We’re almost to training camp, and before we know it, actual NFL games will be played. Everyone is undefeated in the offseason and wants to declare their team the champion of the offseason. Before the news heats up and following some last-minute consequential signings and trades, lets examine some of the biggest winners and losers of the offseason so far.
Winners: Chicago Bears
Unsurprisingly, the Bears are yet again offseason champs. However, I truly do think this year is different. They landed the hottest head coaching candidate of the cycle in Ben Johnson. They also addressed their biggest weakness in a big way, bringing in O-Linemen Joe Thuney and Drew Dalman. The Bears have aligned everything to give Caleb Williams his best chance at success, and they are once again the offseason champs.
Losers: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have made a lot of strange moves this offseason, most recently trading star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick back to the Dolphins for TE Jonnu Smith and the aging Jalen Ramsey. This seems like a clear downgrade for the secondary in service of Arthur Smith’s quest to field a roster of 53 tight ends. Speaking of Arthur Smith, hiring him to run your offense in 2025 seems like a questionable decision. Even worse, making the aging and declining Aaron Rodgers the face of your franchise invites drama and attention as well as fairly middling play. Speaking of aging stars, they still haven’t rolled out the Brinks truck for TJ Watt and are thus losing valuable time with him in camp. I think 2025 could easily be a disaster for the Steelers, and they’re clearly all-in, but I’m not sure they bet on the right horses.
Winners: Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders underwent a complete transformation of their franchise between 2024 and 2025. They have a new, experienced head coach in Pete Carroll, they locked down the face of their franchise in Maxx Crosby, and they finally answered the QB question. They also landed one of the splashiest draft picks in Ashton Jeanty. We know that Carroll has had success with Geno and loves big, bruising running backs like Jeanty. They play in an extremely tough division, but in terms of improvement, few teams made as many strides as the Raiders did this year.
Losers: Houston Texans
I want to preface this by saying I still think the Texans are a great team, and they particularly have an amazing defense. I have repeatedly ranked them on my top receiver duos, top corner duos, and top edge rush duos. However, they have one glaring weakness that they not only didn’t address, but actually made worse during this offseason. Their offensive line was already poor last year, but they traded away their franchise tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders. They did draft Aiereontae Ersery, but he may or may not contribute in his rookie year, and he certainly won’t replace Tunsil right away. I think the Texans are an excellent team, but if they can’t keep CJ upright, they will not be able to live up to their expectations.
Winners: Denver Broncos
Heading into the second year of the Bo Nix era, the Broncos made a lot of smart choices during the offseason. They massively upgraded their defense, not only with first-round pick CB Jahdae Barron, but by securing two great free agents from the 49ers in Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga. If those guys can all stay healthy, alongside DPOY Pat Surtain II, the Broncos will be an extremely scary defense. Bo Nix also got a new weapon in RB R.J. Harvey, who should fit well into the Sean Payton system in the Alvin Kamara “Swiss army knife” role. The Broncos have everything set up to compete in an extremely tough AFC West, and I can’t wait to see them play in 2025.
Losers: Philadelphia Eagles
Look, the Eagles are still the defending champs and one of the best teams in the NFL. However, as is typical following the Super Bowl, they paid a tax in terms of losing free agents to other teams. Milton Williams and Josh Sweat off the defensive line, Mekhi Becton off the offensive line, and Darius Slay, Isaiah Rodgers, and CJ Gardner Johnson out of the secondary. They still have Saquon, a great O-Line, plus Jalen Hurts and top receivers AJ Brown and Devonta Smith. They will still be an excellent team as they embark on their title defense. However, it’s fair to say that they had major losses this offseason and have some holes for Howie Roseman to fill.
Winners: LA Chargers
In Year Two, Jim Harbaugh has really put his stamp on the Chargers even more and the team is massively improved. Now, in addition to probably the best tackle duo in the league, they have Mekhi Becton as a guard. They were also lucky to land Omarion Hampton as their new star running back, and Najee Harris as well. Between the draft and free agency, they added 3 new receivers and 2 new tight ends for Justin Herbert. They should have plenty of options for weapons. Their young defense played well under Jessie Minter last year, and they added some D-Line depth in the draft and free agency. This team had a great year last year, and as they continue to improve in the offseason, the expectations are high.
Losers: Indianapolis Colts
Sorry, but anytime you are splitting reps between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, you have officially lost the offseason. Obviously, since selecting Richardson 4th overall, nothing has gone right for the Colts. Richardson has been extremely inconsistent, and he hasn’t lived up to his high expectations. As the saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks, you have zero quarterbacks. And neither of the Colts’ quarterbacks is even particularly good. Their roster is fairly strong, but if they can’t figure out the QB situation, they are doomed, and they did not do much to settle that situation during this offseason.
Winners: Minnesota Vikings
As @footballanalysis has been screaming from the rooftops, the Vikings badly needed to get bigger and tougher along both lines. They did so this offseason, adding two big O-Linemen from Indy in Ryan Kelly and Will Fries (another reason the Colts are offseason losers). They also added Javon Hargrave and Isaiah Rodgers for Brian Flores to utilize in his excellent defense. Obviously, the Vikings season hinges on the big question of JJ McCarthy’s ability. But just like the Bears, the Vikings have arrayed all the necessary pieces around JJ to see if he can be a successful franchise QB.
