We are now just a few weeks away from the official start of the 2024 NFL season. The new league year begins in mid-March, at which point NFL teams will be able to begin upgrading their rosters in an effort to dethrone the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
The first part of that process will come in free agency. We've been gearing up for the start of player-acquisition season all week here at CBSSports.com, and we're going to continue that process below by taking a look at the offensive line.
When we released our rundown of the top 25 offensive free agents last week, that group included eight interior offensive linemen. Here, we'll add two more to the list and call it a top 10. That list is as follows:
(Note: Some players might agree to deal between now and the start of free agency).
| Player | 2023 Team | Position | Snap % | Age | Previous AAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damien Lewis | Seahawks | G | 88.6% | 27 | $1.3 million |
| Aaron Brewer | Titans | C | 100.0% | 27 | $4.3 million |
| Jonah Jackson | Lions | G | 67.7% | 27 | $1.2 million |
| Kevin Zeitler | Ravens | G | 87.3% | 34 | $7.5 million |
| Dalton Risner | Vikings | G | 66.5% | 29 | $2.8 million |
| Mike Onwenu | Patriots | G | 81.0% | 27 | $0.9 million |
| Kevin Dotson | Rams | G | 76.8% | 28 | $2.3 million |
| Andre James | Raiders | C | 92.0% | 27 | $4.3 million |
| Robert Hunt | Dolphins | G | 49.8% | 28 | $2.0 million |
| Connor Williams | Dolphins | C | 45.3% | 27 | $7.0 million |
All of these players are starter quality or better. With the exception of Zeitler and possibly Risner, they're all heading into what should be the prime years of their career. This is likely their last, best chance to sign big-money deals, and they'll likely want to cash in as best as they possibly can.
The top of the market at center was set with Jason Kelce's $14.25 million-per-year average, but following his retirement it is now Frank Ragnow at $13.5 million. Ragnow set the mark with $27.96 million in guarantees, while Corey Linsley (who will reportedly retire this offseason) got the largest overall contract with $62.5 million in total salary.
At guard, Chris Lindstrom reset the market last year with $20.5 million per year, $48.2 million guaranteed, and $102.5 million total. Quenton Nelson follows closely behind in each of those categories with $20 million per year, $41 million guaranteed, and $80 million total.
It really does not look like any of these players have a chance to top any of those numbers. They're all solid players, but none of them is all that close to being the best in the league at their position. Instead, they seem likely to slot more in the upper-middle-class salary range at their respective positions.
Spotrac has projected contract values for five of these 10 players, for example. They range from three years, $15.8 million ($5.2 million AAV) for Brewer to five years, $67.7 million ($13.5 million AAV) for Williams. In between, there's four years, $47.4 million ($11.8 million AAV) for Hunt, four years, $66.0 million ($16.4 million AAV) for Dotson, four years, $54.6 million ($13.6 million AAV) for Onwenu.
That $5.2 million-per-year average would make Brewer the league's 15th-highest-paid center. Dotson's $16.4 million projected AAV would make him the sixth-highest-paid guard. Everyone else for somewhere in between those poles. Again, they're all good starters, but not necessarily stars.
Lucky for them, teams are always in need of good offensive linemen, and interior line play is becoming more and more valued in recent seasons as teams increasingly value pass-rush skills from their players on the defensive interior.
If you head over to our free agency primer, you'll see that each of the Cardinals, Ravens, Panthers, Bears, Bengals, Browns, Cowboys, Lions, Packers, Texans, Jaguars, Raiders, Dolphins, Saints, Giants, Jets, Steelers, 49ers, Seahawks, Buccaneers and Commanders has a need at guard, center, or both. That is 21 of the league's 32 teams. Not all of them will be able to shop in this aisle of the market, obviously, but the Commanders, Patriots, Bears, Bengals, Texans, Lions, and Cardinals all enter the offseason with at least $40 million in cap room, and plenty of teams could add more by making cost-saving maneuvers over the next couple of weeks.
The teams with young quarterbacks -- or who are about to draft young quarterbacks -- in particular, should be very interested in building up their strength on the interior of the line. It would not be surprising if Washington, Chicago, Houston, New England and Arizona were very involved for this group of players.
