New Washington general manager Adam Peters made the correct decision not to apply the franchise tag to safety Kamren Curl. While free agency’s top safety, Antoine Winfield Jr. of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was franchised, several others will be free to sign with new teams beginning next week.
Additionally, other talented safeties have been released this week as teams look to create salary cap room ahead of free agency. One of the NFL’s best safeties over the past several years, Denver’s Justin Simmons, was released as the Broncos desperately scrambled for cap savings. Simmons will have options.
Does the depth of the safety market improve Curl’s chances of returning to Washington? It should, but we don’t know how much Peters and head coach Dan Quinn value Curl. In most cases, when a player is allowed to hit the open market, it’s bad news. However, a deep safety market could help the Commanders keep Curl or find his replacement.
Here are some of the top safeties, excluding Curl, who will be available next week. Players released, like Simmons, are free to sign with teams ahead of next week.