2025 NFL Offseason Winners and Losers: Steelers, Cowboys, Raiders Improve

As you can see from the many words below, I had plenty to say about the 2025 NFL offseason, which is nearing completion, with mandatory minicamps wrapping up over the next couple of weeks. 

Several teams had productive offseasons, using free agency and the draft to improve at various positions. Some of the winners listed below were obvious, but there was one team from the NFC North that drew plenty of praise the past few months that ended up in the other section. 

But before we get to the winners and losers, I felt compelled to offer explanations for some teams that weren’t listed in either section. For example, the San Francisco 49ers had a mass player exodus in free agency, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they were losers this offseason. I’ll explain more in the “indifferent” section.  

All right, let’s stop stalling. 

WINNERS

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers have gotten overlooked for their productive offseason, partly because they waited for a 41-year-old quarterback who’s past his prime. 

But before we get to Aaron Rodgers, one of many upgrades for this roster, here’s a refresher of the Steelers’ other notable offseason additions: DK Metcalf, Darius Slay, and rookies Kaleb Johnson and Derrick Harmon. 

The Metcalf trade deserves more praise, even with the departure of George Pickens, who wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh and was traded to the Cowboys. Of the two wide receivers, Metcalf is probably the better player because he’s a difference maker with or without the ball. The attention Metcalf drew from opposing defenses contributed to Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s breakout season in Seattle last year. 

It could be argued that Pittsburgh is thin at pass catcher. That’s where Johnson can help, and the versatile back out of Iowa will also give the Steelers a boost in the running game. Also, free-agent wide receivers Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen remain available. 

If Rodgers can stay healthy behind an emerging offensive line and replicate his production from last season with the Jets, this Steelers squad might have what it takes to make real noise in the loaded AFC, or at least enough to win their first playoff game in nine years. 

This team still has plenty to prove as a potential Super Bowl contender, but there’s no question that it got better this offseason.

Dallas Cowboys

This might come off as a contradiction because I said the Steelers will be fine without Pickens, but I like the Pickens trade for the Cowboys for many reasons. Dak Prescott has a knack for pushing the ball downfield (he’s developed fine in that area) and Pickens will see favorable matchups playing next to CeeDee Lamb, who will now likely see more snaps from the slot position. 

However, this near-perfect Cowboys offseason goes beyond the trade for Pickens. Dallas again prioritized the offensive line with the first-round selection of guard Tyler Booker, the replacement for the recently retired Zack Martin. And the defense could be better with the arrivals of rookies Donovan Ezeiruaku and Shavon Revel Jr.

Still, this won’t be a perfect offseason until the team locks down Micah Parsons with a contract extension. 

New England Patriots

The Patriots are a trendy pick as a new playoff team after all their offseason moves, starting with the hiring of Mike Vrabel. 

Vrabel wasted no time forming a Patriots squad resembling the physical teams he assembled in Tennessee. The defense gained an influx of talent, including the splash signing of DT Milton Williams. The offensive line could be drastically better, a huge plus for the development of Drake Maye, who showed flashes of being a star QB as a rookie last season. 

Now, if Vrabel can keep Stefon Diggs and Cardi B away from party boats during the season, the Patriots have the pieces to go from very bad to very good in one offseason. 

New York Giants

If the Giants show substantial improvement, even if the wins don’t come, that could be enough for coach Brian Daboll to keep his job past 2025. 

This might be a stretch, but Daboll’s situation is reminiscent of Kyle Shanahan’s early years with the San Francisco 49ers. Even with missing the playoffs three times in four years, Shanahan had job security because of his offensive prowess. Many have forgotten about what Daboll did in his first season in New York, taking a bad roster to the divisional round of the postseason.

After failing to make it work with Daniel Jones, a quarterback Daboll inherited, this coaching staff will get to develop first-round selection Jaxson Dart, who will start training camp behind Russell Wilson. If Dart shows flashes like Maye did last season with a bad team, that might be enough to keep Daboll around for another season.

Defensively, New York has a loaded defense after adding No. 2 pick Abdul Carter and veteran defensive backs Jevon Holland and Paulson Adebo. 

So don’t be surprised if the Giants are competitive. 

Las Vegas Raiders

I almost had the Raiders in the “indifferent section” below because this roster screams eight or nine wins. But then I reminded myself that’s a lot better than what the Silver & Black have done most seasons this century. 

