| NFC EAST |
 Active. While the Cowboys will always be linked to the big-name, high-priced talents on the market, executive vice president Stephen Jones has said numerous times that the value on return comes nowhere close to matching the price to sign the name players. The Cowboys fared well the past few years in committing small cap resources to players who have helped, such as Jeremy Mincey, Nick Hayden and George Selvie. -- Todd Archer
 Active. Not as active as last year, when they signed 23 players just because their roster had that many holes, but the Giants will look to add at least one offensive lineman, at least one defensive lineman, one or two safeties, a cornerback and a couple of linebackers. The Giants have 70 players under contract for 2015, so they don't need to sign a ton of guys, but they do need to fill in at various positions and will operate strategically. -- Dan Graziano
 Very active. That's the best guess after Chip Kelly, in his first acts in control of personnel decisions, freed up tons of salary-cap space by trading LeSean McCoy and releasing Cary Williams and Trent Cole. The Eagles will have roughly $46 million in cap space and more holes to fill when the market opens. -- Phil Sheridan
 Active. The Redskins, using their revolving door of philosophies, now say they (wisely) want to build through the draft. But they'll have enough cap room -- more than $20 million -- and plenty of needs that will prompt them to be active. They need to make enough changes to the starting roster -- possibly as many as seven -- to expect those to all be filled by draft picks.
-- John Keim
|
| NFC NORTH |
 Very active. The Bears will likely spend the bulk of their resources in free agency to add players who fit the 3-4 system. Under former general manager Phil Emery, Chicago was severely deficient of talent on defense. That will change under Ryan Pace and defensive-minded head coach John Fox. Most of Chicago's defensive additions are expected to come along the defensive line and at linebacker, but the club also needs upgrades at the safety positions and depth at cornerback. -- Michael C. Wright
 Active. The Lions have little choice here with 18 free agents. The question is how much money the team will be able to spend if it's able to sign Ndamukong Suh. If Suh is in the fold, a lot of the moves might be on the lower end of the free-agent scale. If not, Detroit could be a big player early at defensive tackle, offensive line and cornerback. -- Michael Rothstein
 Few moves. History tells us that GM Ted Thompson won't do much with other teams' free agents. Last offseason, he signed Julius Peppers and Letroy Guion. Before that, you have to go back to 2006, when he signed Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett, to find the last time he signed an impact free agent. If anything, he's more likely to sign a low-level, low-cost player. -- Rob Demovsky
 Few moves. Mike Zimmer said at the NFL scouting combine he prefers to stock his roster through the draft, from which young players can be molded. The Vikings should have between $14 million and $17 million in cap space without restructuring any contracts, but they'll likely pick and choose a few spots where they can shore up their defense, such as safety and linebacker. -- Ben Goessling
|
| NFC SOUTH |
 Active. The Falcons are armed with more than $30 million in cap space after releasing Steven Jackson, Harry Douglas, Justin Blalock and Jonathan Massaquoi. Their top three needs are pass-rusher, linebacker and safety, with running back and tight end also areas that need to be addressed. It will be interesting to see which safety the Falcons target, although I firmly believe it won't be Devin McCourty, who did not receive the franchise tag from New England.
-- Vaughn McClure
 Active. General manager Dave Gettleman said he won't have to shop at the "Dollar Store" this year with more than $15 million to spend under the cap. He won't go after the top names, but should look for the midrange players at tackle, wide receiver and cornerback. He'll also be looking for special-teams help. -- David Newton
 Few moves. The Saints' salary-cap situation isn't as bad as it seems (they'll carve out enough space with some simple contract restructures and some difficult veteran pay cuts and releases). so I expect them to do the same thing they've done in each of the past three years -- be very aggressive with one or two key additions. I could see them spending big on a cornerback, like they did with safety Jairus Byrd last year (a six-year, $54 million deal that had just a $3.5 million cap figure in Year 1). They might pony up for a pass-rusher as well. -- Mike Triplett
 Active. The Bucs head into free agency with about $30 million in cap space. They need a strong outside pass-rusher after posting 36 sacks last season. Change also is needed on an offensive line that allowed 52 sacks. -- Pat Yasinskas
|
| NFC WEST |
 Very active. Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said at the combine that Arizona wanted to free up enough cap space to be "aggressive and proactive" when free agency starts. Arizona has very specific needs, such as inside linebacker, edge rusher, interior offensive linemen and running back, and Keim won't be shy about pursuing playerrs at those positions. -- Josh Weinfuss
 Few moves. The Niners, as of last Thursday, were less than $300,000 under the expected salary cap of $143 million, so most of their moves should be in house -- as in cutting guys, getting others to restructure their contracts and taking care of their own free agents. -- Paul Gutierrez
 Few moves. GM John Schneider said the Seahawks are better prepared to make a run at free agents this year than last year, but there are limits for a team that must secure long-term deals for quarterback Russell Wilson (likely more than $100 million) and middle linebacker Bobby Wagner (probably more than $40 million). However, Seattle has more than $25 million in cap space and will make a run at one of two prominent players. -- Terry Blount
