NFL Free Agency: The Moves You Already Know You'll Hate in Madden 26

The new league year in the NFL has just started, and we’re already consumed by rage. Whether it be my Giants shamefully pleading with washed-up QBs to come play mediocre football behind one of the most consistently bad o-lines in the game, or the Seahawks deciding to completely demolish and rebuild a passing offense that ranked eighth in the league in terms of yards last year and helped the team win 10 games, it’s all crappy.

It’s not just that our individual teams are making bad decisions; many of these decisions will negatively impact Madden 26. With every development in free agency, the Madden roster changes, and the meta around how the players are represented and rated in the game evolves.

These developments impact franchise mode the most, but even other modes could see negative impacts in realism and experience. Some players are going to have their ratings drastically changed while other players may be forced onto the sidelines. It can be very frustrating!

Here are the ten moves that are bugging me the most that will hurt the Madden 26 experience.

Regardless Of What Team Aaron Rodgers Goes To, It Will Suck

Unless Aaron Rodgers shocks everybody and announces that he’s retiring, I’ll be disappointed no matter where he goes (although as a Giants fan I hope he signs with the Steelers). There is no doubt that Aaron Rodgers is a future Hall of Famer, but he’s also a 41 year old football player who makes more news off the field than he does on it.

I don’t want to single out and hate on Rodgers too much because Russell Wilson falls into the same category. I’m not excited for either one to be a starter next year in Madden. I think these old “bridge” quarterbacks mess up the game logic, especially in franchise mode. 

If Rodgers ends up on a team with Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, there is no way that Rodgers will finish the year as QB1. The last time a 1st rounder didn’t take the reins in their rookie year was Patrick Mahomes in 2017. That was eight years ago! And yet, in Madden on a CPU-controlled team, he’ll be 84 overall and play like vintage Rodgers while forcing 73 overall Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders off the field for two years.

I don’t like when old veterans clog up starting spots for the exciting youngsters that I bought the game to play as. Just retire, Aaron. Go start a podcast, or join Pat McAffee’s show full time — just please don’t ruin Madden.

Kenny Pickett As QB1!?

Speaking of veteran QBs that I don’t want to see starting in this next iteration of Madden, Kenny Pickett is the assumed day one starter for the Browns next season. Can you imagine looking at the league stats in your franchise mode’s first season and seeing Kenny Pickett with the most yards and touchdowns? Because you know that’s what’s gonna happen.

Random low-70s QBs that get thrust into a starting spot in Madden somehow always end up putting up huge numbers. I don’t know why. I think it’s a mystery of the universe that we’ll never find out about, but it always happens. The top QBs in QBR will be Pat Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow, and Kenny Pickett. It’s crazy!

In real life, Pickett’s gonna start three to five games before another QB takes his place on the Browns — probably a rookie — or maybe it’ll be Joe Flacco, but it’ll be somebody. I would love it if Madden could reflect reality a little bit, but that’s asking way too much of EA.

Laremy Tunsil Leaving The Texans

If you like playing as C.J. Stroud and the Texans, the game just got a lot harder for you. 

The Texans are one of the most fun teams to play in Madden. They’ve got their young QB, a beast running back, a plethora of weapons, and an elite defense headlined by Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr. With Tunsil getting traded to the Commanders, a huge (literally) piece of their team is now missing.

Tunsil was a 94 overall at the start of last year’s game and was the fourth-best LT in the league. With that lockdown presence on Stroud’s blindside now gone, the Texans are gonna be a lot harder to play. No matter who replaces Tunsil on the blindside, you will face a lot more pressure than previous years, and Stroud will take a lot more sacks.

Zack Martin Retiring

This is sort of bittersweet because I’ve been annoyed over the past few years by how overrated Martin had become in Madden while he struggled to stay on the field and the play of the Cowboys line deteriorated. But it’s also sad to see him go.

Zack Martin’s been a staple of top end Madden ratings for years, taking over for Marshal Yanda as the go-to interior lineman to take early in a fantasy draft. Martin is often ranked as one of the best offensive linemen in the game, and it will be sad to see him missing. Him leaving also means that the Cowboys line is gonna be Garbo.

