Predicting new homes for star NFL players: Why Titans' Harold Landry III makes sense in NFC West

Below, we look closely at each player and predict their NFL homes for 2025.

Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp

After a strong start in his return from a Week 2 ankle injury, Kupp tapered off at the end of the 2024 season. During the Rams' final seven games, he averaged 2.6 receptions and 36 receiving yards per game while only scoring one touchdown.

Kupp's $7.5 million roster bonus is due on March 17. Depending on how desperate the Rams are to get out from under his contract, they might agree to part with Kupp for a lowball offer.

Next team: Los Angeles Chargers

"I don't agree with the decision," wrote Kupp in early February when breaking the news that the Rams planned to trade him, "and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA." Well, it still can.

The Chargers, who share SoFi Stadium with the Rams, need to surround quarterback Justin Herbert with better skill-position players. A trade between the two L.A. teams would be a win-win, with the Chargers upgrading at wideout and Kupp likely ending his career in the City of Angels.

49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel

If cut or traded before June 1, Samuel's dead cap charge ($31 million) would be roughly $15 million more than his 2025 cap hit ($15.8 million). The only realistic path forward is a post-June 1 release or trade when the 49ers would save $5.2 million against the 2025 cap while adding a $20.4 million dead cap charge to 2026.

Last season, Samuel had his least productive season since his injury-plagued 2020, finishing with 806 scrimmage yards and a career-low 8.7 yards per touch. 

Next team: Washington Commanders

The 2021 first-team All-Pro is one of the league's most versatile playmakers. Since entering the league in 2019, Samuel is one of four players (and only wide receiver) with 200 rush attempts and 300 receptions. (h/t Stathead)

Samuel would be an excellent addition as a WR2 next to two-time Pro Bowler Terry McLaurin. He had a career-high 13 touchdown receptions in 2024 while completing his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season.

Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen

Any team trading for Allen would owe the eight-year veteran, who is coming off a season-ending Week 6 pectoral injury, $17 million — his $15.5 million base salary plus roster and workout bonuses — and would need to negotiate his next contract. Considering those factors, he should be available for a discounted price. 

Allen can be a difference-maker in the right setting. Per Pro Football Focus data, he's averaged 40.5 pressures and six sacks per season since entering the league. In 2023, he ranked 17th in ESPN's pass-rush win rate among defensive tackles while being double-teamed at a 66 percent rate.

Next team: Buffalo Bills

Buffalo has invested heavily in its defensive line, with Ed Oliver ($20.675) and Daquan Jones ($9.4) having two of the team's eight largest 2025 cap numbers entering the offseason. The Bills are projected to be $10.1 million over the estimated 2025 salary cap and would need to get creative to add Allen. To beat the Chiefs, though, it starts on the front line. Just ask the Eagles or the Bucs.

In their most recent playoff loss to Kansas City, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was pressured on 28.7 percent of his dropbacks. This is below his 32.1 percent pressure rate during the regular season and a far cry from his 40.5 percent pressure rate against the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.

Titans outside linebacker Harold Landry III

The 2018 second-round pick was one of Tennessee's most productive defenders last season. Per PFF data, he ranked third on the Titans in total pressures (30) and tied for second in run-play stops (26), or tackles defined as a "failure" for the offense. 

Landry's 6.5 percent missed tackle rate was the fifth-lowest among 72 edge defenders with at least 500 defensive snaps. The 29-year-old has two years and $35 million in base salary remaining on the five-year extension he signed in March 2022.

Next team: Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals had one of the league's worst pass-rushes last season, ranking 27th in pressure rate (19.2 percent), per Pro Football Reference. Their outside linebackers combined for 14 sacks, only five more than Landry's nine.

Linebacker BJ Ojulari, Arizona's 2024 second-round pick (No. 41 overall), should be available for the start of next season after missing all of 2024 with a torn ACL. The Cardinals could have a much more potent pass rush by adding Landry.