Losers: Cleveland Browns
Sorry, but if you have 4 quarterbacks, you have zero quarterbacks. And if one of those QBs is such a famous rookie that he’s bringing unprecedented attention to your training camp reps, it’s a recipe for disaster. I personally think they will end up with Flacco as a starter, but whoever it is, the Browns have not had good process this offseason. Signing 2 QBs and drafting 2 QBs indicates a scattershot plan, and that’s setting aside the sexual offender they paid an unreal amount of money. The Browns’ QB room is a mess, and while they made some great draft picks, at the most important position, they have created huge problems for themselves this offseason.
Winners: LA Rams
As a writer covering the Rams, I have already written extensively about their draft and graded all their picks. The Rams struck a perfect balance between building for the short term and the long term. They came off a great season and believe they can be contenders in the last couple of years of the Stafford era. They brought in Davante Adams to replace Cooper Kupp, a move which might have landed them on my top 5 receiver duos list had it happened before I wrote it. But they also stocked up on a future 1st by trading their 1st to the Falcons, so they’re well-positioned to make a move for their QB of the future should Stafford retire soon. Poona Ford is another great pickup from across the street from the Chargers, and should help beef up an already formidable defensive line. The Rams have set themselves up to have another small window to contend without compromising their future and “effing them picks” like they did to capture their last Super Bowl.
Losers: Miami Dolphins
I think it’s fair to say that Mike McDaniels is on the hot seat after another underwhelming season from Miami. The trade they just finished to return Minkah Fitzpatrick to Miami was a smart move, shedding a locker room issue in Jalen Ramsey to land a better, younger DB, only giving up an (admittedly good) tight end to do so. However, the Dolphins have another glaring locker room issue in Tyreek Hill, and that one seems much more difficult to untangle. Their offense is built around his speed, and he’s not an easy guy to replace. It looks like he will play for them in 2025, but he doesn’t seem happy, and that’s understandable. They also failed to address the other elephant in the room, Tua’s health. Zach Wilson is not that much more exciting as a backup than Skylar Thompson was, and once again, the Dolphins’ entire year hinges on the health of a man who we all expect to get injured at some point. I liked their draft picks a lot and think they improved on both sides of the line of scrimmage, but they still have big unaddressed issues that could rear their ugly head in 2025.
Winners: Washington Commanders
Washington is another team that’s trying to build around the elusive rookie QB deal window, and doing a bang-up job. Obviously, Jayden Daniels exceeded every expectation last year and put together the best rookie QB season we’ve ever seen. We should all expect some regression to the mean, especially given all his late-game heroics. However, the Commanders did a great job this offseason building around him and giving him the best chance to reproduce his success. They shored up their O-Line by trading for veteran tackle Laremy Tunsil and drafting Josh Connerly Jr. in the first round. They got Jayden two new young weapons in the draft and veteran chess piece Deebo Samuel from the 49ers. They locked down veterans like Zach Ertz and Bobby Wagner, who helped lead the team last year. And they shored up some of their biggest weaknesses, adding depth on the D-Line and the secondary. They did everything right from a process standpoint to try to continue their success and make the most of Jayden’s rookie window.
Losers: San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are coming off a year from hell, both on and off the field. This offseason, they finally had to pay their franchise QB of the future, Brock Purdy. While opinions are mixed, I certainly think it’s a slight overpay that the 49ers were kind of forced into. While Brock is pretty good and can clearly lead them to the promised land, the real problem is the rest of the roster. It’s been much remarked that the 49ers have whiffed on many draft picks since the Trey Lance trade, which also depleted their picks. If not for hitting on Purdy, they would be screwed. Their roster isn’t particularly deep, and they had to let people go due to a lack of money to spread around. They lost two key veterans on their defense in Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw. They also lost a ton of depth on their O-Line, D-Line, and Cornerbacks. For example, if Trent Williams gets injured, their line suddenly becomes one of the worst in the league. The 9ers are extremely talented, but they are once again highly dependent on a few key players avoiding bad injury luck. CMC and Trent Williams are the engine of their offense, and Fred Warner and Nick Bosa are the engine of their defense. To balance their entire team on so few cornerstones is risky, and they lost pieces rather than gaining them this offseason.
Winners: New York Giants
While I don’t think the Giants are suddenly going to win 10 or 11 games or make the playoffs, they did use the resources they had to build a strong team, specifically across the defensive line. They locked up one of the blue chip players in the draft in Abdul Carter, and alongside Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Bobby Okereke, they have a truly fearsome front seven. They also spent resources to shore up their QB room and have options there, even if none of them are extremely exciting yet. It feels like their coach and GM know that they’re on their last shot, and they used all their powder. They have a fearsome defense, an incredible offensive weapon in Malik Nabers, and look to be building something in the right way up in New York.
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