The NFL’s 2021 free agency market – finally – officially opens at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Players with expiring contracts or those who have been traded, like Matthew Stafford and Carson Wentz, can officially join their new teams.
The NFL’s salary cap for the upcoming season has a max value of $182.5 million – all teams must be under the cap by Wednesday afternoon, when the new league year begins. Several still had salaries that needed to be slashed as of Wednesday morning.
Here are the major moves that have already occurred as the curtain goes up on football’s new year – quite a few significant deals already agreed upon:
49ers get Williams back … but that’s not all
Left tackle Trent Williams, arguably the premier free agent available in 2021, is re-signing with the San Francisco 49ers. Per reports, the eight-time Pro Bowler will receive a six-year, $138 million contract ($55 million guaranteed) that makes him the highest-paid O-lineman in NFL history, barely eclipsing the Packers’ David Bakhtiari.
In addition, the Niners have essentially reached a deal with six-time Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, 35, who was part of Kyle Shanahan’s offense in Atlanta when the Falcons reached Super Bowl 51. They were also together in Cleveland after the Browns made Mack a first-round pick out of Cal in 2009 … so this move also represents a homecoming of sorts.
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