 Few moves. The Rams have been able to create cap room by releasing some players and have a couple other moves they could make to have more than $20 million in space. They haven't had much success with big-ticket free agents but might be positioned to add one or two. They also have key young veterans such as cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson, kicker Greg Zuerlein and receiver Brian Quick set for free agency after the season, so they might need to preserve some of that cap space. -- Nick Wagoner
|
| AFC EAST |
 Active. The Bills have the cap space (nearly $30 million) to make moves, but a large chunk of that could be chewed up if they re-sign Jerry Hughes. Look for them to target a tight end and possibly depth at wide receiver, along with some complementary pieces for their defensive front seven. -- Mike Rodak
 Few moves. The Dolphins were major players in free agency the past two offseasons, which resulted in only a pair of 8-8 records. They signed receiver Mike Wallace ($60 million), left tackle Branden Albert ($47 million) and linebackers Dannell Ellerbe ($35 million) and Philip Wheeler ($26 million) over that span. The Dolphins can't spend big every year, so expect them to be more frugal in free agency this offseason and put most of their focus on in-house contracts such as quarterback Ryan Tannehill's and center Mike Pouncey's. -- James Walker
 Very active. But the activity will begin with a focus more on retention than spending big on outsiders. A successful offseason would be keeping their own and supplementing with a few mid- to low-level free agents. -- Mike Reiss
 Active. They don't have a choice. After two years of thriftiness, the Jets' 2015 cash payroll needs to be about $140 million in order to stay in compliance with the league's minimum-spending requirement. They will have about $45 million in cap space, which is good, because they have a lot of holes to fill. -- Rich Cimini
|
| AFC NORTH |
 Few moves. The Ravens rarely make a splash early in free agency, and they don't have the cap room to address all of their needs at wide receiver, cornerback, running back, tight end and safety. The focus early will be retaining their own free agents. The Ravens want to keep running back Justin Forsett and tight end Owen Daniels, along with some other lower-level free agents, such as safety Jeromy Miles. -- Jamison Hensley
 Active. In recent years, the Bengals have been more of a "few moves" type of team when free agency arrived. Their signings usually address depth concerns with second- and third-tier free agents. Coach Marvin Lewis sent an early warning shot at the Senior Bowl, though, saying he expected the organization to be more aggressive this year. Cincinnati has the money to spend, beginning March with an estimated $40 million in salary-cap space. -- Coley Harvey
 Active. Owner Jimmy Haslam said the Browns would not dabble in free agency as much as the past two seasons, but with uncertainty at quarterback and needs at receiver and the defensive front, it will be hard to ignore. The Browns might not be lead players, but they will be involved. -- Pat McManamon
 Active. The Steelers never shop for big-ticket players in free agency or spend liberally on pricey fixes. That won't change, even though they have needs at outside linebacker and cornerback, among others on defense. The Steelers will probably covet a mid-level free agent they project as a starter, something they did last season when they signed safety Mike Mitchell to a five-year, $25 million contract on the first day of free agency. -- Scott Brown
|
| AFC SOUTH |
 Active. The Texans' roster could see quite a bit of turnover through free agency. They had about $13 million in cap space, even before making cap space-saving moves, and have plenty of upgrades necessary in various places on the roster. -- Tania Ganguli
 Very active. Making the playoffs is no longer considered success for the Colts. They want to take another step and make it to the Super Bowl. That's why they'll be aggressive with their $40 million in salary-cap space. They need a safety, running back and pass-rusher to go with quarterback Andrew Luck. -- Mike Wells
 Very active. The Jaguars need help on the offensive side, where GM David Caldwell needs to find a right tackle, a pass-catching tight and a veteran wide receiver. He'll also be looking for a free safety, specifically someone with the ability to play sideline to sideline. Caldwell certainly has the means to find all four because the Jaguars have the most cap space available (approximately $65 million) of any team in the NFL. -- Michael DiRocco
 Active. The Titans have the money, and team president and CEO Tommy Smith has spoken of the team's willingness to go out and upgrade the roster. But outside of tight end Delanie Walker and strong safety Bernard Pollard, the free-agent track record of general manager Ruston Webster is pretty poor. The Titans will be very particular about fit after Michael Oher, who lasted one whole year. But a team that won two games can surely find a great deal of help in the veteran marketplace. -- Paul Kuharsky
|
| AFC WEST |
 Very active. The Broncos will be looking to add free agents heading toward their second contract because those are the younger players on the open market. Last season, four of their free-agent signings went on to play in the Pro Bowl. -- Jeff Legwold
 Few moves. The Chiefs might be bargain hunters because of a tight salary-cap situation and won't be able to win many bidding wars. That doesn't mean they wouldn't find a way to take a shot at a player if they believed he truly fit a need. -- Adam Teicher
 Active. The Raiders probably need to be very active, but general manger Reggie McKenzie hasn't been big on free-agent signings. The bottom line: Oakland needs a lot of help and could have upwards of $70 million in cap space. -- Bill Williamson
 Active. General manager Tom Telesco has money to spend for the first time since he took over as San Diego's top personnel man in January 2013, but he will still be sensible in his spending. Don't expect the Chargers to chase the top-flight free agents, focusing instead on players with solid production on the field who are good fits in the locker room. -- Eric D. Williams |