The trade for Geno Smith gives the Raiders a considerable quarterback upgrade. Maybe Smith will be this team’s version of Alex Smith, who helped the Chiefs become competitive before drafting Patrick Mahomes. 

This franchise hasn’t been used to winning in a very long time and just added a bunch of winners this offseason at critical positions. Coach Pete Carroll, GM John Spytek and new minority owner Tom Brady are now calling the shots for Mark Davis. 

J.J. McCarthy 

McCarthy being a 2024 first-round pick gives him plenty of status within the organization. However, he still has a lot going against him this offseason as an unproven quarterback on a stacked roster that can’t afford to go through his growing pains. 

The Vikings could have gone the veteran route by retaining Sam Darnold or signing Rodgers. However, coach Kevin O’Connell is convinced that McCarthy is the right quarterback to lead his team, which is a difficult task after returning from a torn meniscus in his right knee. No one within the organization has forgotten about the flashes McCarthy displayed in his preseason debut against the Raiders before he sustained the season-ending injury.

Justin Fields

We should be paying more attention to Fields’s supporters with the Bears and Steelers. 

Even with his flaws as a passer, that wasn’t enough to stop Bears wide receiver DJ Moore from giving Fields a ringing endorsement after it became clear that the team would take a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in 2024. There’s also the reporting from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer on the many people within the Steelers’ organization who preferred Fields over Wilson last season and how the team still had interest in Fields before the Jets offered him a contract worth $20 million annually. 

It says plenty that a team promised Fields a starting job. There’s real potential with the 2021 first-round pick and maybe he’s finally ready to put it all together alongside Garrett Wilson and a promising Jets offensive line. It’s just hard to believe that the Jets can help him get there.  

Philadelphia Eagles and the tush push 

I’m sure everyone is tired of the tush push conversation, but the play not getting banned is a huge win for the Philadelphia Eagles and the teams that prioritize the small details. 

I don’t agree with punishing a team for being better at a play than everybody else. It’s not like that happened by accident or cutting corners. The Eagles actually practiced the play and invested in the right players to execute it properly. 

In an era when practice time is easily given up, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised about teams being upset at one another for devoting plenty of time toward finding advantages on the field. 

LOSERS

Chicago Bears

I have to see it to believe it with the Bears. Yes, they’re loaded with skill players and they revamped the offensive line, but that doesn’t erase the decades of failure at the quarterback position. Caleb Williams and his dad were well aware of the team’s poor track record before the NFL draft—and allowed their comments last year to be used to promote a book this year. 

Drama and dysfunction follow the Bears. But I’m not just assuming the Bears will screw this up because history says they will, including when they were also crowned as winners last offseason.

Ben Johnson is a rookie head coach under pressure to deliver fast results in a demanding market. He did himself no favors by saying he enjoys beating Packers coach Matt LaFleur. I’m all for trash talk, but it seemed forced to win press conference points, and he said it knowing he’s not close with LaFleur to be joking around like that. 

On the field, the Bears are banking on guard Jonah Jackson, who was benched most of last season by the Rams. It was a red flag that the Falcons were O.K. with letting center Drew Dalman sign with Chicago, and the Bears might have gotten complacent waiting until late in the second round to draft a tackle (Ozzy Trapilo). 

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins are in the strange position of operating like a rebuilding franchise despite having a quarterback making north of $50 million annually and two wide receivers making nearly $30 million per year apiece.

They have injured pass rushers, an inexperienced secondary if they trade Jalen Ramsey and an offensive line filled with holes. After their aggressive trades didn’t pay off in recent seasons, it might be time for the Dolphins to blow up their roster, including trading Tyreek Hill. 

Cincinnati Bengals 

The Bengals deserve credit for hammering out extensions for Joe Burrow’s star receivers, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. But this team did very little to improve the defense and there’s still the possibility of trading edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, one of Cincinnati’s few reliable defensive players. 

To make matters worse, rookie first-round edge rusher Shemart Stewart hasn’t signed all the necessary paperwork to practice, and the team recently cut veteran linebacker Germaine Pratt. Unless the offense averages 30-plus points per game, this organization might be on the verge of wasting another prime Burrow year. 

Anthony Richardson

I strongly supported Richardson after many joined in on the Bengals’ criticism of him last summer during a joint practice. 