Mike Williams Returning To The Chargers

Why?! Who’s idea was this? The Chargers have a truly elite young receiver in Ladd McConkey, who caught 82 balls for 1149 yards and seven touchdowns last season, and a former first-rounder who may be close to fully coming into his own next season in Quentin Johnston. They also have incredibly fast gadget guy/kick returner Darius Davis and Jerry Rice’s Son Brenden, not to mention any prospects they may select in the draft.

With all that talent, the Chargers went out and got a guy that you just know is going to be overrated and overhyped because he’ll be in the same uniform next season as when he was good. Mike Will likely be at least WR2 on the Madden roster, if not WR1, but in real life, he’s likely going to have to fight to earn the WR4 spot in a system that is run first and is completely opposite to his style of play.

Dayo Odeyingbo Getting Big Money From The Bears

Get ready for Dayo Odeyingbo to jump 10 overall points from his end-of-season Madden 25 rating. He’s getting 16 million dollars a year, putting him around 20th in the league among edge rushers in APY salary. Is Madden gonna make him the 20th-best edge rusher in the game? I hope not, and I wouldn’t think so, given all the talented pass rushers on rookie contracts that are better than Odeyingbo, but money speaks volumes, and it will positively impact his overall.

This season Odeyingbo finished at a 74 overall after a three sack year in his first season starting the majority of games. It wasn’t a great year, some would argue given the stats that it wasn’t even a good year, but the Bears still thought he was worth paying him more than Cam Jordan and nearly as much as Chase Young. It will likely boost his ratings into the low 80s at least, but it really shouldn’t, this was a drastic overpay.

The Jaguars Giving Huge 3-Year Deals To A Pair Of 30-Year-Old Defensive Backs

I have nothing against Jourdan Lewis and Eric Murray, but giving both of them 3-year deals is ludicrous. The Jaguars are a potential rebuild project for many franchise lovers because they are in an interesting spot with their roster, but you are handcuffing us with three years of aging secondary guys eating up roster spots and cap space.

Neither player is going to be much of a difference maker in the game and you would rather develop some young players like Antonio Johnson or Jarrian Jones rather than mull around with Lewis and Murray for three seasons. When struggling teams grab veterans to long term deals like this, it makes rebuilding much harder for Madden players.

Javonte Williams Signing With The Cowboys

I have a feeling Williams won’t be the only new addition to the Cowboys backfield this offseason, but he certainly is the most disappointing. I want to see Ashton Jeanty or Quinshon Judkins take the bulk of the carries for the Cowboys in Madden 26, but because the rookie ratings are always so undervalued, Javonte Williams will likely be RB1 for at least a season on a CPU-controlled Cowboys team in franchise mode.

Javonte Williams never really found his rhythm behind a solid Broncos O-line; I doubt he will find it behind a Cowboys line that has fallen apart like a house of cards over the last few years.

The Entire Patriots Free Agency

Outside of the Giants and Titans (maybe the Browns), the Patriots should be the top target for franchise rebuilders in Madden 26. They have a young team with a potential franchise QB on the roster and a great future outlook, but their free agency this year has spoiled it.

They signed Milton Williams for 26 million a year for four years, making him the third highest-paid DT in the league behind Chris Jones and Christian Wilkins. Not only is that a huge overpay for a guy who was probably the third-best DT on his team last season, but it’s also sticking Madden franchise players with four years of a guy they may have never heard of being their defensive cornerstone.

The Patriots also gave big three year deals to Morgan Moses, Harold Landry III, Robert Spillane, and Carlton Davis. Not exactly the most exciting players to try to build around as a Madden player!

No Big Moves!

This was the part of free agency that I truly hated. It was just so dull. Things happened, but the league didn’t change drastically; no teams were completely transformed (other than maybe the Seahawks), and few star players were moved, especially compared to last year.

Let’s face it; new Madden games are just expensive roster updates anyway, and this year, there are no exciting new combinations of stars to play with, unlike last year, when Barkley moved to Philly, Henry paired up with Lamar, and Kirk Cousins went to Atlanta. There were no exciting moves that I must see in Madden, which is unfortunate because that is sometimes the best part of Madden.

It doesn’t mean we won’t have exciting moves before the season starts. We still have the draft and more free agency to go through, as well as the potential for more trades. Tee Higgins? Brandon Aiyuk? Maybe we’ll see Kirk Cousins move again. Who knows? But right now, free agency has been underwhelming.