The NFL’s new league year began with bang on Wednesday with the Baltimore Ravens completing the pivot away from five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby and toward four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. 

Baltimore began Wednesday morning by inking Hendrickson, the 2024 NFL sacks leader, to a four-year, $112 million contract with $60 million guaranteed. That’s exactly what the 31-year-old was looking for after playing out one-year deals the last two seasons. A number of other notable signings occurred on Wednesday as fellow NFC contenders, the Washington Commanders and the Green Bay Packers, bolstered their rosters with notable signings. 

At CBS Sports, we’re noting every deal completed by every team, even in real time on our live blog. However, some contracts garner additional interest from a variety of angles: the player, the team involved, the position filled or the financial terms of the contract. These free agency deals warrant extra analysis. With that in mind, here are the grades for the most intriguing contracts from Day 2 of the NFL’s 2026 free agency cycle. Which signings netted the most value? Here are the grades for the most notable contracts from Day 3 of the NFL’s 2026 free agency cycle.

For more 2026 NFL free agency coverage:

DE Trey Hendrickson to Ravens: B+

Hendrickson was the big winner of the failed Crosby trade. He went from being unemployed through the first two days of the negotiating period before becoming the first big signing on Wednesday by the Ravens. 

He underwent core muscle surgery that cut his 2025 season short after seven games, but he’s been one of the best pass rushers in football since becoming a Bengal in 2021. Hendrickson is only the fifth player since sacks became an official, individually tracked statistic in 1982, to produce 17-plus sacks in consecutive seasons, something he accomplished in 2023 and 2024 with 17.5 sacks each year.  

He wins with phenomenal usage of his hands in tandem with great bend off the line of scrimmage, two elements that could age nicely even after the core muscle procedure. That’s how he was able to get a deal of this size entering his age-32 season. Getting Hendrickson is a smooth recovery for Baltimore, questionable optics be damned. The only thing keeping them from an A-grade is the length and $28 million-average-per-year salary for a player in their 30s coming off of an injury-plagued season in 2025. 

QB Daniel Jones to Colts: C+

Daniel Jones played what’s easily the best football of his seven-year career as the Indianapolis Colts’ starting quarterback in 2025, playing like a top 10 quarterback through the first 14 weeks of the 2025 season before suffering a torn Achilles. Jones could be ready to roll for Week 1 after six to eight months, but there’s no guarantee he immediately looks like the guy who balled out in the beginning of 2025. Both Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers needed multiple years to shake off the effects of a torn Achilles, but he’s much younger than both as Jones is set to turn 29 on May 27. 

During the first 10 weeks of the season, before Jones reportedly played through a fractured fibula, the Colts led the NFL in scoring offense (32.1 PPG), total offense (396.9) and expected points added (EPA)/drive (1.1). He thrived in head coach Shane Steichen’s play-action heavy offense, 19.9% play-action rate in Weeks 1-14 (third-highest in the NFL), and he repeatedly hit big plays deep down the field. Jones looked his best while surrounded with the best supporting cast of his career with a steady offensive line, Pro Bowler Jonathan Taylor at running back, Alec Pierce at wide receiver and Tyler Warren at tight end. 

All of them are back in Indianapolis in 2026, but Jones getting an average-per-year salary of $44 million off a torn Achilles doesn’t fully compute. Missing their first-round picks in both the 2026 and 2027 drafts because of their trade for cornerback Sauce Gardner, Jones and his agent correctly noted they had all the leverage and thoroughly won their contract negotiations with the Colts.  

* Career high 

S Nick Cross to Commanders: B+

The Washington Commanders were the NFL’s sixth-worst scoring defense (26.5 points per game allowed) and the league’s worst total defense (384.3 total yards per game allowed). Any and all help is appreciated in Washington. According to Next Gen Stats, safety Nick Cross tied for the most run stops resulting in an unsuccessful play at the safety position in 2025 with 33. That should help the Commanders’ 30th-ranked run defense (141.8 rushing yards per game). The value on the contract is solid here as well for a player who turns 25 in September. 

TE Chigoziem Okonkwo to Commanders: C

With Zach Ertz hitting free agency and coming off a season-ending leg injury at the age of 35, the Commanders needed a new starter at tight end. Okonkwo’s production, 194 catches for 2,017 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns, across four seasons isn’t huge, but at the age of 26, Washington is betting on an uptick for him alongside quarterback Jayden Daniels. 

S Jaylinn Hawkins to Ravens: A

Jaylinn Hawkins was a 2020 fourth-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons, bounced around to the Los Angeles Chargers and then landed with the New England Patriots in 2024. In 2025, leveled up to become an impact player for the defending AFC champions. Hawkins does a little bit of everything with four interceptions, six passes defended, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and one-and-a-half sacks in 15 games played, all starts. Pro Football Focus graded Hawkins as its No. 5 overall safety with an 83.3 defensive grade. He’ll fit in nicely alongside Baltimore All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton. The contract value is strong given Hawkins is 28 years old. 

S Kevin Byard to Patriots: A

The New England Patriots desperately needed a new safety after Hawkins departed for Baltimore. They were able to scoop up 2025 interceptions leader Kevin Byard, who earned his third first-team All-Pro selection in 2025 after a seven-interception season, after he helped lead the Chicago Bears to an NFC North title while leading the NFL with 33 takeaways. Yes, he’ll be 33 years old in August, but the Patriots did a great job securing his services for 2026 on just a one-year deal. If he plays anywhere close to his 2025 form, that’s an underpay. If he regresses, it’s a one-year deal, so there’s an easy out. 

DE Bradley Chubb to Bills: C

• Three years, $43.5 million with $29 million guaranteed and worth up to $52.5 million  

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane overpaid two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Bradley Chubb, a player who has missed nearly a third of his 143 possible games played (43). He’ll turn 30 years old on June 24, so there’s real concern about his durability in 2026. He did rack up 8.5 sacks in 2025 for an underwhelming Miami Dolphins squad, a figure that would have led the Bills in sacks in either 2024 or 2025. 

His 13% quarterback pressure rate ranked 26th in the league among 72 players with at least 350 pass-rush snaps in 2025, but for someone with Chubb’s injury history and age, $29 million guaranteed feels a little rich. 

* Also missed one game in 2018 and two games in 2020

DT Javon Hargrave to Packers: B+

• Two years, $23 million with $13 million in Year 1 salary

Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargrave wasn’t a free agent for over an hour after the Minnesota Vikings released him at the start of the new league year. The Green Bay Packers signed him expeditiously on a two-year, $23 million deal with a $13 million salary in 2026, and the 33-year-old defensive tackle fills a massive need. 

Starting defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt fractured his fibula and suffered torn ligaments in his ankle in the Packers’ 31-24 Thanksgiving victory over the Detroit Lions. Hargrave’s presence will allow Wyatt to not feel like he has to rush his recovery in order to return for Week 1. 

This deal is also a reunion between new Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and Hargrave. Gannon was Hargrave’s defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2021 to 2022, the two seasons with Hargrave’s highest sack totals. He produced 7.5 in 2021 and a career-high 11.0 in 2022 when the Eagles won the NFC before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Their relationship is probably why this move came together rather quickly.