These eight clubs are hoping to turn things around in a big way this upcoming season. Which of the eight NFL basement dwellers has excelled this offseason?
When it comes to the current state of the National Football League, it’s safe to say that just about anything can happen. In 2022, the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers repeated as division champions from the previous season.
However, there is the other side of the coin. There were also four clubs that finished in last place in 2021 that rebounded to reach the postseason, a few of these teams making the playoffs for the first time in at least five years.
The Baltimore Ravens bounced back from an 8-9 campaign to go 10-7 and claim a wild card berth. In the AFC South, the Jacksonville Jaguars won their last five games to finish 9-8 and win the division for the first time since 2017. This after residing in the AFC South basement for the previous four seasons.
The New York Giants, 4-13 in 2021, reached the playoffs for the first time with a 9-7-1 mark. Finally, the Seattle Seahawks were also playoff-bound with a 9-8 record, this after finishing 7-10 and being the only team in the NFC West not to make the playoffs in 2021.
So, what is in the store for the eight teams that finished in their divisional basements this past season? Some of these clubs finished 2022 with long losing streaks. However, most have been very busy this offseason. After taking a look at last season’s eight division champions, here’s how this past season’s last-place teams have fared over the last few months.
Ranking the 2023 offseasons for last place NFL teams
8. Arizona Cardinals (NFC West)
In 2021, the Cardinals won their first seven games and hung on to reach the playoffs. This past season, Arizona dropped its final seven games, finished 4-13, and gave up the second-most points in the league.
The new head coach is Jonathan Gannon, the former defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. He and the team will be waiting on quarterback Kyler Murray, who suffered a torn ACL in December and is currently on the mend. Veteran Colt McCoy holds down the fort for now.
There weren’t a lot of big names added via free agency. The team’s biggest offseason move was moving down in the first round in the draft, selecting tackle Paris Johnson (a personal choice of Murray), and securing some additional picks for 2024.
7. Washington Commanders (NFC East)
It has been a somewhat quiet offseason for this franchise that finished dead last in the NFC East but avoided a losing season. The Commanders finished 8-8-1 and along the way knocked off the playoff-bound Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys and handed the eventual conference champion Philadelphia Eagles their first loss of 2022.
Ron Rivera’s club gave up the third-fewest total yards per game in the league in 2022. The bigger question mark surrounds the offense. Will quarterback Sam Howell be up to the task? The team signed veteran Jacoby Brissett as an insurance policy. Washington has a solid wide receiving corps in Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Jahan Dotson.