Two NFL Pro Bowlers Traded Monday Ahead of Free Agency
NFL free agency gets underway Monday with the start of the legal tampering period at noon ET. Before that though, multiple teams completed trades for established Pro Bowlers.
Five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is on the move back to his home state (New Jersey), while another NJ native, 2024 Pro Bowl defensive lineman Rashan Gary, is headed to Dallas.
All trades will become official when the new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday.
Dolphins trading Fitzpatrick to Jets
The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets hooked up in a rare intra-divisional trade earlier, with Miami sending the 29-year-old Fitzpatrick to Gang Green in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Fitzpatrick is set to sign a three-year, $40 million extension with the Jets.
An Old Bridge, New Jersey native, Fitzpatrick spent last season with the Dolphins after six years with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He broke into the NFL with Miami in 2018-19 after being selected with the No. 12 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.
In 14 starts last fall, Fitzpatrick posted 82 tackles, two fumble recoveries, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble and six passes defensed.
Gary goes from Green Bay to Big D
Last week, it looked like Gary was going to be released by the Packers after seven seasons, but then there was a change of plans. Instead, Green Bay is sending the 2019 first-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick, Schefter reports.
Gary, 28, has recorded at least five sacks in each of the last six seasons, including 7.5 in 2025. He also posted 7.5 sacks in 2024, when he made the Pro Bowl for the first time.
The Plainfield, N.J.-born Gary is the second big name defensive lineman the Cowboys have acquired via trade since last season's trade deadline, joining defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
When does free agency begin?
When the clock strikes 12, teams may officially begin negotiating with players and agents, though any deals won't become official until Wednesday afternoon.
Of course, there have been plenty of back channel conversations going on over the last several weeks, laying the groundwork for plenty of agreements later today.