Dallas Goedert might have limited options outside of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 11: Dallas Goedert #88 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Dallas Goedert is set to be a free agent. While the Eagles have somewhat limited resources they can allocate to the veteran tight end, there may be fewer options available for him elsewhere on the market.

Ahead of the official start of free agency, the following teams have locked down their starting tight end:

• Bills: Dawson Knox signed a 3-year restructured contract
• Bucs: Cade Otton signed a 3-year, $30 million deal
• Broncos: Adam Trautman signed a 3-year deal worth $17 million
• Chargers: Charlie Kolar signed a 3-year deal worth $24.3 million
• Chiefs: Travis Kelce is coming back on a 1-year, $12 million deal
• Falcons: Kyle Pitts was given the franchise tag, meaning he'll play in Atlanta for $15.045 million
• Giants: Isaiah Likely signed a 3-year deal worth $40 million
• Texans: Dalton Schultz is back in Houston on a 1-year extension worth $12.6 million
• Titans: Daniel Bellinger signed a 3-year, $24 million deal

And those are just the teams that added a new, or committed to their existing, TE1. There are also several teams with their starting tight end already locked up for 2026.

• Broncos: Evan Engram signed a 2-year, $23 million contract in 2025
• Ravens: Mark Andrews signed a 3-year, $39.267 million extension to stay in Baltimore
• Saints: Juwan Johnson signed a 3-year, $30,75 million contract in 2025

Plus, you can add to that list the 49ers who have George Kittle, the Vikings who have T.J. Hockenson, the Cardinals who have Trey McBride, the Cowboys who have Jake Ferguson, and the Bears who have Cole Kmet. The Lions have Sam LaPorta playing on the final year of his rookie contract and will need to keep their long-term money for the productive young tight end.

That's 17 teams that theoretically aren't in the market for a big-time tight end like Goedert - add in the Eagles, and that's over half of the NFL that's not even in the new-team conversation. Of the teams that remain, it's hard to imagine that Goedert would follow the money to an organization like the Browns, Bengals, or Jets, mostly because he likes to win and those are teams who often struggle to do that.

There's still no guarantee that Goedert finds his way back to Philadelphia, but given the other opportunities for him elsewhere in the NFL, a lesser deal with the Eagles could end up being more appealing than just following the money.