and it did not work. The Falcons had already drafted Michael Penix Jr. in the 2024 first round, and Penix suffered a torn ACL last season, leaving Atlanta in a genuine quarterback crisis under new head coach Kevin Stefanski. Into that situation walks Tua Tagovailoa, who is being released by the Miami Dolphins and signed with the Falcons on a one-year, veterans minimum deal of $1.3 million. That number is only possible because Arizona is on the hook for the remaining $35.5 million of his contract due to offset language, meaning any team can sign him for the minimum and let the Cardinals absorb the cost.

The same logic applies to Kyler Murray, who Arizona is also releasing when the league year opens. Any team that signs Murray pays him $1.3 million while the Cardinals cover the rest of his $36.8 million guaranteed salary. Murray turns 29 in August and has been one of the NFL's most productive quarterbacks when healthy. He is the most affordable high-talent quarterback available in a generation. The Vikings, Jets, and several other teams are expected to pursue him seriously.

Miami, meanwhile, is not standing still after releasing Tua. The Dolphins landed Malik Willis on a three-year, $67.5 million deal with $45 million fully guaranteed. Willis flourished under current Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley when Hafley was at Baltimore, and the Dolphins are betting that familiarity and a new environment can unlock the arm talent that first made Willis a first-round prospect.

Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers, both of whom remain accomplished veterans, are still looking for landing spots as the market continues to move.

The Edge Rusher Explosion

The pass rush market hit numbers nobody was entirely expecting. Three deals in the first 24 hours alone totaled over $280 million.

Jaelan Phillips signed with the Carolina Panthers on a four-year, $120 million deal with $80 million guaranteed. Phillips, 27, is entering the prime of his career and fills a critical need for a Panthers team building around young talent. At $30 million per year, he ranks as one of the highest-paid edge rushers in the league.

Odafe Oweh agreed to a four-year, $100 million deal with the Washington Commanders, including $68 million guaranteed. Oweh was traded to the Chargers last season after underwhelming stints in Baltimore, then recorded 7.5 sacks and proved he belongs as a featured edge rusher. Washington is capitalizing on the record cap to build around their Super Bowl window.

Boye Mafe signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. At $20 million per year, Mafe is coming in below Phillips and Oweh but still represents a significant investment from a Cincinnati team looking to rebuild their defensive identity around Joe Burrow.

On the re-signing front, Khalil Mack returned to the Los Angeles Chargers on a one-year, $18 million deal, keeping one of the most respected pass rushers in the game active at age 35.

Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs: The Dynasty Keeps Building

The Kansas City Chiefs did what the Kansas City Chiefs do. They identified the best available player at a position of need and signed him before the competition could react.

Kenneth Walker III, the Super Bowl LX MVP, signed a three-year deal worth up to $45 million with $28.7 million guaranteed to join Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, who confirmed he is returning for his 14th season in Kansas City. Walker rushed for over 1,000 yards with Seattle and was widely considered the best running back in this free agent class. Adding the Super Bowl MVP to the reigning AFC powerhouse is the kind of move that immediately raises Kansas City's ceiling and answers the questions that lingered about their backfield depth.

Mike Evans Leaves Tampa After 12 Seasons

One of the cleanest and most respected careers in modern NFL wide receiver history is moving on. Mike Evans, who spent every one of his first 12 NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and set franchise records in virtually every receiving category, is signing with the San Francisco 49ers. This is a significant addition for San Francisco and a bittersweet departure for Tampa fans who watched Evans become one of the most consistent deep threats in the league throughout his career.

Travis Etienne Leaves Jacksonville

Another long-term partnership ending this offseason. Travis Etienne, who played every NFL season alongside college teammate Trevor Lawrence with the Jacksonville Jaguars, is heading to the New Orleans Saints on a four-year, $52 million deal. Etienne rushed for 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025 and is now moving to a Saints offense in need of a featured back. For Jacksonville, this ends an era, and it will be the first time in eight years that Lawrence and Etienne are not on the same football team.

The Raiders Rebuild Begins

Las Vegas is doing this fast. After trading Crosby and releasing Geno Smith, the Raiders used their enormous cap space to bring in center Tyler Linderbaum on a three-year, $81 million deal, making him the highest-paid interior lineman in NFL history. They also signed pass rusher Kwity Paye to a three-year, $48 million deal and added linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker to shore up their defense. With the No. 1 overall pick and all this cap room, new head coach Klint Kubiak is being given every tool available to make Fernando Mendoza's transition to the NFL as smooth as possible.

Other Notable Moves

Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded from the Miami Dolphins to the New York Jets, where he signed a three-year, $40 million extension. The Jets, who lost Jermaine Johnson in a trade to the Titans for T'Vondre Sweat, are overhauling their roster aggressively with their $73.8 million in cap space.

Michael Pittman Jr. was traded from the Indianapolis Colts to the Pittsburgh Steelers in an exchange of late-round picks, giving Pittsburgh a proven number one receiver to pair with Aaron Rodgers if Rodgers decides to return for another season.

Alec Pierce re-signed with the Indianapolis Colts on a four-year, $114 million deal, which includes $84 million in guarantees and $60 million fully guaranteed at signing, making him the highest-paid free-agent wide receiver in this class.

Travis Etienne's Jacksonville departure also marks a changing of the guard in the AFC South, where the Titans under new head coach Robert Saleh are spending heavily to build around 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.

What It All Means

The record salary cap has done exactly what it was designed to do. It has accelerated player movement, inflated contracts at every position, and created a genuine reshuffling of power across the NFC and AFC. The Ravens are suddenly among the most feared defenses in football with Crosby and Lamar Jackson on the same roster. The Chiefs have added their Super Bowl MVP running back and show no signs of slowing down. The Panthers are spending to compete. The Commanders are building something real. The Titans and Raiders are laying the foundation for the future.

The league year does not even officially open until Wednesday. By then, Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, and several other big-name quarterbacks will hit the open market and set off a second wave of movement that could be even louder than the first.

March is not just for basketball.

The 2026 NFL league year officially opens Wednesday, March 11 at 4 p.m. ET. Follow BallerTube for continued coverage of every major signing and trade as the offseason develops.