It’s no longer easy to defend Richardson after a dreadful second season. He briefly quit on his team with the infamous helmet tap, making it difficult for coach Shane Steichen to support him. Even after Richardson returned from a brief benching, he didn’t display the improvements that fellow 2023 first-rounder Bryce Young has in his with the Panthers. 

Richardson’s work ethic and durability are real concerns, and now he’s in danger of starting the season as Daniel Jones’s backup after aggravating a shoulder injury earlier this month. Richardson’s impressive four starts as a rookie now feel like a fever dream. 

New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore

The Saints have been tabbed by many as the preseason favorite to land the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft. 

First-year coach Kellen Moore got a raw deal after the team decided to commit to Derek Carr for 2025, only for him to retire a few months later. Now, Moore has the daunting challenge of getting second-round rookie Tyler Shough ready to start 17 games for a roster filled with holes. 

On the bright side, Moore can quickly prove himself as a head coach—if he can keep this team competitive. 

INDIFFERENT SECTION

Detroit Lions’ departures 

The Lions were hit hard this offseason, including the departures of coordinators Johnson and Aaron Glenn, as well as the recent retirement of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow. 

But there were no panic moves from the organization. They calmly leaned on their successful blueprint of building through the trenches. Detroit should be fine on the interior with Graham Glasgow likely moving back to center, between guards Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge, who both arrived in the past two drafts.

Coach Dan Campbell doesn’t seem worried about the offseason losses. Look how excited he is about drawing a brutal schedule. 

San Francisco 49ers’ player exodus 

The 49ers might benefit from the many subtractions they made this offseason. San Francisco needed to evolve for several reasons, one of which was to become more savvy about the salary cap and Brock Purdy’s new massive contract. 

Clearly, the 49ers’ approach to winning the Super Bowl wasn’t working. Players were aging, and the production wasn’t worth the contracts. Developing a new crop of stars could lead to a quick fix for a team that still has plenty of talent.  

Seattle Seahawks’ free agency 

I’ve repeatedly mentioned that the Seahawks got worse by swapping Geno Smith and Metcalf for Darnold and Cooper Kupp. Still, the Seahawks had an impressive draft class, so I’ve come around on them for 2025.

It makes sense why coach Mike Macdonald and GM John Schneider made these drastic changes. Smith and Metcalf were part of the core group that didn’t get far in the post–Russell Wilson era with just one blowout wild-card loss in three years. 

Now Macdonald gets to do it with his guys in Year 2. I’m not sure how far they can get with Darnold and a suspect offensive line, but at least they have an intriguing insurance plan with rookie QB Jalen Milroe. 

Cleveland Browns’ four-man QB competition 

The Browns could be very bad this season. And, yes, their quarterback options probably wouldn’t be in the mix for a starting job anywhere else besides New Orleans. 

Trying out four quarterbacks and seeing if one sticks isn’t the worst approach, considering the massive hole they dug themselves after the embarrassing Deshaun Watson trade and fully guaranteed contract. The shovels are finally out for a rebuild, and perhaps rookies Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders will show potential for growth. Or maybe Kenny Pickett will play better after a reset year with the Eagles and away from Pittsburgh. 

Or maybe they’ll zombie walk most of 2025, with middled-aged Joe Flacco. That scenario could be the best for this franchise if it ends with the top pick in next year’s draft. And let’s not forget that they own the Jaguars’ ’26 first-round pick thanks to the Travis Hunter trade. 

They’re finally moving away from Watson, and that’s a win for the organization no matter how many losses come this season. 

Houston Texans’ offensive line

I nearly listed the Texans in the loser’s section for not having a better approach for rebuilding their offensive line. But C.J. Stroud, who can apparently still throw a football, could have a talented group of skill players—if the veteran tackles hold up. 

Cam Robinson can’t play as badly as he did in the final two games for the Vikings last season. Second-round rookie tackle Aireontae Ersery should be ready for a starting role late in the season. There’s also second-year tackle Blake Fisher, who might compete with veteran Trent Brown at right tackle.

There are many ifs here after trading Laremy Tunsil and Kenyon Green, but the offensive line produced subpar results the past two seasons. Changes were needed, and it’s hard to fault the Texans for arming Stroud with rookie receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. There’s also the recent signing of Nick Chubb to partner with Joe Mixon in the backfield.